IN SPORTS VENUES: SHAKIRA, BEYONCE, BON JOVI, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, GEORGE MICHAEL, ROD STEWART, REM and OTHERS

(Shakira's concert at OAKA the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece)

I was contacted by a major football (soccer for our American friends) club last week regarding the possibility of presenting a major concert in their stadium. Of course, I will be delighted to work with them - some of our most exciting experiences have been when we produced concerts for sports organisations - marvellous memories - huge audiences having a great time - what can be better?

Beyoncé in Moscow and Egypt

What do these artists have in common?

BEYONCE, SHAKIRA, MARIAH CAREY, GEORGE MICHAEL, ROD STEWART, NEIL DIAMOND, THE WHO, BON JOVI, SIR ELTON JOHN, RED MARIAH CAREY, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, BRYAN ADAMS, REM, SCISSOR SISTERS, JAMES BLUNT, CARLOS SANTANA, GIRLS ALOUD, BILLY JOEL, LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, JOSE CARRERAS, BILL BAILEY, RONAN KEATING, MEATLOAF, PINK, WHITNEY HOUSTON, MEATLOAF and many others - they all performed for our clients in a sports stadiums, arenas or similar venues. I was honoured to contract all of these artists and produce these concerts.

(The adorable and hugely talented Shakira)

It’s a strange thing but you would be surprised how little non football/soccer activities take place in the football club stadia, not only in the UK but throughout Europe, the Middle East and indeed globally.

(Elton John rocking the night away)

Of course when you study the games schedules during each season it becomes clearer as to why these emporiums of sport can only present a very limited program of events during their ‘closed’ period. For one thing the football or rugby pitch has to be protected and even when the ground is closed during the summer break, the grass has to be re-grown or replaced and if you attempt to even suggest a concert the war begins with the groundsman ! Many USA stadia have forms of artificial grass, which certainly makes life a bit easier when putting on a show.

(Red Hot Chili Peppers were sensational)

New words enter your vocabulary like Teraplas, which is a unique covering of the precious grass on the pitch allowing it to breathe and preventing its destruction whilst hordes of head bangers and metal heads surge and trample over the ground.

(Jon Bon Jovi - sold out concerts)

Have you ever seen an audience of passionate and dedicated fans stampeding through the gates upon opening time as they (literally) hurtle, punch, shove, push and prod their way to the front of the stage to get the best possible positions?

(The Who stormed the stadiums)

Protecting the pitch is just one of the obstacles to overcome when deciding to present a major rock or pop concert in a sports stadium - Getting into the ground can be a daunting experience – you would be amazed to know that many grounds only have very small entrances onto the pitch – therefore when an artist like BON JOVI arrives with dozens of enormous Euro-Trucks with staging that is more than 5 stories high you can see that a tiny entrance is hardly helpful! We have even had to use large cranes to lift the staging high over the stands and into the ground.

(Bon Jovi at Bristol City Football Club)

We first began working with the football, rugby and cricket clubs more than a decade ago – Murrayfield/Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland, Bristol City, Hull City, Norwich City, Swansea City, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forrest, Derby County, Hampshire and Sussex County Cricket Clubs in the UK plus those in Ireland, Poland, throughout the Middle East, Russia and the Ukraine are just some of the locations and clubs we have worked with.

(George Michael's great concerts in Moscow at the Olympisky Stadium and in Kiev)

Having agreed in principle which artist the venues want to secure it is our job to approach the management and agencies that exclusively represent the artists – we go into battle and get the best deal we can. It definitely helps if we can offer a run of dates rather than just a one-off deal.

(Michael Stipe and REM were amazing)

Having negotiated the date and the fees, we then have to manage the technical riders, which can be a interesting to say the least: Everything has to be budgeted for and priced including: Staging, video screens, sound systems, lighting rigs weighing mega tons, crowd control barriers (called Mojo Barriers), front of house control desks, on-stage monitors, spot light towers, seating on the pitch, sight line calculations for those seated in the stands, dressing rooms, catering areas, production offices, backstage security, stewards, ticketing operations and all of this to be agreed before an announcement is made or advertisement placed.

