A Bientôt, For Now

Well, maybe it's the post-holiday blues, but I'm a little tired and so is this blog.

It's been a good venue to let off some steam and a good personal exercise.

Not least I hope I will at least get more time to catch up with some reading, other writings, some homework and loved ones.

I shall soon be spending a good amount of time travelling overseas and would probably not have much time to add much to this blog (although these travels might become a good excuse to create a new - or more than one new - blog; and I shall post the new URL here for those who might be interested in having a look at it/them in the near future).

I think it is also time to focus on one or two favourite past times (although I'll keep an eye out for emails and such like).

I wouldn't however want to leave without a little rant.

Luckily, it's anything but difficult. Even just by flicking through the pages of a single newspaper:

Prince Harry is apparently livid (which, luckily, shouldn't clash with ginger) because "despite receiving donations totalling £1.15 million", the charity he set up in southern Africa in honour of his mother only delivered £84,000 to the children it was supposed to help.

"A total of £250,000 has been spent on staffing costs, with a single unidentified member of the charity's staff being paid £100,000". A further £86,000 was spent on a web site and raising awareness of the cause.

An indictment of today's social and political system; and some people still have the nerve of calling Africans corrupt. We are obviously all on the same boat. Only some of us have the ability and advantage of circumspection.

Also, the poor Queen (not so literally of course) has had to press Sarkozy's aides to make sure there aren't any cock-ups during his state visit to Great Britain. The 'King of Bling' was apparently spotted checking his blackberry for messages during an audience with the Pope...

Not surprisingly we also found out Ken Livingstone has received at least "one secret donation from a property developer with a conviction for fraud after the London mayor championed the businessman’s plan for a 46-storey skyscraper."

The (odd) consolation: according to a poll, Boris Johnson appears to be racing ahead Red Ken in the race to be mayor.

And looks like BA has got itself into another controversy; the old story of ghost flights allegedly not lose slots at airports. The airline apparently operated "at least three long-haul ghost flights totalling 15,000 miles with no passengers on board in little over a week".

Do you still feel like paying the extra fiver as a contribution to offset carbon emissions?

At least thanks to BA we get a new and more realistic perspective of the green debate.

Finally, we get to hear that the Glasgow airport bomb attack "hero" is being branded a fake. Apparently "he grossly exaggerated his role in thwarting the perpetrators."

A gallantry medal and international celebrity status is something no one can take away from him now.

And who can forget how "he met Prime Minister Gordon Brown four times, and was publicly congratulated by him at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth last September". A stunt? Jack Straw's much talked about "have-a-go-hero" comes home to roost.

Furthermore the latest news is the MoD pays out more to office workers than to men wounded on the front line. Some clerk was awarded £202,000 who strained his back picking up a printer.

At least it wasn't after slipping on a yellow rose petal or a M&S grape...

And finally scientists tell us beer is a lot less harmful to the brain than wine.

That's almost bad news...

(and I just spotted an interview with a prominent arts performer whom I happen to know a few things - being an acquaintance of my partner - who is obviously more of careerist than myself an who has no qualms about making up the truth as he goes along... naturally I must add there is nothing wrong about that and good luck to him)

Last but not least Finally I should say I'm happy to say that I've been lucky to find some really good and original work and interesting people in cyberspace and to learn and amuse myself with other people's work; and I should also thank to TFA for bothering to send me his comments, which were as witty and interesting as his own blog. Since I wasn't expecting to receive any, I shall consider myself happy to at least know the comments I received came from someone who's not afraid to speak his sane, reasonable and genuine mind - not least his own rather than other people's.

Perhaps I'll come back to my rants in the future.

For the time being, a tout à l'heure!

Tales of the Bizarre

I don't think even Roald Dahl would have come up with this one.

OK, not wanting to leave the loo for two years is bizarre enough but it is always possible that the person on (or in this case, "in") the loo might not want to leave it for reasons that are left out in the article.

Perhaps newspapers followed up this story because they found it comically sad.

But surely the really odd thing is the person who lived with this woman who was "attached" to the loo (allegedly her "boyfriend" - an odd description for someone who took two years to notice something was wrong) could have rung the police or social services before?

But as bizarre goes, Grape Man is almost unbeatable.

The depressing thing is that someone lokked at the case, and there WAS a possibility grape man will have his case accepted...!

We mustn't forget Yellow Petal Man...

(and I say "was" because I gather the case was overturned. The consolation: he now faces a costs bill of around £15,000...)

Watch the Hand 2: Perceptions

ID cards. You'll have them even if you don't want them.

That's almost a certainty, unless the Tories or Lib Dems win the next elections, which doesn't sound very realistic.

However, despite the government's past admissions (when it suited them) that ID cards won't solve problems like terrorism and that the benefits to the State have been exaggerated to the detriment of the highlight that should have been given to individual benefits (which is funny, because I don't want to have to prove who I am because I know perfectly well who I am, because of the principle of the thing - for me it's essentially an issue of personal liberties and freedoms being eroded, and I can't avoid feeling robbed - and because I don't believe in the benefits to the individual)

If we were to accept that an ID card scheme was a good thing, then why the exceptions for some? And why does it have to e so costly to the individual?

Anway, I've made my views on Id cards once, but what I had forgotten to recount here was what happened to friend of mine.

The other day she had the wallet here she keeps her European ID card stolen, only realized it 10 minutes later and quickly run to the bank to cancel her account. Unluckily the (male) burglar (whe now the burglar was male because she saw him run out of the restaurant where she was having lunch but didn't think much of it until she noticed the wallet was missing) had already been to the bank and withdrawn £600 pounds from her account using her ID card with an obvious female name and photo on it;

When she returned to the branch to make a formal complaint against the agent who allowed the stupid withdrawal to happen - and she was a little incensed, thus making alarm bells ring inside the branch and automatically turn her into an undesirable client - she wasn't allowed to see the branch manager because she didn't have an ID card to prove who she was; for a good 15 minutes they maintained that she had to prove who she was even though she explained her ID and all credit cards had been stolen and she didn't have a driving licence. Finally she saw the manager, closed the account and told them to bugger off.

In a world already ridden with deeply frustrating call centres, automated calls, fear-mongers and incompetent minds in positions of power, the last thing anyone needs is to be forced to prove who they are.

Not least because we will be creating a scope not to be believed.

