A Change Of Government

This week has seen a change of government in the UK. A new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet and, we are informed, a new direction. This has come about without anyone casting a vote or meaningfully voicing an opinion. No! One person resigns and another takes his place without the mess of an election.

Not sure how I feel about this. As a democrat, I have always believed that the people should have a say in who governs us. However, a change of Prime Minister between an election, seems to be an increasingly common aspect of British politics. Harold McMillan and Lord Home in the 1963 at the height of the Profumo affair; Harold Wilson and James Callghan in 1976; Margret Thatcher and John Major in 1990 and now Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in 2007. What is interesting is that, John Major apart, the transition led to the party of power losing the next election - John Major survived only because the Labour party under Neil Kinnock imploded on the eve of the election.

I do have a lot of time for Gordon Brown. I feel he is principled and focused. I hope he can stand tall and true on the world stage and provide a riposte to the criminal activities presently being formulated in the White House. He seems to be surrounding himself with talent rather than 'Brown's Cronies' and, even in these early days, he is looking to place his own stamp on the office. I wish him well.

When I've had time to reflect, I'll write something about Tony Blair. He wasn't all bad, and Iraq should not be the only measure for his Prime Ministership.

Mid Life Crisis - The Reality

Tryfan Sunday Morning
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

This mountain is Tryfan, the lowest of the 15 Welsh 3,000 foot mountains. I have climbed this mountain many times when younger - in fact, when my friends and I were going to spend the weekend in the mountains, we would climb this rock on a Friday evening just to loosen up. In those days, just turning up at the foot of a mountain would guarantee it would be climbed.

Last weekend, I thought it would be fun to meet up with someone who was attempting the 15 peak challenge - that is, all 15 peaks in 24 hours (something I did when I was about 19 or 20) at the top of Tryfan, or if possible, up on the Glyders which are connected to Tryfan by Bristly Ridge.

So I packed the car, kitted out the girls and off we went. 2 hours later we caught sight of Tryfan as we approached from Capel Curig and I began to feel the heart begin to race. I have always loved the mountains and walking, and I could almost taste the anticipation. Weather was not great, but certainly not as bad as I've known it in North Wales, so with boots and the correct gear on, we started up.

About an hour later, and still only half way up the north ridge, I finally admitted what my body had been telling me for the past 30 minutes - I'm 54 not 24! Physically, I felt awful and I knew that there was no option but to descend, otherwise we would all have been in danger. The weather was also taking a turn for the worse, and so we came down.

All was not lost, however, as I knew of a couple of walks that we could do, and in the end we did a turn around Cwm Idwal, but I am left with the realisation that no longer will things come so easy.

If I'm ever to get to the top of the mountains again, I'm going to have to train and work for it. My target now is August when I have a week's holiday and I intend to do Snowdon! Strolling across the West Pennine Moors or cycling the canals and stopping at every canalside pub is not going to do it for me.

There are some pictures of the weekend here if you are interested.

I Thought It Was My Crisis!

Ready To Hit The Road
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Christine doesn't want me to suffer alone.

Mid Life Crisis

Should Know Better
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

It's my mid-life crisis, and I'm going to enjoy it!

An Honest NeoCon!

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums in war to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword.

It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, they will offer up all their rights unto the leader and gladly so.

How do I know ?

For this is what I have done.

And I am Ceasar."

Courtesy of "and yes, I DO take it personally"

I Should Have Known Better

Reports from the BBC indicate that George Bush is really not that keen to tackle the main causes of global warming after all.

His spokesman at the G8 meeting has said that targets "...should be established on a national basis, and the only area of disagreement is that the G8 should dictate the national policies of its members." Germany is looking to increase fuel efficiency by 20% and set a target of limiting the world's temperature to a 2% rise if possible by cutting emissions by 50% by 2050.

President Bush responded by saying he still has a strong desire for a post-Kyoto agreement, but does anyone believe him? The man is an international joke, - unfortunately, no0one is laughing.

