Heroes don't need capes

Donations are still coming in, but we have also had this request from someone that is in Ukraine now, so if anyone could help we would be grateful.
Thanks.

This one is the right way up!

The Go fund me link for anyone who might like to donate (thank you so much)

https://www.gofundme.com/f/blue-van-ukraine-appeal

Blue van Ukraine Appeal, organized by Stephen Mowlam We are a group of Dorset people who have been taking aid to the Ukraine people, via your gener… Stephen Mowlam needs your support for Blue van Ukraine Appeal

Some of the donations which have been coming in during the past few days. There’s still room for more!

Here’s some of our donated dog food with it’s grateful recipient

We have had some great donations in the past few days, including a very generous monetary donation from a lady in Oregan, USA, who has been following our journey from the start - this is her 2nd donation, thank you, and thanks to anyone who has contributed anything.

I would like to share our go fund me page for anyone who may like to donate any amount. We are grateful for anything.

www.gofundme.com/Blue-van-Ukraine-appeal

Good afternoon everyone 😊
We have managed to raise enough money, via jumble sales (thanks Tina and Jan) and a karaoke night, thanks to the Duke of Albany & their customers, and a couple of Masonic donations, enabling us to be in a position to fund 2 vans to travel to Ukraine before Christmas, which is brilliant news, thanks to all involved.
We are looking at going at the beginning of December if we can fill the vans with donations before then. That’s a big IF! People here have come up trumps before so we are hopeful.
These are items needed, and requested by our Ukrainian friends, so if anyone can help with any of these, we would be eternally grateful.

💛 Medical supplies. This can be any kind of medication, bandages, dressings etc, opened or not, in or out of date.
💙 Mobility aids. Crutches, rollators, walking sticks, supports etc.
💛 Toiletry and sanitary products, all ages, all kinds.
💙 Hygeine products.
💛 Nappies, baby food, milk and products.
💙 Water purification tablets.
💛 Mini gas canisters.
💙 Candles, used or unused. They will be melted down to make ‘trench candles, to be used for warmth & light on the front line.
💛 Sleeping bags and mats. Thermal blankets.
💙 Small, working electrical appliances.
💛 Dog and cat food.
💙 Pots and pans.
💛 Waterproof coats, ponchos, trousers etc.
💙 Winter coats, all ages, all sizes.
💛Quality mens socks.
💙 Children’s winter clothes, all kinds, from birth to teenage.
💛 Wellington boots, adults especially.
💙 Longlife food.

💛Any other good quality clothing will be used to sell In jumble sales, the proceeds of which will be donated here.

Many, many thanks in anticipation.

Contact us on here, or Steve on 07739 126057 or Chris 07764 466285

Just to say both vans got safely home in the early hours, slightly delayed due to roadworks.
They had a successful trip and the Ukrainians were very grateful for all the donations taken over. So again, a huge thank you to anyone who has contributed.

For anyone who is still following, Steve, Trev, Dave and Martin have travelled up through Poland, into Germany (uneventfully thank goodness!) which was a long days driving. They are now in Bad Nenndorf, where they are resting and watching the dial of the rugby World Cup.
Tomorrow is a relatively short day (approximately three hours) driving to the ferry at the Hook of Holland to Harwich, then hopefully home about midnight on Sunday.
Another successful trip and really good to re kindle friendships in Ukraine 🇺🇦
Sorry, no photos.

They have now left Ukraine, a different situation at the border with hardly any waiting, although Steve & Trev were told to eat all their fruit before entering Poland - they ended up hiding it!

The empty trailers were collected from the farm in Poland & put inside the vans for the journey home.

But things never go exactly as planned and apparently both vans were caught by a speed camera when going through a village, and as they exited they were met by a Polish police car who promptly fined both vans!

So, a few pounds - or zloty - lighter (quite a few actually!) they travelled on to a hotel in Ryki that they had stayed in on the inward journey. It means a longer journey tomorrow, 9 hours, but it also gives them a bit of downtime to watch the rugby tonight.

