Saturday 6th of September
I'm still mid-nightshifts, although not tonight thank god. I was watching Shrek and just dropped off to sleep - terrible, and it was only what, half past five? Shocking. I do hate it when it happens to be honest, because you don't sleep properly later on. But then my sleep pattern's shot to hell anyway!
I had rather a nice message waiting for me when I logged on to Flickr today - one of the photo's that I'd loaded up after coming back from holiday had been seen by a group admin, who attached an invite to add it to their group. Nothing so very unusual in that you might think, and indeed not, but this particular group is the "Along the Piddle Valley" group! This will really not mean a great deal to you unless you happen to be living or visiting Dorset regularly - or unless you're my age, and spent a part of your youth watching Carry On films. The very idea that there should be an actual River Piddle is just too - well it's a slight snort of amusement at least. Not exactly fall over and roll around type laugh, but a well, whatever next type squeak. And then to find out that Flickr have an entire group of people who photograph this lovely area - and if you ever make it to Dorset, seek it out is my advice, you really can find anything on Flickr. And check out the group page, it's well worth a look. Find it at http://www.flickr.com/groups/772586@N21/
My but there's been a lot on BBC 4 about this Cerne Accelerator business. It seems we've a deep mine where they're doing more or less the same thing at half the risk - they're due to fire it up in a short while, and apparently there's a reasonable chance that they might actually create a black hole on the Earth itself, which will proceed to eat us all up. And I have no doubt my tax pound will have paid for this privilege. Now look, I've spellchecked that, but it still doesn't look right to me - priviledge? privelidge? Whatever, the spellchecker insists. I've probably used the American spelling.
Yes, mm. Talking of things American, I was on a night shift when the Republicans held their convention, and I saw more of it than I cared for. I have very mixed feelings about all this - firstly, it's not my place to comment on American politics. But I'm a rational European, and I can't help but say it - how can these people, who would like to suggest to us that they're intelligent, rational people, possibly even consider voting for such an appalling woman? What woman presents herself as being fit for public office by carrying onto a stage a five month old baby with a disabling condition, to be howled at by an assembled mob - that poor child was clearly rigid in her arms, and probably terrified. Let alone what's happening to her elder daughter. It's almost as if she's exhibiting the girl as some sort of specimen that suggests - well God knows what she thinks parading this child around at what must be one of the girl's most difficult times will achieve I really can't say, because frankly it escapes me. But don't let her fool you that she's some kind of caring individual, because she clearly doesn't have the nouse to put herself into her childrens' shoes that's for sure. I'm afraid I've always been one of those people who judge by people's actions rather than what they say, or at least I try to be, but clearly this is someone who is far more me, me, me than I want to keep my children protected from the public gaze. She's entitled to her views on whatever her views are - I don't agree with them but she's entitled to them. But the way she behaves where her family are concerned puts her beyond the pale as far I would be concerned.
The other thing I'd like to know is exactly what it is that the Americans have got against being Liberal? Clearly it must have an entirely different meaning from that the word has here, but every time they speak the word, all I can think is how offensive they're being. There are entire political and philosophical traditions built on the concept of liberal and liberalism, and every time they speak the word with their clear intention to insult those who aspire to it, they proclaim their inability to be tolerant of other people's views. These politicians like to proclaim their allegiance to the American tradition, the causes of the founding of America and all that goes with it, but in more or less the same breath, they want to decry the aspirations and beliefs of a large part of the rest of the world. It almost makes me wish that the Liberals would win the next General Election (oh how I wish they could pull that off, it'd be such a slap in the face for Cameron and his ilk) and they'd have to deal with it. Head on. A Liberal Prime Minister. Ok, a LibDem Prime Minister, but what the hell.
