The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 27,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 6 Film Festivals
Today is the day the country and the world helps to celebrate the nations Armed Forces by holding events up and down the length and breadth of the country.
So today is a quick blog post to wish all my friends who are still serving in Afghanistan, to the lads of B Company 3 Rifles “stay safe lads” and to every serviceman and woman across the globe, have a great day and be proud.
For more details on events or links to the main website, then please follow this link: http://www.armedforcesday.org.uk/
Regards Project Afghan.
There is nothing like a Soldier. He loves a good time and drinks with his friends, his emotions are impenetrable yet his shoulders are soft for those that need someone to lean on. His hands are firm yet knows exactly where they need to be. If he has his arms wrapped around you you’re either in the last moments of your life or the safest place you could ever be. He’s stubborn but will let you have your way just to see you smile. He’s deadly with a rifle and gentle with a child. He plays poker with the devil but guards the gates of heaven. He curses like no other but is a perfect gentleman. He has a thousand yard stare but when you look into his eyes its the most comforting thing you’ve ever felt. The Army trained him as a weapon but raised him as a lover. He knows every part of a multitude of different weapons as well as he knows every curve of his woman. There is no other man like him. Whether you love him or hate him both is a privilege. He could be your worst nightmare or your sweetest dream.
A while back I added a previous version of this image in colour, I also had a few people kindly ask if this could be edited into B&W and I didn’t want to disappoint those who asked.
Sorry its taken me so long, but here is the final B&W edit and would be good to hear your views.
Rob
I just wanted to introduce you all to an amazing artist who’s work I have followed and admired so much over the past few months.
Kate Borlase has explored several possible avenues as an artist with her to primary aim to focus developing themes surrounding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Armed Forces, as Kate believes this to be a contemporary and current issue in modern society.
Furthermore Kate has continued with painting but progressed to present her work in an unusual and logical sense, with the concepts of hiding away from reality and struggling to cope with normal domestic situations are common place with symptoms of PTSD.
Kate has produced an amazing collection of images and paintings to go alongside her exhibition, of that I’m sure you will all agree and as I write this we are in the process of a joint collaboration for future projects. More details to follow.
So please click here to see more of Kate’s fascinating work: http://kateborlase3110.wix.com/kateborlaseartwork#!about
Please join and follow this great blog about Afghanistan.
There is a small, yet seemingly loyal group of readers out there. In efforts to more fully immerse you the experiences I had and continue to have as I put this program together I would like to give you an opportunity to select the context of the next clip I roll out. Thus far I’ve uploaded a handful of clips to YouTube…dust storm, bazaar walk, dismount and girls school. What else do you want to see?
Vote early and often…polls close one week from today.
I’m not yet ready to roll out portions of the finished documentary; that will happen in a few weeks.
I write these final thoughts as I sit in the departure lounge at Camp Bastion airfield in Afghanistan drinking my last cup of coffee, watching the European Football on tv and with England just losing to South Africa in the rugby, my flight again is delayed, got to love the RAF at times even though they do an amazing job and got me out of the patrol base (PB) to be here right now writing this.
But as I write, a million words and thoughts are going through my head, mixed emotions and the constant discussion of the ‘what if’s’ and ‘so what’s’ raging inside my head as I battle for the last time in the desert confines of Camp Bastion.
Project Afghan is coming to an end, of that I can do nothing about, I think I did my best in the way I portrayed my and our lives out here In the tribal wastelands of Helmand Provence, from the day to day things we do, how we live, sleep, work and fight to make sure each day isn’t our last, the images used for each post show a record of the War in Afghanistan from a normal soldiers view, each post written to describe the emotions we have, how we live our daily lives and through to the messages posted by the young men from B Company 3 Rifles, who will continue to stay behind once I have left and continue the work of making the transition of power to the people of Afghanistan all that more closer and a reality worth fighting for. So I hope you have enjoyed our journey through what was for me just under 3 months and will continue to support all those still out there.
For me though I’m starting my journey home, soon I will feel the drop in temperature from 40 degrees plus to around 12 degrees, clean air, rain, green grass, family, friends, more rain and all those that have followed me via the blog and on Facebook. But as I leave I feel saddened that I cannot continue the blog for the duration of the 6 months, there would and could have been some more amazing images and blog posts to come, of that I’m sure, but mainly that I cannot be there to share the despair, humour and humility that makes a A British Soldier stand out from other nations, so I wish each and every serviceman and woman that is still serving in Afghanistan my thoughts and to come home safe.
To you all at home and to you all that have followed the my blog, I thank you all for your support over my last 3 months, without you all, the blog wouldn’t have been worthwhile, so thank you from me.
But to all those in 3 Rifles and to those especially in B Company 3 Rifles, be safe, be strong and be Swift and Bold, I’ll see you soon in Edinburgh for that beer we all deserve.
Regards Project Afghan.
My final months worth of images now that Project Afghan is coming to an end, I know June hasn’t finished as of yet, but my chance to capture images in Afghanistan has. So I hope that you have enjoyed our adventures via the blog and by the images, just a shame its almost near the end.
Regards Project Afghan.
Project Afghan 