There's no avoiding feeling incensed at this when today we learn that the Ministry of Defence lost 11,000 ID cards; and this was only a trial period in a very small part of the scheme.

Worse even than losing the cards was the government's admission that it was necessary to improve the "security awareness" of the scheme.

Not security, but "security awareness".

Because we live in a world of perceptions.

Put Out More Flags

Danish flags keep being burnt in the Muslim world.

Thailand, Iran, etc. the parliament in Jordan has even heard calls to sever ties with Denmark.

Danes thought plans by Dutch MP Geert Wilders to air a highly-critical film of the Koran would divert some of the attention from Denmark.

Dutch flags have already been burnt.

Soon there will be no flags left to burn.

The dutch government doesn't want the film to air. Dutch interests may suffer.

The Danish cartoonist at the centre of the original row things the Dutch government is wrong. Equally he doesn't want newspapers to print his cartoon any more. Intellectual property and abuse of the original cartoon, now being "hijacked" and used out of context.

The reason is I have recently been getting a few hits from people searching for references on Kurt Weestergaard. From Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt, Iran, etc.

Since I do not receive any comments on it, I am curious to know why they/you got here. "Kurt Westergaard+childhood", "when did Kurt Westergaard got married", and such like.

Individual profiling or trying to understand the person better?

Once Upon a Time, There Was a Party...

With ever more countries dominated by polarized two-party systems (and generally fighting on the same ground - the "centre"), it's always fascinating to hear how things work in places with parliaments with at least 10 parties represented in parliament.

Denmark is one of those places.

PM Rasmussen and his Right of centre Liberals recently won another election and with the help of the right-wing People's Party managed to hold on to power.

The Social Democrats - led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt, of Gucci and Kinnock fame - have traditionally been the largest or second-largest party in the country. Welfare , Denmark and the Social Democrats being three co-dependent words.

Schmidt lost the November elections by a minimal margin. She's hardly been heard since.

The biggest gains in the last election, and perhaps partly responsible for the Social Democrats failure to make any gains (although responsibility in the natural order of things must lie with the Social Democrats themselves) was Villy Søvndal and his Socialist People's Party.

The news is the popularity of the Social Democrats is at its lowest level since prior to the 1905 elections.

From a close second to third place (which in politics is a little harder to achieve that in football, you jut have to look at clubs like Manchester City or Liverpool for instance) it's a bit of a feat.

But not the sole example of how democracy works elsewhere.

Villy Søvndal is a brilliant demagogue.

Helle Schmidt a silent woman.

When the social fabric and public discourse and political rhetoric changes as fast as it has been the case in recent years in Denmark, those who feel their voices aren't being heard won't vote for a mute. That's for sure.

I've heard some say Pia Kjærsgaard is "only trying to save Denmark". Other say she's killing it.

The polls say "71 per cent believe Søvndal (the de facto leader of the opposition) would give a better prime minister".

Søvndal's party was staunchly euroskeptic. No longer.

Søvndal has also stood up to Islamic extremists telling them to go looking for other, greener pastures: "If they want to live in a religious dictatorship so badly, they can go to those countries in the Middle East where such dictatorships exist".

The message is "go to hell if you don't like it here".

Is anyone surprised about his level of popularity?

Carpets & Rugs

Danes are annoyed (allegedly) because Swedish chain IKEA (which, by the way, has catapulted its director into the list of the 10 richest in the world - something which doesn't seem to be frowned upon in these latitudes any longer...), when it came to naming its brand new range of carpets and rugs, instead of the shinny Swedish and Norwegian place names it used to employ, decided to go instead for Danish place names...

(At least instead of cathedral towns they could have gone or some more household names like the one on the right which still gets me into fits of laughter, despite knowing is childish. But there's just no avoiding it,so there it is - one of these days,when I get the time I will provide you with a list of really good names from some southern European countries, where imagination sometimes tends to run quite wild)

IKEA, aka Sweden is walking over the Danes. That's the accusation.

Imperialistic undertones, surviving grudges, complexes? who knows.

However, a hint next in the news: jubilant Swedes celebrate the fact Sweden no longer has the world's highest tax burden - "Denmark has taken over as the country with the highest tax burden" (funny how stories involving Denmark are illustrated by the same photograph: of a Danish squad supporter shaking hands with his Swedish counterparts).

Now, there's something to celebrate.

Equally interesting to see how, as opposed to the UK, in Sweden foreigners can't bank on Swedish IDs. Apparently they can't get IDs even if they want it very much. Sweden, may I remind you receives if not the highest at least one of the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Those without an ID feel embarrassed and some are even reconsidering staying in Sweden for higher education.

Immigration is an issue but not like in the UK. The UK government says it's toughening up on immigration. It wants everyone to have an ID. Licence to bank on it. Those without an ID feel free. At least some do anyway.

Next we learn some Norwegians are shocked to learn they're really Swedes, that a mother and her three children in Oslo were rescued by Swedish man, but as stereotypes go this has to be one of the funniest:

And among the stereotypes there are lessons to be learnt too. One for people like you and me. Which is to continue to distrust bovine, careerist, unfunny, cowardly, scared people and sanguinary organizations thirsty for the blood of the sanguine...

A last bit of news from Scandinavia that pleased me immensely, although it added to the distrust of some Danes in their own PM (and increased mine...) was to find out that Mr Fogh Rasmussen (who, by the way, is being rumoured as a potential candidate for the post of EU president - anyone but Blair! and perhaps the Pope) is obsessed with germs.

Apparently the Danish PM always brings a napkin to state dinners to clean his cutlery and his kids are not allowed to blow the candles on birthday cakes. Only after they've been taken out of the cake.

Thanks to him my carrying a Vicks First Defence foam spray on public transport and airplanes to disinfect my hands and using antibacterial wipes to clean my desk at work (apparently they carry 10 times as many bacteria as a regular loo - a fact no doubt aggravated by the refusal of office cleaners in touching desks for fear of being sued, one of the finest examples of institutional idiocy) looks almost normal.

But politicians are politicians and when it came to a state visit to the States, president Bush turned up at the airport all sweaty and there was no shying back.

After all it was the sweat of the most powerful man in the world.

Ole! Tea and Crumpets!

Demonizing bullfighting has even seen it banned from daytime TV in Spain, if not practically from TV altogether (the Portuguese, with their watered-down, "light" version of bullfighting seem to have got away with it)

I'm not denying it being partly gory and sometimes pathetic (something most of my relatives, bullfighting "aficionados", would no doubt deny and spit on me for saying it...), only that before condemning others one should have a proper look within the home.