(Audiences just loved Neil Diamond)

Advertising and marketing these concerts is a skill in itself – sometimes you can make an announcement in the press and suddenly you sell out – but it doesn’t always work like that – indeed more often than not we have to work hard to sell out these venues. The initial burst of publicity involving local newspapers, TV and radio backed up by a poster campaign will create a surge of ticket buying – more than half the stadium ticket sales are often sold at this moment – but when you have seating capacities of between 20,000 and 30,000 people (up to 60,000 audiences for the biggest names). it is unlikely to sell out immediately. Then comes the hard part – to come up with all kinds of publicity stunts, competitions, sponsorship deals and every trick in the book to entice the public to come to your show.

("Do ya think i'm sexy" Rod Stewart performed some great concerts)

Press interviews with the artists, meets and greets before the show (if the artist will agree), getting the artist from the airport if they’ve flown in to the venue, police support - Traffic control and parking for the public arriving in droves. Have you ever tried parking 60 massive Euro-Trucks?

It's great fun if you don’t weaken :)

(Rod gets all the girls!)

It has been a great honour to negotiate and contract these artists and a thrill to watch excited audiences having a great time. This is the real joy – the joy of giving happiness as well as producing a successful, hopefully profitable and memorable event.

The great Carlos Santana at the Silverstone Race Track and in Dubai

Mariah Carey thrilled audiences in Beirut

Who can forget seeing and hearing Beyoncé on stage in action - unforgettable - Neil Diamond in full flow singing "Sweet Caroline", "Love on the Rocks", and hit after hit – seeing Michael Stipe of REM strutting his stuff singing "Losing my Religion", whilst wearing an Ipswich Town Football Team shirt! – The Rocket Man himself Elton John playing piano in a solo concert to 25,000 people gently swooning to “Your Song” and then dancing to “Crocodile Rock” – the Red Hot Chili Peppers thrilling the audiences with stompin’ rocking performances (Flea is such a great bass guitarist) – Billy Joel pounding out "Uptown Girl", "Piano Man" and a "New York State of Mind" – Rod Stewart performing the American Song Book classics with a big orchestra and then rockin’ the night away with “Do ya think I’m sexy”, "Maggie May" and "Downtown Train" – Carlos Santana wailing away - Meatloaf pounding out "Bat out of Hell" – Bon Jovi driving his largely female audience crazy adoringly with “This is Love” – The Who rocking “My Generation” and "Tommy" – George Michael performing for the first time in years knocking the audiences out with his great hits and the whole stadium singing like a monstrous mantra “Freedom” – amazing moments

(Mr PIano Man Billy Joel)

Memorable concerts – great shows – and stadia in many lands filled with happy crowds of adoring fans having a wonderful time – not bad – not bad at all!

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS CONCERT IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA REMEMBERED

(Enrique on stage - on a walkway into the audience- in Damascus, Syria)

It is so difficult to look back at 2007 and remember the wonderful and exhilarating concert by Enrique Iglesias that took place in the centre of Damascus (capital of Syria) with Enrique Iglesias thrilling an audience of 10,000 or more. Especially when we know about the hell and suffering caused by the appalling war that has overtaken this wonderful land. We read daily of horrific atrocities being carried out on all sides. We must all pray for peace and healing to return to this war ridden land.

However, there have been lovely and happy moments and I am writing about one that we created and worked on:

Enrique Iglesias posted the following statement on Facebook on September 9 - it has had 35,830,684 hits to date: Enrique wrote:

“I had a concert in Damascus, Syria on July 4th, 2007 and had nothing but good memories of the people over there. My prayers are with the people of Syria and all the innocent children, women and men that have lost their lives or are suffering during this horrible conflict”.

(On stage in Damascus)

This was the first western style popular concert to be held in Damascus, Syria for 30 years and I am deeply proud together with my team from London to have negotiated, contracted, managed and presented this concert.

It was an important event on so many levels – the very first major pop show for three decades. Everyone said it couldn’t be done – but it happened and Enrique gave the concert of his life – it was a stunning success and to think that in only a very short time this great country would be torn apart by the most savage, ghastly and horrific civil war is tragic beyond belief. Words fail to express the horror of what has happened to this country and the lovely, welcoming and fun-loving youngster’s who happily danced, clapped, sang along with and enjoyed Enrique’s concert. 

