WHILE watching the recent coverage of VE Day on television I really felt it put things into perspective for me with regards to our current situation.

In those days, 75 years ago now, they didn’t have Sky TV, Virgin, Netflix, Amazon Movies etc. They didn’t have Playstations or XBox to keep the children entertained.

They didn’t have online shopping from supermarkets and couldn’t order DVDs, CDs and books at the click of a button to arrive a few days later for their entertainment.

But what they did have was a steely determination to pull together and do what was needed to be done for the collective good.

They had said goodbye to their sons, husbands and fathers who bravely went off to fight for their country not knowing if they’d ever return. Those at home had to be strong and keep going with no contact from their loved ones. There was no Skype or Zoom video apps.

During the blitz they couldn’t even have a light on, something we take for granted every day.

All that we are being asked to do is to stay at home and keep social distance, and even that has been relaxed a bit this week. So compared to what those war generations had to go through I think it’s a pretty easy task for us to do. We have all our comforts and I know it’s hard when we miss loved ones who are not in our own household but with today’s technology they are always just a phone call or video call away.

I think, in spite of the odd few who flaunt the rules, the majority of people have been brilliant in doing what the government have asked and although it’s difficult to not see our friends and family at the moment it’s a small price to pay for our safety and ultimately what could be our very lives.

The younger generation have been fantastic in staying in and I think they deserve huge credit. By staying at home and not meeting their friends in social gatherings they too are helping to stop the spread of this terrible pandemic. As adults we owe it to our children to set a good example so by us staying at home and not breaking the rules it shows our youngsters that we are all in this together and that we each have our own part to play during this unusual part of our history.

So, in remembrance of last week's VE Day I’d like to say thank you to all those who have and still do serve in our military. Thank-you to the generation 75 years ago who have showed us today by their example that what we are asked to do is nothing really compared to what they went through and as always thank you to our NHS and all our key workers.

I’ve been really honoured to have been asked to sing songs on video that are dedicated to peoples loved ones during this pandemic and you can see these on my community website www.allabouttrafford.co.uk.

If you have a message and/or song request for a loved one please send it me via devlinbookings@aol.com I will record it and post it on the website and my social media.

I’ll see you all next week!