Realising what youve got/ Info on donating please read

27 Dec 2004

I am sat here feeling so very forunate biggrin

.I have had an amazing Christmas biggrin

spent with my family feeling very happy and much loved,it makes you realise what youve ickle thanks to Steve for the beautiful watch and braclet he got me passionkiss

.I really am a lucky woman :smile2:
There was us all loved up and happy,but maoning because it was snowing everywhere but here and we get up on boxing day to the news of the earthquake and tidal wave that has now killed up to 16,000 people around the Indian really puts things into perspective.
So from me and Steve and all of us here we wish you all the health and happiness in the world for we send a prayer out to the unfortunate souls caught up in the disaster.
Clare and Stevexxxx

27 Dec 2004

hi clare and steve
yes same wishes from us we had a great xmas
still thoughts for the needy after the disaster why does it happen this time of the year ?
sad

jakyxxxx

27 Dec 2004

Realising what you've got before it's too late !!
That's the secret. :doh:
I do not wish to bore you all but here is a little bit of life advice...... rolleyes

Live for today because you never really know what's around the corner !!
Go and do it !! Otherwise you may not have the chance again, ever !!
Do it while you still can !! Old age catches up with you !! ( quickly !! )
Right enough of that business.
Merry Xmas and a prosperous New Year to all !! drinkies

Dan

27 Dec 2004

I said to my parents on Christmas Day... "don't put the bloody news on, because something awful is bound to have happened somewhere". So OK, I was a few hours early, but there have been some really terrible disasters at or near Christmas over the years!!!
Just saw part of the news last night, & it was clearly a really bad day for many people in that part of the world. sad

27 Dec 2004

I have a close relative who is on holiday in Thailand at the moment. Luckily I got a text message from them saying they hadn't been affected by it before I saw the news coverage. Would have been terrified otherwise. I know other people won't be so lucky sad

27 Dec 2004

ive got all i need a sexy beautiful woman whom i love and a gourgeous 2yr son,presents and other material things this xmas are irrelevent as i feel fortunate to have them.

27 Dec 2004

Well put Clare n Steve,
Just had a 2 hour hug with my wife, what more can you ask for...

27 Dec 2004

If anyone wants to, donations are being taken by the Red Cross

27 Dec 2004

I got very emotional watching some of the footage shown on the news today, it really hit me when I saw a family happily spending time together on the beach then suddenly the wave just appeared from nowhere and swept over them, that was really shocking. My thoughts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy and I hope the powers that be can send as much money to help them as they spend on fighting wars evil

28 Dec 2004

My parents got caught in the tsunami but luckily managed to scramble out of the water onto a hill with just a few cuts and bruises. Spent all day yesterday trying to get through to the foreign office emergency line but luckily they managed to borrow a mobile and send a text to let me know they were still alive.

28 Dec 2004

Hi folks
As some of you know I'm out in Thailand now.
The main effect areas are on the West Coast and all the small island and fishing villages along the West Coast, as I'm sure you will have seen on the news the devistation on these fcoast lines is very bad.
Luckly I'm on the east side and knew nothing of this until I recieved a txt message from someone on this site asking me urgently to txt them and say I was Ok.
Like the rest of you my thoughts are with those caught up in the aftermarth of this and it does make you relise what you do have in life and to be grateful for it.

28 Dec 2004

We are lucky .God help all those poor souls! Glad to here so many of you are lucky in other ways and appreciate it. Awrabest....Paul wink

28 Dec 2004

I dont know anyone else out there, but was relived to hear you were okay too Sarah, i didnt know where in Thailand u were in relation to the devastation. Glad to hear back that you were okay :shock:
Cant get it through my head the number of people killed, huge, vast numbers. Wish i had the money and freedom to fly out there to help in some way....

28 Dec 2004

Sarah, I would like to say that it is good to hear that you are well. I have a mate that is out in malasia at the moment and I still havent heard from him.
I just hope and pray that he is well.
Mike

29 Dec 2004

Quote by MikeC
Sarah, I would like to say that it is good to hear that you are well. I have a mate that is out in malasia at the moment and I still havent heard from him.
I just hope and pray that he is well.
Mike

Mike,
Hang in there, in some places communications are still down, relief agencies still have not got to some places, the news and news pictures are awful.
But I hope your friends are ok
Sarah xx

30 Dec 2004

Last night i sat and watched the special news program on the events that had happened.
One scene had me horrified,a couple carrying theyre dead children to be some places there is more dead bodies lying around than there is lthe living,it is today as i cant afford to donate in monatary terms right now i can bag up some things to take down to oxfam where hopefully they will make some money.
If something isnt done and quickly it is said that as many people could die from diseases as actually died from the Tsunami itself.
Even if its just something small then we can all help in our own little ways here is some info that i got from the Oxfam website where you can donate......
Unfortunately i am not allow to post the phone numbers etc for donating as it is against site rules,but you can click on the link to donate.
where you can donate online and there is a number you can call to donate or even an address where you can post cheques to.
Give it a go,even if its just a few quid or some old clothes or cristmas pressies that you dont want it can all help.

