Hi friends,

For those who have shared time with me in this last turn around the sun you know this day is one of mixed emotions. This date commemorates another year of gratitude for life. But with that gratitude comes the pain of a glaring absence of a key figure. It’s an uncomfortable feeling when a birthday and a death day coincide. I want to celebrate with friends and express appreciation for their unwavering kindness and unfiltered joy. At the same time a cloud of grief is there.

As I have done for the past few years I am again asking friends to consider contributing money to a charity of my choosing. In trying to acknowledge the complexity of this day I’ll be dedicating this to one to my Dad.

As a man who had such an affinity to the sea he made a career of it, I looked to those that sought to protect those from its harsher conditions. One of the things I have missed most this past year has been having a true confidant who would listen to my concerns and worries of the world around us and someone to discuss (or more often heatedly debate) what we should be doing. Hence, I searched for an organisation in whose cause assists those affected by conflict and disaster.

Search and Rescue Relief is a UK based organisation that supports non-governmental organisations and civil rescue groups that are working to save lives and prevent drowning. Their operations have sought to provide humanitarian relief to vulnerable persons as they are forced to travel across the Channel and other sea routes to safety. You can find out more about them through this link.

This charity’s purpose is closely tied to the wider narrative in the UK on displacement and human rights. I would ask you to read up and speak out about the threat to life faced by those seeking asylum in the UK due to problematic policy directives. A few pieces of reading material are listed below.

Amnesty International: Nationality Borders Bill Truth Behind Claims

British coastguard blocks a former RNLI lifeboat from rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean

UK agrees to launch full inquiry into drowning of 27 people in Channel

Court Ruling Halts Deportation of Asylum Seekers from Britain to Rwanda

I would appreciate if your kind thoughts on this day could also be shared through donation. Happy birthday to me and thank you 🙏