Lottsathoughts

I'm waiting to board the Eurostar to leave Calais and head home. It's been quite a week. A very stark realisation of what the relentless cold feels like when you can't get indoors. Again, as ever, in awe and emotional gratitude at the extraordinary sacrifice of the long term volunteers who have given up so much and who toil daily for no reward in order to help others. Many of them are so young - barely half my age in some cases. God knows what this will all look like in years to come but the sordid news from Venice today makes me ashamed and terrified for our own humanity: a refugee drowning in the Grand Canal, in full view of tourists, and all they could think to do was take photos. The Help Refugees warehouse itself is almost a ghost-town compared with my previous visits. It seems that operations will be scaled down next month, but with refugees again beginning to congregate in the town, I wonder what will take its place. Tonight I feel very sad. Much more emotional th...

A little reflecting on Calais today. It has been bloody cold today - never got above freezing. Actually whilst working, I was quite warm enough and removed layers. But immediately you stop, the cold seeps in. And that made me wonder about people who are living under canvas in this. Without the hot shower of the illustrious Premiere Classe Hotel to look forward to. It made chopping firewood feel very 'real'. The future looks very uncertain - migrant numbers to Europe are expected to rise again in 2017. Already the refugees are starting to be seen around Calais again. As one long term volunteer said to me, this is the 4th time they've cleared the camp(s) - why should we expect the same problem not to recur this time? But it looks like Help Refugees is pulling out. So what happens next? I have no answers and am very poorly informed of plans or projections. I just weep for anyone who has lost or left their home for whatever reason, and is now fighting just to survive...

Can anyone explain to me why almost everyone is united in horror at Trump but so many are quiet about Brexit? It's the same protectionist-nonsense being pedalled by liars. It's got the same aura of hysterical threats and aggression by the people leading it. It has the same urge to crack down on independent law, free speech and opposition. It pedals the same fear and demonisation of foreigners. It will victimise the same disadvantaged-demographics of society. It is being championed by the very richest as some sort of anti-establishment bunkum. It has the same trajectory of putting us in conflict with our neighbours and making peace less of a given. Seriously - where's the noise against Brexit? It's not a done deal yet - we can stop it. And yet most people are apathetic.

I am going back to Calais next week to work alongside the charity Help Refugees. Specifically I will be working in the Woodyard, providing firewood for refugees to use for cooking and heat. The most obvious question is “why?...didn't they close The Jungle?” The answer is, yes, The Jungle is closed. However, there remains a much smaller camp at Dunkirk, mainly for women and children, to which the Calais warehouse and Woodyard send help on a daily basis.  In addition, Calais now acts as a hub, sending aid directly to Syria, Greece and Lebanon. As widely anticipated, evicting people from Calais brought short-term solutions, but has also led to refugees congregating elsewhere. There is now a terrible problem in Paris, where many refugees sleep every night on pavements.The police do not allow them to put up tents, and if they catch them they confiscate even sleeping bags. This in sub-zero temperatures, rain and snow.  This refugee crisis is worse than anything seen s...

What a fantastic job I have. If you've ever thought about singing but been too scared - be reassured. Anyone can benefit and truly I can say that I have never yet met someone who is tone-deaf. Many would-be pupils have promised they are that person, but in the real world they simply get better. And the therapy aspect is definitely true - I serve a reasonable cup of tea when needed, or even cold beers. Secret life of a singing teacher

I can't stop going on about Calais. Today there are over 1500 unaccompanied children who have been cut off from all they know. They are denied access to lawyers. They have no information on what is going to happen now. ALL the officials have gone. Literally the only adults left are policemen - doesn't that sound like a recipe for disaster? They have had their water cut off. There is no food or warmth. The toilet facilities are not cleaned and are beyond disgusting – ankle deep in festering pools of raw human sewage. Thank God for volunteers like Help Refugees. After the media circus has moved on, these amazing volunteers continue as they have done for months. Now providing 1500 meals 3 times a day. Plus drinking water. And emergency help such as ferrying a child to hospital earlier. The volunteers are not allowed access to the containers where the children are housed. What on EARTH is this about? I've messaged the Home Secretary Amber Rudd twice in 3 days but along...

Montaigne again (writing over 400 years ago) : "Truth for us nowadays is not what is, but what others can be brought to accept."  So there you are. ....nothing changes after all. The only thing that baffles me is why so many are so happy to believe any old rubbish. Why don't people do their own thinking to expose the lies? Is it as simple as laziness? I'm not sure. Certainly today there is as much publicity for reasoned arguments as for spin yet people actively get on board with the "we don't want experts" idea. Why?  Why deliberately choose to be ignorant?