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!

Three Reservoirs Walk, April 2007

The Route
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

After the glorious Easter weekend, the weather did a reversal and dawned dull and gray, though the forecast promised that it would stay dry. Originally, we were going to walk the canal to Manchester, but decided to try something a little more ambitious.

The three reservoirs are a linked set of lakes in the West Pennine Moors just north of Bolton and consist of the Jumbles, Wayoh and Turton & Entwistle reservoirs. The whole walk is approximately 8 miles in length and take in a height gain of about 500 feet or so.

Boots on and waterproofs in the rucksack, we set off from the car park at the southern end of Jumbles Reservoir heading along the path at the side of the lake. It wasn't long before the primary theme of the day made itself known - intermittent drizzle. However, we were pretty well prepared so the thought of abandoning the walk just didn't surface.

At the far end of the lake, we followed a tree-lined valley towards Turton Bottoms where we climb up through the village to Wayoh reservoir (where the name comes from, I've no idea). Again, we followed a tree-lined path on the bank of the lake. In good weather, the views and countryside would have been magnificent, but as it was, the cloud was low over the hills, and the sun never had a chance to come out.

At the far end on Wayoh Reservoir we reached Entwistle and the Strawberry Duck Inn where we had lunch. The food was very good and plentiful and the beer excellent. They serve a very good Black Sheep bitter and their own brew - Strawberry Duck Ale - brewed by a local brewery especially for the pub. The pub is very popular and we arrived at just the right time. Any later and we would not have been able to eat as it was so full.

After lunch, we climbed up to the third reservoir, the Turton & Entwistle Reservoir. By this time, the drizzle was less intermittent and more constant, but as we were at the point where it would have been just as far to go back as it was to go on, - we went on. Part way along the path, someone had decorated a holly bush with Easter Eggs (plastic, not chocolate I'm afraid) as an Easter Tree. Quite unexpected, but very pretty non-the-less. Eventually, we reached Yarnsdale at the far end of the lake and the point where we turn back towards the car and home.

When we reached the Turton & Entwistle Reservoir dam, we left the lakes to follow a path across the moors back to the Jumbles Reservoir and our starting point. This path marked the highest point on the walk, and the downhill stretch was very welcome. Before long, we were back at our starting point, tired, damp but very happy at what we had achieved. It has now got us thinking about future walks in the summer.

We Made It

Yesterday, we set off very early with our bikes, to catch the train into Manchester and then onwards to Greenfield in the foothills of the Pennines. Our intention, - to cycle the Huddersfield canal from Greenfield in Lancashire to Huddersfield in Yorkshire.

There is just one major drawback to this route - at one point, the canal goes through a tunnel for 3 miles, while we will have to go over the spine of Britain - the Pennines!

The weather was superb, and a slight breeze meant it wasn't too hot. The trains were delayed so we didn't reach Greenfield until about 10:30 - about half-an-hour later than I expected, - but no matter. We had all day.

From Greenfield, it is about half-an-hour to Diggle up the canal. Lots of locks to cycle up, - The Huddersfield canal has 74 locks in its 20 mile length and also boasts the highest, longest and deepest canal tunnel in Britain, the Standedge Tunnel. There is more information about the canal here.

At Diggle, both the trans-pennine railway and canal plunge into their respective tunnels and take the underground route to Yorkshire. We, on the other hand, have to climb 700 feet to go over the Pennines. naturally, this was the slowest and longest stretch of the ride, requiring a number of stops to "admire the view". However, like all good things, the climb had to come to an end, and the long descent to Huddersfield began.

First stop in Yorkshire was Marsden where both the railway and the canal emerge from the Pennine depths. Here we stopped for lunch at the appropriately named Tunnel End Inn. A lovely little pub serving Black Sheep ales and great food. Jayne had a massive, roast beef filled Yorkshire pudding, Bethen Steak and Ale stew and I had Cumberland sausage with mustard mashed potatoes. We felt we deserved it!

From there, it is a quick downhill run to Huddersfield, passing through small West Yorkshire towns like Slaithwaite, Linthwaite and Milnsbridge. At Slaithwaite, we stopped at a canal boat cafe and treated ourselves to ice cream before moving on. The canal at Slaithwaite runs right through the centre of the town, and was clearly the most important part in times past.

At Huddersfield, we left the canal and made our way to the station, - we were going to let the train take the strain going home! Imagine my pleasure when I discovered a superb station pub, the Head Of Steam selling more Yorkshire Black Sheep ale. We just had to stop and have a refreshing drink before catching our train home.

It was a magnificent ride in superb countryside and a thoroughly great day out.

Wishing For A Peaceful Easter

From tomorrow, I start a 2 week holiday. A chance to recharge the batteries and get some much needed rest.

The second week will be taken up with a family holiday in Spain, but I will no doubt blog about that sometime next week.

But next week, if the weather stays as it is, will see an abundance of bike rides and walks. This weekend, I'm hoping to cycle from Lancashire over the Pennines to Yorkshire following a route Jayne and I attempted last year along the Huddersfield canal. Last time, we retreated when we reached the hills, but this year we are stronger and fitter, so we should be able to manage it this time.

Monday, as Christine is off, we're hoping to do a long walk as part of our training for the Wirral Coastal walk in May. Not quite sure where we will be going, but there will be plenty of good pubs to choose from on the way.

The rest of the week, the girls are at a Rugby League Easter, camp run by Wigan Rugby League club, learning how to play the game, though I would dearly love them to play the proper game - Rugby Union.

Friday will be a day of preparation and next Saturday we will be "off to sunny Spain"!

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy Easter - and watch the chocolate intake!

First Ride Of The Year

The Old Bike
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Yesterday, the weather was superb. The sunshine bright and clear and so I felt the time was right to get the old bike out for its first serious ride of the year.

Of course, the first thing I had to do was fix a puncture (I've now got tyres that are supposed to resist the temptation to deflate!), make a flask of tea and pack my saddle bags. Although the weather was dry and sunny, there was a breeze whipping off the West Pennine moors that had come straight down from the arctic, and of course I was cycling straight into it.

Down to the Leeds Liverpool canal and along the tow path to Red Rock where I can join the old Wigan to Chorley railway track that takes me to Adlington, about five miles up the canal. This bit was really heavy and sticky, and occasionally my route was blocked by fallen trees blown over during the previous autumn's storms. I do love this route because it is so peaceful. No sounds of cars, just the birds making sure I had a tuneful accompaniment along the track.

Eventually, at Adlington, I settled down outside the Bridge Inn and had a couple of mugs of tea and had a long chat with another cyclist who had done the Anglezark reservoir circuit and told me of a little known track around the lake which I must try.

Heading back home was a lot easier as I now had the wind behind me and made really good progress along the canal. At one point, I spotted a moated manor house which I hadn't seen before. Mind you, that wasn't surprising as in the summer it would have been completely hidden by trees and bushes with their full compliment of leaves.

