Tuesday 22 December 2009

ITVs A Night of Heroes

A night of heroes, The Sun Military awards, also known as The Millies

Guests include:
Martin Kemp
Philip Schofield
Prince William
Prince Harry
Amanda Holden
Geri Halliwell
Emma Bunton
Jeremy Clarkson
Fabbio Capello
Rio Ferdinand
Jensen Button
Ray Winstone
David Haye
Vernon Kay
Dame Vera Lynn

'This country is blessed with its armed forces' Prince William

'It has drawn the British people together in an extraordinary way' Prince William

Ben McBing, 22, described by Prince Harry as 'A real hero,' stepped on a landmine and lost an arm and a leg. 7 weeks later he started his steps to recovery - 'When I get Better, im going to run the marathon for Help for Heroes' 1 year after sustaining his injuries, Ben completed the London marathon for Help for Heroes.

'I havent changed, I have just lost 2 limbs' Ben McBing

Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt ran 70metres to save her colleges life, whilst she was under fire and risked her own life. Because of Kates bravery, John List survived.

Wootton Bassett Village pay their respects by lining the streets every time the fallen soldiers pass through the village. Mayor, Steve Bucknett

Craig Monaghan, soldier, Cpl Ryan Walker, Lt Alexander Horsfall

Cpl Carl Thomas, medic, saves the lives of many by performing surgery in the middle of a battlefield. 'He is the Battalion legend'

Able Seaman Edmund Grandison, Navy Reservist, gave up his job to make a contribution to operations. He gave up his full time job to become a part time taxi driver to enable to him to work with the Navy. Presented his award by Prince Charles

EOD team, Bomb Disposal unit. Marco Pierre White visited Afghanistan to work with the disposal unit. WO Andy Goodwin, SGT Ziggy Westphal,

'This is what we signed up for, this is what we've got to do and im happy to do this for my country' Sgt Ziggy Westphal

Flight Ltn John Walmsley flew in to battle to collect American casualties, in a hazy environment. He took a risk in order to save lives. Everyone on the helicopter survived.

Sgt Andrew 'Mac' McNulty, Pte James Grocock, Cpt Jack Bellfield freewheeled their vehicle into a Taliban battle

Lt Col Rob Thompson



Posted by: Grace Vernon

Sunday 20 December 2009

Arabella Dorman

Paul Rogers/The Times

Dorman in her studio in Chelsea, southwest London. She spent a month as an official war artist this autumn, embedded with the 2 Rifles Battle Group in Sangin

At work in Afghanistan. She spent several weeks with the Rifles as a war artist in Basra, Iraq, in 2007.


She returned with sketch books full of images that capture the end of the bloodiest six months suffered by any British unit in Afghanistan


A watercolour of the Helmand River, Afghanistan. "There was the juxtaposition of the beauty of the land that has been so devastated and is so catastrophically dangerous" Arabella Dorman


A watercolour of the District Centre in Sangin


Local men in Afghanistan. "Understandably journalists and photographers tend to focus on the drama and the action that they witness rather than the quieter moments in between," Dorman says.


An Afghan Soldier. When Dorman drew one Afghan, a man who worked as the gardener for the British base, he told her: "You haven’t captured the hate in my eyes"


A British soldier. "They fight for each other much more than they fight for Queen and Country"
"As a portrait painter I am drawn to the human drama, the psychology and bravery"


A Afghanistan Policeman. "In every face you see the same furrowed brow, the look that goes through you to what they’ve seen before"

The Rear gunner. Dorman attempted to depict the vastness of the Iraqi landscape

Posted by: Michelle Nielsen

Friday 18 December 2009

Wednesday 16 December 2009

Monday 14 December 2009

Marco Pierre White


Bombs, Bullets and Brussels Sprouts

Marco Pierre White dishes up Xmas feast for Afghan heroes


CELEBRATIONS - Marco with the troops


The White stuff
Marco Pierre White dishes up on the Basra frontline
Read
Nigella Lawson's Xmas dinner is not very elfy
Flop Ramsay left us FF-ing broke!
NastyChef
Masterchef host loves whipping up a tart
Army boost aids Taliban

By Guy Basnett, 13/12/2009

CELEBRITY chef Marco Pierre White saluted Britain's bravest by dodging bomb blasts and enemy gunfire to cook a slap-up Christmas feast for the troops in Afghanistan.

The fiery Hell's Kitchen star joined the News of the World in a daring Yuletide mission as we flew out FIFTEEN CRATES of traditional British grub to our men and women serving on the frontline.