I was first approached by Rasha Mouakeh of Libaladi Events based in Damascus. Rasha and her partner in business Louia Marden Bey hadn’t any previous experience of presenting major concerts – but they were massively enthusiastic and welcoming – we were trying to achieve something truly difficult but the collective will was there to win through. Looking back now at that concert and the hoops we had to jump through to make this work were daunting to say the least.

First of all we had to persuade Enrique to perform in Damascus. I know that many people tried to persuade him not to come, but with great credit to Enrique he followed his heart and agreed to perform. The contracts were finalized – the venue agreed, which in itself was difficult – we originally aimed for a different historic site, but the area was too small – so we moved to the Old Fairground near the centre of Damascus. The site would hold around 10,000 people (seated and standing).

I made a number of trips to Damascus to check out the site, the hotels, security and all the things on our long check list – we settled on the date of the concert July 4, 2007 and the announcements were made.

My advance production team headed by Sarah Whitmarsh arrived, as did my own crew with Lisa Pearce, Laura Smith and others. The stage was built, lighting, sound and screens brought in from Beirut – the scene was set.

I remember so well standing at Damascus airport waiting for Enrique’s private jet to arrive from Miami – it was such a thrill when he stepped off the plane. A fleet of cars whisked him and his musicians off to the hotel.

The concert was great – the audience loved Enrique and he loved them. The atmosphere was electric and I recall feeling an enormous sense of achievement and happiness that it had gone so well.

I could never have envisaged the horror and nightmare that was to befall this wonderful country. What has happened to those 10,000 kids and parents who had such a great time? What is happening today to the millions of refugees and those living in appalling conditions, starving with little hope of relief – those in pain, wounded, suffering with little or no medical help – to remember and pray for the millions who have died and their families facing unbearable loss.

I urge everyone to pray for these people and this war torn country – to bring peace back to this lovely historic land. A chance to rebuild from the ashes and to bury the hatreds, fear and loathing that such a war brings. We must as human beings have faith and pray that out of this horror the roots of compassion, caring, love and decent humanity can emerge and flourish. Syria does not need rampant ideology – it does not need tribal and religious hatreds – it needs HEALING with LOVE and COMPASSION  - NOTHING ELSE WILL DO.

Whatever your race, religion, creed, nationality, belief and experiences – we all of us must pray together and work towards a peaceful solution to this crisis. We are all human – we all bleed, breathe, suffer, feel pain and need love.

Please remember the most important human MANTRA:

Hatred, Ignorance, Blind Ideology, Greed, Violence, Jealousy all bring SUFFERING

Love, Compassion, Caring, Healing and Forgiveness all bring HAPPINESS

For those that remember this concert you will be pleased to recall the press reports:

Enrique Iglesias Performs in Damascus

By SAMAR KASSABLI

The Associated Press

Thursday, July 5, 2007; 12:14 PM

DAMASCUS, Syria -- More than 10,000 fans, many of them teenagers, cheered and danced the night away at a performance by Enrique Iglesias, the first concert by a Western pop singer in Syria in over 30 years.

The 32-year-old Latin heartthrob charmed his audience with many of his hits, including "Hero," "Escape," "Love to See You Cry" and "Just Wanna Be With You," as well as songs from his new album, "Insomniac."

Iglesias said he wasn't concerned about performing in Syria, "although many people have told me not to."

The sold-out concert began late Wednesday and ended after midnight at an open-air stadium near the 11th-century Damascus citadel. Ticket prices ranged between $30 and $200. A large crowd gathered outside the venue, built specifically for the event, where two giant TV screens were set up.

"I like his songs and his father's songs," said 24-year-old business graduate Sandy al-Haj, referring to Julio Iglesias.

"Syria should invite other world singers," she said.

Although Syria is rich with culture, historic and tourist sites, Western celebrities have largely stayed away from the autocratic country for years. However, Syria has been taking small steps to open up the Socialist-style economy and allow greater opportunities and access to information for young people.

The concert was organized by the private company LiBaladi, but other private Syrian companies and Syrian expatriates helped with the financing. Revenues, according to organizers, will go to Syrian charities.

10,000 people at Enrique Iglesias concert in Damascus:

Washington Post. 

US Latin singer Enrique Iglesias has performed a charity concert* near the Damascus Old City to 10,000 people. It is the first western pop concert in Syria for 30 years.

It happened at the old fairground. Tickets cost from $30 but huge TV screens were put up outside, where many more people watched for free.