With a pint at my favourite pub, I drifted back home feeling very saddle sore, aching and tired, but definitely happy. Roll on the summer!

I Hate Cats!

This morning, I came down for breakfast and opened the curtains at the front. A cat was slowly, but deliberately walking across my newly cleared, forked and hoed front garden. It looked up at me and stared at me malevolently, and then proceeded to scrape out a hole to do its business.

Unfortunately, I was dressed in a short dressing-gown and people were walking past, so going outside to chase it off was not an option. Something the cat clearly knew as it squatted down and dropped its parcel. I am convinced that the beast smiled cynically at me.

Makes me start to wonder what goes well with cat! A bit of garlic and olive oil? A touch of fennel?

However, what really makes my blood boil are the bloody owners who quite freely kick their moggy out without a single thought of the damage and mess they make on other people's property. However, if I did anything to their precious cat to dissuade them from my garden, I would be the one in the wrong!

I hate cats and I hate inconsiderate cat owners

What A Difference A Week Makes!

It's taken 2 days to find the strength to write this!

Saturday evening I sat down to watch England play Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in the firm expectation of watching a renewed England side consolidate the march back to the top of world rugby. We were playing a Welsh side that had even lost to Italy! From last week's well constructed win against France, this match should have been a breeze.

Well it would have been if the forwards had bothered to turn up! Last week, they were magnificent, and stopped the French from playing while giving the England backs time to make their moves, but this time? They were all over the place. Hitting mauls and ruck in ones and twos, providing the slowest of balls giving Wales time to prepare their defence. The England back line was under constant pressure, and as a result, mistakes were made that Wales capitalised on. When Mike Catt had to leave the field injured, it left England with the youngest and most inexperienced set of backs we've had for a long time, and would have looked to the forwards to give them some protection and time to play. The problem was, that the forwards seemed to be playing as if they had never met each other before!

It was so depressing!

As a matter of record, France won the 6 Nations Championship by scoring a try in the last seconds of their match against Scotland. That gave them a marginally better points difference to Ireland, who up until that moment, thought they were champions.

Ah well. Next stop the World Cup where no doubt we will probably go out to the American Eagles if we carry on playing the way we are playing at the moment!

Small Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

Every day, by the time my train gets into Manchester, it is jam packed full of commuters, most of whom are squashed together around the door making it difficult, if not impossible, to get off the train at my station. As most of us are fairly regular passengers, we have got to know each other pretty well.

Our main target for animosity are those who play their not-so-personal stereos, followed closely by the mobile phone fanatics. For those of us trying to have a quick pre-work snooze, it has become the impossible dream.

However, things could change. Great news! The government is going to increase the national rolling stock by 10% to ease the overcrowding we presently endure. Fabulous, great, what a marvellous benevolent government we are blessed with. I will have a seat. A chance to not have to stand under someone else's sweaty armpit. A chance to breath.

But wait! What's this?

The government goes onto say that these carriages will be in place by 2014!!!!! Four years before I retire! Seven years from now! And of course, when you factor into that 10% increase in capacity, the fact that the number of passengers on the rail network is annually increasing at 10%, it doesn't look that rosey after all. Of course, most of these carriages will find themselves down in London and the south-east, and me and my mates will continue our joint daily journey through purgatory.

We are about to spend £10 billion on the 2012 Olympics, but can they find the money for a decent rail service? No.

England Beat France (Again)

An eerie piece of magic happened yesterday on a rugby pitch in Twickenham, - just south west of London. England won a rugby match!

Moreover, that match was against this year’s potential world cup finalists, France.

It has to be said that although France did turn up in person, they didn’t in spirit. They looked flat-footed, slow to react and very devoid of ideas. Very much like England did against Ireland two weeks ago! They rarely competed in the loose, and when in possesion, tended to go backwards and sideways. They only had a couple of decent mauls and a lot of their rucks were turned over. One telling statistic that explains this is that England managed to create over 100 phases to 33 by France.

In contrast, with 8 changes of personel, and a new captain, England looked a totally different side to the one that surrended to Ireland at Croke Park. Although at times, England looked ragged and made silly mistakes, that was more than made up by spirit, endeavour and sheer guts. Led by 35 year old Mike Catt, by the time the first half whistle came, England were on the front foot, and although down at the interval by 3 points, looked the far happier side.

The second half saw England, basically set up camp in the French half. On the rare occasion when France did manage to cross the half-way line, the move, more often than not, ended in a turnover, and in seconds they were back in their 22, defending their line.

From what I could see, all the England players put in a performance for the first time in this 6-Nations, - though all made mistakes as well, which a more positive side than France, would have exploited and punished. None-the-less, this was a good positive start to England’s long road to recovery.

As for the other games, in a very close match, Ireland edged out Scotland by 19 points to 18 at Murrayfield to win the Triple Crown while Wales lost to Italy, - Italy’s second win in a row! This was the first time that Italy have managed to win back to back matches and marks a real step up for Italian rugby. Wales were very upset at the end as they felt the referee had misled them out of the chance to win the game, but on balance, Wales didn’t deserve to win.

Next weekend sees the last matches in this year's Six Nations. France take on Scotland in Paris - God help the Scots now; Italy play Ireland in Rome, which has now become a tough one for Ireland and England take on Wales in Cardiff. All I'm looking for now is that England step it up a gear or two and aim for a full 80-minute performance.

Update: Patricia Tabram

Patricia Tabram was saved from a prison sentence for the absolutely shocking crime of keeping 4 cannabis plants in her wardrobe, and utilising the harvest to relieve the symptoms of depression and chronic neck pain. She was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and to do 175 hours Community Service.

Her caring Housing Association has told this 68 year old women that they will throw her out of her home if she continues to self-medicate with cannabis. It is time we came down hard on these mass producers of dangerous drugs, and spend the money prosecuting pensioners rather than on adequate health care and support.

I Want To Be Invited For Dinner

Patricia Tabram, a 68 year old woman who advocates cooking with cannabis is to be sentenced shortly for breaking the terms of a 2005 suspended jail sentence.

In 2005, following a police tip off, this dangerous woman to all mankind was found to be in possession of cannabis plants and drugs worth £850, which she used to make curries, casseroles, biscuits and soups for local people. Clearly this arch-criminal should have been locked up there and then and the key thrown away, but some namby-pamby liberal judge decided that society would not be best served if she went to prison.

However, after another anonymous tip off, the police mounted another raid and found four plants in a wardrobe and powdered cannabis by the cooker. Really, does this woman have no shame!

Apparantly, during this court case, she caused up roar in the court when she claimed that three bags of cannabis she had brought to court had gone missing! These later turned up in her handbag. She claimed they were for use in evidence!

Mrs Tabram says that she uses cannabis to ease her depression and gain relief from numerous aches and pains.

I do wish her well and, before she trots of to do her porridge, she sends me some cookies.

