To Chernobyl, with love - Jim Gilles

When Glaswegian man Jim Gillies staged a vigil for the victims of the world's worst nuclear disaster, he had no idea it was the start of a remarkable journey. Now, twenty-five years on from the Chernobyl meltdown of April 26, 1986, the pensioner is a hero and celebrity in a town far from home. Jim's life changed when an anonymous letter arrived at his home from Ukraine, pleading with him to help the young patients of a destitute hospital in Malin, a town within the blast's Exclusion Zone. Despite the strange circumstances, Jim made an exhausting three-day bus journey across Europe and into the unknown, where nothing could prepare him for what he witnessed. Abandoned babies and sick children lay on stained mattresses as wind whistled through the crumbling hospital's broken windows and rats roamed the bare, makeshift kitchen. There were no medicines, food or medical equipment and little hope. At least not until Jim set to work. To the amazement of all, the hardy grandfather has returned year after year with essential supplies and money, single-handedly transforming the ward and in the process saving scores of lives. To Chernobyl, With Love recalls Jim's efforts to give those kids a fighting chance as well as recounting his many travel adventures. From his trips into the ghostly Exclusion Zone and the menacing nuclear power plant to the frontline of the Orange Revolution political uprising, Jim's been followed by Ukrainian police, robbed by drug runners and almost lost his life - more than once. This is the uplifting story of a humble working class man with a big heart and an even bigger spirit.