Static electricity, damp weather, etc. all have frustrated the hopes of those who don't like the Queen's soldiers to wear bearskin hats (at least sometimes they're wearing something...).

Apparently an alternative synthetic fabric is yet to be found. And Trooping the Colour has not been banned from our screens yet.

Yet...

...and here's a good excuse to break the daytime ban. Old footage of the "alternativa" of the younger of the Rivera brothers at the amazing arena of Ronda:

I obviously disapprove of all this (In my mind I try to see bubble-rings blowing dolphins instead of bulls...).

Damn genes.

Talking of which, I was confronted the other day how one today can fall victim of globalization.

Until only a few decades ago we more or less got all together with people from, let's say, pretty much the same village.

Someone pointed out to me that I was born in one country, studied, worked and lived in another, own a house in a third and got together with the citizen of a fourth one.

Sardine-flavoured tea with bacon crumpets a la mode...? (just replacing plain tea and crumpets here for a reality check...)

Severe News Warning

I've just heard a very silly reporter talk about the storm that is battering the British Isles right now.

"As the early hours arrived, so did THEY".

Not the silly reporters but the gales.

Headlines: England and Wales hit by power failures and "some" flooding.

There are looks and sounds of urgency.

Like the sort of compliments one has to pay bad wine.

We go live to a reporter broadcasting from a motorway in the outskirts in London.

It's rush hour. The traffic is flowing normally. Actually, there is hardly any traffic at all.

But the urgency-filled reporter explains that despite the disappointing pictures of non-impending tragedy we can spot electronic signs flashing saying "road spray; slow down."

Road spray.

(Perhaps the commotion is that for once there is a good excuse for transport delays and disruption...)

Severe Gales to Hit the News

Brace yourselves.

There's a powerful storm just sitting to the West of the British Isles, about to batter us in the next few hours and throughout tomorrow.

Up to 80 miles an hour gusts and torrential rain on the menu.

(I have friends arriving from the States tomorrow - wouldn't want to be in their place to be honest...)

It's not going to be as bad as the 1987 storm, we are told by forecasters, but nonetheless we are reminded of 1987...

Just in case, if you want to tell your story, email us at bla bla bla, says ITV News.

Should it be severe. Should it be news.

Keeping the Old Traditions ALive

Suspected militants arrested in western China earlier this year were planning attacks on the Beijing Olympics, Chinese authorities announced today (read more here).

"Officials now say their aim was to attack the August Olympics."

In addition, "officials also revealed that a plane crew prevented an apparent attempt to crash a jet on an internal flight".

"The boss of the Communist Party in Xianjing, Wang Lequan" said "those terrorists, saboteurs and secessionists are to be battered resolutely, no matter what ethnic group they are from".

Thus we are led to believe both incidents were probably related to Uighur secessionists who have campaigned for the mainly Muslim province to become an independent republic.

Terrorists, Chinese-style.

But more to the point, the course of action was very Chinese in style too:

"Two people were reported to have been killed and 15 arrested in a raid on 27 January in Urumqi, Xinjiang province".

I'm going to Beijing in the Summer.

Let's keep those old traditions alive, shall we? At least until the end of the Summer.

Murder Inc

Disclaimer: this rant was partly prompted by a viewing of The Constant Gardener last night, thus apologies in advance.

Further to the "Andean standoff", and regardless of all the damage the assassination of FARC commander Raul Reyes might have had on certain egos (especially Chavez's and Sarkozy's, who thought they could be hailed as heroes by personally receiving Ingrid Betancourt at the border with Colombia, once released by the rebels in a process mediated by the now assassinated Reyes), there is a lot to be asked about the role of drugs and the States (try, if you can, to ignore the bias of the latter source) in the whole affair.

The three laptops the Colombian forces say they removed from the scene of the assassination allegedly contained "a series of explosive secrets - most notably, that the rebels were trying to buy uranium to make so-called dirty bombs and that President Chavez (under the codename of Angel) had channelled $300 million into FARC coffers" (read more here).

Chavez denied this but his sympathies for the FARC are well known.

The USA is happy to accuse both of terrorism. Especially if someone like Chavez is interfering with the money flow and breaking up allegiances.

Anyway, as conspiracies theories go the link of between CIA, the Dow Jones, the FARC and the Colombian drug fields isn't all that bad.

And there's always them to keep me entertained for a while (even the level of detail in the bio. As we've been finding out in this US primaries, you can tell a man by its Church).

The Platitudes of Reconciliation

Funnily enough The Office of Tony Blair has been updated.

A few words on the recent escalation of violence?

Perhaps some advice?

No. The news is "Tony Blair to teach at Yale University"!

News that Blair "sees potential for peace deal in 2008" relegated to the archives.

Even funnier, the web site provides us a link, at the bottom of the latest news. The link leads us to Yale and the headline: "Prime Minister Blair to teach at Yale"!

Further on, the same article reminds us that "Prime Minister Blair" has "demonstrated outstanding leadership in these areas and is especially qualified to bring his perspective to bear".

The areas being: "how religious values can be channeled toward reconciliation rather than polarization".

It's a funny world.

With consultancies at investment bank JP Morgan and financial services giant Zurich and a deal with Random House for his memoirs (thought to be worth about £5m) Blair will be busy.

I wonder how many lessons he will attend in person...

Anyway, these platitudes reminded me of Obama and a debate I'd heard earlier on political rhetoric and how Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seem to be at odds on the subject of eloquence, oration and rhetoric.

Clinton suspicious of the positive power of rhetoric, Obama following in the footsteps of Tony Blair, always keen to associate eloquent oratory with good thinking and virtue - an index of character.

Not wanting to sound too suspicious of political rhetoric, one of the examples mentioned in the debate as perhaps the greatest defender of eloquent prose and oration, Cicero, was deeply agnostic, ended up a stoic and was eventually assassinated by Marc Anthony, to whom he had professed passioned speeches.

There's nothing wrong with fine prose and eloquent orators. On the contrary.

But using emotion to energize citizens, so that problems can be swept aside don't appear, at least to me, like an acceptable or safe course of action. Perhaps I don't believe in citizens' politics and would rather leave it to the politician to sort out.

If only they could be trusted.