Biofuels - Saviour or Danger

George Bush is about anounce that to combat global warming - something he has denied existed for the past 6 years, is to announce an "Opec for ethanol" and has committed the White House to substitute 20% of its petroleum use with ethanol.

Ethanol is derived from plant extracts, specifically; corn, barley, wheat, sugar cane or beet and burns a lot greener in specially adjusted vehicles. Dr Plinio Mario Nastari, one of Brazil's leading economists and an expert in biofuels, sees a bright future for an energy sector in which his country is the acknowledged world leader: "We are on the brink of a new era, ethanol is changing a lot of things but in a positive sense." Ethanol is the panacea for all the world's oil ills. Wars will stop, the planet will cease to warm up and everyone will love everyone else!

First off, the amount of corn grown to fill one full tank of the average 4X4 would feed a man for a year! Just one tank full.

Once we get our heads around that and multiply the amount of land required to fill that car for a year, and multiply that again by the number of cars on the road and the scale of the enterprise starts to become apparant. I haven't even started to think about trucks, planes, ships or heating, or any other oil use. Clearly there is going to have to be some serious mono-cultural farming just to feed our vehicles, - what price those raw materials if you also want them as food!

However, it gets worse. Clearly the ideal place to farm these crops are where you can get more than 2 harvests a year. They need to be grown in places, or countries, where there is round the year sunshine. Somewhere like the equator. Brazil already has a major ethanol producing industry based on sugar cane. This came about after the oil crisis in 1973 when the dictators decided they no longer wanted to be reliant on foreign oil. In Brazil, some of the plantations are as large as European states, and of course, when the sugar is harvested, it needs to be burnt - how's that for a carbon footprint? Fabio Feldman, a leading Brazilian environmentalist and former member of Congress said; "If you see the size of the plantations in the state of Sao Paolo they are oceans of sugar cane. In order to harvest you must burn the plantations which creates a serious air pollution problem in the city."

In America, the crop of choice would appear to be grain. The American economist Lester R Brown, from the Earth Policy Institute, has said; "The competition for grain between the world's 800 million motorists who want to maintain their mobility and its two billion poorest people who are simply trying to stay alive is emerging as an epic issue."

Finally, however, many biofuel crops, such as corn, are grown with the help of fossil fuels in the form of fertilisers, pesticides and the petrol for farm equipment. One estimate is that corn needs 30 per cent more energy than the finished fuel it produces.

I can see wars ahead, this time fighting over land to grow these crops. Why don't we start to consider how we can change4 our lives, culture and society so that the need for oil and oil substitutes are radically reduced. For me, that is the only long-term solution worth considering.

Lunar Eclipse

Three Moons
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Last night I spent the latter part of the evening watching the lunar eclipse. It was a cold, crisp, frosty and clear evening - ideal for sky watching.

I was out there with two cameras - one a film camera for those old enough to remember such things, and my digital compact, - a glass of whiskey and the occasional company of my wife.

I really enjoyed watching the shadow slowly creep up the face of the moon - at first making the shadow area black, but later turning a dull bronze. At one point, I thought it would never reach total shadow, the diamond ring effect seemed to go on for ever (I had to force a glass of whiskey down while I waited) but eventually the whole moon turned a deep copper.

It is amazing that even in this sophisticated, high-tech world,I can still be amazed by a simple natural phenomena.

Super Saturday....

Unless you are English or, for that matter, Scottish or Welsh! The middle Saturday of the 6 Nations has become known as Super Saturday for the fact that three internationals are played on the same day.

First off, for a rugby nut like myself, it is one of the best days of the year. I get to monopolise the TV for practically the entire day. But more importantly, yesterday saw three of the best games I've seen for some time.

First off was Scotland against Italy. With the game being played in Edinburgh at Murrayfield, this game was yet another where one's interest was how big would Scotland's winning margin be. For once, I was ready for the start of the match, and how lucky I was for that. Italy was 21-0 up within 7 minutes - 3 converted tries had put the team which has never won away from home, almost out of sight! All three tries came from Scotland errors the type of which, even schoolboys would never do. Scotland made things even worse for themselves by not kicking penalties as the usual Italian indiscipline crept in to their game. With the amount of kickable penalties awarded, Scotland could have been on level terms by half time, but they preferred, for reasons known only to themselves, to kick for position. What was even more impressive, was that the Italians didn't sit back, but took the game to Scotland and managed a couple more tries, including one for Alessandro Troncon Italy's 34 year-old scrum-half. Although Scotland did attempt a rally in the second half, on the day, they were always going to be second best after such an awful start and in the end, the 37 - 17 scoreline to Italy was a true reflection on the match, and their first away win was quite emphatically, in the bag.

Next up Ireland against England at Croke Park in Dublin.

For anyone who has followed the 'troubles' in Ireland will know that Croke Park has been home to Irish Gaelic Games since 1884, but is more infamously known as the place where the original 'Bloody Sunday' happened. November 21, 1920, a troop of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary Entered the ground and started shooting indiscriminately into the crowd killing 14 during a Dublin-Tipperary gaelic football match. This was in apparent retaliation to the killing of 14 British intelligence officers earlier that day by Micheal Collin's squad. From that day forward, it was decreed that no 'English' game will ever be played at Croke Park, and inparticular, no 'English' team will be welcome onto the ground.

However, Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of Irish rugby, is under development for the next few years, and Irish rugby has been, temporarily moved across to Croke Park. Given all the cultural background to this game, there was a real possibility of 'problems' at the game, and in particular when 'God Save The Queen' was sung and played. What I witnessed brought a tear to my eye, and a pride in my heart that I support a game that has the best and most noble of supporters. Where I expected cat-calls and whistles, barracking and shouting (there were even reports that the Irish would turn their backs when the anthem was played) I was immensely
pleased to see everyone in the ground who were not English, standing respectfully and quite, and at the end, giving the English team a round of applause of welcome. A truly, but characteristically Irish welcome to the English.

Unfortunately, that is where the welcome ended as the Irish team led by the magnificent O'Driscoll at Outside Centre (my old position) cruelly and ruthlessly to England apart. I don't want to go into details at this stage - it hurts too much, but to echo England Coach, Brian Ashton's words, "We were stuffed". Ireland beat England 43 - 13 - their biggest ever winning margin in this or the previous 5 Nations tests. England choked at Croke Park.

Finally, under the floodlights at the Stade de France in Paris, France took on Wales. History indicates that this should have been a good match for Wales, having won their last 4 matches at the ground. Moreover, the French are not too happy to play under floodlights. The game certainly started off well for Wales with 2 tries and conversions, but as the dust started to settle on the first frantic quarter, France started to impose themselves on their visitors and countered with tries and penalties of their own. The second half was a 40 minute demonstration of keeping it tight and controlled, and apart from a couple of occasions, one of which led to a Welsh try, didn't give the Welsh opportunity to put anything together. However, compared with the two previous matches, this game was a much more even affair, though a late score saw France take the honours, 32 -21.

