An unseasonably hot, claggy day in central London today. 29 degrees might be the sort of temperature that would make an Aussie reach for his overcoat, but for us, it’s just on the uncomfortable side of warm — unless you’re in a beer garden. I wasn’t in a beer garden. Instead I was sardined on the London Underground system, floundering in a forest of armpits and hissing headphones, and can attest that it’s a less pleasant spot from which to enjoy the heat.… READ MORE.... …
Month: May 2010
It’s about time I wrote another Starting Over post. Everytime I do it, I hope it will be the last one. Not because I want the running to stop: just the opposite. I want the stopping to stop. At least the circumstances are different. Usually, an extended period of idleness follows a major race effort. This time, a startlingly enthusiastic late autumn and early winter was brought low by a series of calf strains and unconsummated races.… READ MORE.... …
As Churchill put it, “Democracy is the very worst form of government — except for all those others that have been tried”. For a political junkie like me, the last few weeks have been one big party, and that’s what we seem to have ended up with. Looking back, not much happened during the 3 weeks of the election campaign. An elderly lady in Rochdale was described as a bigot, and this became national news for several days.… READ MORE.... …
I’d been waiting for the chance to issue some cliché along the lines of “normal service has been resumed”, but it struck me today that normality will probably never reappear. Or not that old normality. Some different lifestyle, currently unimaginable, will eventually rise from the swamp and conquer all that came before. The form it might take will be revealed — just as soon as I manage to identify the real thing in among the statues and their shadows.… READ MORE.... …