see it's the three-year anniversary of the beginning of the one month when whenever I had more than two drinks I started thinking "I'll do it, I'll go fight in Ukraine, for Europe"
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As a 52 year old, not really into the military, I would now be happy to sign up to a reservist force, if the UK plans one.
The world has changed, what have you done is one of many acts of support and solidarity, long may it continue
Raluca's dad is the inheritor of a military sword that belonged to a family member. A small amount of plum schnapps and this early 60s heart attack survivor is threatening to run hundreds of kms to the Ukrainian border and stab Russians with it
it's hard to talk about without being unbearably cringe but I remember having this deep, physical feeling on the day the full scale invasion began, of needing to do something, of profoundly feeling like all Europeans had to stand together, of feeling a deep kinship with Ukrainians
I didn't think about joining up, but the pictures horrified me. I vowed that week of invasion that when the war is over, I will visit Ukraine and go to all the old tourism sites. My contribution wont be much, but those places will need to rebuild and I want to help that along as much as I can.
ended up finding a Polish community centre taking donations for Ukrainians fleeing across the border and taking warm clothes and bedding with me there, only to find that the queue had dozens and dozens of people already, hours after the event had been announced, and feeling overwhelmingly touched
ME TOO! I went to, I think the same one, armed with all our spare bedding and the queue was just so so long. It felt like so many hopeless-feeling people wanted to do something.
The White Eagle in Tooting? I went there. Huge queue, mountain of nappies and sanitary products as well as bedding and clothes. They were loading up lorries and one convoy was about to leave.
Everyone can do something, no matter how small. Even if that something is just countering grandpa’s pro-Putin nonsense across the dinner table. Don’t let them get away with it.
My grandad decided to go to Spain to fight, until he met a friend who said he would be useless and should stay at home. It was true, he was impractical at the sort of things that are handy in combat. He didn’t go, my mum was born a bit later, thanks for staying put grandad.
I actually did have to be talked down one evening, by a friend who correctly pointed out that I: cannot drive, cannot shoot a gun or any firearm, and cannot speak Ukrainian or any nearby language, which did dampen my ambitions somewhat
The converse of the "who goes Nazi?" game is the "unlikely resistance leader" game. I have an ex-colleague definitely fingered for this though I do fear the probability of him blowing himself up on day one is uncomfortably high
I'm digital nomad, so easy for me to move. Three months after the start, I relocated to Kyiv. Nothing heroic - just putting money into the economy by being there, renting, living costs, and writing about what I saw.
Three years to the day since a colleague messaged me to ask for "ten minutes help" with an MHCLG spreadsheet that later turned out to the be the start of the Homes For Ukraine scheme. Ten minutes my arse, I'm still working on it now.
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The world has changed, what have you done is one of many acts of support and solidarity, long may it continue
cringe would be saying you were utterly key to the war effort, retake Donetsk yourself or be able to talk Putin out of it.
Just not the actual shooting bit.