The guys have spent today unloading and delivering the donations you have all contributed to. Their Ukrainian friends are really amazed - and very grateful - that we are still bringing help for them, as so many who started have fallen by the wayside. This is all due to the generosity of the people at home to enable us to carry on 😊

The first photo is a cemetery that they drive past in a small town called Chevonohrad, who have lost 300 people (killed) and have 30 missing in action. So sad.

The second photo is of stray/abandoned dogs, waiting ever hopeful, outside of a butchers shop. We took over a large amount of dog food, thank you.

The final photo is a memorial at a school that we have provided sports and Wi-Fi equipment for. The photographs are of ex pupils who have been killed in action.

I’ll leave you with that thought, not a lot more to be said.

Well, the day started well, both vans dropped off their trailers at the farm close to the Ukrainian border, to be unloaded and the contents taken on their behalf, by Polish vans into Ukraine.
They had a letter, written in 3 languages, saying that they would be given priority treatment at the border, due to their continual support for the Ukrainian people, and wouldn’t need to queue.
That proved not to be the case, and although they got to the border at 12.30, they didn’t actually get through for about 4 hours or more. They kept themselves well nourished with instant porridge & tea made on the gas burner!
Anyway, they have safely arrived at their destination in Ukraine now, and are catching up with their Ukrainian friends.

Had a call from Steve this evening to say they have had a good run to Poland today, in convoy so they will have a good nights rest with breakfast before they leave tomorrow. It’s approximately 3 hours drive to the Ukraine border tomorrow.

The two vans left home bright and early this morning, around 3 ish, as usual, for their latest trip. I had a message at just after 8.30am to say that Steve and Trev were on the boat at Dover, but Dave and Martin were in a long queue, and missed it. They were able to get the next ferry in an hour, so Steve and Trev, chuckled to themselves and waved to Dave & Martin from the back of the boat! Cruel!
But what goes around, comes around, and when they got off the boat, Steve and Trev were pulled over by customs and held for an hour and a half, during which time, Dave and Martin literally sailed on by!
They were finally released and given their passports back but this meant Steve and Trev were a lot later getting to the hotel in Bad Nenndorf, Germany, this evening, but had pre ordered food so it was ready when they arrived, as the chef was just going off duty.
So all’s well that ends well, but we hope tomorrow won’t be quite so eventful!

We’re having a problem with only certain people seeing posts, and sometimes even we can’t find them again! Our feed just seems to finish on 31st August 😳 We’re trying to sort it out so please bear with us. If anyone has any bright ideas, please message me!
We’re going going out tonight but will try to sort it tomorrow morning.
Thanks.

Do you think there’s room for a little more?! Ready to leave on Monday morning before the crack of dawn.
Thanks to everyone involved and especially Kate & Gordon Lucas who, along with CC Moore, have supplied a large amount of pet food. Brilliant!

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After a very entertaining evening at The Duke of Albany last night, an amazing £600 was raised, which was then doubled by the landlord, John Simmance, to £1,200.
Huge thanks to him and to all his staff & customers for this fantastic effort. It will make a lot of difference to the people of Ukraine 🇺🇦

Yet more donations of hand sanitiser gel, face masks, dressings etc, all just out of date but totally useable, from Puddletown Surgery. We are very grateful, thank you 😊

Another fundraiser organised by Tina Sandie, anyone with any unwanted clothes etc can contact her on the number on the poster, or if you want a bargain, go along on 4th & 5th November, to support 2 really good causes. Thank you 😊

Fantastic donation today from AJC Group, one of Dave’s customers, food, clothes, sanitary items, toiletries to name but a few. A massive thank you on behalf of those it is going to. 😊

The vans are almost loaded, ready for the journey early on Monday morning. This time there will be Steve Mowlam & Trev Barrett in the blue van and Dave Nolan & Martin Alford in the white van, both towing trailers. They have a great variety of your generous donations, medical packs, survival gear, sports equipment for a school, tools, tents, warm clothing, non perishable food, pet food to name but a few.

