Adrian's Diary
July 29th 2011
Despite having lost a bit of time en-route and having got stopped by the police three times just yesterday, Stephen and Ronny Kimbell - plus huge truck - arrived safely in Comanesti this morning. Moments later Stephen was viciously attacked and bitten by something like a horse fly with the mouth the size of a crocodile! Thought it best to get his mind off the incident by letting him have a cup of fruit-flavoured tea and a biscuit at the Robert Cole Centre.
Fortunately, a group of 16 volunteers who had flown in to Bucharest yesterday afternoon and had then travelled to Casa Albert where they stayed overnight, accompanied by Steve Cooper and Beth Johnson of Cry in the Dark, came to help with the unloading in Comanesti this morning. I don't think the volunteers realised just how much cargo can be loaded in to a truck that has an interior much larger than its exterior - like Dr Who's TARDIS. However, they plus Simon Forrest and some of the personnel from the Robert Cole Centre, set to work and very efficiently got the provisions in to the allocated rooms at the Robert Cole Centre. Unfortunately, with clip-board in one hand and camera in the other, I wasn't able to help much (if at all) with any of the heavy lifting, shifting and moving of items. However I did manage to take some photos.
Stephen then drove the truck to Casa Lumina and very impressively and amazingly managed to manoeuvre it, in reverse, through a narrow gateway to the desired position where, after a short break and long wait for pizzas to arrive (which were very much appreciated and quickly consumed), more unloading of provisions commenced.
Some photos from today's events can be seen at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150242052952735.321445.530002734&l=095344253f&
Stephen, Ronny, Simon, Steve, Beth, the 16 volunteers and I are all due back at Casa Lumina tomorrow morning in order to finish off the rest of the unloading and then 140 very heavy sheets of fire-proof plasterboard are due to be delivered there and will also need to be unloaded from a truck. Where's my clipboard and camera?
Adrian's Diary - July 28th 2011
Thanks to Virginia and Louise Darley; Moira & David Whitlock; 11 students from UK 6th form collages; pupils from a school in nearby Moinesti; youngsters from Casa Lumina; the Pietricica homes; and Ovidiu Palade from the Robert Cole Centre and his mother; plus supervising adults; the Mayor of Moinesti and his PR & communications expert; as well as many others too, the circus came to Moinesti this afternoon. The show was exceptional - all participants were brilliant. It was a most enjoyable and fantastic event.
Some photos from the last eight days worth of preparation, plus some from the show itself can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150240385287735.320994.530002734&l=9688c11b1e& However, the actual performance was so very much better than any of the photos depict.
Well done to each and every person who made it such a wonderful experience for all who participated in this amazing integration project.
Adrian's Diary - Update July 20th 2011
Notes from February an E mail - 2005: The young man in question (Bogdan) is someone I met at the Robert Cole Centre on my very first trip over here. He was there having physiotherapy on his leg. Due, mainly in part to the pressures of High School, he's not been coming to the Centre for therapy for some time now.
I saw him just over a week ago and he was saying that he had to go to Bacau the following day to have his disability reassessed - something that has to be done each year. He was going to catch the 6:45am bus from Comanesti. As Sister Betty and I were going to visit the children in the AIDS unit of Bacau hospital the following day, we were able to give Bogdan (and his Aunt) a lift. We managed to finish the various things we'd got to do in Bacau before Bogdan had finished being assessed, so we waited for him and then brought him and his aunt back home to Comanesti. While they were there they had to go to various different places to pay taxes and have different documents produced and officially stamped and signed. When they got back to the consultant they were too late to be seen as the consultant had left for somewhere else. So the two of them had to return (by bus) a couple of days later. I do hope that they have resolved the problems. So much paperwork is necessary and it isn't always easy to find out exactly what's needed. Bogdan's aunt had gone with him because his mother is very unwell. (Liver problem I think, possibly cancer.)
As mentioned in my text message yesterday, the crutches that Bodgan has got came from England a number of years ago. He isn't able to get replacement ones over here so if you are able to track a pair down in the UK and have them sent over here for him, via the BHRG, I'm sure he'd be delighted. He certainly needs them. His family home and living conditions are far from good - being able to walk somewhat more comfortably on better crutches would at least make that part of his life that little bit better.
Who knows, if you were able to get him some new crutches, maybe you'd be able to borrow his old ones next time you fall over in the streets of Comanesti. That would save Elaine from having to bandage your ankle up again!
Seriously though, thanks very much indeed for your continued help, interest and support.
Good luck on the crutches hunt!
Adrian's Diary - July 20th 2011
A couple of months or so following the e-mail above, Sue Bagley sent over a lovely pair of crutches for Bogdan, which I delivered to him and shortly afterwards found out that he was using them for special occasions because of them being so good and so special.
