What a week.
On the radio this morning, I heard a newspaper reviewer say that if the things that happened this week happened over the course of twelve months, we would all be looking back in December amazed at the past twelve months. To have them all happen in 4 days is astonishing.
We began on a high with the Olympic bid success cheering up most of the country. I am generally a cynic (you may have noticed) and indeed it took the word of Ken Livingston to put it into perspective for me. I am sympathetic to all you Londonders when you tell me that your poll tax will be paying for it. If as Ken says, for every £1 you pay, £9 will come from the Lottery and private investment and the end result is a rejuvinated East End and great facilities that will last a lifetime then perhaps it is not all bad. It was nice to win something at last and the photos of the jubilant crowds on the front of Thursday’s papers was wonderful to see.
It was just a shame that what took place too on Thursday too late to make the headlines.
Comparisons were made to the World Trade Centre events and personally, there was at least on glaring similarity. During the events of both, I was speeding up or down the M5 blissfully unaware of the world around me. It wasn’t until I reached my destination (work in 2001, my dad’s house on Thursday) that I found out.
My first thoughts were of those of you who live and work in the capital. Thanks to the forum, I quickly saw that you were all ok.
I won’t add much to that. Intense media coverage has saturated my thoughts with endless repetition of video footage and mostly speculation. Like everyone else I was impressed by the people of London and their determination and resiliance. I wasn’t surprised of course, none of us should be. London people are British people and thats just the way we are. To quote Ken Livingstone again..”they will never win”.
As for G8. What can you say. Sir Bob seems satisfied and who knows more about it than him?
So, in amongst all that, I spent the last 3 days with my dad and his wife, Jane in Bromham, Wiltshire. They both work harder than anybody alive. My dad still working in his study 8 hours a day and Jane running a very busy B&B. On Thursay, Jane and I went to see some crop circles that had appeared overnight on Wednesday. There are many theories as to their construction but these two certainly didn’t look like the work of two old guys and a plank of wood. One of the sites (Knap Hill) is a common site for circles (it costs the farmers about £1500 in lost crops and they have donation boxes near each circle to help offset this) and committed individuals maintain vigils to try and see one constructed. In the summer months, there are only 4 or so hours of darkness and considering the complexity of the final result, a convincing answer seems a while off.
On Friday, I went on a nice long quiet walk behind their house for an hour or two. The quiet was wonderful. I didn’t hear a car or another person for almost the whole time. Then 3 chavs drove by in a Vauxhall Astra. Bass and cymbal shattering the peace. I would have taken a photo but they were doing about 80mph and they might have come back and stole the camera.
They find you everywhere.
So if the Crop circles weren’t done by 2 old blokes and a plank, then what were they done by?
Tourists and Chav’s