WELCOME HOME LAURENT
 
BIENVENUE!

We are all very proud of you and your colleagues for the difficult work you did in Japan. You have earned respect from your family, friends and your community for going so far away to help those experiencing such a terrible crisis.  

Nous sommes très fier de toi!!!

All the best.

*****************

UPDATE 2014

*****************

Laurent has been on the news yet again!

This time as volunteer firefighter for the Monaco F1 race in Monaco.

Video is from CNN. Watch for his instructions.

Segment title: FIRE TRAINING..... 1:30 in.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/05/19/spc-circuit-motorsport-safety-monaco.cnn.html 

A BLOGGER SPOTS THE SAPEURS-POMPIERS DE MONACO IN TOKYO (click here to find out why)

JAPON: LES POMPIERS EN TRANIST À PARIS

LONELY TREE - RIKUZENTAKAKA, IWATE PREFECTURE, JAPAN

JAPAN MAY HAVE LOST RACE TO SAVE NUCLEAR REACTOR

MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE (more photos)

TSUNAMI IN JAPAN 3.11, FIRST PERSON FULL RAW FOOTAGE (video)

THE TSUNAMI STARTS WITH A TRICKLE THEN TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE

(video is in HD, see on fullscreen)

DIX-HUIT HEURES DE ROUTE POUR REJOINDRE TOKYO

EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN (photos)

RADIATION RISING AT FUKUSHIMA - SUNDAY UPDATE (video)

RADIATION FEARS SPREAD TO TOKYO DRINKING WATER

STRANGE...

DRINKING WATER IN TOKYO  =  BAD

WHAT ABOUT BATHING, WASHING CLOTHES & DISHES?

~~~ GREAT NEWS!!! ~~~

THE MONACO AND FRENCH RESCUE TEAMS ARE RETURNING HOME TODAY.
 
THEY'LL BE GOING THROUGH TESTS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE 100% AND WILL NO DOUBT HAVE A FEW DAYS OF R&R.

MORE NEWS AS THEY COME IN.

A BUSINESS WEB PAGE FROM JAPAN (UNFORTUNATELY)

IT SEEMS THE RESCUERS MAY STILL BE ON DUTY LONGER THAN EXPECTED

THE RESCUE TEAM HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO THE PORT COMMUNITIES OF UKUKI AND HACHINOHE TACHIBANA, JAPAN.
FRANCE IS SENDING AN ANTONOV 225 CARGO PLANE TO JAPAN, LOADED WITH MORE ASSISTANCE OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND HUMANITARIAN AID.

WOMAN, GRANDSON FOUND AT EARTHQUAKE-WRECKED HOME

THERE'S ALWAYS HOPE!

THE GRIM TASK OF FINDING BODIES IN JAPAN

AS THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS IS FOCUSING ON OTHER STORIES, RECUERS ARE STILL IN JAPAN, HOPING TO FIND ANY SURVIVORS.

WISH THEM WELL!

SURVIVOR PULLED FROM JAPAN RUBBLE AFTER 8 DAYS

THIS IS WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE RESCUE TEAMS READY AT ALL TIMES.

DISASTER IN JAPAN LIVE BLOG: MARCH 19, 2011

Please note: You can also view Al Jazeera television 24/7 further down on this page.

*LATEST UPDATE FROM LAURENT & HIS TEAM*

THE GROUP MORALE IS GOOD AND THEY ARE ALL IN GOOD HEALTH!!

AT THE MOMENT THEY GETTING READY FOR MORE DANGEROUS WORK AHEAD.

LET'S WISH THEM THE BEST IN THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.

FORECAST FOR (RADIATION!) PLUME'S PATH IS A FUNCTION OF WIND AND WEATHER

LATEST PHOTOS OF LAURENT AND HIS TEAM. LAURENT IS ON THE LEFT, CLIMBING STAIRS, SECOND PHOTO FROM THE TOP

THEY ARE EXPERIENCING -2 WEATHER WITH RAIN & SNOW. 

AT LEAST THEY HAVE THE PROPER RADIATION DETECTORS. EVERYTHING IN THE AREA IS DESTROYED, NOTHING LEFT STANDING. THEY HAVE LOTS OF WORK TO DO. GODSPEED!

MONACO: PRINCIPALITY SENDS ELEVEN HIGHLY TRAINED FIRE FIGHTERS TO DISASTER ZONE

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE TEAMS RADY FOR JAPAN QUAKE RELIEF

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE: INTERNATIONAL TEAMS IN RESCUE EFFORT

JAPAN RESUERS PULL 70 YEAR-OLD WOMAN FROM DEBRIS

LEVEL 6 EVENT – RADIATION LEVELS SOARS AS RADIOACTIVE WINDS SWEEP TOWARD TOKYO

TRAINS TOSSED AROUND LIKE DISCARDED TOYS

THREE VOLCANOES ERUPT ALMOST AT THE SAME TIME AFTER JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

MILLIONS IN JAPANESE COLD STRUGGLE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, HEAT

EARTHQUAKE REFUGEES BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL IN FREEZING NORTHEAST JAPAN

RESCUERS FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES

JAPANESE RESCUERS FOUND THIS BABY, ALIVE AND WELL

MONACO'S FIRE BRIGADE DETACHMENT LEAVES FOR JAPAN

FRANCE AND MONACO STEP UP JAPANESE AID EFFORT

THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO FIREFIGHTERS

GETTING READY FOR A LONG FLIGHT

ON THEIR WAY TO JAPAN

LAURENT, KNEELING (L)

THIS IS FOR YOU LAURENT

Laurent, the brave son of my cousin Pam, has arrived in Sendai Japan on a special mission of the the earthquake ravaged city.

He and ten others are firefighters representing the Principality of Monaco as part of the emergency rescue team with the grim task of finding and evacuating people still alive and those that have perished.

They are facing many challenges such as more earthquakes and perhaps more tsunamis. Even more challenging is the nuclear fallout of the nearby power plant.

To the family, friends of Laurent and his colleagues, I'm dedicating my new blog to them until they safely return home. 

I'll be posting pictures, videos and news links of Japan until then.

Pray for them.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

CN TOWER (CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES)

Strange to see the CN Tower without its top. Stranger still, no condos obstructing the view.

IF I TURN THE ENGINE OFF... DOES IT MEAN I'M PARKING?

NO PARKING -- IDLE FREE ZONE - TURN ENGINE OFF - SAVE OUR AIR
- signs behind the Hershey Centre, Mississauga

TORONTO ISLAND PARKING LOT

- spotted this during a morning stroll on the island last May

WELCOME

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

It's something I never thought of doing but it's easy to set up and I'm having fun tweaking every now and then.

I have lots of personal pictures and videos to share, plus I'll add interesting, funny, entertaining and informative material from the internet as well. Nothing too serious here but a lot of fun.

Be sure to visit the NICE STUFF feature (just above the clock).

As the blog was being created, a relative went to Japan looking for any survivors right after the earthquake and tsunami. I focused all attention right at the start of him and his crew.

I've always said, 'There's 'always another day tomorrow', simply because it brings hope, aspiration and perhaps a better day tomorrow. Meanwhile, enjoy my blog.

The current introduction picture at the very top, was taken at Victoria Park & Beach in Cobourg, Ontario.