The PR Blog

'So we marched into the sea and when we got out to about waist level they then machine gunned from behind."

The words of the sole survivor of the horrific massacre of  Radji Beach on Banka Island off the coast of Sumatra. 

On 16 February 1942, Japanese soldiers machine-gunned 22 Australian World War II Army nurses and killed 60 soldiers and crew members from 2 sunken ships. From the 22 Nurses shot on that day, there was only one sole survivor, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel.

If from this maelstrom I survive, By pen and prose and poetry

I'll keep your sacrifice alive, I spoke to you of legacy

For when this hellish time is through, all those who hauled or charged or carried

Will be regarded heroes too

Is Australia ripe for the plucking?

Today marks the normal eve of the start of the 4 day Burt Munro Challenge in the deep south of New Zealand. Motorbike enthusiasts usually congregate to race and gather with fellow enthusiasts to honour the memory of The Worlds Fastest Indian. Also known as Burt Munro.

This year it has been cancelled. Covid strikes again. 

So while the event may have been cancelled, I think it is still worth celebrating the amazing man who dared to dream big and dream fast. 

Prince Andrew has been stripped of his honours and shunned by his family. Only his ex wife stands by his side. Andrew, or as I still choose to call him, Prince Andrew, is a war hero in my book. 

The media, the public and seemingly everyone have abandoned this man because he did something that many men have probably been guilty of: he had dubious mates and had a few bedtime romps with young women.

As a woman, I actually defend him. And I believe that he is a target of a political campaign and the bureaucracy have thrown him under the bus.