Wales have now lost all 3 games and are languishing in the wooden spoon position. There next match is against Italy, which previous form would indicate a win to Wales, but from what I saw yesterday, all bets are off. Italy have found some belief, but more importantly, a style of rugby that suits them and is now paying off.

Role on to next week!

Home Building

Standing for my 8:50am train to work on Hindley station today, I saw a female Blackbird gathering nesting material.

Does she not know it is still February?

I know the picture is of a Robin, but I couldn't find a decent one of a Blackbird. If I do, I'll change it.

I'm Living With A Teenager

The 18th February 1994 at 8:04 in the morning, a nurse placed something into my arms that was to change my life for ever. Mr eldest daughter, Bethen, had been born to the strains of Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell (Christine's choice!). She was starting as she meant to go on by giving her mother a rough time in labour and eventually being delivered by Cesarean section after untold hours of not wanting to face the world.

From that auspicious start, Bethen has continued to mark her own way in the world. An independent thinker, and, like me, not afraid to state her opinion, she can, at times, be a bit difficult to live with. Two highly self-opinionated people under the same roof can make for uncomfortable living, but to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.

However, today, she became a "teenager"! (In truth, I think she has been a teenager for sometime!). Thirteen!

Where have the years gone? The early days when she neatly fitted into the crook of my arm falling asleep, later when she would snuggle in on my lap before going off to bed, rushing up when I came home from work to tell me what she had done at school and the look of relief and love when I finally gave up smoking! It all seems like yesterday, and I treasure every memory.

But she is now a teenager! No longer the 'lets go for a bike ride' but now, 'I'm going to town with friends, and can I have some money!'. Everything now becomes a 'big' deal and 'you don't understand!'.

I'm beginning to think, will either of us going to survive the next seven years! I've decided, I think the best thing is that I leave home!

Britain Condemned On Extraordinary Rendition

Britain was condemned by Euro MP's yesterday for colluding in secret CIA operations to fly terror suspects to countries where they faced torture.

A report, approved in Strasbourg after a year long inquiry, said more than 1,000 covert flights operated by the US intelligence agency had flown into European airspace or stopped over at European airports after 9/11.

Britain was singled out for co-operating with the CIA by sending 3 British citizens on rendition flights.

The report expressed 'outrage' at a legal opinion provided by Michael Wood, former legal adviser to the Foreign Office, who said that "...receiving or possessing..." information extracted under torture was not, in itself, against international conventions banning torture, "...in so far as there is no direct participation in the torture". Mr Wood refused to give evidence to the European Parliament committee which conducted the inquiry.

The study follows last year's findings from the human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, that the CIA ran a 'global spider's web' of rendition flights, with Europe as a major staging post.

The report found that at least 1,245 flights stopped at European airports or flew into the continent's air space between 2002 and 2005, and expressed 'serious concern' about 170 stopovers by CIA flights at British airports.

Well we can certainly hold our heads up high after this one.

Will They Ever Learn?

The inability to learn from past mistakes and a lack of understanding of the consequences of action are to of the main characteristics of the psychopathic personality.

It now seems that the White House has embarked on a path of "educating" the American people on the need to invade Iran. The evil of Iran has been a mantra for the US for some time now, but the time has now come to ratchet up the fear.

With similarities that are both laughable and chill the blood to the build up to the Iraq war, the US military has decided to present "evidence" of Iran's involvement with the militias in Iraq. A number of "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs were displayed to which three nameless (of course) "experts" confirmed were manufactured in Iraq.

The display appeared to be part of the White House drive that has empowered U.S. forces in Iraq to use all means to curb Iranian influence in the country, including killing Iranian agents. All means includes invasion!

It is clear to me that Bush wants to invade Iran and exercise the same principle of "regime change" that has been such a success in Iraq, - oh, and of course, knock out a nuclear complex or two.

It will be interesting to see if the American people will allow themselves to be suckered again and swallow the nonsense pedaled by this regime. Certainly I expect my government to resist this latest bit of adventurism to the hilt and not cravenly fall in line as they did last time.

I am sure that Iran is stirring the pot, but the place for that to be aired is in open at the UN, not behind closed doors in the White House. Can the American troops, their families and people afford to open up a third front, baring in mind the lack of success in Afganistan and Iraq. Moreover, can they afford it in cash!

As one of the "experts" said; "We know more than we can show," said one of the senior officials, when pressed for tangible evidence that the EFPs were made in Iran. Of course they do, and I'm living in Groundhog Day.

Unfriendly Fire - Part 2

The Sun newspaper has acquired and released a copy of the cockpit video of the 'friendly fire' incident I wrote about yesterday. From what I saw and listened to just adds to the concern.

It appears that the American pilots had no real idea where they were, and even though their controllers told them there were 'friendlies' in the vicinity, they still mistook the orange recognition flashes on the vehicles as rocket launchers. They also seemed to think that Scimitar armoured vehicles looked like flat-bed trucks.

What I also heard was the shock and grief from the pilots when they realised what they had done. Sobbing could clearly be heard.

I know that in the heat of battle, things can get very confused and accidents will always happen - it is, after all, part of being human, but that being said, it was daylight and visibility was reasonable, - and at the end of the day, taking time to check once more could have meant the Corporal Matty Hull might still be alive today.

Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted, and in this case, can save lives

Friendly Fire - Bloody Murder!

Lance Corporal Matty Hull of the Household Cavalry was on duty in Iraq in his Scimitar armoured truck in 2003 when a circling pair of American A-10 tankbusters suddenly opened fire. This so-called 'blue on blue' killing, also know as death by 'friendly fire', happened four years ago. The coroner's inquest is presently under way to finalise and determine cause of death.

Obviously, a tragic accident - or was it?

It now emerges that there is a cockpit recording of the incident which our America allies refuse to allow the coroner to play in court. This despite the tape's crucial importance, as it is said to contain 'incriminating' information, including the line: 'Someone's going to jail for this.'

Alas, our Ministry of Defence is complicit in a cover-up. Not merely because it will not let the Oxfordshire coroner flick the 'play' switch until America gives permission, but because, scandalously, for four years it has denied 'categorically' that any such recording exists, knowing this to be a lie.

If Defense Secretary, Des Browne can't ensure this tape is admissible when the inquest reconvenes later this month, he should be fired, himself, in a manner most unfriendly.

And what of America? It claims the right to try foreign nationals in foreign countries for 'crimes' defined by American law. Yet it requires Britain to extradite suspects to America, while failing to ratify a treaty that would let us try Americans here, such as those who kill our citizens. So often, British ministers plead with this administration to show some slight consideration that would make our support for the Iraq war easier, but, as usual, they are rebuffed.

The sadness is that with a Democrat Congress and - we hope - a less ideological President, American activism and interventionism could become a more consensual force for good in the world once again. But that might be too late for Britain. It certainly is for Lance Corporal Hull.