(P.S. To make it less abstract, here's what I just spotted; the way in which German Chancellor Angela Merkel proves there's no need for polished oration in order to strike a good balance between words and deeds. Germany was not impressed with the manner in which Mr Medvedev was chosen as Russia's next president, and was the first to say it out loud; today, Merkel was the first to visit the new President in Moscow to whom she relayed the message that even if things would not be easier with him, she hoped they would not "become more difficult either". German efficiency I suppose. Naturally, so that we wouldn't forget who the real baddie is, Putin said "I do not think our partners will have it easier with Medvedev". A different type of eloquence...)

Cautionary Tales

I wasn't quite sure what to read next and while revisiting old tapes of programmes I found the Southbank Show special on J.G.Ballard.

I'd recently heard him on a BBC radio programme, together with martin Amis, on the attraction of the human being for violence and how that danger is usually triggered by boredom.

I don't mean to go back to the issue of boredom, which I already mentioned a couple of times recently, but in the Southbank Show he mentions that aspect again, and how that explains writing the controversial Crash.

Most impressive, because of its study of the mind, its challenges and downfalls, I particularly enjoyed reading the Atrocity Exhibition and Super Cannes.

Especially because of something he says in the programme I just revisited, inspired by his childhood experiences; and about deceptiveness: that "reality was a stage set; the entire scenery and cast could be swept off the stage at any minute. Nothing was secure, and to think otherwise was a huge illusion."

So, Atrocity Exhibition it will be.

Not because I am feeling pessimistic or especially down; rather, like Ballard says (he insists he is no pessimist) these are important "short prophecies" or "cautionary tales".

And sometimes instead of a "slow down, bend ahead" sign, it's good to replace it with "speed up, bend ahead".

Self-provocation in this case (a good antidote to boredom as well, I gather)

Caracalondon

Did anyone need better proof than this week's standoff between Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador to see how hazardous some minds can be especially when in power?

With popularity waning at home, a standoff with neighbours (something leaders in "the West" are often happy to provide) is the best weapon in creating a little diversion from local problems one is not capable or willing to solve and a surplus instrument to demonstrate your hatred of America (by challenging a pro-American leader).

Colombians, who have lived under the realm of instability for decades (Colombia is not the immediate name that springs to mind when thinking of the world's most dangerous destinations, but like Haiti, RD Congo and Somalia, for instance, the recurring bouts of violence and deterioration of conditions over time make them a match, if not surpass, countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, which tend to get all the bad press - but with 3 to 4 million people displaced by the paramilitaries and thousands indigenous, unionists and other Colombians "disappeared" or assassinated Colombia frequently features in the top 5 of the most unstable and perilous nations - I recommend the viewing of Channel 4's Unreported World on Colombia, and pretty much all other episodes) it's no wonder the people of Colombia were glad to hear government forces had killed a FARC leader.

The champagne-Left, in Britain too, who derided President Lula of Brazil for not espousing their ideology and hatred of America, are now calling on Lula to mediate, using his more middle-of-the-ground approach, in this standoff.

Shouldn't those who think Utopia lies elsewhere really be joining Utopians in Utopia, rather than imposing us their vision of Utopia? (See how Red Ken claps when Chavez says the States has become a sanctuary for terrorism and terrorists and the clapping at the final statement is just as odd as the speech itself.... I'd call it priceless if Livingstone wasn't the Mayor of the city I live in. I'd also say hopefully not for long, but all I can maintain is my wishful thinking)

Impossibilities

The Economist this week highlights a book called "Physics of the Impossible" by Michio Kaku, a California-born theoretical physicist.

In it, Kaku divides divides his "impossibilities" into three classes:

The first includes "telekinesis, teleportation and invisibility", i.e. sci-fi (a bit more fi than sci) a little closer to us. I'm a little torn between the three, but somehow always thought invisibility was the best of the three (since moving objects and travelling in space are already possible - by the motion of the hand and by road, sea or air transport, respectively - admittedly, taking only a little longer than teleporting).

The second includes "concepts that do not violate the laws of physics but which are not well understood", e.g. hyperspace travel (apparently millions of years away).

But the most striking for me is the third category.

Not least because Mr Kaku can hardly find anything that falls into it.

Nearly everything is possible, apart that is, from what "violates the laws of physics".

That's perpetual-motion machines and.... clairvoyance.

(which, I guess, also cancels out any attempt at trying to find out whether Mr Kaku's theories are right...)

Lego Soup

News of a continent-sized, 10-metre deep plastic vortex floating in the Pacific hit the news a couple of years ago, although it was apparently first discovered by a sailor in 1997.

I was wondering what had happened to it.

It looks like it's grown dramatically. The "plastic soup" of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean "is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States" (read more here).

Apparently, too, "about one-fifth of the junk - which includes everything from footballs and kayaks to Lego blocks and bags - is thrown off ships or oil platforms"...!

Footballs, kayaks and Lego blocks? Off ships and oil platforms?

Lego blocks?...

Thoughtcriminals

The Met has launched a new campaign. To raise awareness (is it still possible to raise even more than it is???) of suspect terrorist activities within "our" communities.

With all the talk of ID cards and now this, it's not surprising one might start feeling like Winston Smith.

Some aspects of this campaign that caught my eye:

"If you're suspicious of the number of mobile telephones someone has, we need to know."

"Thousands of people take photos every day. What if one of them seems odd?"

"You see hundreds of houses every day. What if one has unusual activity and seems suspicious? Terrorists live within our communities, planning attacks and storing chemicals. If you're suspicious of a property where there's unusual activity that doesn't fit normal day-to-day life,we need to know."

It all strikes me as an odd campaign and odd things to proclaim.

Rather than instilling confidence it's more likely to foment fear and distrust.

Terrorists don't live within our communities. A few freaks maybe, but actually terrorists live, as we all know, in other parts of the world... right?

The thing is I'm the first to think some acts, like that of the "Lyrical Terrorist" are tantamount to something slightly beyond the simple incitement to hate and should be tackled.

But somehow this campaign reminds me of the paranoia surrounding the smiley faces at Cann Hall Primary School. It appeals to the same sick, perverted minds that have nothing else to do but give vent to their petty minds; and the only thing it achieves is appeasing precisely the same people.

Like the parents who said they supported the idea of blurring their kids' faces on the pictures shown online.

Which cancels out the whole point of having photographs in the first place.