There was some doubt about whether Iglesias would come to Syria. But after his team visited the country, and said that it wasn’t a terrorist haven, he went ahead with the concert. He is now extending his stay in Syria to do some sightseeing.

Iglesias concert first in Damascus in 30 years

Associated  Press
Published Thursday, July 5, 2007 2:28PM EDT

DAMASCUS, Syria - Latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias enthralled Syrian fans with his latest songs at a much touted concert, the first by a Western pop singer in Damascus in 30 years.

More than 10,000 Syrians, many of them teenagers, cheered and danced the night away at the live concert held late Wednesday. It ended after midnight at a huge open air stadium, built specifically for the event, near the 11th-century Damascus citadel.

A large crowd gathered outside the stadium, where two giant television screens were put up.

Tickets to the event-ranging between US$30 and $200-were completely sold out. The performance was organized by a private Syrian company called "LiBaladi,'' Arabic for "To my country,'' but other private Syrian companies and Syrian expatriates helped with the financing. Revenues, according to organizers would go to Syrian charities.

The performance was the first of its kind in Syria in over thirty years. Although rich with culture, historic and tourist sites, Western celebrities have largely stayed away from the autocratic country for years.

However, Syria has began opening up in recent years, taking small steps to open up the Socialist-style economy and allowing greater opportunities and access to information for young people.

The 32-year-old singer said he wasn't concerned about coming to Syria "although many people have told me not to.''

The Grammy-award winner charmed his fans with a selection of new songs from his latest Album, "Insomniac,'' released last month, as well as many of his greatest hits including "Hero,'' "Escape,'' "I love to see you cry'' and "Just wanna be with you.''

Young Syrians were thrilled to be there. "I like his songs and his father's songs,'' said 24-year-old business graduate Sandy al-Haj, referring to Spanish. 

Thanks for reading this post and I hope that all of us will do whatever we can to help this sad and horrific situation. 

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI (ALSO SWAN LAKE) IN QATAR, THE IRAQI WAR & ME!

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI and SWAN LAKE -  IN QATAR, THE IRAQ WAR & ME!

I was listening to the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti's voice on the radio the other day and I couldn't help thinking of the time I was fortunate enough to work with this marvellous artist and fascinating human being.

I had first worked with Pavarotti (and the Three Tenors) in Los Angeles at the Dodger Stadium - how could any of us forget that momentous concert enshrined on CD and DVD. Even now I thrill to remember that show and the electric atmosphere as 80,000 people were serenaded and enraptured by Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras with Zubin Mehta lovingly and imperiously conducting the magnificent symphony orchestra on that large imposing stage. But I was also remembering the time we presented the Maestro in Qatar days before the Iraqi war erupted.

I had been approached via our contacts in Qatar to ask if Pavarotti would perform in Qatar as part of the annual Cultural and Arts Festival in Doha. This was a great idea in principle, but I knew from previous experience how difficult it was to book Pavarotti via his irascible and difficult manager at that time Tibor Rudas. Add to that the growing fears of a war with Saddam Hussein (Iraq is only around the corner from Qatar) and you can see the problems I was facing.

I contacted Tibor Rudas and met him in London and we hammered out an in principle agreement, but Tibor was pretty doubtful about this event happening and indeed bet me £100 that it wouldn't happen. We shook hands on the bet - I was damned well determined to win that bet!

After a number of intense trips to Qatar to meet the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, I was able to get an agreement to the terms and conditions, which as you can imagine were pretty tough. After more wrangling and tough negotiations, I was thrilled to get the contract signed for March 2003.

The next problem of course was where to present the concert. Doha the capital city of Qatar had no venues at that time (they have many now) but back then we had to convert the large ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel into a theatre. I took a highly experienced team headed by my dear friend and former Director of the Royal Festival Hall (South Bank Centre) Anthony Phillips to Doha from London and against major odds we built a theatre within the large ballroom after some difficult logistical experiences, such as the seating and staging getting stuck for days in the customs in trucks in Saudi Arabia as they tried to travel to Qatar. We eventually built the theatre and seating for this incredibly important cultural event - His Highness The Emir and Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser were to attend and everything had to go smoothly and according to plan.

