some snips from Nick's diary

9 Nov
Massive news coverage about the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago. Not a dickie bird about the Apartheid Wall and the misery it makes every day on Palestine's West Bank.

10 Nov
Visit to Bradford to meet fellow convoy people. We are really encouraged by their “Yes we can !” attitude.

13 Nov
Visit with our ambulance to York Mosque. Inspiring sermon, honouring the contribution non-Muslims can make to a good cause. A staggering £2500 raised by collection outside. We have to leave all too soon to keep an appointment at Morrisons' HQ, Bradford: to demonstrate and meet management about their buying of goods produced in the illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

14 Nov
Professor Baroness Afshar cuts a ceremonial ribbon to open the ambulance doors just outside York Minster. It is a good photo opportunity. We are joined by a group of boys from the mosque, who are giving us all the money they have raised to buy goal-posts for their football club. We adults are up-staged - and we don't mind at all !

15 Nov
Street collection for Viva Palestina. Learned later that we raised another £900 !

18 Nov
Familiarising myself with the ambulance. Learning about all its technical systems, and thinking ahead to the day when it may be my job to explain all this to someone from Red Crescent who will be using it for real.

Sun 22 Nov
rest day. Walk down to the Millennium Bridge across the River Ouse which runs through York. We see it as a symbol of our venture. It's a beautiful structure, something we take pride in. And useful: cyclists, runners, walkers, dogs. From all we have learned about Gaza we know our convoy of supplies will be useful. Our bridge-building journey is also a fine thing to do, something more than a tally of nuts and bolts. We hope and pray that the people of Gaza won't need after this such extraordinary journeys. Let them export their produce and import what they need. Trade not aid. And absolutely not siege!