Dona Nobis Pacem - This is what I know

Our dear Mimi set the challenge this year as 'Let it be Known', so here is what I know. 

I met Mimi and her vision of a global peace voice in 2008. It has been a truly amazing 18 years and I am so honoured to have been a part of that. I know it has made me wiser, and richer in friendships with kindred spirits all over this planet. 

I have no words of gratitude big enough to express my thanks for all the love and fellowship; and all the inspirational, wonderful posts I have read over the years. I have nothing to offer beyond that as we will be moving house on the day this posts. So, instead of something old, I am returning to those 18 wonderful years. :)

Thank you Mimi, and all our Peace members, past and present. 

With much love.

...

Once upon a time...

A Blogging Queen had a revelation

and

decreed a Day of Peace throughout the Planet

I found her and joined the cause in 2008

The day was incredible - so many wonderful blog posts, songs and graphics.

It was such an amazing day, I was back again in 2009

and this time I made a video too!

 
By 2010 there were so many participants 

that the Queen was needing helpers

 

and so the Peace Bees were created.

 

Peace Bee with You! 2010  

 

and the video...
 

 
In 2010, Blogblast for Peace reached Twitter and Facebook

..

 

 
In 2011, Blogblast4Peace reached the stars (with a little help from NASA)

 

...and I went over the rainbow
 

 

 In 2012, I found my flame of inspiration 

in the somewhat "Steampunk" London Paralympic Ceremonies.

 

 

In 2013, I made a confession and introduced a friend to Blogblast for Peace.  

And I changed my template background to Mimi's dreamy, ocean sunrise, for a new dawn.

 

 

Dream.... Hope... Believe...  

In 2014, I Sowed the Seeds of Peace    

 

 

And stood by my words to vote for Peace as well...

 

 

 2015 I found my voice in the Power of Love. 

 

And in 2016, I found my enlightenment in blue fire butterflies of peace.
 

2017 was a tough one... I had to find peace in personal loss.
 

  2018, my tenth anniversary.. I urged people to THINK for Peace

 

 

And in 2020, I had a vision and wrote a prayer...

.

In 2021, I turned peace inwards

 

In 2022 I looked at hard truths and used my own words to express them...

 

2023 was the year I returned to my childhood 
to explain how I lost my inner peace
and explain the loss of belonging

 

In 2024 I rested, handing the light to others

 

2025 I found my inspiration 
in the love and humanity of frogs

 

Dona Nobis Pacem 2025 ~ We All Speak Together

 

 

The theme for this 20th anniversary Blogblast for Peace is SPEAK LOVE. 

I had to dig deep for this one as it's not been a year that spoke love, personally or globally. I lost contact with loved ones this year due to their disapproval of my views on politics and life choices, I'm in danger of losing my home and community due to things beyond my control, and the news from all around the planet is utterly dire. 

How do we Speak Love when our hearts are tired and our optimism eroded away? How do we even begin to believe we can make a difference when we are so few; a scattered handful of bloggers and peace lovers?

And then I saw him on a meme, the most ridiculous of creatures - a lone frog standing down a row of men with riot gear and guns. It was absurd, ludicrous, and a bit horrifying when you watched him being pepper-sprayed. I mean, seriously, an inflatable frog?  

But then, the very next day, there were three more frogs! And then a panda, several cartoon characters and a unicorn. Over the next days the menagerie grew until, finally, MORE frogs in a completely different city, dancing with Baby Shark and a T rex! 

I was curious... who was this masque'd amphibian? I found him being interviewed about his reasons. It's worth listening to, but if you want the quick route, I've quoted Seth Todd, the Portland protest frog, below.  

"We are humans and we're not supposed to be treating other people unfairly just because we have the power to do so."

Oh my dear frog, how beautiful your words were to my tired heart. You summed up everything Peace stands for: not to treat others unfairly simply because we have the power to do so. 

And you reminded me of a deeper truth, that speaking love can be scary and even dangerous, because at its core speaking love means standing up to that which is cruel, that which is unfair, that which hurts or harms the innocent or vulnerable. 

There are more ways to speak love than merely say words out loud; you can write love, mime love, dance or sing love, paint it into a picture or gift it in a smile and a hug. 

Or just maybe, you'll show your compassion for others by dressing up as a frog. After all, it was frogs who first taught me how wonderful things can be when we all stand together.

Win or lose, sink or swim
One thing is certain, we'll never give in
Side by side, hand in hand
We all stand together

Play the game, fight the fight
But what's the point on a beautiful night?
Arm in arm, hand in hand
We all stand together

Love
Keeping us warm in the night
la la la la love 
Walk in the light
You'll get it right!

Spiralling Histories

To start this spiral I needed to repost the "full circle"  story I wrote in 2018. Back then, I thought it was a closure, a completed circle of personal history. 

