Drawing Breath

One of the problems with getting older is witnessing the death of people who you grew up with, whether they be relatives, friends or well liked celebrities. Ronnie Barker, who died yesterday, was one of my favourite comedians when I was growing up, and I still have fond memories of sitting down with my whole [...]

Wow, I actually got a little teary watching the live footage of Space Shuttle Discovery touching down at Edwards Air Force Base in California. It’s a great relief to the see the Shuttle down and safe. Congratulations to the crew and to NASA. This mission has been a nail biting time for spectators, and I [...]

Good luck to the crew of the shuttle Discovery when they begin re-entry later this morning. Fingers crossed that they make it back to Earth safe and well. The Shuttle is about 25 years old now. Surely it’s about time NASA retired them and went back to the drawing board?

The British attitude to America’s less than positive reaction to the London bombings is delivered very nicely by Armando Iannucci in today’s Telegraph. Via Tim Worstall.

A big thank you to the US military for effectively telling every American not to visit London. As Londoners defiantly use public transport hours after the bombings, America demonstrates the same spirit that had them staying home in droves in the months immediately after 9/11. I’m sure the American citizens that live and work in [...]

On Thursday last week, as the full horror of the London terrorist bombings was starting to unfold on the news, I had the following brief IM exchange with a young lad I’ve been chatting to regularly for months now (I’ve changed his name, in case he has the good grace to be embarrassed by his [...]

I’d just like to extend my thanks to the French internet user (I didn’t have the wherewithal to ask his name) who contacted me out of the blue yesterday to offer his sympathies and condolences. Even though I am a long way from London, and untouched by the immediate effects of the terrorist outrages, I [...]

Fair play to the people of London. Watching the news this morning, the overwhelming reaction from people travelling to work seems to be “screw the terrorists, life goes on as normal”. People are shocked and angry, but not scared, and certainly not willing to let these lunatics win. The London News Review carries an open [...]