This was held on the evening of the last day of the week long and very moving “Loss of Innocence” Exhibition, hosted at Gloucester Cathedral. The exhibition was visited by hundreds and included paintings by children from Gaza, depicting the traumatic events they have lived through and paintings envisioning hopes for the future by children from our partner, Hope Flowers School, Bethlehem.

After the lighting of the Peace Candle by the City Sheriff Councillor Pam Tracey, the evening arranged by Spirit of Peace in partnership with The Friendship Café, was introduced by Jane Ozanne.

Our guest speaker, Miriam Yagud from Jews for Justice for Palestinians, shared her own story, then spoke about the wide diversity of opinions regarding Israel/Palestine amongst Jewish people worldwide, something which is not adequately recognised.

Miriam then focused on what practical and positive things can we do. She addressed issues such as  boycotts and lobbying and explored what is a healthy use of language in discussing the situation.

It was a heartening evening, with a large and passionate audience of people, willing to discuss and engage with the issues in a positive way and to take considered action that could lead to helpful change.

On December 1st , Blue Restaurant in Coventry hosted a delightful ‘Peace Meal’ evening for Spirit of Peace, and raised the wonderful sum of £ 568 . We are deeply grateful to all the team there and to the very talented musicians and flamenco dancers for their amazing support and for the work, care and time that went into creating this fabulous evening.

Those attending were greeted with a glass of mulled wine and great live music as they came into the beautiful candlelit mediaeval building and had the opportunity to chat about Spirit of Peace with Jane Ozanne (Director), Barbara Payman (Trustee and Midlands Coordinator) and David Bennett (Gloucester Coordinator).

Coventry’s ‘Lady Godiva’ paid a brief visit, spoke of her own charitable work and expressed her support. Delicious platters of food, specially created for the evening by Blue’s chefs, were enjoyed by all, and some people sat at shared ‘Peace Meal’ tables and had the pleasure of new connections. Great prizes for the Tombola were generously supplied by Blue, Juanita Bolster (Reflexologist) and Pauls Hair Studio of Kenilworth.

We would like to thank all who supported this event in whatever way, and particularly to Blue’s Kaushal, Pete and Emilie for making this delightful evening possible.