Some Other Stuff I did in 2015

Rome for Xmas

The Great War; a call from the trenches; the University of Aberdeen -  6 November  and;

Survival in Solitude an Interview with Terry Waite by Professor Anne Glover of the University of Aberdeen -  16 November

If one looks around it is possible to find some truly high quality free nights out.  These 2 events in November were held at  the University of Aberdeen .  The 1^st as part of the University’s ongoing  events programme ( https://www.abdn.ac.uk/events/index.php ) and the second as part of the multi-University ‘Being Human’ Festival of the humanities ( http://beinghumanfestival.org/ ).

In ‘The Great War; a call from the trenches’, Professor Steve Heys (narrating), Tom Scotland (performing poetry from memory) and the Chamber Choir of Robert Gordon's College described the war on the Western Front through  the poetry and diaries of Siegfried Sassoon and the poetry and letters of Wilfred Owen. The Robert Gordon's Chamber Choir added emotion to the presentation with WW1 songs chosen to complement the poetry and to reflect the mood of the times.  By the end of the evening it was impossible not to have tears in one’s eyes.  My only note of caution would be that the presentation showed very much presenting the ‘Poet’s view’ of the war  that is now being brought into question as too simplistic and sentimental (Blackadder-like) a view of the conflict.  Having shown  that the war in the trenches was truly awful, and it was, it should be remembered that Owen died not in the trenches but in the last days of the war during the great advance towards Germany once the stalemate had been broken.

In ‘Survival in Solitude’ Terry Waite,  who spent almost five years in total solitary confinement after being captured by Hezbollah while he was in Lebanon trying to secure the release of British hostage John McCarthy and other western captives, was interviewed expertly by Professor Glover.  In this fascinating interview, Terry Waite spoke about how he kept his humanity under the toughest of conditions, including during mock executions.  In particular, Terry showed a huge sense of humour and even spoke of seeing humour in the sometimes awful situations he faced. 

Terry also talked about how he was able to draw positives from his captivity stating that although he would have preferred not to have been captured that he does not regret it – it is now part of what makes him who he is and he certainly came across as someone comfortable in his own being. Since his release, Terry has founded Hostage UK, an organisation designed to give support to hostages and their families.  He talked briefly about this at the Q and A at the end of the interview and it would probably come as a surprise to most just how many people are being held as hostages across the world.

At one point during his captivity, Waite had eschewed the opportunity to escape after a guard had left his AK47 unattended.  Waite had considered using the weapon but chose not to as ‘a man working for peace’ he considered that it would have been counter-productive, if not hypocritical, to have used the weapon on his guards.  Instead he told them of their error.  In the Q &A he was asked for his opinion regarding the UK’s response to IS.  Tellingly this man of peace was categorical in stating that military force would be needed to deal with this abomination of Islam.  Jeremy Corbyn should take note!

It is now a quarter of a century since Terry was captured.  The man that has emerged from those 25 years and who sat in front of this audience was witty, urbane, humane and most importantly at peace with his past.

Prague in July