Before that though, is the karaoke fundraiser at the Duke of Albany on Friday evening, giving them the weekend to recover! All are welcome!

Once again, thanks to all for your ongoing support, it is really appreciated ❤️

Support a good cause & have an entertaining night out at the same time.

Good morning everyone.
We are very grateful to Weymouth Rotary Club for their very generous donation of £2,500 for the purchase of medical equipment to be taken to Ukraine 🇺🇦 on 23rd of this month. Thank you so much.
There is to be a fundraiser at The Duke of Albany, Weymouth, on Friday 20th October in the evening if anyone is free. Karaoke & a raffle, what more could you want?

Here is a list of things needed for our next journey, towards the end of October.

💙💛So we are back on the look out for the following on our Ukraine Aid List 💙💛
We are soooo grateful for all help so far but really need more 🙏
Most important items are .

💙Water steritabs for purification.
💛Small working electrical appliances
💙Strepsils
💛Bandages / medical supplies doesn't matter if out of date
💙Tourniquets
💛Paracetamol ibuprofen ... tablets etc doesn't matter if out of date
💙Sleeping bags
💛Sleeping mats
💙Thermal blankets
💛Mobility aids
💙Waterproofs. .. raincoats / winter coats and fleeces./ thermals / Ponchos
💛candles used or unused. .. they all get melted down .
💙toiletries and adult sanitary products
💛Mini gas canisters
💙 dog/ cat food
💛 food ... anything longlife
💙baby / sanitary products and toiletries
💛 baby equipment / cots prams moses basket baths highchairs etc ... please
💙Clothes /bags /shoes in good condition as we will be doing several clothes sales to raise money to buy aid and to fund the van and journeys out to Ukraine.
💛Raffle prizes to help our fundraising events .
We have a drop off point at Tophill, Portland & Weymouth and we can arrange collections .
Please inbox me if you can help . Thanks so much in advance 💙💛❤️

We’re back after a break which involved finding a new storage facility as Portland Port unfortunately needed theirs back. Thanks to them for letting us use it for so long. We have moved the contents to somewhere else for the time being, thanks to Howleys Toyshop.
There are plans afoot for another trip towards the end of October, so we are in the process of compiling a list of priority items needed & will post it soon.
In the meantime we have a new GoFundMe page if anyone wants to donate monies ftowards the trip/s.
www.gofundme.com/Blue-van-Ukraine-appeal

Please feel free to share.
Much appreciated 😊

Blue van Ukraine Appeal, organized by Stephen Mowlam We are a group of Dorset people who have been taking aid to the Ukraine people, via your gener… Stephen Mowlam needs your support for Blue van Ukraine Appeal

Trip number 18 (I think!) got underway last Wednesday. Two vans, with 4 drivers, Trev Barrett and Paul Muir are in the blue van, with Dave Nolan and Rich Martin in the white van, both vans loaded with generators, chain saws, medical & hygiene supplies, army blankets and some lovely hand knitted blankets & teddies, along with a table tennis table for a school.
All started well with Trev & Paul arriving at Dover first and in the queue for the ferry. Dave & Rich arrived soon after & were put in another queue. That’s where it fell apart, Dave & Rich got on the ferry, which then left with Trev & Paul still waiting to board! Not the end of the world, Dave & Rich continued their journey, arranging to meet for dinner that night. There was another ferry 90 mins later so Trev & Paul got on that one. Then later on, driving through Germany, a lorry had overturned which resulted in the motorway being closed, which in turn resulted in a detour & not arriving at the hotel until late evening (having eaten en route!)