Drip, Drip, Drip

"From the perspective of the White House, it was smart to blur the lines about what was acceptable and what was not in the war on terrorism. It meant that whenever someone was overzealous in some dark interrogation cell, President (George W.) Bush and his entourage could blame someone else. The rendition teams are drawn from paramilitary officers who are brave and colorful. They are the men who went into Baghdad before the bombs and into Afghanistan before the army. If they didn't do paramilitary actions for a living, they would probably be robbing banks. Perhaps the Bush Administration deliberately created a gray area on renditions." This quote was made by Tyler Drumheller, the former chief of the CIA's European division during an interview with the German current affairs magazine Der Spiegel in responce to a question about extraordinary rendition.

On how the White House viewed Europe after 9/11 he had this to say: "Elements of the Bush administration developed the view that European personal privacy laws were somehow to blame, that the Europeans are too slow. We can be very frustrating to work with. I always said, 'Stop preaching to them.' The Europeans have been dealing with terrorism for years, we can learn from their successes and failures. Its not a good spy story, but it's actually how you do this."

When asked how much the CIA was to blame for the amount of wrong information about Saddam Hussein and Iraq, he responded: "The agency is not blameless and no president on my watch has had a spotless record when it comes to the CIA. But never before have I seen the manipulation of intelligence that has played out since Bush took office. As chief of Europe I had a front-row seat from which to observe the unprecedented drive for intelligence justifying the Iraq war."

He was then asked about the critics in Washington who claim that the Germans, because of Curveball, an Iraqi dissident who gave information about supposed Iraqi biological and chemical weapons development, bear a large part of the repsonsibility for the intelligence mess. His reply: "There was no effort by the Germans to influence anybody from the beginning. Very senior officials in the BND expressed their doubts, that there may be problems with this guy. They were very professional. I know that there are people at the CIA who think the Germans could have set stronger caveats. But nobody says: "Here's a great intel report, but we don't believe it." .... The administration wanted to make the case for war with Iraq. They needed a tangible thing, they needed the German stuff. They couldn't go to war based just on the fact that they wanted to change the Middle East. They needed to have something threatening to which they were reacting."

At the time of Colin Powell's speech to the United Nations, Drumheller said: "I had assured my German friends that it wouldn't be in the speech. I really thought that I had put it to bed. I had warned the CIA deputy John McLaughlin that this case could be fabricated. The night before the speech, then CIA director George Tenet called me at home. I said: "Hey Boss, be careful with that German report. It's supposed to be taken out. There are a lot of problems with that." He said: 'Yeah, yeah. Right. Dont worry about that.'"

He then adds: "I turned on the TV in my office, and there it was. So the first thing I thought, having worked in the government all my life, was that we probably gave Powell the wrong speech. We checked our files and found out that they had just ignored it." ..."The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy. Right before the war, I said to a very senior CIA officer: "You guys must have something else," because you always think it's the CIA. "There is some secret thing I don`t know." He said: "No. But when we get to Baghdad, we are going to find warehouses full of stuff. Nobody is going to remember all of this.""

The full interview transcript can be found here, but it is yet just another piece of evidence of the White House's comfort with using lies. When is impeachment going to be started?

Penis Envy

Two pupils who drew a giant penis on a school lawn using weed killer two years ago can still admire their work from satellite photos now posted on the internet.

Despite the school re-seeding the area, the penis has turned up on satellite image search engines because a photo was taken before the new grass could conceal the appendage.

The unnamed pair of year 11 pupils from Bellemoor school for boys in Southampton, burned the 6 metre phallus into the grass as an end of term joke.

Staff, parents and pupils who log on can now see the image in all its glory.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "It was just one of those high school jinks. This was an act of vandalism that took place during the summer of 2005. Southampton city council re-seeded the area and the grass was re-grown by the beginning of the new school term."

Perhaps a monument needs to be erected to their ingenuity.

Silver Balls And Mirrors

George Bush has gone green! He now recognises that there are issues to be tackled and action to be taken to counter-act the effects of climate change.

The demand appears in a recent US memo to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It describes "modifying solar radiance" as "important insurance" against the threat of climate change. A more accurate description might be important insurance against the need to cut emissions.

The idea is to either put large solar reflectors out into space or clouds of reflective small particles into the upper atmosphere. The technology for the first idea is, at least, 50 years into the future, and the second idea would have the side effect of killing off the ozone layer for good.

Other ideas include spraying sea-water into the air (ensuring that any country downwind is likely to suffer crop failure and drought). Another idea would be to inject sulphate particles into the atmosphere with the likelihood of disrupted rainfall patterns. All these fixes appear more expensive than cutting the amount of energy we consume. None reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which threatens to acidify the oceans, with grave consequences for the food chain.

The demand that money and research be diverted into these quixotic solutions is another indication that Bush's avowed conversion to the cause of cutting emissions is illusory. He is simply drumming up new business for his chums. In his State Of The Union, he called for raising the government's mandatory target for alternative transport fuels fivefold. This is wonderful news for the grain barons of the red states, who will grow the maize and rapeseed that will be turned into biofuel. It's a catastrophe for everyone else. With only 5% of Europe and the US's requirement for fuel comeing from biofuels, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation reports that using land and crops to feed cars has, already, raised world food prices, with serious consequences for the poor. Biofuels fall into the same category as atmospheric smoke and mirrors - a means of avoiding difficult decisions.

However, credit (no matter how small) where it is due. At least president Bush has publicly acknowledged the problem unlike Wag TV in the UK who are completeing a 90 minute 'documentary' for Channel Four entitles "The Great Global Warming Swindle". Its basic thesis is summed up in a statement from the company that man-made climate change is "...a lie ... the biggest scam of modern times. The truth is that global warming is a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry: created by fanatically anti-industrial environmentalists; supported by scientists peddling scare stories to chase funding; and propped up by complicit politicians and the media ... The fact is that CO2 has no proven link to global temperatures ... solar activity is far more likely to be the culprit."

The director, Martin Durkin, had previously made a 'documentary' series for Channel Four in 1999, in which he peddled very similar arguments and therories. When the series was concluded, Channel Four was forced to make one of its more humiliating public apologies for the way scientists had been mis-represented in the series.

But with Bush's defection, the band of quacks making these claims is diminishing fast. Now the oil and coal companies that support such people have changed their target. Instead of trying to persuade us that man-made global warming is a myth, they are seeking to divert us into doing everything except the one thing that has to happen: reducing our consumption of fuel. It is another species of denial.

George Bush's purpose - to insulate these companies from the need to cut production - is unchanged. He has simply found a new way of framing the argument.

Happy New Year

Repaired Pipe, originally uploaded by markhsal.

A good start to the year - a blocked drain!

The blockage is now clear - finally, but the potential for more is still high as the drains have developed faulty joints (a bit like me), so we are waiting for our insurance company to agree to further repairs to add a lining to the pipe.

In the meantime, we have this hole on our front drive.

For the past week, we have been living with the sort of stuff that generally comes out of Blair and Bush's mouth! Not nice.

Well, That Went Down Well!