Further, Bush is now trying, for no obvious reason I can see, to stoke up tensions with an already flaky Russian government, the result of which will mean that us in Europe will be in the front line again.

Can someone please tell me, one thing that man and his administration has done on the world stage that has been good! (and if some clown says getting rid of Saddam - I want them to try and explain that to the hundreds of thousands of people who are presently suffering in Iraq). Everything that man touches ends up worse than it was before.

Global Warming - A New Dawn!

It would seem that President Bush has decided that the world is not doing enough to fight global warming. He has urged countries to set long-term goals and has set a target of 2050 for cutting global emissions.

Is he having a laugh!

What he appears to be advocating is very similar to a something that was agreed back at the turn of the century ripped apart by the then American administration headed by someone, funnily enough, also called Bush. That was the Kyoto agreement, and, for many countries, it remains a fundamental cornerstone of their environmental policies. Mind you, that agreement set more urgent targets than Bush. Unfortunately, the good work of the majority of the world has been shafted by the dirt and pollution pumped indiscriminately into the air by the US over the past 6 years, - a similar amount of time that a certain President has been significantly playing down global warming and its effects.

Mind you, I was almost deafened yesterday by the non-us world falling off their chairs in hysterics, when Bush said "The US takes this issue seriously."

How Organic Is Organic

Organic produce and lifestyle has been one of the big successes of the past ten years and has become a multi-billion pound industry. Even the major supermarkets are providing more and more food that claims to be organic and consumers are, increasingly, buying more and more.

Most people understand the basic concepts of organic food - raised on land free from chemicals and fertilisers, cattle and other livestock raised with a minimum, if not zero medicines and fodder raised organically.

It is said by those who are real advocates of this type of produce, that the food tastes better, is better for you as one's intake of chemicals is reduced and that by farming in an organic manner is environmentally friendly.

But hang on! Organic strawberries from Egypt, organic blueberries from Chile, Argentinian blackberries - all of this produce is air-freighted and is in the shops generally within 48 hours! How environmentally friendly is that!

Sure, I believe that organic is probably best, but I like to give equal weight to the distance it has had to travel. Our local market generally supplies food from the locality - most from a 30 mile radius. The carrots (shock, horror) still have the soil on them, moreover, they are not single straight tubers, but often knobbly and a combination of 2 or more tubers. But the taste! Wow.

Most of the food has been out of the ground, by the time I get to the market, no more than 6 or 7 hours, and for me, the taste is out of this world. Some of it is organic, most isn't, but the level of chemicals used in the locality is much reduced on other parts of the country where soils are less fertile. Moreover, food is seasonal again. If it is the wrong season, then it is unavailable in the market and that is good, as far as I'm concerned. The seasonality takes me right back to when I was a child and the local greengrocer only stocked local apart from some fruit such as citrus fruit. I believe that, more important than 100% organic is that food should be, as far as is reasonably practical, local. Let's cut food miles and support the local farmer and we might just get food worth eating.

Congestion Charges

My local city and place where I work, Manchester, is one of the first cities, outside London, to consider a full congestion charge for drivers. Effectively, charges will be levelled on drivers coming into the city, bounded by the M60, during 'rush' hour in a bid to cut congestion and pollution in the city centre.

Obviously, this is controversial and everyone I've spoken to, so far, is against the idea. Of course, these self same people drive into work on the routes selected and would probably be adversely effected.

Personally, however, I think it would be a good thing to do!

I get the train into Manchester and walk - in all weathers, - the mile to work from the station. As I walk in, I pass lines of cars - some of them big cars - sitting in queues, engines pumping out all kinds of pollutants as if there is no tomorrow, - most of them with only the driver in the car. Four-seater cars with just one person in them driving to work, where the car will sit all day in a car park (which itself is taking up valuable real estate) before, again, sitting in queues, with a lone driver in the car for the journey home. Is this not a totally irresponsible waste of natural resources?