Marco Pierre White meets troops in Iraq
And instead of dicing the carrots, TV Marco found himself dicing with danger within hours of arriving in Afghan capital Kabul.

After delivering his precious cargo to the kitchen at Camp Souter - home to more than 200 Brit troops - Marco was settling in to his hotel room when he was rocked by a roadside bomb exploding just 300 yards away, at a spot he'd passed only an hour earlier.

Later he had to dive for cover AGAIN as his party came under fire while touring city landmarks.

With the grim tally of troops killed in Afghanistan this year now at 100, shaken Marco told us: "It was an incredible experience. To hear the boom of that bomb go off so close and then to hear those gunshots ring out really drives the message home. We are in a warzone and lives are at risk - they're the dangers our soldiers are facing EVERY DAY.

"These are young men and women, who will spend Christmas miles away from home, and far from their families and loved ones, in difficult and dangerous conditions.


FAGGED OUT - Marco takes a cig break
"I'm always amazed by their courage and hope that by bringing some of them a small taste of home, I can show that people back in the UK are thinking of them."

And the heroes of Camp Souter really deserved their treat. As part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force their risky tasks include ferrying key military figures around the city, and acting as a quick reaction force on just minutes' notice.

First of all we arranged for Britain's world-famous department store Selfridges to donate all the food, including six giant 12lb TURKEYS, 250 CHIPOLATAS in bacon, 250 MINCE PIES and 10kg of BRUSSELS SPROUTS for our hungry heroes.

Berkshire-based couriers UCS packaged up the lot, and delivered the 15 cases to Heathrow Airport. There British Airways waived the costs to fly the yummy freight on the next leg of its journey to Dubai.

After a bit of hassle and persuasion customs officers let us load the crates on to a Safi Airways flight, one of the few commercial airlines flying direct into Kabul.


SO MOVING - Memorial to the fallen in Helmand
And then came the dangerous bit - the vehicle convoy to Camp Souter. Just 24 hours later it's D Day - Dinner Day! Marco - the first British chef to win three Michelin stars - and his assistant Matt Brown powered into action. And, with a bit of chop-chop help from the Sri Lankan kitchen staff, they set about preparing dinner for 50.

As he got together starters of potted Morecambe Bay shrimps, brown bread and butter, and mushroom soup 48-year-old Marco said: "One of the great pleasures in being able to cook is that ability to give. To be allowed to cook for the guys and girls here, to be given that invitation, is very special."

Next up was the roast organic Norfolk turkey garnished with sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy - "Proper turkey gravy made with giblets," insisted Marco.

Alongside that came braised red cabbage, swede puree, sprouts with chestnuts, roast potatoes and parsnips.

It was all followed by Christmas pud with Army custard and double cream, vintage Stilton cheese with quince jelly, plus warm mince pies and coffee.

And after their marathon three- hour battle with ovens and well- travelled ingredients the Marco kitchen brigade's feast was declared a major victory.


TUCK IN LADS - Troops enjoy Marco feast
Signaller James Alexander, 25, from Torquay, Devon, and serving with 1UK Armoured Division Signal Regiment, said: "This means a lot to us. It's a show of support from back home, and it's really appreciated."

Comrade Signaller Ben Scotting, 22, added: "It really did look like Hell's Kitchen in there the way Marco was running around the place! And the food was GORGEOUS!"

Sergeant Major Paul Wilson, 38, of the Mercian Regiment attached to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion, emphasised what a welcome relief something like Marco's visit makes.

He and his men have been in Kabul just four months and faced a spate of suicide bombers.

Paul added: "Not only do the guys here enjoy Marco coming out, but they appreciate that somebody of his stature is willing to come here."

The Commanding Officer of the Kabul Joint Support Unit, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sawtell of the Yorkshire Regiment - praised Marco and the News of the World for putting on "a first class meal" adding: "The boys are all really excited to see him."


NICE TO MEAT YOU - Marco on Butcher St
And there was more excitement in store. Immediately after dinner Marco was rushed aboard a Hercules military plane and flown down to Camp Bastian in notorious Helmand Province to visit the lads slugging it out daily with the Taliban.

Moved by the experience, he told us: "Ater a night under the stars I met Brits in a bomb disposal squad and sadly heard of yet another of our troops killed by a roadside bomb.

"I shared the Hercules flight back to Kabul with the coffin of an Afghan soldier."

Back in Kabul superchef Marco saw first hand another side to the war - the massive efforts being made to find the recipe of a better life for impoverished Afghans.