When asked about President Bush's plan to send even more American troops to be killed in the Iraqi civil war, Tony Blair said it "made sense"!

What an ever-present comfort our glorious Prime Minister has been to Bush! What a wazzock!

In a poll yesterday for the Washington Post and ABC, 61% opposed the plan, while just 36% backed it. In another poll by Associated Press and Ipsos, 70% of Americans said they were against sending more troops.

Interestingly and more significantly for the Middle East, there is now some real confusion and concern over Bush's intentions with the apparent threat to escalate the conflict to include Syria and Iran. Mr Bush, in his speech, warned that the US would "seek out and destroy networks" of insurgents moving into Iraq or based in these neighbouring countries. While US commanders insisted yesterday that this did not signal an intention to go into Iran or Syria, Ms Rice confirmed that all options were open.

Meanwhile, increased bi-partisanship in congress is increasingly making Bush appear more and more isolated. What a pity those Republicans had had the courage to denounce the White House idiot before now.

Barack Obama, the senator from Illinois and a long-term opponent of the war said: "We are not going to babysit a civil war."Even Hillary Clinton, the other Democrat frontrunner, who has been careful so far not to be too critical of the war, said Mr Bush "will continue to take us down the wrong road - only faster". Now there's someone who has been steadfast on her principles!

In my experience, military engagements only have a chance of succeeding if there is, at least, the perception of unanimity in the action and goal, but a fringe plan such as this stands very little chance with the present level of opposition.

Mr Bush, think (if that is at all possible) again, and this time listen to people who don't have a vested interest in perpetual war, but who offer seasoned and experienced advice such as those who made up the Iraq Study group and in particular, listen to those who have had direct experience of war.

Mr Blair - just shut up and leave. You are now becoming a major embarrassment to the UK.

Unhappy Birthday

Today, the Guantánamo detention centre will be five years old.

If You Are In A Hole....

STOP DIGGING!

President Bush has announced that 20,000 plus troops are to be sent to Iraq in an attempt to put down the insurgency and militias that have caused so many problems since the American led and British supported invasion.

The speech was a cleverly contrived show of humility for 'mistakes' in the past in an attempt to bring Americans on side again and committed to an engagement that will be longer, deeper and more costly in both dollars and people. This "new way forward" is designed to re-take the neighbourhoods from the gangs and militias, and then remain in those neighbourhoods to ensure the insurgents don't return. This will be done by joint operations alongside the fledgling Iraqi army and police.

Sounds good. Sounds reasonable. Who could argue with that scenario?

But this strategy is heavily dependent on the willingness and ability of the Iraqi government and armed forces to confront and disarm insurgents and militias. They will have to take on the militia of Moqtada Sadr - the largest, most powerful and the most murderous of the Shia groups, and one which controls much of eastern Baghdad, and with sectarian interests a prominent preoccupation in Iraq, how willingly will the predominantly Shia recruited security forces take on the predominantly Shia militias. I predict that it is going to get bloody!

Moreover, these troops are going to be fighting one of the worst forms of military action, - urban, house to house fighting. Dirty street fighting in some of Baghdad's poorest neighbourhoods, places where America's enormous technological advantage over its adversaries is severely lessened.

The neighbourhood bases for the soldiers are going to be very vulnerable to attack, and logistics re-supply hazardous.

Finally, there will be the problems of distraction. If it gets too hot for the insurgents in Baghdad, then they will up sticks and go somewhere else in Iraq. It will also be an opportunity for Iran to up the anti, knowing that America is now just about fully committed militarily. Nowhere was there any reference to the recommendations from the Iraq Study Group.

I am not impressed by the way he worded that bit of the speech where he said that the responsibility for past mistakes lie with him. The impression left is that it was not the policy that was wrong, but the implementation.

The mess is now so bad that what really needs to happen is for Bush to vacate the White House ASAP and someone with a bit of intelligence take over and can see a true way forward. What Bush fails to recognise is that more of the same that has caused this mess is not going to solve it. On the contary, things are going to get worse. People are going to die or be seriously injured because America is, unfortunately, in the hands of a President that can't take reasonable advice, and works off the basis of his own conviction - or should I say, - wishful thinking.

FOAD - American Government

The American government's path to totalitarianism and World domination continues apace. Not only does America feel it has the right to inspect my credit card transactions and any email I send, it has now decided that Britain is such a hotbed of global terrorism, that if I was stupid enough to want to visit this soviet clone I would have to agree to have all my fingerprints taken rather than the 2 presently demanded.

Why those of us who still live in the free world would want to visit America I don't know, but I'm sure there will be a lot less now. Shami Chakrabarti, head of rights group Liberty, said: "This must be the 'Keystone Cops' school of border control. Accumulating the fingerprints of millions of innocent passengers will not deter suicide bombers."

The right-wing mantra that "If you do nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear," is a nonsense in this case, because the implication of a false match can be so serious. Goodbye Las Vegas, hello Guantanemo Bay! Knowing how far the American government has gone to destroy civil liberties in America, this development has to be seen as part of that sinister trend.

There are also fears that innocent holidaymakers could be wrongly arrested. Simon Davies, of Privacy International, which campaigns against intrusive surveillance, said: "This maniacal proposal will turn thousands of law-abiding travelers into terror suspects.
"The technology will be far less reliable - anyone could be the victim of a false match. Be warned. A San Francisco Bay family holiday may easily become a nightmare."

A recent report by the civil liberties group Statewatch highlighted a Japanese study that tested 15 biometric systems and found 11 of them failed to detect 'false' fingerprints were being used in the form of a latex strip covering a person's fingers.

Although it is now probably too late, and certainly the idiot Blair isn't going to do anything about it, I resent that such a country as America that view civil liberties, freedom and justice with such low regard has any information about me in their database.

I'm sorry America, but the government you 'elected' is now so far beyond the pail, that I wish it would FOAD!

Ashes to Ashes

"In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances, RIP. NB The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia."

Australia's first victory on English soil over the full strength of England, on August 29, 1882, inspired a young London journalist, Reginald Shirley Brooks, to write this mock 'obituary'.

It appeared in the Sporting Times.

It was long believed that the real Ashes, a small urn thought to contain the ashes of a bail used in the third match, were presented to Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. In 1998, Lord Darnley's 82-year-old daughter-in-law said they were the remains of her mother-in-law's veil, not a bail. Other evidence suggests a ball. The certain origin of the Ashes, therefore, is the subject of some dispute.

After Lord Darnley's death in 1927, the urn was given to MCC by Lord Darnley's Australianborn widow, Florence. It can be seen in the cricket museum at Lord's, together with a red and gold velvet bag, made specially for it, and the scorecard of the 1882 match.

The text on the urn is as follows:-

When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn;
Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return;
The welkin will ring loud,
The great crowd will feel proud,
Seeing Barlow and Bates with the urn, the urn;
And the rest coming home with the urn.