I was wrong

Last year my seemingly complete ring began to spiral in the most unexpected and wonderful way. It started with us taking a dear friend on holiday to see the Fochabers Folk Museum. We'd actually never been there ourselves. Most times Fochabers is a town we drive through travelling to somewhere else. 

First of all I can say it's a surprising Tardis of a seemingly small museum, full of unexpected twisty ways leading to all sorts of fascinating things. We all enjoyed it, but it was at the end, talking to the ladies who volunteer there, that the real magic happened. 

They have a display for Allen Wilson. If that name means nothing to you, then please read my blog post Full Circle or look up the Shangani Patrol. 

And this is where the circle became a spiral

My father's father, Gabe Frost, found a British Cavalry sabre from the 1800s Matabele wars, out in the wilds of Matabeleland in the 1950s. This is a photo of him. 

 

After my grandfather died, my dad became the owner of this beautiful sabre. I'm afraid to say, I used to sneak it out of my dad's wardrobe and have imaginary swordfights in the garden. I grew very adept at beheading my mother's flowers. But mostly it has stayed hidden away, wrapped in cloth and stored in chests and wardrobes. 

 

But no longer

 

 This month, August 2025, I donated it, and a military bugle, to the Fochabers Museum. They were very pleased. And today they phoned to say that they are going to wall mount it above the Allen Wilson display. Not just a full circle, but an ever spiralling portion of our mutual histories. 

I can feel my dad and his father smiling

A Full Circle

I wrote this many years ago years ago, but decided to post it again for friends and family.

What do Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and this very impressive stone building in Scotland have in common? Some things I never knew and someone I would NEVER would have expected!

© Copyright Ann Harrison and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

This gorgeous neo-Gothic building is a school in the Morayshire town of Fochabers. I decided to look up more about the place and what I found has led me on a most amazing (and very moving) journey through three continents and my childhood memories. 

I hope you enjoy this remarkable adventure as much as I have. 

The school is the Milne Institute; it was built by a man named Alexander Milne who was born in Fochabers in 1742. That might have been the end of this blog post, except in finding the story of Alexander Milne I stumbled onto a name I knew very well... Allan Wilson.

wikimedia.org Shangani memorial panel postcard

To most people that won't mean much, but to any Rhodesian it means a lot. Allan Wilson is a hero, both in Rhodesian and British history, but I never knew he was born right on my "doorstep"  until I found him listed as a "famous Fochaberian" and read that he had been a student at the Milne's Institute school.

The Famous Fochaberians site says this:

Allan Wilson was educated at Milne's Institution, excelling in outdoor pursuits. In 1878 he emigrated to South Africa and joined the Cape Mounted Rifles, later being commissioned as a lieutenant in the Basuto Police. He was appointed Major in command during the Matabele Campaign in which he and many of his soldiers were killed.

He led his small band of soldiers across the Shangani River seeking to capture Lobenguela, the King of the Matabele. The King escaped them. On their retreat, Wilson and his men found the Shangani in flood … after a brave fight, they were all killed. Buried in the Matopo Hills near Cecil Rhodes' grave, Allan Wilson was long regarded as a national hero.

Reading that brought back so many memories, especially of childhood visits to the Shangani memorial, where Allan Wilson and his men now rest, in the absolutely stunning spot high high up on those giant granite Motopos hills that will always be home.

Some friends sent me photos of their own memories of the Wilson Memorial, to share. The first lovely family shot is courtesy of Bill Teague. He's the little guy pointing up in the bottom photo. 

This colour one if from my friend, Robb 

The people of Fochabers placed two standing stones in a memorial garden, in 2002, to commemorate all the remarkable people born in their town. We went there to take a look...

The stone on the right has Allan Wilson's name at the top

We took photos, shed a few tears, and stood in awe that we'd come a full circle in such a story; so wonderfully complex, this journey of lives and deaths.

Another stone memorial, another stunning view

It's a long walk up to that burial site on the Motopos hill, but once you were up there... oh what a view! I'd turn in a circle and feel like an eagle, flying free.

Did Allan Wilson's spirit return to his own home on the River Spey?

Eagles fly here too

See, Hear, Speak

 

 

ReMARKable Coincidence

Saw a news item this morning on a new invention and MAYBE I'm going tinfoil hat here, but this creeped me out. 

Couldn't help thinking of Revelations.

 Revelation 13:1, 2; 11–18

11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666/616.

Interpretations

• The mark of the beast could be a tattoo, microchip, ID card, or barcode
• It could also be a mark that identifies someone as being faithful to the Antichrist's kingdom
• It could symbolically identify those who let the political system rule their lives

Peace is a Warrior

 In 2014 I wrote a poem that seems even more needed today.