Fear for the sake of fear.

But, again, I think some people are just extremely bored.

Collective Discourtesy

Looks like one-third of office workers suffer from e-mail stress (although I guess the conclusions of this study will also apply to those who are not office workers).

Apparently some of us can spend up to half a working day checking e-mails (or not, if like me you randomly pick a few on which you spend some time and delete the rest...)

The main conclusion is we are left tired, overloaded and unproductive because of emails.

The problem is not spam (they are annoying indeed, but a good filter will deal with the lot most of the time, and they're easy to spot on the subject or address line, so a simple click will get rid of them).

The real problem as I see it is being on call almost all the time.

Today, I still don't like mobiles phones; but obviously recognize the advantages of owning one (not least because it killed off real-life accident dramas since those real life events declined dramatically since the invention of the mobile phone - if you are trapped in the snow in the middle of Canada, you ring for help rather than fall prey to the next script based on a real life story).

What I don't like about them is that when people find out you have one they will expect you to answer it at all times and if you don't they will frown upon it; the same tut-tutting you'd get if you said you didn't own a mobile phone.

But I have no qualms admitting to screening. Or used to be. I no longer have to screen calls because I have disabled the messaging service and have no idea of finding out whether anyone has rung, such is the poor impression of a phone I have at home.

The deal is, emails are bad because there is no almost no way of avoiding answering unprompted messages and requests.

And unnecessary messages proliferate because if people had to communicate verbally the number of instances of interaction would probably fall by half.

If you are as obsessive as I am making to-do lists on a daily basis you will know there are items that get stuck in the doldrums for months on end, until the only option is either to delegate the task at hand, surrender or give up on it altogether.

And no one enjoys being given up on. Even if by a simple click.

That's how anxiety is being fuelled by collective discourtesy.

Not Breaking Taboos

Further on the subject of boredom, this can also be a side-effect.

Meanwhile on the front line, things don't look so good.

It was all optimism 24 hours ago. Peace (apparently taboo and disallowed in the Israeli airwaves) was still in the cards perhaps before 2009.

Amazingly, the optimism remains today.

For some, the optimism never dies. In fact, they're bolder and can see potential for a Middle East peace deal in 2008.

Although the prediction hasn't been fine tuned since 7th February, the latest update from those perhaps too busy with their multi-million-a-minute jobs in the city.

The Middle Ages, Boredom and the Dynamics of Violence

Watching "A Year in Tibet" on BBC4 tonight we got a glimpse of the Middle Ages intertwined with 21st century life.

Not only have Chinese Communist Party leader officials have changed slightly, but there are now hotels charging £22 a night and monks master fancy digital cameras.

The programme followed the preparations at a monastery for the visit of the Panchen Lama (the 11th and not the one whose whereabouts are unknown; I'm talking of course of the Chinese puppet).

The monks undertook a major clean up of the monastery - the first in 20 years - and it reminded me of that saying that if we were to travel to the Middle Ages the first thing we'd notice would be the stench.

Although I did spot a brand new bottle of Fairy Liquid, so no excuse saying things haven't moved on in time...

But in a country of gentle Buddhists (who despite not being allowed to even carry a picture of the Dalai Lama, in exile since 1959, and who are forced to wear their huge ID cards on top of their religious clothing should they forget who they are) some pictures still did the have the power to shock.

Namely of dogs being tortured, abused and less shockingly, eaten (I won't criticize what people enjoy eating as long as it's not me and as long as they do it quickly...)

Last week I also saw footage of people involved in bird and dog fighting, in Afghanistan I think, who said they did it because they were bored. Dog throwing is a relaxing sport in China.

Which is fair; and perhaps proof that this has nothing to do with the Middle Ages; or the habits of cavemen for that matter. Soldiers from "sophisticated" countries, if bored, do it too.

On sheep. On disabled dogs. On puppies. On house dogs, even if they were guilty of being the property of suspected insurgents.

I don't really know the provenance of these videos. But I personally know people who have been in the war and shot at, when bored, at cattle, birds, played with napalm and dropped bombs where the impact was greater and more fun.

Boredom is not a good thing.

Would boredom ever take me to do such lengths? I can't honestly say but I seriously doubt it.

But then again, I'd be a disaster at war; and should stick to computer games. Or perhaps just the napalm. Or even just the task of winning the hearts and minds of the people.

Noises Off

Sometimes making noise for the sake of it is just a waste of time.

What is the point of whingeing about Russian elections not being "sufficiently" democratic? What is not-sufficiently democratic anyway?

And if that wasn't enough, then say you are looking forward to work with Russia's next president...

And the UN needs more than just Spiderman to turn its image around.

The latest from Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip: "while recognising Israel's right to defend itself, I condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children".

How would you like your force sir? medium, rare or full on?

Great comics.

(P.S. And you would imagine Muslim countries would be boycotting the Paris book fair because of certain "comics", but no, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has urged its members to pull out from the fair because Israel is the guest of honour. And they do terrible things in the Gaza Strip. Which, in the great scheme of things, is a lot worse than doing terrible things to your own people.)

The Russian Hydra and the Miserabilist West

The name's Dmitry, we are told.

We are also told that with Putin he will form a sort of two-headed government, a Russian Hydra.

Putin's economic and political legacy is not what is seems, comes the warning. Surprise, Surprise.

Someone was saying the other day how vain and ambitious Medvedev is. Yawn, again.

The "real Axis of Evil" is getting a new face (or two in one depending on the perspective).

There's not even point in bothering with the outcome of the election. Who needs observers anyway?

Such is the state of "democracy"...

Left without real options, Russian voters are at least given a chance to enjoy a good brawl and a healthy laugh.

Running against Medvedev is, we are told, the crazy and short-tempered ultra-nationalist Zhirinovsky (always handy to have someone like him running in an election when you want to ensure votes are coming your way), the Freemason and the old-time Communist.

Always a pleasure to watch a good scuffle...

...nevertheless we, in the civilized West, are known to have our own little skirmishes to deal with sometimes, and if we feel we have it bad with Sky News, what about Fox in the States?

There's been so much that has amused me over the last few months but today, since we're on who can shout the loudest, here's an old cat fight between "America hater" Rosie O'Donnell and "dumb puritan Republican" Elizabeth Hasselbeck over O'Donnell's not-very-mainstream apparent opinion that Americans are the real terrorists in Iraq not the Iraqis.

