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DAY 203 - REFLECTIONS ON THE FIRST 2,000 MILES
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 8:16AM 11 November, 2011
Bulle to Fribourg
17.4 miles (Total 2004.1 miles) 34,800 steps (Total: 4,312,801 steps)
Today was a significant day because of numbers:
It was of course 11/11/11 and wearing my red poppy I paused at St Suplice just outside of Gruyere to remember the sacrifice of those lost their lives in service of their country—some might question whether there is any contradiction between wearing a poppy, supporting in doing so the British Legion and remembering those who gave their lives in service of our country, and undertaking a 3000 miles walk for peace. I don’t see any. I am a patriot and proud of my country. No soldier in recent history has taken the decision to go to war. They serve with honour and courage the decisions of the nation expressed through our elected politicians.
I have had, and still have, some serious reservations over the decisions taken to intervene militarily around the world by politicians, but I can’t have anything other than respect for the sense of duty and sacrifice that our armed forces display in carrying out the wishes of their political masters. I also believe that the most fitting way to honour the memory of the millions who gave their lives in service of their country, is to devote every ounce of our energy to ensuring that in future other courageous service men and women do not have to do the same. That requires not a change of thinking amongst the military, but a paradigm shift in the courage, imagination and wisdom of our politicians.
The second number that was significant on this day was ‘2000.’ It was the point just north of Bois de la Glane that I completed my 2000th mile on the walk. When I began the walk I had aimed to do an average of 10 miles a day so it was gratifying to come in at 2000 miles on Day 203. A couple of kilometres further I paused to reflect on this other milestone over a cup of coffee. Milestones are important to me on the walk. I can’t fully explain why one step should be any more significant than another, but it is because it marks progress towards as goal. As I reflected on the last 1000 miles, I recalled all that had happened since I crossed the first 1000 mile barrier at Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of July. I won’t rehearse it all again here, but there were so many encounters with wonderful and inspiring individuals, experiences of the magnificent beauty of nature and the discovery of the immense inner human resources available to pull us through the most challenging of times, but then I posed another question to myself. What had actually been achieved on the Olympic truce during the last 1000 miles, for that was the sole purpose of the walk?
Here the answer I confess was less uplifting. Sure everyone I had met was very interested in the truce and very nice about the walk, but I recalled that in April I had written on my home page of the web-site before setting off from London these words:
“In October 2011 all 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly will gather in New York to sign a Resolution declaring their commitment to observe to “pursue initiatives for peace and reconciliation in the spirit of the Ancient Games”—in the past everyone has signed it but no one has ever implemented it. We think that is a missed opportunity. We want to see the Resolution brought into reality.”
Sure enough on October 17, 2011 the UN Resolution declaring the Olympic truce was adopted unanimously by all 193 member states of the UN, but at the time of writing I am still not aware of a single confirmed initiative been taken by any one of the 193 governments who put their name to the resolution. As a result the resolution is still a very long way from being brought into reality.
This may seem an over-pessimistic assessment for I know of at least seven countries who are actively considering options for implementing the truce including my own, but ‘considering’ is not ‘confirming’. I must confess that this dilatory approach to a resolution calling for truce and the promotion of peace compared to the sense of urgency with which the international community seem to be able to muster unlimited resources behind resolutions calling for military intervention remains as perplexing for me now, as the day I decided to embark upon this walk.
I seek to console myself with the fact that there have been some amazing opportunities to talk to people about the truce for the first time, especially young people in Sarajevo, Ljubljana and Geneva, but no consolation can seem to assuage the feeling of disappointment that despite fine words and promises, the truce is no nearer being implemented now than at any time in the past.
As I am half tempted to switch from macchiato coffee to Merlot wine, I reflect further that the battle may not have yet been won, but neither has it been lost. There are still eight months before the resolution is due to take effect and there is still another 1000 miles to go on the walk. This optimistic line begins to lift my spirits again and I quickly thought of another couple of dozen celebrities, statesmen and journalists who I could email again that night in the hope of building some popular momentum behind the truce to give substance to the promises of the politicians. I know no-one has ever responded in the past….
….actually that is not true, I have a conversation with Monique Coleman tomorrow who is an American actress best known for her starring role in High School Musical. I am very excited about her interest in the truce as I have been told often enough that as fifty year old Tory peer I am just “too boring” to interest any media in the truce other than perhaps The Church Times in a slow news week—and there ain’t been many of them recently.
CAVEAT: I need to insert a caveat here—I haven’t been sleeping well, sometimes not at all over the past two weeks on account of my shoulder. The freezing damp weather around Berne is not helping either. The painkillers seemed to have lost their affect and I am typing this missive with one hand.
So let me finish on a high note: Later that evening I found that another event had occurred 4000 miles away in Texas that was of profound significance to us as a family. At 11 minutes past 11 on the 11th day of the 11thmonth of the 11th year our eldest son Matt proposed to his long term partner Heather in San Angelo. It was wonderful news—I dashed out in search of a glass of Champagne to celebrate, but when I found it was £11.50 a glass I opted for a Diet Coke and on that day it tasted like a glass of the finest Dom Perignon.
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