30 Dec 2004

I will probably get flamed to death for what I am about to write but I was so angered by what I saw this morning....
Firstly I understand that what has happened it such a major catastrophy and I feel for those who were involved and for those who have been berived(sp?)
What annoyed me intensley was the headlines in one daily newspaper today....
Britain has pleged Â£15 million ifor the striken areas yet the press have taken it upon themsleves to tell us that this is not enough :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:
Hang on a minute.....
How many thousands of children/families are living well below the so called poverty line in this country confused

:
How many times each day do you see the NSPCC advertising for 2 or 3 pounds and month to help them fight child abuse confused

:
I'm sorry but Â£15 million is not an amount to be sniffed at and will do a lot of good if used correctly...
Its high time we also started looking closer to home and try to sort some of our own problems as well..

30 Dec 2004

Quote by steve-shireen
I will probably get flamed to death for what I am about to write but I was so angered by what I saw this morning....
Firstly I understand that what has happened it such a major catastrophy and I feel for those who were involved and for those who have been berived(sp?)
What annoyed me intensley was the headlines in one daily newspaper today....
Britain has pleged Â£15 million ifor the striken areas yet the press have taken it upon themsleves to tell us that this is not enough :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:
Hang on a minute.....
How many thousands of children/families are living well below the so called poverty line in this country : : :
How many times each day do you see the NSPCC advertising for 2 or 3 pounds and month to help them fight child abuse : : :
I'm sorry but Â£15 million is not an amount to be sniffed at and will do a lot of good if used correctly...
Its high time we also started looking closer to home and try to sort some of our own problems as well..

Ok good point,but if these people dont get aid and now they will are some of the poorest people in the world and now they literally have nothing.

30 Dec 2004

Quote by Clare_Lincs
I will probably get flamed to death for what I am about to write but I was so angered by what I saw this morning....
Firstly I understand that what has happened it such a major catastrophy and I feel for those who were involved and for those who have been berived(sp?)
What annoyed me intensley was the headlines in one daily newspaper today....
Britain has pleged Â£15 million ifor the striken areas yet the press have taken it upon themsleves to tell us that this is not enough :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:
Hang on a minute.....
How many thousands of children/families are living well below the so called poverty line in this country : : :
How many times each day do you see the NSPCC advertising for 2 or 3 pounds and month to help them fight child abuse : : :
I'm sorry but Â£15 million is not an amount to be sniffed at and will do a lot of good if used correctly...
Its high time we also started looking closer to home and try to sort some of our own problems as well..

Ok good point,but if these people dont get aid and now they will are some of the poorest people in the world and now they literally have nothing.
So do many thousands of people living rough in this country...
Ok..........
Some of them are there and could have avoided it unlike those in the disaster area at present but many have no choice and little or nothing is done for them..

30 Dec 2004

Quote by steve-shireen
So do many thousands of people living rough in this country...
Ok..........
Some of them are there and could have avoided it unlike those in the disaster area at present but many have no choice and little or nothing is done for them..

I completely agree,but they are at least alive these peoples lives depend on that money and thats whats important right now.

30 Dec 2004

To put Â£15 million in perspective:
If it costs, say, Â£1500 for a fortnight in the Maldives, 10,000 tourists, only 40 planeloads, would pay that. How many people from this country have been to the holiday resorts around the Indian Ocean? How much is it costing to airlift holiday makers out of the disaster area? How many medical resources etc are being used by foreign tourists out there now?
With a population of approximately 60 million in the UK, Â£15 million works out at about 25p each or 1/4 of a McFlurry.
The scenes on television last night of bodies being dumped from trucks and levelled by JCB makes me quite willing to give more than a Happy Meal.

30 Dec 2004

Quote by northwest-cpl
To put Â£15 million in perspective:
If it costs, say, Â£1500 for a fortnight in the Maldives, 10,000 tourists, only 40 planeloads, would pay that. How many people from this country have been to the holiday resorts around the Indian Ocean? How much is it costing to airlift holiday makers out of the disaster area? How many medical resources etc are being used by foreign tourists out there now?
With a population of approximately 60 million in the UK, Â£15 million works out at about 25p each or 1/4 of a McFlurry.
The scenes on television last night of bodies being dumped from trucks and levelled by JCB makes me quite willing to give more than a Happy Meal.

are flying supplies over and using the aircraft to bring people back in so that theyre not wasting anything.
Seeing that family carrying theyre dead children to be buried seriously hit a nerve with made me think of my two and i know damn well that if it were us in that situation id sure as hell want help,no want isnt the right word here,need

30 Dec 2004

I am sure everyone on here feels the same about this tragic disaster, Northwest-cpl are absolutely right, Â£15M works out to less than 25p/head, in this country. America generates 25% of the worlds wealth. Their Â£15M works out to less than 5p/head! Whilst we wait for our and other governments to get real, people are dying for lack of the basic commodities of life. We can make a difference, but your money is needed NOW!
Go to and give whatever you can.

