Den and Joan

This is Joan, my next door neighbour, who I popped round and photographed earlier on today. She was, err... how can I say this, a little taken aback at my request - I guess that having someone pop round from next-door asking to take your photograph isn't exactly commonplace - but she seemed happy enough for me to do so.

There is, however, a serious reason for this blip...

Today is the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Joan's husband Den, who sadly died a few years ago, was one of the tens of thousands of people involved in those landings. (Wikipedia suggests that up to 150,000 troops were deployed on the first day though the final numbers were much larger).

I don't know much of the detail of Den's story, in fact I don't even know for certain that he took part on the first day, but from what he told me he was involved in driving vehicles off the landing craft onto the beach, something I can't even begin to imagine to be honest. However, in a sense, the detail isn't important. What matters is that so many people, each with their own individual story, were willing to do something, to literally stand up and fight for what they believed in, that day. Ultimately, they took part in one of the single most significant events to shape the UK, Europe and the world as we know it now.

So this blip is my personal tribute to Den and to everyone else involved in those landings and subsequent events.