Over the past few weeks I have written, in this blog, about certain Lincolnshire men and the different things that they have achieved or that have happened to them.
I think that one of the first I wrote about was Peter Moore. You may remember him as the Lincoln man who had been held hostage in Iraq or Iran (or both) for a number of years. Throughout his captivity a candle has been kept burning twenty four hours each day for him in Lincoln Cathedral. Earlier this week, as I write this blog, Peter himself paid a return visit to the cathedral and there he blew out the candle that had been dedicated to him. On a sad note for Peter, he also lit four new candles for the four men who had been captured with him. These men had been his bodyguards and it is known that, over the years since the five were taken, these four men had been executed.
Here's a link to an interview with Peter Moore in Lincoln Cathedral (sorry, I couldn't embed it) - the video is at the bottom of the page.
Mic Dawson and a companion were the two who had rowed unaided across the Pacific. Mic has recovered from his adventure and in a recent radio interview said that he has begun to put on weight again. Asked if he had anymore challenges in mind he replied in the negative. He thinks that both his wife and his age are against him undertaking any new challenges. He is in the U.S. as I write this, discussing a film documentary of the crossing (which will entail a certain amount of re-enactment) and testing the waters to see if there is any interest in a book.
News came through earlier this week of a teenage girl survivor of the Haiti earthquake disaster. She had been trapped under the debris for 15 days. It makes you wonder if the authorities were a bit too quick in deciding to send the various rescue teams (from countries all over the world) back to their homes. The men from Lincolnshire who went with the U.K. team to help WERE back a work on the Monday following their return. They had the weekend off and then it was back to normal duties. Personally I think they should have had a little longer away from work and a bit more time to begin to come to terms with what they had seen and done.
For me, my Art Group has begun again after the Christmas break. (Doesn't Christmas seem years ago already?) I have decided to work on another painting of Lincoln and have made a start on it. Like the previous painting of Lincoln I completed towards the end of last year, this one, too, is based around the Cathedral. It's from a photo I took from the Castle walls. What impressed me about this photo was the way the Cathedral dominated the intriguing foreground of roofs. Below is a scan of my progress so far and I'll show you updates so that you will be able to see how things are progressing.
Congratulations to Ruth and John, both of whom became U.S. citizens this week.
Keep on supporting the survivors of the Haiti disaster. The earthquake began the problems these people have to overcome but I can't help feeling that there is still a great deal more they've got to come to terms with before anything like normality returns for them.
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