Obviously, public transport infrastructure needs to be improved, and hopefully, revenue from the congestion charge will be used for exactly that purpose. I am a driver, and will undertake journeys that are necessary in the car, but I do feel that the free lunch has to come to an end soon, and a more socially responsible method of moving around has to be developed.

We Lost!

Liverpool lost 2-1. I'm gutted. Don't want to talk about it.

"You'll never walk alone."

Champions League Cup Final

AC Milan v Liverpool FC - the sequel!

Two years ago, my life nearly ended when I was watching, what was originally, a wretched Liverpool performance against AC Milan, but which, in turn, became one of the most exciting games of football I've seen for a while. From 3-0 down in the first half, Liverpool managed to drag it back to 3-3 and extra time which eventually went to penalties and a glorious result for the 'Reds'. For a time, I really thought my heart would not stand up to the tension.

Tonight, the fates have conspired to repeat that final in Athens - perhaps Zeus wants to watch some real sport for awhile, and I can only say that I am very nervous. Arguably, the two of the best teams in Europe go head to head, and I really want Liverpool to win - if only to shove it up arrogant Manchester United and Chelsea supporters. I'm just hoping that Liverpool will do the business in a calmer and more efficient way than 2 years ago.

If Liverpool win, it will be their 6th success at the highest club level over the past 30 years. In 1977, Liverpool won 3-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach in which even Tommy Smith managed to score a goal! Since then, Liverpool have tasted success in 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005.

All I need to do now is to persuade my wife to allow me to watch it!

"You'll never walk alone"

Well, We Made It

Bodies gently aching - well actually screaming in pain, we finished the fifteen miles of the Wirral Coastal Walk!

In truth, it was a great day out. First off, the weather forecast all week had been promising showers, cloud with occasional sunshine, and what we actually got was a day of near uninterrupted sunshine. A light sea breeze meant that it didn't get too hot, and the walking was pretty easy.

Having met up with a friend at the start, we set up a reasonable pace which meant that we completed the walk in six hours. The organisers had done an amazing job of ensuring that everything was ready and were really pleasant and helpful.

I was particularly impressed and proud of the girls who made it all the way round, and only really complained towards the end - and who could blame them, but they soon perked up when we reached the end, and they got their form stamped.

We managed to raise about £200 for Cancer Research - not a great amount in the general scheme of thing, but a worthwhile contribution non-the-less. I'll be more organised next year!

There is a set of pictures here, and, Jen, as you can see the Red Sox caps are very much in evidence.

Walk Of Hope

This Sunday, the family and I are going to walk the Wirral Coastal path - 15 mile ramble from Seacombe Ferry on the River Mersey round to the Wirral Country Park at Thurstaston on the River Dee.

Although there is no real compulsion to raise money, I thought it was a good opportunity to be sponsored for a charity, so we will be walking on behalf of Cancer Research UK.

When it came to selecting a charity, I found it very difficult to choose - there are just too many good causes to fund, but better one than none. Having known people who have suffered and succumbed, or have been treated and are in remission, I felt this was the one to go for.

Do click on the picture to get a better view of the route. We are starting around 10:00am and hope to complete the walk by 3:00pm including a stop off for lunch at some stage.

Some of the people I will be walking for are:

Ruth - Grandmother
Frank - Cousin
John - Cousin
Peter - Friend
John - Friend
Elizabeth - Cousin
Richard - Friend and fellow mountain walker when we were young
Grace - Colleague's 4 year-old daughter
Peter - Ex-colleague and friend
Jen's Mum

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but all these people will be metaphorically walking with me on Sunday, and I hope they enjoy it as much as we will (there are quite a few pubs on the route that will sustain us)!

If there is anyone else that you think might enjoy the walk, please add their name into the comments.

Madeleine McCann

As with any other parent in the world, I suffer the same recurring nightmare - something happening to either of my children. Fortunately, to date, it has been exactly that - only a nightmare.

