Torpoint

A Litany for the Armed Forces

Holy God, the protector of all who trust in you:
Grant to the Armed Forces of the Crown,
and all who seek you,
the assurance of your presence,
the knowledge of your love,
and the guidance of your spirit
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Bring healing and wholeness to people and nations:
let your mercy rule all that we do.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Be with all who defend your truth and your peace,
that they may vanquish injustice and wrong.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Give wisdom to leaders and commanders,
that they may be a force for good on the earth.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

In your wisdom embrace our enemies,
and those who wish us harm:
turn, the hearts of all to kindness and friendship.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Be with all medics and chaplains,
and all who support the suffering:
give then wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Sustain the anxious and fearful,
and renew then with courage from on high.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Comfort all worried families, whose loved ones are in danger:
surround them with your love, protect them from all harm.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Be with the sick and wounded,
stand by all prisoners and captives:
let your mercy be shown to all, and your power to heal and save.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Receive those fallen in battle, and all innocents who have died:
surround their loved ones with compassion,
and give them a patient faith.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Confirm what is founded on truth,
and establish your love in our hearts:
that justice may abound on the Earth,
and all peoples rejoice in your peace.
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

The litany may end with the Lord's Prayer.

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Six D-Day veterans pay tribute on poignant Remembrance Day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqlre326g94o

Among the ten thousand men and women marching past the Cenotaph at this year’s Remembrance service, there were six surviving veterans of D-Day.

They are now so few that they were outnumbered by the eight former prime minsters, lined up at the annual commemoration in London’s Whitehall.

This summer saw a major international event marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, with a small army of world leaders and accompanying media.

Here under low, grey autumn skies the six remaining representatives of that huge and heroic moment, the men who were actually there, went quietly past in wheelchairs, with a collective age of 595 years.

It included 101-year-old Joe Randall, who was aged 20 at D-Day, and who had helped build temporary airfields for the invasion force liberating Europe from Nazism.

There’s an immense poignancy to such moments, literally watching history moving out of sight.

There is an estimated 70 - 80 British D-Day veterans still alive.

The Farm - All Together Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRgtzZ-mOQo

"All Together Now" is a song by British band the Farm and the second single from their debut album, Spartacus (1991). The song was released in November 1990 by Produce, Jive, Sire, and Reprise. Vocalist of the band Peter Hooton wrote the lyrics in his early 20s, after reading about the Christmas truce of 1914. The song was first recorded under the title "No Man's Land" for a John Peel session in 1983.

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Crowds of birdwatchers flocked to a quiet cul-de-sac after a rare sighting of a species perched on a garden washing line.

The report of the scarlet tanager in Shelf, near Halifax, is believed to be the first time one of the birds has been sighted in Yorkshire.

The stocky songbird normally travels between the eastern United States and lowland South American forests twice a year.

One twitcher who made an early morning journey from London described catching a glimpse of the creature as "exhilarating".

Dozens of birdwatchers assembled along the street after initial reports that the bird had been sighted were shared online and on social media.

Geoffrey King, who has been birdwatching for 15 years, made the 220-mile (354km) trip north from Weybridge in Surrey to West Yorkshire in the early hours of Monday.

He arrived on scene at 09:30 GMT but it was a further five hours before a hushed murmur rippled through the crowd, signalling the bird had become visible.

"It was very exhilarating," he said.

Mr King, 67, had been packing up his tripod and was ready to book a hotel when he saw the bird.

"I had basically given up. Somebody called and there it was at the top of the tree! It was a great relief to see it," he enthused.

The scarlet tanager was Mr King's 478th species spotted in the UK, he added.

Fixing LED strip lights to the bottom of surfboards could deter attacks by great white sharks, Australian scientists say.

A study conducted in Mossel Bay, South Africa involved towing seal-shaped boards fitted with different configurations of lights behind a boat to see which attracted the most attention.

The researchers from Macquarie University in New South Wales say the lights distorted the silhouette of their "decoys" on the ocean's surface and limited the ability of the great whites to see against the sunlight.

Lights could prove a non-invasive means of shark restraint, unlike nets or drones, they added.

Great white sharks are the species responsible for most human shark-bite fatalities, and often attack their prey from underneath, lead researcher Laura Ryan said. This means that sometimes the sharks mistake a surfer's silhouette for the outline of a seal.

Researchers say it is also important to see whether the LED lighting is effective in deterring other shark species known to attack humans, including bull sharks and tiger sharks.

Most attacks are associated with people surfing and participating in other board sports. There were 69 unprovoked shark bites in 2023, most in the US, Australia and South Africa, 10 of which were fatal, according to statistics., external

The Australian study, published in the journal Current Biology,, external involved testing three different intensities of LED lights.

Ms Ryan said the study showed the brightest horizontal-aligned lights were less likely to be targeted.