Events that changed the world

As with all our lives certain events have played a big part over the last half century and more recently in my times on Exmoor rural England has struggled to retain its place in our priorities.
In the late 1990s 'marching' became the way of expressing our concerns. I particularly
remember the strange medley of the sound of gulls blending with the whistles and hunting cries normally associated with open spaces and wild countryside. Then early in 2001 the 'Foot and Mouth' epidemic emphasised the problems faced by many in the countryside and my spell in Guy's Hospital, London brought home the diverse options that we encounter on a daily basis.

Those terrible memories of burning pyres will stay with me forever in an area which normally conveys beauty and tranquility to every passer by. I hope the tourism, farming, leisure and all rural pursuits will be able to continue for well beyond my lifetime.

Not only was the beauty of Exmoor made apparent at this time but with the dawning of a white Christmas here and the tragedies suffered with the cruel action of the tsunami in Asian waters
made me even more aware of how fragile all our lives can be......................

The anniversary of D Day in June 2004, even after 60 years still seemed to be as
important in our modern world as it was then.

2 verses taken from Patriotic Countryside
A poem about the Countryside March

Riders across the skyline, murky in the mist, Shadows of our former history; This is what New Labour seems to want to see dismissed: The past erased would be a mystery! Whatever comes from all politicians thoughts and deeds, Regardless of this life for those, like me, They will not succeed in taking my degree of simple needs And enjoyment and the need for liberty!

Foot and Mouth
A bleak event closer to home that touched us all

The moor can seem so lonely and desolate. But this year the silence was enormous in its volume. If this terrible disease got onto the moor, as it was on Dartmoor, not only would the cattle and sheep perish on those sinister pyres but the wild red deer would have been culled in their mass, not singly as the more normal procedure of hunting would allow.

Deliverance Day - 2004
Immense sacrifices made 'by so many' 60 years ago

I think I'm going mental; I don't know what to say! Perhaps the confidence I felt is humbled by the day. Deliverance was the gift of those, who battled storm and strife, To bring to those of us, which since, have flourished in the life! So let us take, with every dawn, some peace and gratitude, For the sacrifices that others made, with mighty magnitude, For the choice they left left for those of us, who have the life to be Appreciative, magnanimous; and grateful to be free!

2 verses taken from P.P.S. December 2004
The 'enormity of the devastation' that touched all our lives

A new word came to all of us; 'tsunami' little known before, Has left its mark; for all to perish, wherever the massive wave hit shore, And with the force so little stands to bear the brunt of ebbing tides; The enormity of cruel seas that steal souls, and cheats and chides! The 'Act of God' had ists way, to close the year of those bereft Of what I hold so close to me, more grateful now for what is left To fill my heart with sympathy; with comfort, nourishment and ease! No desolation; broken dreams; desperate times or fear of disease!

The epilogue to 2004