But for one family, that nightmare has become frighteningly and solidly real, and it is playing out across the airwaves on every news bulletin.

Ten days ago, 4 year-old Madeleine McCann was asleep in her bed with her parents, a short distance away, at a restaurant with friends, when someone broke into the holiday apartment and abducted her. Nothing has been seen of her since.

I have absolutely no idea how her parents are feeling at this moment. They must be totally devastated and destroyed inside, but day after day they soldier on, determined to carry the hope until that hope has gone. I'm sure I would be an emotional wreck within a very short space of time, my panic would be almost pathalogical!

How do they stop tearing themselves apart? If only they hadn't left her to go for a meal.... Already the criticism is being raised, and, with only the facts in the news to go on, it is an easy case to make.

However, I can understand, a little, the decision she took. Recently, we were in a holiday complex very similar to the place the McCann's were staying at. These complex's are very much a self-contained world with everything a person would want available on-site: restaurants, swimming pools, bars, entertainment, etc. and it is that inclusiveness that can lead to believing that the place is ultra safe - our complex even had its own security force that patrolled on a regular basis. I certainly didn't bat an eye-lid when my children went off and explored the site (I even encouraged it) with minimal warnings to danger - to me, there just didn't seem to be any danger! I know my children are older, but bad things can also happen to children of their age.

'Maddy's' parents still believe that their daughter is still alive and I'm hoping their faith will be answered. She is a beautiful and precious person (they all are at that age) and deserves to have her natural life back - now.

A Photo Set

Delara Darabi
Originally uploaded by Welcome to Infinite Pictures.

If you look at the left hand side of this page and scroll down you will find my Flickr badge which, if you click, will take you to my pictures on Flickr. When I upload some pictures onto my site, I tend to put them into 'sets' for ease of location and viewing. Once I do this, I then send emails to people so they can bore people all over the world with my pictures of canals, boats and beer.

However, I came across a set that gave me a jolt. The set is of pictures by Delara Darabi who, at the time of writing this, is a 20 year-old woman sitting on death row in Iran, and who had been 'convicted' of a capital crime at the age of 16 and condemned to death. At the time of witing this, Iran has another 31 young people who had been convicted while still a 'child' of a capital offence.

In Delara's case, she was convinced by her then boyfriend to confess to murder committed during a burglary. He convinced her that she could not be executed because of her age, but this turned out not to be the case. She also was given a three-year jail sentence, 50 lashes for robbery and 20 lashes for an 'illicit relationship'. All of this Delara denies and pleads her innocence.

Not knowing the actual facts of the case for certain, I can't comment, but the UN states that a child is someone who is under the age of 18 at the time of the offence, and as a child, is not expected to fully understand the consequences of their actions and thereby be put to death. Iran (and the US) have signed up to this Covenant, but the executions continue.

Obviously, Delara doesn't have her own page on flickr, but a supporter does, and has loaded some of her pictures, along with a personal statement from Delara, onto his page.

You can see those pictures here.
You can read more about Delara and the others presently sitting on death row in Iraq on the Stop Child Execution website; and on that website, you can sign a petition.
Delara also has, courtesy of Amnesty International, a MySpace page where you can find further information.

Whatever the circumstances and offences, it is, fo me, an offence against civilisation that there are countries and systems that feel comfortable putting children to death.

Star Wars Day

May The Fourth Be With You.

Rumours

Following my previous post, I got to thinking about another album I purchased in 1977 - Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours".

At the time of buying it, I was blissfully unaware of how the band was imploding, but just staggered at the brilliance and craftsmanship of the album. When I later heard about the difficulties that the band members were having with each other, it just seemed to me to raise both the band and album higher in my respect. How they were able to put aside their differences to produce such a work of beauty and quality is beyond me, but I am very grateful.

Again, like "Hotel California", it does seem to be an ageless LP. The songs and melodies have stood the test of time, and it is an LP that I've returned to many times over the years.

