Beads For Japan

Photograph from Kyodo/Reuters

Right now it's near on impossible to watch the news and not feel totally helpless.  The shocking footage from Japan has made me cry on more than one occasion.  What really got me yesterday were the pictures of the little children in their wellies being carried onto vans and boats.  Their tiny faces looked so bewildered and frightened.

Photograph from Kyodo/Reuters

You just can't imagine what the Japanese people are going through.

It's horrific.

I was sat making beads yesterday, listening to the radio and I just felt awful.  There I was going about my normal everyday routine while these horrendous things are happening in Japan.

I'll tell you what, though - it's at times like this that you see the really ugly side of some people.  I felt physically sick when I read on Twitter that some people (nobody I follow, I hasten to add) seem to think that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami is some kind of karmic payback for Pearl Harbor.  Who the bloody hell thinks such a thing and then shares their disgusting, ignorant thoughts with the rest of the internet?  Such vile, spiteful people must surely be deranged?  Or stupid.  It makes me livid.

But of course, that's just a tiny handful of sick morons.  The vast majority of humankind want to help Japan and its people in whatever way they can. The British Red Cross have been in Japan since Friday with their medical teams and support staff and they've set up the Japan Tsunami Appeal.

So after I'd finished making my 'normal' beads yesterday I spent an extra hour in the shed and decided that I would sell whatever beads I made in that time and give one hundred percent of the proceeds to the Red Cross appeal.

I will do the same today and tomorrow.

The Beads For Japan will be sold here, on my blog, on a first come, first served basis.  I will accept payment by PayPal only and as soon as I have made the payment to the Red Cross I will post a screenshot of the payment confirmation here on my blog.  I know that you wouldn't think that I would pull an Arthur-Fowler-And-The-Christmas-Club-Money style scam but I want this to be done correctly.

I'll be posting the first three Beads For Japan here very shortly so please do stay tuned.

Thank you,