Hope For Haiti Telethon

Well night owl me stayed up to watch this (it was on from 1 - 3am in the UK).  I thought it was done well, and there were some good performances, I especially liked Justin Timberlake's version of the wonderful Hallelujah (which must be one of the most amazing songs ever written).  Bono and Edge appeared on stage with Jay-Z and Rihanna.  Jay-Z took the lead with a rap, Bono and Rihanna were kind of backing singers, but Bono's mic was turned so low you could hardly hear him and I'm not a fan of Rihanna's shrill voice.  That put together with the fact I don't like rap meant I didn't really enjoy the performance.  I have to say though Edge's guitar was lovely, but he was hardly shown on camera.  The chorus of the song (called Stranded) was pleasant and melodic.  I've heard that you can hear more of Bono's voice on the iTunes download of the song.

I don't know why the likes of Bono and Edge do collaborations with rappers and R & B singers, rock doesn't mix well with those genres.  But I think they probably do it in an attempt to be more relevant to the youngsters who U2 seem so desperate to have on board.  These guys are having the longest mid-life crisis going I think! 

I feel a little bad about being a bit negative about the performance, it wasn't bad, and after all it was done for a good reason, but it is my opinion.  I seem to be moaning about U2 a lot recently, maybe I'm becoming a grumpy old woman LOL!

 

Haiti Earthquake

I'm sure you've all seen the heartbreaking news items from Haiti over the last few days.  It so often seems to be the people who have the least suffer the most from these natural disasters.  It seems a hell on earth there, and it is taking aid so long to get there because of the devastation and poor infrastructure.  But amidst all the death and despair were two stories of amazing survIval.

Rescue attempts were still going on last night with British firefighters emerging as heroes.  They hauled two-year-old Mia Charlotte from the collapsed Beatrice kindergarten in Port- au-Prince. The firemen were among a 64-strong British team who raced to the country.

Pete Stevenson, operations commander, said: "We are over the moon. Mia is beautiful and the rescue was a huge success."  Mia was later reunited with her grateful mother.

Another little girl rescued:

Little Winnie Tilin - just 16 months old - was pulled alive from the rubble of her family's home after 68 hours.  Her faint moans were heard by chance by an  Australian TV crew filming the devastation outside the Save the Children charity's office.. Tragically, among those dead  are Winnie's parents, crushed to death by the falling masonry which amazingly missed her.

The TV team's interpreter Deiby Celestino heard her faint cries and jumped into the concrete hole she was trapped in.  After crawling over dead bodies to get to her, he was able to pull her out. Mr Celestino, from neighbouring Dominican Republic, said: "It's very emotional. It felt like my own baby I was pulling out there."

A Save The Children doctor who examined the toddler was amazed to find that, though she was severely dehydrated, she was not seriously injured. The toddler was then passed to her uncle, Frantz Tilin, who was looking for her after losing his pregnant wife in the disaster.

In these situations there's not a lot the ordinary person can do but donate whatever they can towards the appeal, every penny counts.  Those in the UK can donate here .