I've been a fan of Fleetwood Mac from the very start - and before! I was well into the Blues during the sixties, and in particular, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in which Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were all members (and from which they were all eventually sacked).

In 1969, they released the album "The Pious Bird of Good Omen" which contained, along with a number of covers, Albatross composed by Peter Green - a stupendous guitar led instrumental which just about blew me away along with Jigsaw Puzzle Blues by Danny Kirwen, a guitarist who had joined in 1968. After a tour of the US supporting some of the blues greats like Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon, the early seventies saw them drift away from the blues - a pace of drift that increased once Peter Green left the band suffering schizophrenia brought on by a LSD spiked drink in Munich. I also lost a bit of interest at this time, and it was only hearing a couple of tracks from the 1976 "Fleetwood Mac" album, that I rekindled my interest in them. I had heard a Stevie Nicks/Lyndsey Buckingham LP which I liked, and hearing that they were now part of the band, decided to give them a listen.

"Rumours" was next, and I was hooked. It was brilliant and my first copy was played to death. I truly believe that the album marked their zenith as a band because nothing I've heard since has come close to the freshness and vibrancy of that album. Sure "Tusk" and "Tango In The Night" are very accomplished albums, but there is something extra about "Rumours" that the other albums didn't have, and it probably has something to do with the way, as people, they were falling apart, but, as musicians, they were able to come together.

Christine McVie explained that the title came from the fact that everyone was writing about everyone else - hence all the rumours! As far as I'm concerned, one great album, and 30 years old this year.

Hotel California

Another anniversary coming up, this time for the LP that finally killed off hippiedom! First released in the US in late 1976, Hotel California was released in the UK in 1977 and very quickly eclipsed just about every other album on release. I do still have a copy of the album from its first UK release somewhere.

The Eagles, originally Linda Ronstadt's backing group, who had boozed and tripped their way through the '70's came out with this powerful indictment of the whole drop-out culture. The classic line "You can check out anytime, but you cannot leave" says it all, and puts a definitive full stop on the whole pseudo turn-on, tune-in, drop-out attitude of Timothy Leary and the late '60's, early '70's counterculture and which had led to the extreme excesses of Charles Manson in 1969. For years, flower-power was looking for the right moment to grow up and move on, and this LP, as far as I was concerned, did that.

Yesterday, I put my CD version on the player, and the songs still seem fresh and original 30 years later. Not many LP's are that important, but this one was.

80 Years Old!

One of the first 'real' beers I ever drank was Newcastle Brown ale and this mildly nutty and malty concoction turns eighty this week.

In a world full of pasteurised, sterile 'keg' bitters as it was in the early '70's, the taste of "Newky", as it is affectionately know, was a revelation. Sensibly priced, this 4.7% taste of heaven became a student's cheap night out - and thereby hangs a confession. It has been many years since I had a bottle - and it used to only come in a bottle, - and that may be because of its association with students, bed-sits, late-night studying/partying and the general squalor that was such a traditional part of student life.

I'm now thinking this is denying me one of life's pure pleasures - and one I need to rectify as soon as possible.

Happy Birthday Newcastle Brown Ale, many happy returns and thanks for the memories.

Holiday Over

I have just completed my first week back after having a fortnight off on holiday, and have just about cleared the decks of stuff that had been waiting for my attention.

It is very gratifying to know that I am the only person in the entire company who can deal with all this, and that I am so indispensable to their continue success that no-one else can do what I do!

We did have a great time on the Costa Del Sol and if you are masochistic enough to want to find out what happened - up to and including the point where my trousers fell apart and split in a busy Spanish shopping mall, then you can click the Mark's Holidays link on the left, but I warn you - there is a lot of it!

Now planning what to do in the forth coming bank holidays this May. If the weather holds, it will be great to get out onto the hills for awhile - even though I can hear my bike plaintively pleading from the garage that it hasn't seen the light of day for a while!