A Moment To Reflect On Japan...

I doubt there can be anyone who watched today’s events unfolding in Japan, who was not moved by the sheer scale of what they were witnessing,

It seemed unbelievable that an unstoppable ten metre high wall of water, caused by the earlier record breaking offshore earthquake (measuring 8.9) swept everything out of its path as it rolled across the shoreline. Cars, boats and even whole buildings were simply crushed and carried along by the Tsunami, as it drove ever onward across the land.

As I write this, it has been reported that at least 350 people are dead, a cruise ship is missing and two trains have been completely washed away. The final death toll can only be a guess, as many will probably never be found.

Perhaps, it is a timely reminder, to us all, that whichever religions we follow, however powerful our weapons or strong our armies, and whatever the political ambitions of the world’s feuding nations, we are not the ultimate controllers of our own destiny.

There is a much more powerful force at work than we can ever hope to invent. When it decides to demonstrate its power, we are all left helpless in its shadow.

My thoughts, this weekend, are with all those affected in Japan.

Think Yourself Fit - Avoid The Cold

 

It’s almost that time of year again when everyone around seems to be staring at you through watery eyes or coughing and sneezing in your face.

For some, it is a time of sharing while for those bathed in sneeze particles, it is complete annoyance.

However, a new study of over 1,000 people, claims that those who partake in regular exercise are less likely to suffer from the common cold than those who do not.

My first reaction to such claims is always that it is a concerted campaign, deliberately started, to convince us all we should buy ill fitting lycra, join expensive health clubs and suffer the humiliation of being entertainment to the bored fitness ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ who can then justify their own massive club fees, by the amount of laughs they are able to generate at our expense.

Personally I am not going to fall for it. I don’t want to look like a caricature of an oversized penis squeezed into an undersized condom.

Any surplus ‘unfit’ bits I might be carrying are going to continue being hidden under my normal everyday clothing and remain as far as I can keep them, away from the torture chamber that is a gymnasium.

Fortunately, though, the study revealed a useful finding that could be my saving grace: it is not just the reality of how fit you are but the perception of how fit you are. If you think you are fit, the severity of any symptoms of a cold can fall by up to 41 percent.

Just by taking a small amount of exercise and thinking you are fitter than you are, can boost your immune system and ward off the worst of the effects of a cold.

With that thought in mind, I am convincing myself I am a world class marathon runner and am going to saunter back into the kitchen and get myself another bacon sarnie.

Aaaaaaarrrchooooo!!……..Bless me!!

It really does seem to work!

Good News, Bad News - The Planes Are Flying Again!

Finally, the planes are back in the air!

Whether this is good news, or bad news, is a matter of debate.

For those living under the flightpaths of the UK’s airports, or in towns threatened by the building of new runways, or concerned about the impact flights have on our environment, it will be bad.

Others, though, who are able to conveniently ignore such matters, will see it as good news. They have the freedom to travel wherever they like, whenever they like, returned to them once again.

We will be able to import ‘out of season’ foodstuffs directly into the supermarkets, allowing us to create those often exotic and ‘trendy’ recipes all year round.

Countries like Kenya, for whom 20 percent of their gross GDP is accounted for by the export and transportation of horticultural products, will breathe a sigh of relief once again.

A few things are certain though:

The political fallout could be far more devastating than the threat from the volcanic ash we were told to fear.

Stranded passengers are going to have huge mobile phone bills.

International lawyers are going to gather massive income from litigation against airlines and regulators - for possibly years to come.

The concept of ‘knee jerk’ health and safety shutdowns, based on inadequate information and evaluation, will be more closely examined in the future.

Personally, though, I enjoyed a peaceful few days!!

Eruption And Disruption - It's 'Plane' Crazy!

So who really is running the asylum?

Six days after our planes were grounded, airports are still closed and an estimated 150,000 UK travellers are stranded abroad, unable to get home.

The cause, as we all know by now, is an erupting volcano in Iceland.

I am finding it really hard to comprehend that such chaos has been caused by one relatively small natural occurrence and it seems I am not alone.

Yesterday, Willie Walsh the CEO of British Airways flew on one of his planes to test whether any damage would really be caused by the dust cloud i.e. is the situation really as dangerous as we are being led to believe?

He returned in one piece - I am sure much to the annoyance of many of his recently striking cabin crews - convinced the disruption to air travel and his company's revenues was not justified.

Which brings me back to the original question: who is responsible for making the initial decision?