Well, yesterday evening, while I was in the town with Cristina, Stefan and Adrian Miron, Bogdan saw us, came over and shook me warmly by the hand. I've always considered him to be an especially likeable and polite (but quite shy) lad. His right leg was in plaster, with a huge metal pin type thing attached to the outside of it. He was walking with crutches - not the ones Sue'd sent over - they'd worn out some years ago. He told us that he had been working in Bucharest for the Michelin tyre company for a while, but that since January of this year he'd undergone a number of further operations on his leg and has now recovered 9 of the 10 missing centimetres. He hopes that by next Spring he may be able to walk without crutches - for the first time in his life !
As mentioned in my e-mail, I first met Bogdan at the RCC (when he was just a little boy) on my very first trip to Romania when I came here with my sister, Dianne.
This is a photo that I took of him yesterday and I hope that one day I'll be able to take a photo of him when he no longer needs crutches.
Adrian's Diary - June 8th 2011
Celebration for the Queen's Birthday at the Embassy The trip to Bucharest went very well, albeit a very long drive there and back. Toni Shave accompanied me on both the journeys and to the Queen's birthday party celebrations too. I think it was well worth attending - not only for the steak & kidney; perch; shepherd's pie; fish & chips; tarts; ice-cream and birthday cake that we both enjoyed (although all of that did help!). The Deputy Ambassador to Romania tracked me down as she wanted to talk business with me. She remains interested in becoming Patron of the BHRG and may well visit again when she and her family go on a driving holiday around Romania this summer.
In addition to the British Ambassador giving an address at the celebratory event, Greg Hands MP for Chelsea and Fulham and Chairman of the All-Party UK-Romania Parliamentary Group spoke, as did Dr. Raed Arafat (Under-Secretary of State in the Romanian Ministry of Health and founder of SMURD "Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication").
The party included recognition of British companies' contribution to community projects in Romania and Toni and I were introduced to some dignitaries and spoke at length to the Ambassador's PA as well as to Programme Manager of F.R.O.D.O. (Foundation for the relief of disabled orphans) and Shajjad Rizvi (Founder & President of The Little People Association - a Romanian registered charity that works across the country in five childhood oncology centers).
I'm extremely grateful that Toni accompanied me to and from the event - even though her tyre-changing and car-pushing services weren't required.
The Deputy Ambassador would like to know more about the role of a Patron and so if you and/or any others have any suggestions that you'd like me to include when I write to her, please let me know.
Despite having lost a bit of time en-route and having got stopped by the police three times just yesterday, Stephen and Ronny Kimbell - plus huge truck - arrived safely in Comanesti this morning. Moments later Stephen was viciously attacked and bitten by something like a horse fly with the mouth the size of a crocodile! Thought it best to get his mind off the incident by letting him have a cup of fruit-flavoured tea and a biscuit at the Robert Cole Centre.
Fortunately, a group of 16 volunteers who had flown in to Bucharest yesterday afternoon and had then travelled to Casa Albert where they stayed overnight, accompanied by Steve Cooper and Beth Johnson of Cry in the Dark, came to help with the unloading in Comanesti this morning. I don't think the volunteers realised just how much cargo can be loaded in to a truck that has an interior much larger than its exterior - like Dr Who's TARDIS. However, they plus Simon Forrest and some of the personnel from the Robert Cole Centre, set to work and very efficiently got the provisions in to the allocated rooms at the Robert Cole Centre. Unfortunately, with clip-board in one hand and camera in the other, I wasn't able to help much (if at all) with any of the heavy lifting, shifting and moving of items. However I did manage to take some photos.
Stephen then drove the truck to Casa Lumina and very impressively and amazingly managed to manoeuvre it, in reverse, through a narrow gateway to the desired position where, after a short break and long wait for pizzas to arrive (which were very much appreciated and quickly consumed), more unloading of provisions commenced.
Some photos from today's events can be seen at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150242052952735.321445.530002734&l=095344253f&
Stephen, Ronny, Simon, Steve, Beth, the 16 volunteers and I are all due back at Casa Lumina tomorrow morning in order to finish off the rest of the unloading and then 140 very heavy sheets of fire-proof plasterboard are due to be delivered there and will also need to be unloaded from a truck. Where's my clipboard and camera?
Adrian's Diary - July 28th 2011
Thanks to Virginia and Louise Darley; Moira & David Whitlock; 11 students from UK 6th form collages; pupils from a school in nearby Moinesti; youngsters from Casa Lumina; the Pietricica homes; and Ovidiu Palade from the Robert Cole Centre and his mother; plus supervising adults; the Mayor of Moinesti and his PR & communications expert; as well as many others too, the circus came to Moinesti this afternoon. The show was exceptional - all participants were brilliant. It was a most enjoyable and fantastic event.
