Day 1: Afternoon of 11th July 2026
After my ride from Bilbao, I focused on the reason why I’ve come to Guernica. I felt I had to come to Guernica. This was the place where aerial bombardment of civilians first took place in 1937 as part of the Civil War, with General Franco getting assistance from Nazi bombers to obliterate the town. No thought was given to civilians. Today, President Putin is doing exactly the same thing, targeting civilians. It makes me both immensely sad and angry.
In the Peace Museum in Guernica, and indeed outside the museum, there are photographs and information about the terrible event in 1937. The museum was created to try and remind everyone of why the bombing of civilians should never happen again. Sadly though, the bombing of civilians has carried on through the Second World War and in the decades since that war.
Now we have the disaster which is unfolding in Iran. We have terrible devastation in Gaza with tens of thousands dead and over 1.5 million homeless and we have the invasion of Ukraine which has gone on for four and a half years.. The bombing of civilians continues across Ukraine, and especially in the capital, Kyiv. Estimates show that nearly 70,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed or injured. Worse still estimates show that combined military casualties (killed and wounded) in the war in Ukraine exceed 2,000,000 (two million.
What can we do? Well, I’m working with others in the United Kingdom to send medical aid, supplies for hospitals, and ambulances to Ukraine to help the civilians cope with the ongoing bombardment. My cycle ride focuses on fundraising. If you feel moved at all, please donate whatever you can. Thank you very much.
I was uplifted during a conversation with a young Australian in the museum when I asked him why he had visited the place. He certainly was disgusted with what had happened all those years ago in Guernica. He is very concerned by the killing in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other places around the world. What a good guy he is. We need more young men and women like him. Afterwards, I noticed that Louis, the Australian, had donated to the fund. Thanks to him.
