Urgh, No, you are completely correct, I used to hate going on buses as a kid but a positive 'youngsters' thread is a super idea. Regards, Stephen Garnett
My thoughts.... the only reason it seems at times that there are more wrong 'uns is because time and time again they're the only one we hear about. Bad news sells. But for every kid out there getting plastered of an evening I'm sure there are plenty more at home, reading or making airfix models. Think about it - you see a young person do a good deed, then seconds later see another do a bad one. Which one sticks in your mind longer? Nothing could be truer. Its the same over here Cheers Paul
My neice, who I think deserves a mention. :: CWGC :: She also attended the service at Westminster Abbey. Passing of a generation. Well done Peter. She is a great ambassador for the younger generation. You must be a very proud Uncle. Cheers Geoff
My sister sent me this and I do not know its origin. But it really makes a statement. Unfortunately the photographs did not attach with the text. The average British soldier is 19 years old…..he is a short haired, well built lad who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears and just old enough to buy a round of drinks but old enough to die for his country – and for you. He’s not particularly keen on hard work but he’d rather be grafting in Afghanistan than unemployed in the UK . He recently left comprehensive school where he was probably an average student, played some form of sport, drove a ten year old rust bucket, and knew a girl that either broke up with him when he left, or swore to be waiting when he returns home. He moves easily to rock and roll or hip-hop or to the rattle of a 7.62mm machine gun. He is about a stone lighter than when he left home because he is working or fighting from dawn to dusk and well beyond. He has trouble spelling, so letter writing is a pain for him, but he can strip a rifle in 25 seconds and reassemble it in the dark. He can recite every detail of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either effectively if he has to. He digs trenches and latrines without the aid of machines and can apply first aid like a professional paramedic. He can march until he is told to stop, or stay dead still until he is told to move. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation but he is not without a rebellious spirit or a sense of personal dignity. He is confidently self-sufficient. He has two sets of uniform with him: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never forgets to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes and fix his own hurts. If you are thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food is your food. He'll even share his life-saving ammunition with you in the heat of a firefight if you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and regards his weapon as an extension of his own hands. He can save your life or he can take it, because that is his job - it's what a soldier does. He often works twice as long and hard as a civilian, draw half the pay and have nowhere to spend it, and can still find black ironic humour in it all. There's an old saying in the British Army: 'If you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have joined!' He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and he is unashamed to show it or admit it. He feels every bugle note of the 'Last Post' or 'Sunset' vibrate through his body while standing rigidly to attention. He's not afraid to 'Bollock' anyone who shows disrespect when the Regimental Colours are on display or the National Anthem is played; yet in an odd twist, he would defend anyone's right to be an individual. Just as with generations of young people before him, he is paying the price for our freedom. Clean shaven and baby faced he may be, but be prepared to defend yourself if you treat him like a kid. He is the latest in a long thin line of British Fighting Men that have kept this country free for hundreds of years. He asks for nothing from us except our respect, friendship and understanding. We may not like what he does, but sometimes he doesn't like it either - he just has it to do.. Remember him always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have brave young women putting themselves in harm's way, doing their part in this tradition of going to war when our nation's politicians call on us to do so. Regards Tom
Tom, written by a civvie I suspect ... Did it say something like forward on to 10 people if you support our troops at the end ?
Andy, It was a chain type letter, but no mention of sending to 10 people, just to pass it on if you agreed. Regards Tom
Smudger the original said at the end "After you read this, please stop for a moment and if you are so inclined, feel free to say a prayer for our troops in the trouble spots of the world' i would then imagine it has morphed into a chain letter/email
LACHLAN Edwards, 15, had already rescued one man when he swam straight back into the rip at Point Impossible on the weekend to save a drowning woman. Brave teenager rescues one, then another Even though it mentions Torquay the web addy is Australian so it's a story from down under
Schoolboy footballers fined for choosing Remembrance Day service over match - Telegraph Spondon Rovers Under-14s, many of whom are Army cadets, had already agreed to attend the ceremony and parade on November 8th when, a few days before, one of their fixtures was re-arranged for the same day. The explained the situation and asked for the game to be moved, but officials at Derby City Football League fined them £25 and awarded their opponents, Gresley Utd, the three points. Spondon’s manager, Paul Eames, 41, said: “I find the decision absolutely disgusting. At the end of the day it was only a football match.” Boys can be better than 'grown ups.'
Za; That's simply incomprehensible! Breath taking! " Disgusting " ? I don't think I know a word that sums that situation up
If its anything like the kids football leagues I was involved in, the committee is probably made up of old boys in bad fitting suits who've never played a game of football in their life and are completely detached from reality
Wootton Bassett, with its population of 12,000, has been described by some newspapers as "the most patriotic town in Britain" but local people play down those kind of descriptions. They say they are only doing what any town would do if it was the first community military coffins would pass through. Ten years ago, they did not even have a war memorial here. It was local teenager Jai Cunningham who campaigned for one - and raised £30,000 to pay for it. It was envisaged to be a monument to past conflicts. She had no idea that the sandstone and brass structure would end up being the centrepiece for modern-day remembrance. "It was always my intention that it should be a focal point - and I suppose that's exactly what it is in repatriations," says Jai, who is now a youth worker in the town. BBC News - Wootton Bassett faces grim milestone
The C (Essex) Coy Bugler, playing Last Post at the recent memorial unveiling to the (Ww1) 13th Bn Essex Rgt, was the youngest lad deployed to Afghanistan (18 months ago, on their last tour.) He represented young British people very well indeed
That young lass in Wootton Bassett is another fine role model. Raised £30,000 for a war memorial? exactly the kind of person you want to be a youth worker
There are very many good youngsters helping society, but unfortunately without publicity. It appears to be the minority that receive all the publicity for all the wrong reasons. Regards Tom
Fusilier Christopher Smith, front, on his first patrol in Helmand. He joined up because he 'didn't want to sit around in Bolton smoking rollers in the park' First patrol in Afghanistan: teenager soldier swaps holiday for Helmand bomb peril - Times Online
Tom totally agree sometimes its always the minority who make it into the news for the wrong reasons regards Clive
For many teenagers, the events of the First and Second World Wars bear little relevance to their modern lives. But not so for 15-year-old Elly Crozier, who decided that too little was done at her school to remember the British men and women who lost their lives. Unimpressed after Whitley Bay High School let Remembrance Day pass almost unnoticed, the schoolgirl took it upon herself to lobby for a lasting memorial. Tribute: Elly Crozier organised ...... Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1225732/Teenager-creates-permanent-war-memorial-school-lets-Remembrance-Day-pass-unnoticed.html#ixzz0a2OlICRK
