BRITISH PRIDE FOUND ON A CYPRUS BEACH

I recently took a holiday to Cyprus where I was flown out to Larnaca which is on the south cost of the Island. I was over there visiting someone I knew and stayed in the British Army Garrison called Dekelia.

My week over there coincided with 5th November and the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment decided to throw a bonfire and fireworks night on the beach to celebrate the occasion, not only this they wanted to raise money for the Help for Heroes charity.

I have never seen one of these being started within Britain but I couldn’t believe the sheer size of the event and how much work, effort and time went in to making the event the huge success it turned out to be. Over 5,000 people including soldiers based in Dekelia, families, children …even residents round the area crowded on to the beach and the bars surrounding the area in order to pay tribute to the cause in which the event was set up to help. Hundreds of these people queued for ominous amount of time to enter the event; they had no worries paying the 5Euro charge covered per head for the bonfire and fireworks night.

The amount of British pride I saw standing on that beach was shocking I couldn’t believe how many people came out to help raise awareness for the campaign and how much pride they had knowing exactly what their money was going to do and who it was going to help. I think that this is why so many people took the time to turn up to the event and spent so much money on the alcohol and food provided by different bars and food companies around Larnaca. All the money raised on that night through the bars and the charge per head went to Help for Heroes and over £7,000 was raised by everyone who turned up.

Looking back over that night (after I had nursed the hang over I had somehow received from that night) I looked back at the pictures I took and started to think why it was so different in Britain. To be honest I couldn’t find the correct answer because I have no clue why this was. I think that people in Britain had pride for their country and the vast majority do have pride and love for what the soldiers do every day for the country, but I think when families and soldiers are based abroad they see how much soldiers sacrifice for their home country. Being away from home, many away from their families, or even those families who are up-rooted leaving friends and family behind in order to move with their spouses it makes people see how hard life is for soldiers and how much pride they have for every person involved. I think that is why so many people turned up and enjoyed the event.

Yes…. many of them were soldiers and their families, ex pad rats (ex soldier’s children) and even officers … some of them were ordinary Cypriot people who wanted to help out a very noble cause. Another thing I noticed was a British bar on the Remembrance weekend took a 1/3 off of everyone’s bill within the bar/restaurant and gave it to the British Legion to go towards their cause.

My trip there was a eye opener, and if only people in Britain could just have as much pride as some of the people out in Larnaca maybe the soldiers of the British army would feel privileged to be doing the job they are, I’ve spoken to some British soldiers in the army that feel they want to leave the army. This is because they feel terrible that those people they fight for don’t care about them… I think a huge parade would make them see that soldiers in this country are loved and we have pride for everything they do.

FESTIVE CHEER IN EASTLEIGH

The festive season arrived with a bang last night as the lights were switched on in Eastleigh Town Centre marking the official start of Christmas.

 

Fireworks illuminated the night sky as the Deputy Mayor of Eastleigh, Councillor Pamela Holden-Brown and Santa Clause got the crowd to count down the switch-on.

 

When asked her thoughts on how the event went the Deputy Mayor said: “I think it was really wonderful, I not been to one of these before but I thought it was really very good”.

 

Visitors to the yearly event enjoyed seasonal entertainment with Santa’s procession and a parade through the town centre accompanied with a steel band; kids and adults also participated in helping to raise money for Eastleigh Caravel Committee, who helped make the event possible.

 

“It was really nice” said Jean Stevens who travelled from Bishopstoke to watch the parade, “Last year was a bit of a disappointment but this year was a pleasant surprise”.

 

Adults and children happily skated on the synthetic ice rink made for the occasion whilst tasting the festive foods available; visitors were also entertained by Thornden School band as they played traditional Christmas carols.

 

 

The event is sponsored by one of Hampshire’s leading radio stations Wave 105fm and the Hampshire Chronicle; other sponsors include the Swan Centre, Picador Cars and Prysmian. 

Tubes are Inaccessible

Wheelchair dependant customers are finding it difficult to use tubes on the London Underground as many stations are inaccessible.

 

Forty-eight stations on the tube network have ‘step free access’ from the street to the platform this is out of nearly 400 stations on the entire tube map, these stations include lifts that sometimes do not work and escalators that the chairs can’t go on.

 

Debbie Gross, a disabled customer of the London Underground said: “Its difficult being in a wheelchair as it’s very hard to try and get in to places that are easily accessible by able bodied people. The tubes are supposed to be for everyone yet I still feel that wheelchair users are being discriminated against”, she continued to say “all stations should be wheelchair friendly”.

 

Priority seats are being introduced on the platforms and tactile warning surfaces will be installed on staircases to hep less able customers. Managing Director of the London underground, Tim O’Toole said in a press release: “We have now committed to providing full step-free access at 25% of all Tube stations by 2010.These will include stations close to venues for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics”.

 

The Piccadilly and District lines have the most stations that are wheelchair friendly, the only fully accessible line on the tube network to be fully accessible to wheelchair users is the Docklands Light Railway.

 

 

WINCHESTER HAS MANY QUESTIONS FOR THE BBC

The BBC’s longest running debate show Any Questions? celebrated its 60th anniversary show with a live broadcast from one of Winchesters prestigious secondary schools.

 

The Henry Beaufort School was chosen to host the special programme which coincided with the shows return to the city where it was first aired at the Guildhall in 1948. 

 

Barry Lipscomb a male audience member started the discussion asking the panel: “Should charities with deposits at risk in failed foreign, British based and regulated banks receive compensation from the UK Government”? Harriet Harman, Labour MP replied that the cabinet will be conducting meetings with the charitable sector one action taken has been: “freezing the assets of Icelandic banks” to try and save some money. She insisted: “we won’t leave them on their own.”

 

Charities have invested a reported £25 million in failed banks after being given advice by the government; many are now facing the horrifying reality that they could lose all the money they have invested.

 

Harman who is also Minister for Women and Equality announced a new equality bill that will make transparent how much men and women are paid in the workplace. This was revealed after a question about equal rights for women was asked by another audience member. “Women are looking after the family, the elderly and the home”, said Baroness Williams, until they come out of this role “we can whistle for equality as it won’t happen!”