30 Dec 2004

Steve and Shireen, I have to say I thought exactly the same thing when I read that particular bit of news. My first thought was, if they can spare Â£15 million just like that, why are there so may people here who need help - children, old people to name but a couple of the groups affected. I do have a lot of sympathy for the people in the areas of the world affected by the tragedy, but maybe some of the 'spare' money could be put to use here?

30 Dec 2004

Quote by northwest-cpl
To put Â£15 million in perspective:
If it costs, say, Â£1500 for a fortnight in the Maldives, 10,000 tourists, only 40 planeloads, would pay that. How many people from this country have been to the holiday resorts around the Indian Ocean? How much is it costing to airlift holiday makers out of the disaster area? How many medical resources etc are being used by foreign tourists out there now?
With a population of approximately 60 million in the UK, Â£15 million works out at about 25p each or 1/4 of a McFlurry.
The scenes on television last night of bodies being dumped from trucks and levelled by JCB makes me quite willing to give more than a Happy Meal.

Well said, Northwest-cpl & Clare_Lincs.
It saddens me that when we see scenes like we do on the news every night, some people can still express the incredibly selfish view that "charity begins at home". I'm sure that those suffering incredible hardship in south-east Asia at the moment would much prefer to swap places with someone living in the UK, who is in receipt of charitable aid. To have access to free, good quality healthcare, benefit from the help given by emergency services, & the welfare state, are clearly benefits that would be appreciated by people in those countries at any time, but particularly now.
However, I also have good news for those among us who believe that charity begns at home. Ever since the first financial "aid" was given by a rich country to a poor country many years ago, there has always been more money flowing from the poor country back to the rich country. This is because most government-donated aid is "tied" to purchasing equipment, supplies & services from the donating country. Gradually this view has begun to shift in favour of aid that is not tied, & the UK's 15 million is likely to be untied, but its still something of a money spinner because it shows the UK in a favourable light in the receiving countries. So rest assured, when the sums are finally done, that 15 million will earn the UK some money in return.
The benefit of giving to charities such as Oxfam, Unicef etc is that the aid has always been untied, & has therefore been of much more use over the past decades than aid from governments.
However I have good news

30 Dec 2004

Oh well that's a relief HungryP, I regularly donate both money and goods to charities such as Oxfam and Christian Aid, so I must be in some way benefitting the people now affected. I don't think that any act of charity should be seen as selfish, whether it's for far away or 'at home', so I wouldn't consider my attitude to be selfish, but hey ho confused

30 Dec 2004

Well ive managed to fill 5 binbags of stuff and i havet even made a dent in the junk we have and old kids clothes etc!!! :shock:

30 Dec 2004

So Steve has no clothes now then ? :twisted:
Any excuse to have him walking around naked for your pleasure you rude girl lol

30 Dec 2004

Quote by freckledbird
Steve and Shireen, I have to say I thought exactly the same thing when I read that particular bit of news. My first thought was, if they can spare Â£15 million just like that, why are there so may people here who need help - children, old people to name but a couple of the groups affected. I do have a lot of sympathy for the people in the areas of the world affected by the tragedy, but maybe some of the 'spare' money could be put to use here?

I agree that more should be done for the problems "at home". Not enough money has been spent on the welfare of our poor since the Thatcher years.
But that doesn't alter the fact that Â£15 million is a paltry sum to be offered by the people of this wealthy nation via our government. I am certain that this sum will be at least matched by charitable donations from individuals but that does not detract from the fact that our government is not doing enough.
Unlike famines that may have roots that money cannot alter eg civil war, this disaster can be readily remedied by money. The infrastructure of these countries are mostly intact, what is needed is the donation of basics like water, food, medicines and shelter, either in kind or as cash to purchase them, to keep people alive until they can begin to rebuild their lives.

30 Dec 2004

Quote by freckledbird
So Steve has no clothes now then ? :twisted:
Any excuse to have him walking around naked for your pleasure you rude girl

No actually just old books and shoes and my old clothes not a scrap of Steves stuff actually!!
Talking about charity at home,i read in the paper the other day that they had reopened the millenium dome to let in 15,000 homeless people in for shelter,but theyre only doing it over christmas and they are to be kicked out again onto the streets wheres the sense in that?Why not just keep it open all year round??

Are you sure?