Hasselbeck even called Donald Trump obnoxious, which in turn branded her, not unfairly either, one of the dumbest people on TV. Alicia Silverstone snubbed Hasselbeck, Glenn Close seemingly too.

But most amusing of all is to hear the Fox reporter and his two "commentators", especially when the reporter suggests that giving voice to "crazy opinions" such as O'Donnell's and "allowing the normalization of these kind of views" we risk deteriorating the whole debate...!

And what a debate it has been!

Anyway, enough of the old and in with the new... let's see "what difficulties the next US president, - he or she - will face in 2008" in the words of Senator Ted Kennedy.

For starters there is Obamanomics; some would say proof that fear is an essential tool of politicians of every description, but above all, I would say, evidence that the lower the expectation the highest the sense of achievement and happiness.

Miserabilism the way to happiness and fulfilment?

Me thinks not...

Building Your Dreams: At Home or Away

Remortgage your home in London (where your government's policies made sure property prices are as inflated as possible) to buy one abroad and then claim the higher mortgage payments of the London home on expenses!

What a brilliant idea, how didn't I think of that before? (Obviously it's all still speculation....)

But not a bad idea to build the life of one's dreams...

Is anyone still listening?

Why doesn't someone tell him to shuddup?

The third in line to the throne has had it of Britain. And he wants to move to Africa "unless he is allowed to return to the front line".

A friend has said "he was going mad at Windsor and got to the point where he felt totally useless" (so much for the Daily Mail to pretend to like the Royals and then come up with "Windsor" and "useless" in the same sentence)

He would live "for six months of the year in Africa". We know he is capable of doing sandy Afghanistan. Will he do sandy Bazaruto?

"I generally don't like England that much", said the Prince, who apparently has returned from Afghanistan speaking Dari or Pashto given the number of "interpreters" trying to explain the public "not to read too deeply into Harry's comments"...

But Harry came back with a few other grudges:

Army rations: apparently they're rubbish.

The media says "Prince calls on Jamie Oliver" to sort it out...

Actually the media put those words into his mouth. The media ration, get it?...

Anyway, the prince says the soldiers are "really are fed-up with it", but aware of the genetic tendency in the family (grandfather's-wise) for slip-ups, Harry abides by the 10-second rule and adds: "food's food. There are people out in the villages who have got less stuff than us, so I suppose we should be happy with a corned-beef hash" and gets away rather well, I think.

Second grudge is: the post is pants.

I guess Windsor has a lucky postcode. Since the quality of the delivery you get really is a lottery.

I've never had it so bad as when I lived in W10. It's a lot better these days where I am now.

I imagine in Kabul the service is probably rather shoddy.

I shall, for Harry's sake, agree to a voluntary blackout.

News From The Far Side

I'd been wondering about the fate of the 269 Tristan da Cunha's islanders whom, affected by an acute virus, last December were seeking emergency medical aid (read more here)

Since, as the saying goes no news is good news, and I had not come across any mention of the island since then, I assumed all was well.

But just to be sure I looked up the island's web site and was relieved to hear "the flu virus, and its asthmatic side effects, are now well on the ebb. All hospital patients (including those there for other reasons) have been discharged. All public health measures referred to in my Public Notice have been suspended and the community is getting on with its traditional Break Up tasks."

Despite the 14,000 hits the web site proudly displays (most probably enhanced by news that all was not well in the island), we read the subsequent note: "see below for further details of a flu outbreak which Tristan took in its stride, but which brought the community into unwanted international media attention".

Alright, that serves me well for being too nosy.

It's not unheard of and perfectly understandable that small and remote communities tend to shy away from too much attention.

However, the news from Tristan da Cunha (named afte the Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha) does make compelling reading.

We get to learn about the difficulty of finding mates but moved by news of couples finding each other and getting married, babies getting christened and those leaving others behind.

We are impressed by the arrangements put in place to minimise the spread of the flu virus.

We feel for those affected by the fire in the island's fish processing factory and sorry for the organizers and celebrants of Valentine's Day, whose day got cancelled (although I'm not at all sure that dessert looked safe enough to eat - but a cheap menu it is though!)

All due to the remoteness of this island, where TV, radio, Internet and satellite mean nothing if drugs can't be shipped in time to save lives.

Until Ryanair gets there, that is...!

And talking of travel and remote islands, the Faroe Islands are pretty high on my list of difficult places to visit, after Barbara by Faroese writer Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen (at least the Faroe Islands are accessible from London and Birmingham in the Summer and Copenhagen throughout the year on Atlantic Airways!)

I May Not Know Anything About It, But I Honestly Think...

Harry is back in the UK.

Helicopters over over Brize Norton to follow every second of his arrival. Paparazzi perfectly arranged around Prince Charles' s empty Audi parked by the RAF terminal waiting for the photo shoot.

Sky News are trying hard to have you pull hairs fro the skin by the root:

"Only God knows what might be going through his head", but he's "definitely regretting" this premature comeback.

"He's been looking forward for the comfort of his home, his sofa,the safety of his home" (although he is now probably likely to attract a bit of the attention of Jihad lovers and Muhammad cartoon freaks)

"This breach of the media blackout might put him at risk in the future" from disenfranchised Muslims in the UK (as opposed to broadcasting the same pictures after he was safely back after serving his time in Afghanistan?)

(Home Office Secretary Jacqui Smith - the one who refused to pay policemen in England the same as their counterparts in Scotland to save a few quid - must have relished her prime time saying how this case highlights, I'm not very sure how, the importance of making sure we have measures put in place to "defend the British way of life"... I have almost no hairs left by now...)

He is coming to the "green of Britain instead of the sand of Afghanistan", where, he "was the closest to normal he would likely experience" (war? really?)

The prince said in an interview he didn't like England, but the Sky reporter assures us that "it's not the people or the country he doesn't like" (perhaps people like him? or people like Ingrid Seward, executive editor of Majesty magazine, who said that Harry has changed his image by "being completely out there" - when, where? - and who said "I'm sure he's going home for a bloody Mary", the poor lamb deserves it... - old habits die hard)

"He had an exciting 10 weeks" (because wars are exciting)

"We can only speculate..." (then why not change name to Sky Speculation?...)

"The prince has grown enormously", he is now "a man of great charm and personality" (like someone has mentioned in the papers this morning, it's nice to see him in a British uniform instead of a Nazi one, but let's wait until the tabloid media fall itself over Harry next time he pees outside the box - however, the headlines will no doubt be "Harry misses Afghanistan"...)

