One way to spend a Friday      by Milly Adams

Him indoors and I had  returned from Krakow with the grandchildren on Thursday evening but desperately wanted to make it to the rally at Parliament Square in support of Sgt A Blackman, so leapt onto a train the next morning, and then dashed down Whitehall, following the river of green and red berets as ex-marines, ex servicemen and supporters like us, rushed along, pitching, up, just in time.

In time for what? Sgt Alexander Blackman was jailed for life in 2011 for killing a Taliban Insurgent in Afghanistan. His appeal lawyers, originally alerted by Frederick Forsyth to what he felt was an injustice, argue he should have been convicted – at worst – only of manslaughter.

It transpires that Forsyth paid for the initial assessment, since when funds have been raised by the public to pay for legal support, with strong help from the Daily Mail. Without exception, the speakers were excellent but in particular, Jonathan Goldberg, the QC who is  leading  the appeal team, shone as he explained succinctly and clearly the  8 points on which he feels that if there is any justice, the verdict of guilty of murder should be overturned.

He explained that had these points been made at  the original trial,  a verdict of manslaughter –  at worst – instead of murder, should have been brought in. In January 2016 the CCRC decided Sgt Blackman’s case was worthy of the highest level of priority for consideration at the Court of Appeal. Since then, it has suffered what Richard Drax MP called – from the podium –  outrageous delays.

The demeanour of the ex and current soldiers, including I was delighted to see, Gurkhas, was dignified, as they were directed to stand easy behind the hollow square by the Sgt Major, or so I presume he was – as his voice carried without trouble.  Before the proceedings began, a cavalcade of bikers arrived, some ex-Marines I believe, and some supporters.

I was talking to an ex serviceman  who told me the conditions under which Sgt Blackman and his men had been operating in Afghanistan. He also told me of the body parts of killed Marines which are routinely strung as trophies in the branches of trees by insurgents, and the horrific tortures captured Marines endured. War is a grim and dirty business, one that our military performs to the best of its ability, in spite of its ever criminally decreasing strength, if you look at the destabilisation of the balance of world power. It is the most professional army in being, the best disciplined, the most loyal, but they must truly wonder why they bother.

I am a supporter of Words for the Wounded, founded by saga author Margaret Graham, and at WforW we know exactly the toll paid by our soldiers for their role. A role in which the reward seems to be too often that of a  scapegoat, or egrigious hounding by legally aided lawyers on the  Ihat trail. That particular issue is far from over.

The press and TV were there in force but whether it will get through the editors’ beady eyes is another matter. No one expected it to be mentioned on the BBC or Sky news.

It was inspirational, and I felt proud of our military in all its forms, as Margaret Graham did when she was ‘In Conversation’ with General Sir Richard Shirreff at the Yeovil Literary Festival. Richard Shirreff  agreed that our military is the best in the world.

The Marine Corps motto is “always faithful,” (Semper Fidelis). It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no matter what. I’m struggling to believe the country deserves that level of commitment anymore. Sgt Blackman certainly does, as does the Marine Corps.

Good luck to them all, especially Mrs Blackman, exemplary in her dignity,  and my thanks for reminding us of what is important.

Milly Adams: author of Sisters at War pb £5.99

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

www.justiceformarinea.com

I like a good pantomime myself, but I know many would prefer this:

Muted – A New British Musical

The Bunker, 53A Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU

Wednesday 7th December 2016 – Saturday 7th January 2017

Interval Productions present new musical Muted, described by Stephen Fry as ‘stunning’ and Mark Shenton (The Stage) as the British equivalent to Rent. Written by Sarah Henley, with music and lyrics by Tim Prottey-Jones (Once, Phoenix Theatre; Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre; finalist on ITV’s Superstar) and Tori Allen-Martin, Muted is a story of grief, guilt, self-discovery, forgiveness and the thing we can’t do without – love.

Muted tells the story of teenager Michael Brookman, an exceptional singer whose band is on the brink of stardom. However, after the sudden death of his mother in a hit and run accident, Michael quits the band and stops speaking entirely. Three years on, Michael still hasn’t uttered a word and those around him have no idea what to do. Jake, Michael’s former band mate, is trying to hold everything together as the band’s shot at the big time comes along. But there’s a catch: the record label wants Michael back as the band’s frontman. Lauren, Michael’s ex- girlfriend who is now in a relationship with Jake, attempts to bring Michael back from the edge. In doing so, long-forgotten feelings are unearthed and uncomfortable truths force their way into the opening. Perhaps some cracks are just too big to paper over.

Tickets are available priced £22.50 (£18.50 concessions) Previews are priced at £14
Ten £10 tickets are available at each performance for under 25s Available from http://bunkertheatre.com/ and 0207 234 0486.

Ageing is at the forefront of much discussion these days. We all have the potential to live a long time, but will we do it ‘well’?

This book discusses the issue, and makes suggestions as to how, and what we should be doing. It is suitable for – well, I’m not sure, but groups of some sort, certainly for professionals. Either way it is an interesting read, if you have time out of your active ‘third age’ doings. It presents a collection of studies focusing on the effectiveness of different methods that promote an active lifestyle among communities and older people in general.

The contributions draw upon qualitative and quantitative paradigms that have ‘active ageing’ at the core of their investigations. The book imparts knowledge about recent advances in physical activity, recreation and wellbeing initiatives that will benefit the academic community and the wider public.

It will also dispel myths about ageing and physical activity, ‘trouble’ popular notions of ageing, and present different intervention strategies and approaches that will serve to improve older peoples’ lives and develop an understanding of active and healthy ageing.

It seems to me that ageing is something that increasingly by-passes the ‘third agers’. Many are too busy doing other things to worry much about it, even into their eighties. If my friends aren’t cycling  for charity, and/or learning to tango, or starting writing careers, trotting off on demonstrations or whatever, they are swanning off on a low cost walking holidays, or joining U3A for a totally reasonable fee and making use of their free courses including archery, croquet, walking. Use it, or lose it, or so I think this book is saying. For those less mobile, the book highlights options.

A fascinating project, and timely. I enjoyed it, and learned from it.

  Editor(s): Barbara Humberstone, Maria Konstantaki

Contributors: Sue Stuart, Ray Batchelor, Melanie Parris, Maria Konstantaki, Jonathan Lewis, Jay Patel, Fiona McCormack,

ISBN-13: 978-1-4438-9104-2 ISBN-10: 1-4438-9104-5

HB: £47.99