Day 2 went much better, an early start and a couple of long drives, approximately 600 miles, and they arrived at the hotel in good time. During the evening they met a Ukrainian soldier with his disabled daughter who insisted on giving them all a drink of his home made vodka 😬

They still managed an early start on Friday, got to the farm near the Ukrainian border to offload the trailers, due to complicated rules & regulations. A Ukrainian friend, with permission to leave Ukraine, then ferries those goods into Ukraine separately.
Now in Ukraine, in Sokal where the sirens have been going off more than usual, but people are carrying on as usual. All the goods delivered as arranged, so all good.

10 months, 10 trips, all working together. More to come, watch this space……🌻

Heading home now after trip number 10. When Steve and I started this back in March we had no idea where it would lead.

The photo around the lunch table gives just a little bit of the answer to that question. Lasting friendships have been developed.

We’re hoping to carry on with our project next year and others have kindly agreed to help and get involved.

What the people of Ukraine are facing is a staggering humanitarian disaster but they are facing the situation with an even greater determination and resolve.

Our old van has become a bit like Dr Who’s Tardis with the added benefit of the trailer. We have developed our contacts to ensure that every last donation gets to where it can be distributed effectively. Whether it be in support of refugees or soft support for the Army.

I’ve mentioned this before but all of what our van has achieved is only made possible by the people that have enabled us, through donation, over the past 10 months. 10 months where we have completed 10 trips to Ukraine.

Thank you all for what you have given, whether it be financial or practical help.

Given what the Ukrainian people are facing I shouldn’t find this difficult to ask but the times we are living in do make financial donations difficult to consider.

However as we move into the New Year Steve and I intend to keep this old van going as long as we can.

Please consider a financial donation. Just for now, could we ask for some feedback from you all as to whether we should open a new Just Giving or similar donation page.

Thank you again but please understand that I’m only really passing on the thanks from those people sat with us at the lunch table.👍🇺🇦🇬🇧🇮🇩

Just a brief update to our latest trip.

We were helped in putting together a selection of med kit by various friends.

This time I’m accompanied by Trev Barrett another one of the old school gang who has readily given up his time. Not only to take part in this trip but has also spent time collecting and sorting aswell. Shame he didn’t collect some appropriate footwear before leaving but the German autobahn service stations have just about everything!

Snow on the ground outside last nights accomodation.

Finally and most importantly an image of where some of our aid has been distributed to. Those who collected and packed trip 9 will recognise those banana boxes!👍🍌👍

Thanks everyone for reading this and thanks for donating!

The tyres are now a reality. With us, having been donated way over and above what we appealed for.

In these difficult times it’s amazing to experience peoples generosity in this way.

🙏🏻 Thankful!

Home again and having a bit of a catch up on care and maintenance!

The van has now done 9 trips, the trailer 8, Steve Mowlam 6, Luke Mowlam, Kieran Moyes, Rich Martin, Steve Grocutt,1 each and myself 7. We were also joined by Simon Cable for trip number 7.

We reckon we’ve carried at least 18 tonnes of aid over the 9 trips not including what been carried whilst in Ukraine between stores, refuges and aid points. Also, there’s been the mileage and use in the U.K. supporting the hospital projects.

There are probably more cost effective ways of moving this amount of equipment, especially as the project has progressed. However, having been over to Chevonograd, Sokal and Lviv and having developed real and I hope lasting friendships I feel we bring something more than just boxes of equipment when we turn up?

So, it’s time for care and maintenance, as mentioned above.

The list goes something like this:

The trailer’s in fine fettle, no problems there…..

I’m in good nick. I think…(but therein probably lies the problem)?

Steve’s going in for a bit of a tune up which means he’s going to be laid up for a while.

The van runs well and has benefitted from the kind help from Hungerhill Garage, Chickerell, from Bartletts Motor Tech, Stavordale Road, Weymouth and from Mike Lloyd of MOT Stop, Cambridge Road, Weymouth.

Now, I’m not asking that anyone should contribute toward the care and maintenance that Steve is going to receive but to meet German winter driving regulations we are in need of two new tyres for the front of the van. One tyre is not of the correct type for winter conditions and the other, although the correct type is extremely worn on the inner edge.