Of course, I'm talking about cricket, and inparticular the bi-annual round of Test matches between England and Australia. These series of matches have come to be called the Ashes series, and are generally a hard fought battle between the twofor theries forthe honour of winning or retaining the Ashes.

Eighteen months ago, England gloriously regained the Ashes by narrowly beating Australia in the series, - the first time England had won the ashes since 1987 when the team, led by Mike Gatting and including players like Chris Broad and Ian Botham at the top of their form, returned the Ashes from Australian soil. England won the series 2:1.

Since then, and up to the summer of 2005, it has been perpetual England gloom where apart from 1997, when England actually won a couple of tests (though Australia still won the series) Australia have comprehensively beaten us. Then came 2005, and a tough and gritty encounter leading to a 2:1 series winning result and the Ashes were safely back in safe hands.

Safe, that is, until the present series which has resulted in the first whitewash since 1921!

England had lost the First Test in Brisbane looking totally unprepared and hardly putting up a fight, but the series was lost in 1 hour of torture in the Second Test in Adelaide. Up until the last day, it had been a great match, nip & tuck all the way with England slightly the better. Then, in the space of 1 hour, with a respectable draw very much on the cards, England contrived to lose 7 wickets for just 27 runs! The Geneva Conventions should have been evoked! This was cruel and unusual punishment beyond human imagination.

The test was lost, and with it, the series.

Confidence was shattered for England, and of course, confidence was unassailed for Australia - they had pulled the brands out of the fire. They were unconquerable, and everyone knew it.

What now for 2009? I don't know and I'm too depressed about it to think that far ahead, but think about it we must, and moreover plan for it leaving no detail overlooked. Never again will England be so humiliated!

Choices

Spotting a man dressed and acting about 20 years below his apparent age got me thinking about the choices we make, and inparticular the choice to leave behind the past and move forward to the future.

Since the swinging sixties, successive generations have convinced themselves that they can postpone growing up and moving on. That, if they defiantly strike enough infantile poses, fall for the latest preposterous fad, or express opinions the rest of us have dumped long ago, they will avoid ever having another birthday. US psychiatrists call these people "adultescents"; at their best, they are Peter Stringfellow. The irony is that the very things most of us loved about youth - lack of responsibility, the illusion of freedom - are the very things that the adultescent ultimately deprives himself of.

Those who do allow themselves to make that change discover that they are more likely to become masters of their own destiny. Once you stop hanging onto your past like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood, you suddenly discover you have a future. You also discover that, rather than having fewer choices, you actually have a multitude of possibilities. Perhaps the single most interesting choice you face is what parts of your past to leave behind and what to take with you.

There are rules. It's perfectly respectable for a 40-year-old lawyer to pogo around in his room to Never Mind The Bollocks. It's a lot harder for the same man to swagger around slapping high-fives with every young person he passes. The first looks like fun. The second looks like a way of life that's no sort of life at all.

Like the Katharine Hamnett T-shirts that used to say, "Choose Life," make the choices that give you even more choices - that make life more fun, more challenging, and, above all, one a hell of a lot easier to live.

Bill Kristol - Prophet Extraordinaire!

On March 17, 2003, on the eve of our invasion of Iraq, Bill Kristol wrote the following:

"We are tempted to comment, in these last days before the war, on the U.N., and the French, and the Democrats. But the war itself will clarify who was right and who was wrong about weapons of mass destruction. It will reveal the aspirations of the people of Iraq, and expose the truth about Saddam's regime. It will produce whatever effects it will produce on neighboring countries and on the broader war on terror. We would note now that even the threat of war against Saddam seems to be encouraging stirrings toward political reform in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and a measure of co-operation in the war against al Qaeda from other governments in the region. It turns out it really is better to be respected and feared than to be thought to share, with exquisite sensitivity, other people's pain. History and reality are about to weigh in, and we are inclined simply to let them render their verdicts."

A few more samples of the sort of intellectual analysis from Bill Kristol are as follows:

April 4, 2003:

"There's been a certain amount of pop sociology in America ... that the Shia can't get along with the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq just want to establish some kind of Islamic fundamentalist regime. There's almost no evidence of that at all. Iraq's always been very secular."

April 28, 2003:

"The United States committed itself to defeating terror around the world. We committed ourselves to reshaping the Middle East, so the region would no longer be a hotbed of terrorism, extremism, anti-Americanism, and weapons of mass destruction. The first two battles of this new era are now over. The battles of Afghanistan and Iraq have been won decisively and honorably. But these are only two battles. We are only at the end of the beginning in the war on terror and terrorist states."

March 22, 2004:

"[T]here are hopeful signs that Iraqis of differing religious, ethnic, and political persuasions can work together. This is a far cry from the predictions made before the war by many, both here and in Europe, that a liberated Iraq would fracture into feuding clans and unleash a bloodbath. The perpetually sour American media focus on the tensions between Shiites and Kurds that delayed the signing by three whole days. But the difficult negotiations leading up to the signing, and the continuing debates over the terms of a final constitution, have in fact demonstrated something remarkable in Iraq: a willingness on the part of the diverse ethnic and religious groups to disagree--peacefully--and then to compromise. This willingness is the product of what appears to be a broad Iraqi consensus favoring the idea of pluralism."

March 7, 2005:

"Just four weeks after the Iraqi election of January 30, 2005, it seems increasingly likely that that date will turn out to have been a genuine turning point. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, ended an era. September 11, 2001, ended an interregnum. In the new era in which we now live, 1/30/05 could be a key moment--perhaps the key moment so far--in vindicating the Bush Doctrine as the right response to 9/11. And now there is the prospect of further and accelerating progress."

November 30, 2005 (column titled "Pelosi's Disastrous Miscalculation"):

"All this made me think the 2006 elections could result in a Speaker Pelosi. I now think that unlikely. Pelosi's endorsement today of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq makes the House Democrats the party of defeat, the party of surrender. Bush's strong speech today means the GOP is likely to be--if Republican Congressmen just keep their nerve--the party of victory. Now it is possible that the situation in Iraq will worsen over the next year. If that happens, Bush and the GOP are in deep trouble. They would have been if Pelosi had said nothing. But it is much more likely that the situation in Iraq will stay more or less the same, or improve. In either case, Republicans will benefit from being the party of victory."

December 26, 2005 (column titled "Happy Days!"):

"If American and Iraqi troops continue to provide basic security, and if Iraq's different sects and political groups now begin to engage in serious, peaceful bargaining, then we may just have witnessed the beginning of Iraq's future."

It now turns out that this formidable and accurate analyst is to become a "star" columnist for Time magazine. Clearly, in right-wing America, the more you are wrong, the higher you climb.

Quotes are captured from Unclaimed Territory and Crooks & Liars.

Mark's Christmas Message

Kirkless Hall, Christmas 2005

It seems that it has been some time since my last post, and I notice that I have been given a swift kick up the bum by friend Junojen! In fact my last blog was almost a month ago, which in blogland, is quite a while.