To deal with the last few hairs we get the cringing Royal mate and the housewife who's got a son in Afghanistan serving with Harry:

"I think", "I believe", "I'm sure" she starts every time the reporter asks questions about how it is serving in the army and in Afghanistan; and at last she reminds herself that "I may not know anything about military affairs..." but nonetheless "I don't think to be quite honest..."

The mother of the officer who served alongside the Prince adds that he son rang her once to say Harry was serving with him but they were not supposed to tell anyone about it. "She" had kept her word (but felt comfortable enough to tell the nation her own son had not done the same at the time he was asked)

She says she was surprised at how long "I", and then corrects herself, to "the media" had "kept the story so quiet".

And she tells us how her son was so surprised to see "Harry is just a regular guy, like any other"... (which obviously he is not, and anyhow, are we commoners supposed to feel good about that? and is that why the other "ordinary" guys kept asking Harry to be photographed with him?)

Then we get pictures of the royal mate, always protective, always on Harry's track, always with one eye on the camera (in case the camera didn't notice he's there to protect him) and another on his mate, in every take giving a prince a word of support.

The only person I feel any sympathy in the end is Harry himself. At last he was doing something other than attending lunches and going to weddings.

Even if this might have partly been a royal PR ploy (and probably wasn't - at least not as much as an army's or government's).

And because even though this might have looked like a successful propaganda exercise for whoever it might have served - royals or army -, the media will undoubtedly try to cash in on the story and milk it in such a way that it will eventually turn against those who might have benefit ted from it in the first place.

That's how hard being a royalist can be.

P.S. While Prince Harry arrived back in the U.K., the PM rallied his Labour Party for the May local elections.

We heard a snipped of the speech, with a weirder than ever looking Brown pledging/crying to build "the Britain of our dreams".

Highlights of the speech:

- the promise to deliver "a period of policy stability benefiting hard working families" and the admission that child poverty is "the scar that demeans Britain"

- the promise to "move ahead with radical reforms to create a 21st century NHS personal to people's needs" (how that,and "keeping inflation and mortgages low" is going to help to reduce child poverty I'm not quite sure)

- "From welfare to crime, from health to education, from housing to the environment, this is our common purpose, our agenda for change, our ambition for this new age. This is the New Labour promise of opportunity and security, not just for some but for all."

Err... what's new?

Maybe this: "We will insist that all who can work, must work, in fairness to all of us who do. Between now and 2010 we will give people new hope by helping another 100,000 people moved from to welfare to work" (the italics are mine)

Perhaps that's why the prince has gone to Helmand. You! will be next...

All those rich bastards on welfare. Inadmissible...

Dire Predictions, Allegedly

London News tonight:

Climate change protesters meet to plan possible protest that could bring London to a standstill this Summer.

Protest might start with a camp at Heathrow, which might then travel down the M4 to central London and probably converge in Hyde Park.

There could also be a flotilla.

The reporter is speaking live from somewhere in Heathrow, the stage of possible protests.

We are shown the document where these probabilities are discussed.

Probably.

Next news story: the Southeast might see an increase in the number of incinerators to deal with the problem of lack of available space at landfills. There is just too much rubbish...

...how appropriate.

(Anyway, local activists don't want the incinerators either. Like those in East London who don't want a new huge Royal Depo on a brownfield site - by brownfiled I mean a wharehouse ruin overgrown with weeds - where rare - rare for London that is - species of spiders and other insects breed. It's a brownfield site for heaven's sake...!)

P.S. On a different, but non unrelated subject, I have just been told I'll be going to Mozambique to do some work related to the environment, land use and possible effects of climate change. Hooray!

I hope it will be hot...

Stuff of Nightmares

I haven't really been following the story of the disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews but either something is wrong in the news, or no one makes sense anymore.

In this article in the Mail we are told she might have fallen in the wrong hands and police are now treating the enquiry as a murder investigation.

However, further down, we are told "a man helping in the search for missing schoolgirl Shannon Matthews is believed to have been crucified outside his house just yards from the nine-year-old's family home"

"A neighbour of the 'crucified' man said she found him singing 'Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ' as he lay nailed to the cross.

"She said: 'I was leaving my neighbour's house at 11.45pm when I heard him singing. I told him to get up, thinking he was drunk, but he cried 'I can't'.

"She claims that the victim said somebody had dragged him out of his house and done it to him, with locals claiming the attack was related to the hunt for the missing girl.

"But police have denied any link to the Shannon Matthews case, adding that the incident was minor and no-one had been arrested" (is it normal for people to get crucified outside their homes these days?...)

Now, there may be no relation between the two cases, but with a man crucified "just yards" from Matthews' house (and with the cases of bus stop stalker Levi Bellfield and Mark Dixie in a week), something is rotten somewhere.

(and by the way, is Jersey's reputation as a "tourist destination" at any risk as a result of the current abuse "crisis" or is it still safe for families from the mainland to visit?)

I mean simply to highlight how the implications of the perception and fear of crime.

Liquids were banned from hand luggage (no point in explaining the lady at the x-ray machine that the 150ml tub of wax - hardly a liquid - was practically empty, containing perhaps less than 25ml - the rule was 100ml max, and that was that! no point either in disposing of lighters and sharp objects either because I took them with me through security all the time without being stopped and they were widely available anyway at Boots and kiosks at the duty free end), heavily armed police and tanks were deployed to airports to safeguard our sandwiches, protests were banned from the vicinity of Westminster (no point in protesting there about anything anyway - no one really listens, not even a million on the streets nearby), etc. etc.

Nevertheless, soft-spoken fox haters managed to cause havoc inside the House of Commons, winging fathers successfully powder the PM at Question Time and a fat Batman gets to climb the walls of Buckingham Palace.

We're allowed to fear; and there are reasons to fear.

But fear has proved to be a really profitable business.

Bullet Magnet

So, Prince Harry is in Afghanistan. Serving (did reluctant NATO countries need better evidence than this to prove US and British forces really are desperate for additional forces in Helmand...!?).

Serving Secretly (obviously not secret enough...). On the front line. Since December.

And apparently 500 metres (what happened to yards?) from Taliban fighters.

