(this is so sad)
Mother to mother' plea to Cherie over Scottish soldier killed in Iraq
Tears trickle down Rose Gentle's cheeks as she watches Dear Mrs Blair, a short film about one mother's son. It evokes too many memories.But she forces herself to sit through a rough cut clasping her gold necklace which contains a photograph of her dead teenage son.
The most difficult parts to watch are clips from home videos: there he is, her boy Gordon, aged about eight, a cherubic child, performing in a school play; then as a teenager, fooling around with his sisters during a family holiday in Benidorm. This is more painful, she sobs, than looking at photos, because now she can also hear him.
It's the first time Gentle has heard his voice since he called her mobile from Iraq on Friday 25 June three days before a roadside bomb exploded under him. Since losing her only son, Gentle has embarked upon a controversial campaign: launching a petition to bring troops home; hand-delivering with her daughter, Maxine, 14, an angry letter to Downing Street and announcing plans to sue the Ministry of Defence.
Now, as she prepares for her first Christmas without him, Gentle has made a short film. 'A mother to mother appeal' is how she describes it, an unusual festive gift for the Prime Minister's wife. 'Cherie Blair said she cried when her son Euan went away to university,' said Gentle. 'But at least they will get to spend Christmas together as a happy family. For the past six months, I have cried myself to sleep every single night. My family and others who've lost sons in Iraq are dreading Christmas. I can't bear to put up decorations or to open Christmas cards.'
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/cherie/story/0,12713,1376969,00.html