However, the war clouds were looming - the American, British, French and other media were screaming for war - weapons of mass destruction - war against terror - Saddam Hussein's dictatorship - protests on the streets - the world's media were whipping up a storm of invective and propaganda preparing all of us for the storm of destruction that was due to rain on Iraq. However, here we were in Qatar, a peaceful and prosperous country trying to present a Cultural Festival, which was only around 450 miles from Iraq! Would Luciano Pavarotti come?

I won't go into all the machinations and issues we had to deal with to make this happen - but the day came when I met Pavarotti at Doha Airport as he got off his private jet flown from Modena in Italy. I was so thrilled that he had arrived and equally thrilled I had won my £100 bet with Tibor Rudas! I remember so clearly the drive from the airport to the Sheraton Hotel - it was late evening and Doha was ablaze with light - the Qatar authorities had created wonderful lighting along the Corniche (the sea front), which was very impressive - however, there was a major problem - Pavarotti was very superstitious especially regarding the colour purple. We had removed all signs of purple within the theatre and hotel but as we started to drive from the airport in the big new Audi Series 8 I realised to my horror that the whole of Doha was lit up in PURPLE! 

In addition to getting Luciano into Qatar we had also contracted Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet, who were performing with a superb corps de ballet from the Kremlin Ballet Company to perform SWAN LAKE as part of the festival and on the same stage as Luciano was to perform. We had contracted a Russian Symphony orchestra to perform with Pavarotti and to play for the ballet.  When the Russian Orchestra arrived in Doha there was a posse of customs officials to check their baggage and I am told that more than 120 bottles of Vodka were confiscated. Later that evening I went to their hotel to check that everything was OK and I found a party in full swing. Everyone was very happy and appeared to be imbibing large quantities of vodka! I was puzzled because all the vodka had been confiscated at the airport, but they told me that they had emptied all the Evian Mineral Water into the Vodka bottles and the Vodka into the Evian bottles! 

Actually we were presenting the first major ballet performance in the Middle East - Dancers in Tutus had not been seen in the region for obvious cultural reasons. I was deeply impressed by Her Highness Sheikha Moza when she spoke to the audience about accepting other cultures and learning to appreciate art forms such as classical ballet. After the performance HH Sheikha Moza met the ballet company and we were all incredibly impressed by her knowledge of the art form and her immense dignity.

Luciano Pavarotti was the next artist to perform at the festival and he was happily ensconced in his presidential suite at the Sheraton Hotel. We had to covert one of the bathrooms into a kitchen for Luciano to cook - he cooked the most wonderful pastas and risottos usually in the middle of the night! We would go to his room at around 03.00am and have a late dinner - no wonder my waist line expanded significantly.

The world's press reported on the performance:

As War Looms, Pavarotti Wows Them in a Laid-Back Qatar

OHA, Qatar — The Middle East may be on the precipice of another war. And this placid Persian Gulf emirate may be HQ for the mightiest army on the planet. But Thursday was a night for the opera.

To the collective excitement of expatriates, a white-robed Qatari elite and restless war reporters, superstar tenor Luciano Pavarotti took the stage in a heavily chandeliered, sold-out concert hall and made his way steadily through Verdi, Puccini and Mascagni.

Spending the night with Pavarotti

In Qatar, where the U.S. would direct a war against Iraq, citizens see Western culture as key to a better life, the Tribune's Hugh Dellios finds.

March 08, 2003| The International Herald Tribune foreign correspondent Hugh Dellios is on assignment in Qatar.

DOHA, Qatar — Luciano Pavarotti kept his date to sing in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, and there were no war drums in the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra that accompanied his renditions of "La Boheme" and "I Pagliacci."

Literally beneath a constant airlift of tanks and other war materiel for an invasion of Iraq, the famed Italian tenor appeared as scheduled before a swanky crowd in tuxedos and Arab robes. They gave him three standing ovations.

  
Pavarotti gives an unforgettable musical experience in Qatar
DOHA Famed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti received a standing ovation for his splendid performance at the annual Culture and Arts Festival in Doha-Qatar. Spectators from around the Middle East came to be part of the rare opportunity of watching Pavarotti. The orchestra was brought in from abroad especially for the Cultural Festival making the concert an unforgettable musical experience. 

