Kenyan Diary: Captain Charles James

Here I go, new series, new characters, very tempting to make wild guesses about the direction Tony Grounds will take. I felt I was in familiar territory with some parts of Episode 1, sensing Molly's influence on Captain James, even though we are told she's back in Afghan. I hope Qaseem is close and watching over her.

Early Days in the Camp

I am missing Molly more than I thought possible. especially as we have been under the pump from the moment we arrived here and my focus has had to be totally on our work. I'm hoping that I can make use of what little free time I get to jot down some of the things that catch my attention so that I can tell her about them when I see her again in six weeks.

I had been warned that we soldiers were hated by the Somalis but I was not really ready for the degree of antipathy we were shown as we drove the troop carriers towards the hospital. The ugly face of terrorist activity was shown to us today, with the kidnapping of one of the key personnel from the hospital and the destruction of much of the interior of the facility. The irrationality of the mob who do stuff like this never fails to amaze me. The old, old story about cutting off your nose to spite your face. And the other one about biting the hand that feeds you.

So we're in the wrecked hospital, some seriously wounded locals already attended to, all sorts of racket going on outside and some of the platoon bring in a boy, probably about ten, and this kid has a mouth full of maggots. It stinks! An infected tooth which is fly blown and must be excruciatingly painful, poor kid. Lane sets about dealing with the boy, his father who seems to be a local of some importance and the lads who brought him in. I watch her organise all these fellows into helping, or at least not hindering, and in a few minutes she has the maggots and rotten tooth out, the boy shot up with antibiotics and the squaddies eating out of the palm of her hand.

And here's me standing at the back of the bed, watching and admiring her work while I keep an eye out for any trouble. Just for a moment, I am back in Afghan, standing outside Molly's clinic while she insists on attending to a young girl's wounded eye. What am I doing? Why, I'm ordering her around, insisting that the girl should go elsewhere, because this is not Army Regulations, is it? Sohail is there too, hassling her and even Qaseem is acting all anxious. The girl's mother is protesting loudly as well and in the midst of this, my Molly calmly ignores us all, fixing the girl's face until Sohail snatches her away. We didn't know the significance of all of this till later, but I still remember Molly's focus on her work above all else; at that moment she was there to look after a frightened and hurt youngster and she totally ignored me. Not for the first or last time, I might add.

Lane knows we are here to do a job now, in Kenya and I am aware that she is doing just that in pretty much the same style as my Molly in Afghan a few years ago. They are capable, competent, focussed people, these Army medics, and they are crucial to our success in the field.

Another place and time in Afghan. We have gone back to Bastion and Molly and I have ended up in my quarters, Risky move, that. Didn't cover myself in glory that time, either. But before I cocked it up totally when Smurf turned up, I managed to tell Molly that she had changed me. Under her influence, watching her, admiring her work and her compassion and falling hopelessly in love with her, though I didn't tell her that yet, something fundamental shifted inside me. The Bossman, he of regulations, correct uniform and unbending adherence to the way things are done in the army had begun to understand the power of looking after the small things as they happened. If I did that and cared for individual people as their needs happened, then the big things would surely fall into place.

I told her that was what I had learned from her and she was astounded. "Really?" she had looked up at me with those liquid green eyes and to this day I don't know how I had resisted pulling her into my arms and kissing her till my head spun.

So tod,here in Kenya, I understood how powerful her lesson had been. Of course, our work here is to help and that includes attending to individual medical needs. Today I was privileged to watch Lane, in the middle of the drama going on in this battered hospital, focus intently on the immediate needs of a boy in a great deal of pain. And I was able to watch over her while she did so without barking orders or getting in her way. And to witness her patience and her skill. Lane is the ideal person for this mission.

Thank you, Molly, my love, for teaching me something of the power of compassion. I am a better man because of you.

I would be really glad of your reviews. It's a bit scary starting to write when this series is so new and undeveloped as yet. That's why I'm making a connection between past and present. I think they're intertwined. Please let me know what you think. I'll probably make further diary entries from time to time. Fellow Antipodeans, I found the episode…you can, too. Contact me through the usual channels.