The weather was probably the most serious factor affecting this trip. At night the lowest recorded temperature was -17 Celsius and we had about half a metre of snow. This, as I am sure you might consider, caused us more than a few problems, not the least that my battery wasn't working as well as it might.

However, the trip down was uneventful. I passed snow covered mountains in Austria and was grateful that the snow had ceased, although when I pulled into one service station (and this happened on the way back as well at a different one) I looked at the surrounding 'road' and felt that I could do a pretty good Torvill and Dean impression it was so icy. I made such good progress that I had to call Ljubica to make sure that it was O.K. for me to arrive earlier than I had planned. I expected to be in Zagreb by Thursday lunchtime, but a combination of an earlier ferry, less sleep and few vehicles on the road, meant that I was on time to arrive on the Wednesday evening.

I went through the Slovenian border with no problem, but at the Croatian border they decided I needed to do a spedition. I walked into one office and asked for a spedition and green card insurance, and the whole thing was done in less than ten minutes - this must be bordering on a world record. The guy in the office actually gave me a half-smile once! This is basically unheard off.

I walked over to customs and gave them my forms and after the customary shaking of heads and tutting (I am sure they must have classes how to do this properly before they qualify) I was asked to bring the van up to the gate. I did so and as I pulled up I was told to talk to another guard. He asked me why I had been asked to make a spedition and to go back in and tell the chap in the office that he could remove it all from the computer. I ran. I didn't worry about getting a refund, that could have taken hours (in fact, I heard later that some others to whom the same thing had happened, waited for three hours to get their money back). The officer disappeared, came back signed my manifest and waved me away.

I ambled down to Zagreb and arrived a Ljubica's by 09.15. Of course, there was a warm welcome and a meal waiting. I slept well that night.

On this trip we were again working with Bob Parfitt and Fred Binks. Bob had coordinated a lorry and a half, loaded with goods (approx. twenty four tonnes) which were badly needed. I am pleased to say that we had contributed our fair share to the goods, thanks to many groups and individuals around the country.

Groups in Essex and North West London had again come up with thirty duvets for one camp (only another 132 to go). At a regional celebration we received a large amount of food and toiletries from groups and centres in the South West, especially from Cardiff. Tilda Rice had again given us rice, this time two tonnes, and the last of our bubble bath and shampoo was included. SmithKline Beecham had given us a small quantity of Horlicks for the children at Gornja Bistra and we had spent some of the money we raised at a concert in Bath to buy 50,000 children's multivitamins. One particular individual had personally paid a lot of money to purchase some special Vaseline gauzes for a poor child suffering with very bad sores to their skin. Last but not least, Hilltop Resource Centre, a facility for adults with learning difficulties, had given food, toys and other gifts to Gornja Bistra, a hospital both the staff and friends felt associated with due to the similarity of their lives.

The first lorry should have arrived on the Wednesday, but it had been delayed, and so on the Thursday Ljubica and I went to the customs HQ to sort out the paperwork and then led the lorry to the railway cars where it was to be unloaded. It had started snowing and the journey was slow and a little hazardous, but nothing too bad. We arrived at the railway cars where there was a merry band of young people from the group there to meet us and help unload. It is really lovely to see all these people that I am beginning to know better and better.

We unloaded as light snow flurries fell around us, but eventually that died out and we had a not too bad day unloading, which was finished by mid-afternoon.

We had a similar procedure the next day as the next 'half lorry' arrived and we had to unload that. The snow was falling a little heavier this time and, as the goods to be unloaded were of the heavier variety it was all men who arrived to help. Ljubica wasn't too sure how many would be there, and as we were driving along I was praying for at least six. Five had arrived and we were waiting for a carriage to be allocated. Just as the one we were going to use pulled in, so the sixth person arrived. In fact, another two arrived by the time we had finished . We worked hard, with a blizzard raging around us, and everything was done in about ninety minutes.

Bob, Fred and the others were due to arrive today, Friday, and we knew that if it continued snowing their journey would be more than a little difficult. We went back to Tuskanac and waited., I had a little sleep, and about 5.00 p.m. they telephoned to tell us that they were at the Austrian/Slovenian border. Six - seven hours driving time with no customs problems. In fact they arrived at about 6.00 am the next morning. It was nice to see them. They had a very difficult last leg of the journey and to reach the house had to push the vans because of the snow and ice.

They slept for a short time and we went to the railway cars to load and get the first bunch of goods out.

The usual round of visits started. Food, toiletries, furniture, clothes, blankets, duvets. We visited HZ, which is one of the two adjacent camps which have no electricity, and gave a great deal of food and other items they so desperately need. It may look picturesque, but imagine living in an army barracks with no electricity or heating with the weather as bad as this.

This was our Christmas visit and everyone wanted to give us something. But what do you take from people who have nothing? We only asked for their love and prayers for what we do. We also told a family with some teenage children that we would see if we could make an appeal to raise 20,000 DM's to help them buy the house they want, to get them out of this awful rut. If this worked we could move on to another family, and then another.

We went to Nova Cice, where I have seen families fighting over a piece of material. More hospitality, more friendship. Why can't we bring more goods to help them more. We witnessed another melee as people pushed and shoved to get a new jumper or coat, to make sure they received as much food as the next person or family. I was nearly crushed as I handed out T-shirts to people. Suddenly each thing takes on a different meaning, a different importance.

We visited Grad Mladih where we have been leaving the duvets, among other things. They had arranged we would stay for a longer period of time and gave us a meal. We had a pleasant late afternoon and before we started to eat decided that we would move the vans to the top of the hill leading to the way out. It took several attempts and a lot of people to get us to the top, and when we got there we parked on what looked like, and steered like, a skating rink.

The next day, more camps, more visits to the railway cars, fortunately no more snow way falling but the temperature was not getting above freezing. We left goods and good wishes. A smile here, a kiss for the baby there. The pay is awful (!), but this is great work. We finished the day by going to the orphanage where amongst other things we were leaving a lot of the vitamins and some beautiful clothes which had been made by Groups around London as part of their aid work.

We visited Gornja Bistra, with a lot of van pushing, for whom we had a lot of stuff and then visited the wards and managed to let them put little Nina, the thirteen year old who measures about a metre tall with whom they have conversations, into a push chair so that she could join us. They are trying to find her a special chair with a table so that she can work more easily. I would like to get her one of those simple children's computers which help with spelling and maths. Maybe next visit.

Back through the snow - we are out in the country here and it looks like a winter wonderland - on to the railway cars where four families have lived for five years. They are building houses, but the weather and a shortage of money has brought that to a halt.

It's the end of my stay already. It is now Thursday morning and we are back trying to start the van. The long journey home with water jets that won't work, slush on the road and a filthy windscreen. I stop and try to fix them and after several tries they come back to life. Snow, rain, ice, I get them all. I speed across Europe and reach home by about 2.00 pm on Friday. I am tired.

Another wonderful trip, a great feeling of self-fulfillment, another visit to so many people who are becoming so dear to me.

We want to try and raise money now, not just for people who need to build houses to get out of refugee camps, but for children in institutions who need to be brought back into a family environment where they can find a little love in their life.

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