A true Scottish hero.

Please excuse me for starting a new topic but I want to say some things that are OT.

First I have just read this mornings posts. Pamela Gurney has written what I consider the most disgusting attack on posters who seek justice for Madeleine. I will not quote it but it state's among us are women who have lost children through stillbirths or accidents, that they are taking their anger at life out on poor Kate and Gerry.
What a vile creature PG is. This is the lowest of the low.
I will say no more as she / he obviously feeds off the attention and I have no desire to give her a cheap thrill.

I was late catching up this morning as I was reading the coverage of the D Day rememberance events.
I am sure many of you saw the amazing 89 year old Jock Hutton complete a tandem parachute jump onto the fields of Normandy yesterday.
Jock, as a 19 year old, jumped in the early hours of D day onto the same field where the liberation of France began.
 
Jock was raised in an orphanage in Renfrewshire. He said his Para Regiment was his family. He was wounded later that month and sent home. But he soon returned to his ''family" to fight across the Ardennes and over the Rhine. 

To watch that amazing Scotsman yesterday was  humbling, it left tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Hero is a word used too freely, IMO,  in the 21st century. What Jock's generation lived through, just like their parents and grandparents, was a war of hell we cannot begin to imagine.

Think of Jock today and for those who believe, whisper a prayer of thank's for those men and women who lived through unimaginable horrors so that we might live in peace.

Then think of that other infamous Scotsman who is also all over the news, one who unbelievably was put forward as Scots person of the year 2007. One who grew up in a world where an education and a prosperous life was possible because of people like Jock.

Many of us have been on this journey now for seven long years, a journey to seek justice and peace for a child we never knew but who was betrayed by those closest to her. Madeleine Beth McCann deserves to rest in peace. Her life and memory has been abused in the
worst possible way to make cold cash for so many people.

There are times when I despair for humanity. I feel that we will never find the truth about what happened in Luz that week in May. 
But now I will think of Jock jumping into the dark unknown and shining a light for freedom and justice.

Praia

 

    

What a great post.  I have been a long time viewer, and very occasional poster, on here but have been following the discussion since back in the Mirror forum days.  I also saw that post this morning and was completely disgusted by it.  I added, in my opinion, a very gentle comment asking PG where she got her information from as she had made such a broad, sweeping statement. Needless to say my comment has been deleted and I have been blocked from commenting further.

Jock is, indeed, a true hero and restores faith in the human race.  More Jock, less Gerry!

Beautifully written 

I've had a few tears today - who couldn't when they remember those people who lost their lives, lost their friends in battle and killed for their country just so we can enjoy freedom. Remember that it's not just being prepared to die for your country it's being prepared to kill for it.

I'm saddened at what our country has become. I'm saddened that we are part of a European uber governance. I'm saddened that it's no longer considered PC to teach about the war or to 'harp on' about the war for fear of upsetting pinko liberals in UK schools who think it might offend someone. I'm saddened that children in UK are so into celebrity culture and technology that when they see war in other countries it has no meaning for them. War is something that is 'over there'.

I'm saddened that some bastard called Tony Blair was born on this earth and I hope he's brought to justice.

Great post Praia.  

Moving to debate section though, as it is not latest news.

Praia, a very moving post indeed. An abiding sadness to recall those with the highest calling and a selflessness beyond compare. I have to trust the light they shone on darkness then, will live on to do the same today.

Lovely post Praia, I watched the coverage of Jock Hutton's parachute jump - and like yourself was bowled over by him - and a namesake of my own too!

It is humbling to watch those wonderful old WWII guys and gals, so splendidly turned out to pay homage to their fallen comrades.  Such brave noble people, I wonder if we will ever see their like again?

I wonder how many UK schools today celebrated the lives of those alive and dead.

I wonder how many UK schools today talked anything about WW2.

Praia, thank you for all your posts.

Thank you Praia. Also a reminder that this freedom so hard won is now easily given away by British politicians. A new criminal class.

Thank you all, I too am sickened and saddened at the celebrity culture that prevails today. We are in an era of instant gratification where many young people seek "fame" through exploiting their bodies, not using their brains. The likes of Simon Cowell have much to answer for. 

I am still young(ish!) but the generation behind me terrifies me, they know no hardship and have been spoilt rotten by helicopter parents.
They have no coping skills, the standard of education is falling all the time. God only knows what Jock and the other veterans most think.

An inspiring and moving post Praia.    

Never give up on humanity though, there are still people who feel a moral and ethical duty of concern towards their fellow human beings. 
  
People who are willing to make personal sacrifices for what they think is right.

I, also, despair for the culture - especially in the UK - that seems obsessed with money, celebrity, selfgratification, is also ill educated and workshy.

Nevertheless I do have a belief that those are the weak, and nature always has a way of letting the stronger, more adaptable endure.

Stay positive and retain faith that, if encouraged and shown the way, goodness will prevail.

(Now I feel I should say "here endeth the first lesson"   )