Some photos from the last eight days worth of preparation, plus some from the show itself can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150240385287735.320994.530002734&l=9688c11b1e& However, the actual performance was so very much better than any of the photos depict.
Well done to each and every person who made it such a wonderful experience for all who participated in this amazing integration project.
Adrian's Diary - Update July 20th 2011
Notes from February an E mail - 2005: The young man in question (Bogdan) is someone I met at the Robert Cole Centre on my very first trip over here. He was there having physiotherapy on his leg. Due, mainly in part to the pressures of High School, he's not been coming to the Centre for therapy for some time now.
I saw him just over a week ago and he was saying that he had to go to Bacau the following day to have his disability reassessed - something that has to be done each year. He was going to catch the 6:45am bus from Comanesti. As Sister Betty and I were going to visit the children in the AIDS unit of Bacau hospital the following day, we were able to give Bogdan (and his Aunt) a lift. We managed to finish the various things we'd got to do in Bacau before Bogdan had finished being assessed, so we waited for him and then brought him and his aunt back home to Comanesti. While they were there they had to go to various different places to pay taxes and have different documents produced and officially stamped and signed. When they got back to the consultant they were too late to be seen as the consultant had left for somewhere else. So the two of them had to return (by bus) a couple of days later. I do hope that they have resolved the problems. So much paperwork is necessary and it isn't always easy to find out exactly what's needed. Bogdan's aunt had gone with him because his mother is very unwell. (Liver problem I think, possibly cancer.)
As mentioned in my text message yesterday, the crutches that Bodgan has got came from England a number of years ago. He isn't able to get replacement ones over here so if you are able to track a pair down in the UK and have them sent over here for him, via the BHRG, I'm sure he'd be delighted. He certainly needs them. His family home and living conditions are far from good - being able to walk somewhat more comfortably on better crutches would at least make that part of his life that little bit better.
Who knows, if you were able to get him some new crutches, maybe you'd be able to borrow his old ones next time you fall over in the streets of Comanesti. That would save Elaine from having to bandage your ankle up again!
Seriously though, thanks very much indeed for your continued help, interest and support.
Good luck on the crutches hunt!
Adrian's Diary - July 20th 2011
A couple of months or so following the e-mail above, Sue Bagley sent over a lovely pair of crutches for Bogdan, which I delivered to him and shortly afterwards found out that he was using them for special occasions because of them being so good and so special.
Well, yesterday evening, while I was in the town with Cristina, Stefan and Adrian Miron, Bogdan saw us, came over and shook me warmly by the hand. I've always considered him to be an especially likeable and polite (but quite shy) lad. His right leg was in plaster, with a huge metal pin type thing attached to the outside of it. He was walking with crutches - not the ones Sue'd sent over - they'd worn out some years ago. He told us that he had been working in Bucharest for the Michelin tyre company for a while, but that since January of this year he'd undergone a number of further operations on his leg and has now recovered 9 of the 10 missing centimetres. He hopes that by next Spring he may be able to walk without crutches - for the first time in his life !
As mentioned in my e-mail, I first met Bogdan at the RCC (when he was just a little boy) on my very first trip to Romania when I came here with my sister, Dianne.
This is a photo that I took of him yesterday and I hope that one day I'll be able to take a photo of him when he no longer needs crutches.
Adrian's Diary - June 8th 2011
Celebration for the Queen's Birthday at the Embassy The trip to Bucharest went very well, albeit a very long drive there and back. Toni Shave accompanied me on both the journeys and to the Queen's birthday party celebrations too. I think it was well worth attending - not only for the steak & kidney; perch; shepherd's pie; fish & chips; tarts; ice-cream and birthday cake that we both enjoyed (although all of that did help!). The Deputy Ambassador to Romania tracked me down as she wanted to talk business with me. She remains interested in becoming Patron of the BHRG and may well visit again when she and her family go on a driving holiday around Romania this summer.
In addition to the British Ambassador giving an address at the celebratory event, Greg Hands MP for Chelsea and Fulham and Chairman of the All-Party UK-Romania Parliamentary Group spoke, as did Dr. Raed Arafat (Under-Secretary of State in the Romanian Ministry of Health and founder of SMURD "Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication").
The party included recognition of British companies' contribution to community projects in Romania and Toni and I were introduced to some dignitaries and spoke at length to the Ambassador's PA as well as to Programme Manager of F.R.O.D.O. (Foundation for the relief of disabled orphans) and Shajjad Rizvi (Founder & President of The Little People Association - a Romanian registered charity that works across the country in five childhood oncology centers).
I'm extremely grateful that Toni accompanied me to and from the event - even though her tyre-changing and car-pushing services weren't required.
The Deputy Ambassador would like to know more about the role of a Patron and so if you and/or any others have any suggestions that you'd like me to include when I write to her, please let me know.