It was an unforgettable experience and one I shall never forget - we were presenting one of the greatest artists on stage in peaceful Qatar and days later the war in Iraq erupted with an explosion of bombings, death and destruction. Surely the human race can do better than this - the world changed then and it certainly hasn't got better - however, we have to believe in the compassion, caring and love that the human race is capable of - and in its ability to be highly creative - Luciano Pavarotti thrilled the audiences in Qatar (as did the ballet) and it was an oasis of peace, enjoyment and great singing in amongst the war clouds that were looming.

TYPHOON HAIYAN AND IMPERMANENCE

TYPHOON HAIYAN AND IMPERMANENCE

The news coming out of the Philippines is heartbreaking - peoples lives lost, homes destroyed, possessions scattered, families in pain, lives shattered - also what about animals - how many lives have been lost? - The suffering is so sad and we must pray for those that have lost their lives and for those that are in pain and urgently need help.

Why do these disasters happen? If you think about it disasters at many different levels happen every day in all our walks of life. These "disasters" may not be as earth shattering or as serious as the one caused by Typhoon Haiyan, but they still have deep significant meaning to all of us that face them.

How many times do we read in newspapers or watch on the television news that a mother has lost her child; someone has kidnapped a baby; a train or road accident; a gas explosion; accident at work; a helicopter or plane crash; people being mugged and attacked in the streets; women being raped and assaulted etc - we learn about people who have lost their jobs and livelihood; lost their homes; some people all over the world every day are being told by their doctors that they have a serious illness - many of these have no hope of medical help or proper treatment - the list of "disasters" is endless and at some level we all face them. Indeed there is no escape because no matter how blessed and happy you are at this moment, at some time in the future we will all face that final illness and die. This is not being morbid or depressive - it is simply a fact of life.

The sooner we realise that everything is impermanent the sooner we will find a deep inner happiness. Think about it - every thought, everything we do has a beginning, a middle and an end - our lives have a beginning a middle and an end - indeed everything you can think of has a beginning, a middle and an end - we all suffer at some stage in our lives - it is simply inevitable and once you realise this it makes every moment so precious. Living in the moment is the most important thing in our lives - why? Because simply we don't know what will happen next - everyone of those people who woke in the morning didn't expect to die that day - they didn't expect to be in a plane crash or car accident - they didn't expect to be told they had cancer or some other sad illness - they didn't expect to be mugged or have their baby stolen - none of us expect to have something happen to us and I pray that nothing happens to any of you - but the point I am writing about is that we have to cherish every living moment.

How much time do we all waste? Dreaming of riches; watching mindless television; endlessly playing computer games on your lap top, iPad or mobile phone; day dreaming etc - we all do this - we all waste our time and waste our lives - every minute is so precious and yet most of us don't think like this do we?

Do you think of your breathing? I bet you haven't given any thought to it at all until you get a terrible cold or you have lung problems - and yet if we stop breathing we are dead! Pretty devastating thought isn't it - maybe we should start to think about our breathing - and maybe now we should start to think about everything we do every minute of the day - when we wash the plates - think about it and live in the moment - when we eat think of the food on our plate - how it got there and how precious it is to our lives - every time you go into McDonald's or KFC or Burger King or any restaurant for that matter and eat meat or fish (most of us do this without thinking) please remember that you are eating at the expense of an animals life - its a pretty devastating thought isn't it - that when we have a delicious Hamburger a cow has died to provide it! I am not trying to preach to you all to become vegetarians - that is your personal decision but it would be wonderful if you thought about it - we don't need all this dead flesh no matter how tasty it is.

The point of this blog is to ask you to think of everything you do - every minute is so precious and important to you and every one of us. If we thought like this and valued every moment - when a disaster or suffering reaches us we give thanks for the amazing moments in our life that have given us and our loved ones so much happiness - and we are strengthened to deal with the suffering that inevitably will come to everyone in some shape or form.

This is NOT a reason to be depressed indeed it is a reason to celebrate every living moment and to embrace this marvellous world we live in. Once you accept that everything is IMPERMANENT you will accept that every living moment is a gift to be cherished and embraced.

Please pray every day for those in pain and suffering. Please pray for those that have died or are dying at this moment and for those who are suffering not only in the Philippines but anywhere on the globe - this is so important - it brings peace and joy to your lives and I believe it helps those suffering and in need of help.

PLEASE also do whatever you can to send help to those people in the Philippines who are so desperate for assistance

Thank you for reading
Peter