I’ve been given a price of £150 for the pair complete with labour and wheel alignment.

If anyone is able to or would like to help us in the purchase of these tyres it would be very gratefully received. Apparently, we have over 400 followers on this page so maybe donations of no more than £5 would soon meet the target. Any surplus would be used for the purchase of fuel for the next trip.

If your able and would like to contribute please message me for payment details.

Sincere thanks for reading…..🌻🇺🇦👍

Looking back through some of my posts it appears that Steve Mowlam and I have had a bit of a good time on our travels.

Fact is, we’ve been looked after well and have stayed in relatively safe areas.

Over the past few days we’ve met and talked to others who regularly transport and deliver aid to the front line. As we delivered the tent heaters an aid convoy was departing to travel east.

Whilst Steve and I are currently heading home there are others in Ukraine doing what they can to provide help.

We put out a list after the last trip of what were considered as useful items. From that list the absolute priorities remain as, water purification tablets, any first aid/medical equipment, hygiene consumables both male and female, any long life easily transported foods, candle wax.

Added to the above request and as our own project we’re going to try and source Army pattern arctic sleeping bags and emergency combat tourniquets. Any help or advice on sources or funds would be well received. Thank you!

So, Steve is going to be laid up for a while after an operation but hopefully the van will be heading east again before Father Christmas heads west…..!

Just before I sign off thanks to Karol Swiacki and Inna Nyky for their help. To Janusz S Gorski for being there! Keep it going Simon Cable 🍒. To Sergiy Besaha Starlife, Tetiana Korchuk, Andrej, Roman, Olexander and Natalia. I wish I could tag your names properly.

All good friends! ✊🇺🇦

After the famous foot competition we were looked after and entertained by Lesia and Slavko both good friends of Janusz S Gorski.

It was an evening of cultural exchange with Steve Mowlam and I teaching Slavko the Oggy, Oggy, Oggy chant after which Lesia treated us to guitar recital.

Coffee on the veranda the following morning where we learnt more about Slavko being one of the original 14 students who started the independance revolution back in 1990.

Down the road towards the Medyka border we met with another Andrej whose hobby has gathered him a fortune with his metal detector.

On to the border and Janusz played an absolute ‘blinder’ in getting us to the front of the queue. Still enough time waiting to cross for a brew up though! 😒

The fine weather and good skies that brought Simon Cable from the U.K. to carry on where we left off, at least the van is loaded for him…😉

Last nights accomodation in Krakow was a bit ‘cosy’! Almost as if we’d been on a tiger hunt.

Steve making final preparations for tonight’s meal. One of those is mine, honest!

Finally, no impression of Ukraine could be complete without tribute to the national vehicle…..🚜

Something that we were asked to deliver on this trip. These tent heaters were supplied by a company near Bognor Regis and transported to Lviv. They were bought by a Taiwanese Charity fund who very generously provided funds for the transport costs. Just another example of like minded people.

Clear road, happy driver, load delivered.

Thanks for the help from the people at Castlepoint for getting us here. Thanks to Janet Rosemary and Tina Sandie, Simon Cable everybody who has donated materially and financially.

Interviewed again by Sokal 101FM. This time they might broadcast it?

Met up with a few of the original team and good to be in their company again.

All of the items on our list were well received. Top performers were the water purification tablets and also the tourniquets that been provided from a seperate source.

One more delivery to make and then collect a package for Polina our young Ukrainian friend in Bristol.

Coffee and cakes (again) with Marjana Jaremchuk and the Sergiy Besaha Starlife and then lunch at the miners canteen. Got to keep Steve’s strength up!

With the greatest respect neither Steve or I are particularly religious.

However, we both give thanks for being able to travel through this part of Germany on Reformation Day.

Where normally would be queues of traffic we are blessed with clear road.

Thankful!