However, I've not been idle over the past month, far from it. With the run up to Christmas, life has just got more and more hectic. A couple of weeks ago, I spent an enjoyable Saturday in Manchester with my eldest doing Christmas shopping (and spending a King's ransom). We had a lot of fun, and managed to escape back to Hindley before the crowds got too oppressive.

Last week, Christine and I joined some of my colleagues from work for our Christmas party. It was a great night out, and I drank so much even I ended up on the dance floor - I do believe there was a blue moon that night! We stayed overnight in a hotel overlooking Manchester United football ground - well I suppose you can't have everything!

With the girls in different schools, it has meant double the Carol services, so it was division of labour. Christine went with Jayne to her schools service and Christingle, while I went with Bethen to hers.

A couple of weeks ago I came down with the flu, which, as everyone knows, attacks men far harder than women. It was so bad, I needed to take some time off work, but I tried very hard not to show how much I was truely suffering.

Christmas is now almost upon us, and this weekend we will be putting up and dressing the tree. Christmas will have finally arrived at a certain house in Hindley. Christine is working this Christmas so I will be doing the cooking. Leg of Pork from a pig that grew up on a local free-range farm supplied by our favourite butcher on the market. The vegetables will also be local - we will be using as little supermarket produce as possible. Later in the week, when we will have been joined by our parents, it will be a fine joint of topside.

This is probably my last blog before Christmas, and so I wish all who find and read this post the best gift I can offer, the love of someone who loves you, and to know that no matter how alone we may feel we are, from time to time, we do not walk this world alone.

Have a peaceful and loving Christmas from Mark, Christine and the girls.

The End Of An Era

For the past few years, since the first time I discovered it, the Kirkless Hall Inn has been a regular finishing point for many a cycle ride. The first time I arrived, caked in mud, sweaty and decidedly thirsty I was made very welcome by Jill Jolly, the landlady and queen of the bar. That first day she served me a superb and refreshing pint of Summer Lightening and I was hooked.

Not only was the beer first class, but I later found out that their pub food was pretty good as well. For someone like me who is a relative stranger to the insides of pubs, this was a revelation.

The Kirkless Hall Inn has become the family's regular stopping off point, a place for us to relax in a beautiful spot. The half-timbered pub providing am eye-catching backdrop to the locks. A place where me and the girls have spent many a happy hour watching the bright and colourful canal boats as they made their way up from or down to Wigan. On hot summer days, the pub and the lockside would be buzzing with people also enjoying the environment. A truly wonderful place.

Jill & Bob Jolly, the landlord and lady were the people who worked tirelessly to ensure that welcome was always there. They got to know us very well, and were often interested in our exploits out on the bikes. Whatever condition we were in, and sometimes that was pretty mucky, we were always made to feel welcome. Mum had her 81st birthday lunch at the pub and it was a really jolly time helped by the kind attention of Jill & Bob.

Today was Jill and Bob's last Sunday running the pub. They retire this week and head off to pastures new. Jill wants to spend more time with her family and grandchildren. They will be sadly missed by us, and talking to others at the pub, they feel the same. They have left a very high standard for those who will follow to attain, and we all look forward to that with interest.

But to Bob & Jill, many thanks for your many kindnesses. For maintaining a good cellar and excellent food. Good luck for the future, you will be missed.

A Corner Turned

People of America have, I believe, taken their first steps to recover their country from the 6 year rule of the 'democratic tyranny' of the Bush administration. Brave America is still alive and is a cause for celebration.

When one considers all the damage that has been perpetrated by that small band of the priviledged few, the road back is going to be long and hard. But the first important step has been made.

The work towards the 2008 presidential election must start now, and Democrates have got to find an internationally acceptable and respected statesman to lead America back to the light. I don't care if he or she is a heathen and has a history of affairs on the side, - all that counts is that he or she is intelligent, wise and can command respect.

America, enjoy your moment of movement back to the free world, but don't rest too long on your laurels, there is an emmense amount of work yet to do.

Two Jays

Surely one Jay is enough! Looks a bit low in the water at the back end!

Thank Goodness For Guantanamo Bay

Thank you, America. George Bush, you are a saint. I take it all back.

John Negroponte, George Bush's Director of National Intelligence, has said that the 'High-Value Terrorist Detainee Program' has saved Britain from at least 2 major terrorist attacks since 2002.

What really amazes me was the forward planning of these terrorist groups. One thwarted plot was an attack in 2003 on Heathrow Airport and the other, in 2004, a series of co-ordinated urban attacks. The detail of all this was known to the terrorists from before their kidnapping(sorry, - capture) in 2002.

Of course, groups like Amnesty International reacted angrily to the claims, saying it ignored allegations that detainees had been placed in stress positions, subjected to sleep deprivation and submitted to 'water-boarding' - partial drowning. Who cares about a little bit of discomfort for a clearly 'bad' person, as long as I'm OK, the oil keeps flowing and lots of people are making a healthy profit out the 'war on terror'.

Of course, also, I believe everything that the White House says, and there is a tooth fairy!

Guns Don't Kill People

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people!" This is the oft quoted mantra of the gun lobby, and those who see guns as a good thing to have in society, that allows then to wring their hands in anguish over the deaths by shooting of children in a school, but still advocate that guns are a good thing.

I have spent some time, this week, thinking about this, and my conclusion is that I just can't agree.

To my mind, there is a major difference between killing sombady with a gun and any other method, and that difference is the degree and level of subjectivity in the killing.

Guns allow for a degree of distance between shooter and victim. The shooter only has to point a gun and pull a trigger. There is a degree of seperation between the method and the victim. The death, for the shooter, is less personal, easier and convenient. All that is required is to squeeze a trigger. Other forms of violent death, generally require the killer to get up close and personal with the victim. Requires a certain degree of physical activity, and the ever present danger that the victim could turn the tables on the killer. Stabbing, strangling and beating all provide dangers for the killer which means that the gun makes a much more tempting tool to use.

This is why, I believe, that countries that have strong levels of gun control and have less guns, legitimate or illegitimate, in circulation appear to have less gun crime and death per capita than America.

I am left with the thought that "Guns don't kill people, people kill people and those people are choosing guns because it is easier!"

Another Peaceful Day In School

Five girls are now dead with another 7 girls in hospital fighting for their lives. Yet again, another American community is struggling to come to terms with the consequences of America's love affair with the gun.

Some straight-forward facts courtesy of infoplease.com.

Since 1996 around the world, 84 children have been killed in school shootings - 53 of them in America.

At the same time, 38 others - including teachers, janitors and police have been killed - 12 of those in America.

Of the 120 wounded children, 106 were in America and 5 of the 7 other wounded - again mainly teachers, were in America.

The gun lobby is clearly correct - America is a much safer place to be with guns. Children can feel secure as they wander off to school today.

Who cares if they don't come back in the evening?

Please Read This

In follow up from my previous post, I implore all to read this post. Many of the comments are worthy of reading as well.