A Poem

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past., 

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Joe has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Veteran died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Veteran died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Veteran
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Veteran,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?

Or would you want a Veteran
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Veteran,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Veteran,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Veteran's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A VETERAN DIED TODAY."
Author 'Unknown' 

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A Walk With A Difference

On the 8th of August last year an ex-soldier started a walk with a difference, one which will take between 18 months and 2 years to complete.

Christian Nock, 38, is taking on the challenge of walking round the coast of Britain to raise awareness of homelessness ex-military personnel and to raise money for Help for Heroes. Auch, it's been done before you may say and you'd be right, but Christian's project is a little different.  He is sleeping rough every night along the way.

To begin with he had little publicity but, thanks to social media, his efforts are now recognised. He has now received equipment donations from Berkshire Outdoor Leisure and Terra Nova and updates people on his progress through his Facebook page.

On Monday Christian was escorted over London Bridge by the Household Cavalry today and also had a meeting with a couple of MPs.  Only a couple.

If you'd like to keep up with his progress you can read about it here.  Even better, when he arrives in Scotland and if you live near the coast, then you could offer to take him out for a beer, or better still, the use of your garage or garden shed.

Christian started his walk in Blackpool where he used to run a hotel.  He decided to sell up and 'do something'.  Although the walk has been very tough at times he says his faith in human nature has been restored and is so grateful for people's kindnesses.

Being homeless is fairly common among the ex-military. Having spent years working around the world some have been unable to put down roots by having a home of their own.  The homelessness causes all sorts of other problems and we have far too many ex-service personnel in prisons.  For years charities such as SSAFA have tried to help by contacting councils etc., but what is needed is a government funded charity which is effective.  Perhaps the likes of the many anti-alcohol and anti-tobacco 'charities' could afford to lose a little of their funding to support a truly worthy cause.

It's sad, when we're continually told we're a caring society, that the military are treated as second class citizens when they return to civilian life.

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