appetite for destruction

Permit me a short rant.

Lovers of Patrick: The Movie will remember the Patmobile - which, R plates and all, was in fact the Ford Escort Osprey I inherited from the Old Man (he of 60's public indency fame). It was clapped out, it had 235,000 on the clock, and after the water pump went it sat in my mother's yard for a year. As she prepared to up sticks last October, the end was nigh.

So I found a local breaker, and send it off for destruction. I asked if I needed to do notify anyone, and was assured it was all in hand. And, I'll admit, I left it at that.

But apparently, I should have notified the DVA of such things. Which makes sense when you think about it, but I did not. I guess in the same way that, upon buying a car, the new possessor is obliged to fill out the page in the log book and send if off, I assumed that the folks who took the Escort away would do the same. They did not.

And may I add - completing an Out Of Court Settlement with a Visa Debit card just seems wrong.

thank you for giving

Over the weekend, Mrs H and myself finally managed to organise a particularly special delivery.

Upon getting hitched nearly three months ago, we had decided to nominate a particular cause, rather than setting a wedding list. The cause in question was SIM's (Serving In Mission) Hospital in Galmi, Niger, where Ruth had served as an STA in 2008 and 2009. A quick refresher of a few of Niger facts:

- Niger is in central West Africa;
- It is the third least developed country in the world;
- Its main (and frequently, only) export is uranium;
- It is about twice the size of the US state of Texas, is 88% desert;
- it has a recent history of civil war and insurrection.

Fun times. But despite all of that, Ruth found Niger an truly wonderful and awesome place. As is often the case, behind a few hairy facts lies a welcoming, if harsh, place. In particular, the rural (i.e. it's in the desert) hospital at Galmi is crucial in many ways. For a huge swathe of the country it offers the only real medical support, particularly for any kind of specialist care. Moreover, as a hospital with a strongly Christian ethos, it can provide a level of compassionate care the few others can ill afford, and is able to bring in international doctors to help out.

But to the golden envelope. The point of this post is to say that thanks to the overwhelmingly generous donations of family and friends to mark our wedding, we have been able to give in excess of £2000 directly to Galmi. A fantastic total from some fantastic people, and we would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all who gave in any way.

So thank you for giving.