"Chief of the General Staff and professional head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, was furious the strictly-enforced embargo had been broken" (read here)

The story was first leaked by New Idea. Back in January. Everyone says how naughty of New Idea to leak this story. For those like me who had never heard of new idea, here's why. New Idea is an Australian women's magazine that "provides entertainment, information and ultimately enjoyment and satisfaction to Australian women".

Anyway, a US blog (yes, a blog, or more precisely a news aggregation web site - the Drudge Report) "picked up the story and broadcast it around the world, after a German newspaper ran a piece on Thursday" (golly they're slow...)

Dannatt didn't mince his words: "This is in stark contrast to the highly-responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number of overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations. After a lengthy period of discussion between the MoD and the editors of regional, national and international media, the editors took the commendable attitude to restrain their coverage".

Sky News and practically everyone broadcaster and newspaper in the UK thought, the hell with it, if it's been printed on a news aggregator and an Australian women's magazine (never doubt the power of the women's magazine with audiences in terror training camps...) we might as well print and broadcast the full thing; at least it wasn't all that secret to them anyway.

A bit naive of the MoD to think the media - all of them - would honour some sort of news blackout agreed by British media. If it was agreed only with British media and only British media knew about it, where did the leak originated from?

Sky and the BBC were happy to tut-tut the behaviour of foreign media (err... the accents may be estuary English but isn't the station almost practically foreign anyway?) and what do we get next in the news?

A report on how the way the UK media is reporting the Jersey child abuse story risks tainting the image of the island forever...

Just one more thing. "It's no great holiday resort apparently but I really look forward to going there. It is winter, which is a slight disappointment, it is just going to be a little bit cold, a bit snowy, but at least we might have a white Christmas", said the prince before leaving in December, dismissing "bullet magnet" fears.

Today we hear the interview recorded some time ago where he says at least the weather is a lot better "and I hear the weather in Britain is poo!"

That's just no way of treating British weather...!

Smart Prizes for Stupid People

I got home from work a little (well, more than a little...) frustrated today, not as much from work as from people at work (and nothing to do with having turned up at 10 a.m. by mistake when I wasn't supposed to start until 1 p.m....).

There is nevertheless nothing like a real mean-spirited kill-joy to help me thicken my skin and fight excess displays of emotion (all very un-English and unsightly, and traits I had over the years worked hard on perfecting but which have almost lapsed since I began working alongside "foreigners" like me - which, for the record, and for those who insist on getting all worked up about the opinions Brits express of those who move here - tend to be a lot more impolite, insensitive, uninformed and proud than the natives; naturally this is a crude generalization, but I hope I can get away with it because I'm not generalizing about "a" people and I have my experience with English people to compare with and corroborate what I just said).

Anyway, this rant came about because where I work (and this is where things begin to make less sense in Britain - although I guess it's part of the policy of solving problems by shifting them on to someone else's desk or to keep them out of sight long enough until they disappear by some divine intervention) should someone become a problem, they are either sent on an attachment scheme to another department (to lighten up things at the source) or offer them a good enough pay package to entice them to leave "voluntarily" - even though they are blatantly the cause of serious problems and in almost any other country in Europe at least there would have been enough evidence to justify sacking them (the irony of capitalism in addition to the power of some unions, who in most cases I know have always jumped to the defence of the most unashamed and unafraid prevaricators).

And then I read in the news that "Stephen Nelson, chief executive of BAA, which operates the much-criticised Heathrow airport, is to step down".

My first thought: how much is he being paid "to leave"?

Before I got the answer I found out the name of the man who is replacing him - former Severn Trent and Hays chief executive Colin Matthews - and that "the new chief executive will be forced to consider drastic measures to reduce its £10 billion debt".

Shocking figures?

Well, a little while ago I got the answer for how much BAA will be writing on Mr Nelson's payoff cheque (look away now if you're of a nervous disposition): £1 million, at least, that is...

Still trying to recover from the shock, I decided to open today's post and among the bills I found a leaflet from SAS, the Scandinavian Airlines advertising their latest joint-venture.

Under this new promotion anyone who is a member of their frequent traveller scheme an who makes four journeys in one month on Economy Plus (posher economy) or Business class will be entitled to £10 vouchers to shop in John Lewis. However, to be entitled to these vouchers card holders are asked to create an account and follow 3 or 4 "easy" steps. My question is this: four trips on Economy Plus and Business will cost a minimum of £1,000; these card holders who travel Economy Plus and Business may well shop at John Lewis, but why on Earth would anyone with their spending power bother to redeem a £10 voucher from John Lewis? and asking them to follow a few "easy" steps and asking them to follow a few "easy" steps too many! and I wonder how much SAS spent on the glossy advertising? Anyway, my point is: whoever came up with this advertising campaign was undoubtedly very well rewarded...

Like the sleek advertising professionals who came up with this really expensively boring ad or the Scottish police force that wasted £120,000 on a new logo.


Logos... well, there's a lot to be said about that...!

Anyhow, for those needing a little encouragement for the next day's work (or just the next day) here is something funny, the even funnier response, something that shouldn't be funny but is, and something trying to be funny.

Good night (and hopefully no tremors tonight - the irony being I called mother to tell her what had happened and she laughed. The reason: she lives here!)

The Ghost That Never Was

Scary!

I had never felt an earthquake. Until now...

The tremors lasted about 15-20 seconds. I'd finished the previous post at 00h45m and gone to bed at 00h55m. I decided to read to help me sleep and a couple of minutes later the bed started shaking slightly at regular short intervals. I asked my partner to stop moving and was told to stop joking. Instants later it felt like I was lying on a water bed!

First I thought the air conditioning that runs on the outside wall was about to burst, then realized walls don't usually shake like that.

I got up, checked the news and nothing. Tried the British Geological Survey web site, but it was fast asleep...

Got dressed,went out and asked the first person I saw whether they had felt anything. They thought I was mad and left me. Couldn't see anyone apart from the usual inebriated late-nighters and decided to walk around for a bit.

That's when the ghost theory sank in. Maybe ghosts exist and whatever it was was waiting for me to go to bed!

Back in the haunted house I switched on the TV and finally there it was, on Sky... proof ghosts don't exist.

Phew....!

4.7 in the Richter scale apparently (or so says the US National Earthquake Information Centre; always a safe bet; and reassuring too - for us anyway...- to find out Indonesia has felt 12 tremors in the last 4 days and Greece 5 in the last 48 hours...)