It seems it was not made by our own government but taken somewhere in Europe where, as we all know, they are true professionals in inventing silly rules and regulations.

But this is not a piece of stupidity about the straightness of a banana, it is far more disruptive and for many, financially disastrous.

The contradictory updates have been almost a work of farce: Scotland and Northern Ireland can fly now.... oh no they can't....all airports will open tomorrow.....oh no they won't ....but they might..... errrr not... etc. etc.

I guess, in one sense, the regulators and health and safety obsessives can claim a massive success; no planes will come crashing out of the skies as they haven't been able to leave the ground in the first place - it's the equivalent of making sure there are no motoring accidents by removing the wheels from cars!

If this decision was taken in Brussels, then it should not be too long before UKIP start spouting on about being a classic example of what our future has in store as part of a United States Of Europe!

Personally, I would rather take my chances with the volcano!

Grounded Flights - Volcano or Conspiracy?

It seems unbelievable that almost every flight in and out of the UK has been grounded since midday yesterday.

According to the air traffic control body, Nats, flights will not be able to resume until at least 1300hrs tomorrow.

Apparently, the groundings are because of the danger of engine failure in the event planes fly into the path of dust from the ash of the volcano that erupted in Iceland last week.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been stranded both in the UK and abroad and many have have not been covered against financial loss by their insurance because of the 'act of God' clause in most policies.

I do not remember a single occasion in my lifetime when air travel has been totally suspended before; even after the 9/11 attacks, international flights to countries other than the US were not affected to this extent.

Of course, when things like this happen, conspiracy theories start to ferment. It seems this case is no exception, as even the nice woman controlling the checkout in my local Asda tonight, expressed the view that there 'must be more to it' and we were being kept in the dark by the government (which does not say a lot about our faith in our leaders).

It doesn't help when we hear that certain flights from Scotland and Ireland have now been allowed to resume. Iceland is nearer to both of those countries than either here or mainland Europe, so if they are out of danger, the cloud must already have passed over or missed them altogether.

If that is the case then why have we not been hit in the South yet? How come it is taking so long to drift the relatively short distance from Scotland down onto England?

Could there really be something more sinister going on?

So many questions without any answers but as they say in The X Files....The Truth Is Out There!

Update: Since writing this post on Friday, the restrictions on flights from Scotland and Northern Ireland have been re-imposed. Maybe they read my post LOL

Pubs, Politicians And The Benefits Of Global Warming

If there is one group of people who must relish the prospect of global warming, it is that of those who work in the pub trade.

They have been hit really hard over the last few years with unfair competition from the undercutting supermarkets and customers reducing their spending during the recession. Many pubs have simply gone to the wall, while others have had to diversify into new areas of the hospitality business.

What the above picture proves, however, is there's life in the old dog yet and once we feel a bit of warmth from the sun, we are prepared to venture out of our caves and be both generous and sociable.

I would bet our politicians are hoping that the weather is fine on May 6th and our mood is just as relaxed and generous!


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The Cost Of Balancing Art And Earthquakes!

The above life-size bronze sculpture, by Swiss Artist Alberto Giacometti, was sold at auction in London, yesterday, for the record sum of £65m after just eight minutes of bidding.

The UK appeal for the disaster victims of the earthquake in Haiti has raised £70m and taken almost three weeks.

Somehow, comparing those two facts makes me feel uncomfortable.

I am not sure whether it is because one person can have so much as to be able to spend such a huge sum on a piece of bronze, or whether it is that so many people are left with so little, and are not able to find even the basics necessary to survive.

I guess that is the balance of life....for those who have, there are many more who have not.

It just does not seem a fair equation to me!

Climate For A Change...Of Message!

The UK’s Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, has stated it would be “profoundly irresponsible” to use one “mistake” as an excuse not to act.

He was referring to the fact that the Himalayan Glaciers have not seemed to melt in quite the 'doom and gloom' manner predicted by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Mr Miliband added it did not "undermine decades of climate research and the overwhelming majority of scientists say that." Hmmm it must be right then!

The trouble is, no-one has come up with a convincing argument either for, or against, climate change being a man-made problem. It has, instead, been a storm of confusion and opposing ‘facts’.

Cyclical changes in climate have been occurring since the creation of the planet.

Yes, we could all do a lot better at helping the environment but we have reached a stage in our evolution where we no longer just accept, or believe, the words of Al Gore, government funded scientists or self important ministers. We need to respond to positive education and not desperate scare tactics.

I have no idea who is right or wrong about global warming but what I do know, for sure, is...... I am bloody freezing!!