He was taken on a street tour by the British Government's Department for International Development who have spent £740million on projects including beefing up education, healthcare and sanitation. He strolled around the thriving meat market on Butcher Street, greeting tradesmen and admiring the carcasses and cuts on offer.

But driving around Kabul, Marco saw plainly the extreme poverty many suffer.


WARM-UP MAN - Marco gives fleeces to kids
He said: "It's hard not to be moved by the sight of young children begging at the roadside, or sifting through piles of rubbish for any scraps they can find, or forced to work to bring in some money.

"I have never seen such poverty. But in other areas you can see improvements.

"The traffic is unbelievable. The roads are clogged with people moving around, in old battered cars, bikes, and carts. There are tradesmen on every street, selling every kind of fruit and vegetable.

"It's incredible to see. I don't think people back home know this side of Afghanistan."

At one stage he watched as a flood of children, many young girls in white headscarves, piled out of a school's gates, now enjoying an education they were once denied under Taliban rule.

Then Marco visited the Aschiana drop-in centre, supported by the British Embassy in helping street kids, where he handed out fleeces, books and pens donated by supermarket Asda.

Marco admitted to being moved by the spirit of ordinary Afghans trying to make ends meet.

He said: "What is beautiful is seeing people getting on with their lives, and living like any normal community.

"It's amazing to see modern buildings going up, as the city moves forward. I think many people see the whole of Afghanistan as a warzone where people fear to tread.

"It's clear there are attacks, even increasing in Kabul, but it's a working city. Seeing is believing."

guy.basnett@notw.co.uk
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/634767/Marco-Pierre-White-dishes-up-Xmas-feast-for-Afghan-heroes.html

Posted by: Grace Vernon

'Toys for our boys'

Reindeer at the ready for troops' kids

Toys for Our Boys is ready to roll into action this Christmas

ATTEN-SHUN Rudolph! The Toys for Our Boys are packed and ready to be delivered to all the kiddies of Britain's serving troops.

For the last few weeks, the News of the World and Tesco have been preparing parcels of goodies for every one of the 5,500 youngsters with a parent serving on the front line.

They include the children with mums and dads in the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh - who only discovered a few days ago that they will be going to Afghanistan the week before Christmas.

Their Unit Welfare Officer Kim Welsh said: "The deployment of these soldiers is a hard blow for the children at this time of year - the timing could not be worse.

"So anything you can do to ease the pain, we would be extremely grateful for."

Together with supermarket giant Tesco, we have gathered around £140,000 of toys - £25-worth for every youngster - with goodies from Mattel, Lego, Hasbro, Character Group, Vivid Imaginations, Ubisoft and VTech.

Morale

And from this Wednesday, TFOB helpers will deliver the sackloads of gifts around the country.

First off are the Coldstream Guards in Aldershot. Then on Friday it's the turn of the 3 Rifles in Edinburgh. On Saturday, we'll be with 2 Yorks in Weeton, Lancs, and next Sunday we'll be at the huge party for Household Cavalry Regiment, Grenadier Guards, Irish Guards and The Coldstream Guards in Windsor.

Toys for every other barracks will also be distributed in time for Christmas.

This is our way of saying a BIG Thank You to the men and women of the services for the sacrifice they make on Britain's behalf.

And we've already heard from troops that it is providing a much-welcome boost to morale.

Adam Kemp, of the Household Cavalry based at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, said: "We were told about Toys for Our Boys in a briefing and the lads at Camp Bastion with kids are all chuffed about it.

"It's a brilliant idea - cheers!"

Meanwhile Carys Clyde, whose husband Mark is recovering from a blast in Afghanistan two weeks ago, told us: "It's nice to know there are people thinking about the kids come Christmas - they're often forgotten."

Not by us!

Thought this was really interesting, that Tesco play such a big part, at the exhibition we went to, they talked a lot about the support of Tesco.

Posted by: Grace Vernon

RAF Reserves Advert


Posted by: Michelle Nielsen

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Monday 7 December 2009

Lincoln fundraising





In Lincoln this weekend, the RAF were out in force raising funds for Help for Heroes.
They are completing a charity bike ride and were raising money by selling wristbands, canvas shoppers, notepads etc. in the centre of Lincoln

Posted by: Grace Vernon

Hep for heroes exhibition

As spoken about earlier by Michelle, on Friday evening we were invited to a formal event to launch the exhibition for the book 'The Hero Inside.' Here are our images from the event:













Posted by: Grace Vernon