First Monday of the New Year

Removing the ex-army greatcoat, the two ski suits and the thermal underwear I began on my exercises. Arms stretch out ahead and back, again, again, five times, ten, stop. Now swing arms to the side and stretch, again, once, twice, five, ten, twenty, stop. Knees bend together, one, two, three, four, five, oh that's enough of that! Breathe deeply in, out, in, out, ten deep breathes then relax. OK, now to get out of bed.

Dear oh dear, freezing cold once again and Jack Frost has been all over my window. The field outside is white with frost and the people rushing by are wrapped up in everything they possess. The heating is on and I canny feel it at all! In Siberia they do not let the kids of school until it is -37 degrees, and during the war Siberian troops brought over to defend Moscow fought in temperatures of minus 8. They thought this was warm! I however am not one for cold weather, nor do I intend to fight Nazis in this condition to be honest. I wish to be transported somewhere warm, Greece or Turkey or the Isle of Wight. Somewhere that Jack Frost and his icy fingers don't get to go near me.Several times to day I have had to put the heating on. Several times today, sitting here in my sleeping bag, wearing my woollen gloves with the fingers cut out, I have thought of those dwelling in Thailand and wondered how they cope with our cold weather? With a smug grin on their fat faces I bet! I can see them now, chomping yet more chicken and laughing their heads off! What's that? Me wish a monsoon on them? Never! In Nigeria they have a warm day with 38 degrees of heat, usually. In Portugal folk go swimming on Christmas Day. In this area the sun shines and the sky is blue but the seagulls soaring past my window are not looking for food scraps, they are nicking folks scarf's and wrapping them around their scrawny necks, and I don't blame them! Global warming, wherefore art thou pal?

Some of you have probably already noticed this, I as always am slow on the 'catch up' bit, but 'Blogger' has changed the 'Post Editor.'  There is a new one available and it is marginally better than the old one. Well I suppose that depends on you but if it's the new one I use it because the old one will disappear one day and leave me high and dry! Technology is always my slow point (one off) and after amassing lots of cassette tapes full of knowledge my tape machine has burst and they don't sell them any more. Everything is now on CD's except that digital is removing the need for CD's. I would mention large black circular things with  a hole in the middle and ask "Is this a record?" but you young things would not understand would you?

To find the new editor

First work your way to the 'Settings' tab.

At the bottom of the page you will see a field called 'Select Post Editor.,'

Select 'New Editor' save your settings.

Whether it is worth it or not only you can decide.

 

Yemen

Terrorism Bush claimed was based in Iraq, although we all knew different. Bin-Laden was known to be in the Pakistan hills hiding among the Taliban. So the military aim was to defeat both of them high up in the Afghanistan/Pakistan hills. Now we discover that the centre may have shifted to Somalia, where Islamic extremists abound, or Yemen where the British, US and now French embassies have closed because of perceived danger. The BBC reports that other nations, considered to be 'western' are also scaling down their operations. The danger from such extremists is indeed great. They appear to have no regard for human life, men women and children die by bomb, bullet and sometimes knife. This is less because of their religious belief and more because of culture and hardness of heart. We are right to be aware of the danger in this country as well as abroad.

Having said that such activities are not new. Violent people, for political reasons, religion, football or any other purpose have resorted to violence at home and abroad. It is part of the human condition, and we must agree, but not always willingly, such violence lies near at hand to ourselves also! Life is never peaceful, although the west, because of the 'Cold War' has experienced seventy years of peace and we have come to believe this is our right. However as a man once said, "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans," of course he got shot!

The Yemen is a place we know little about. Mud houses, Arabs aplenty, terrorists. What else do we know of them? Very little I suspect. However one man 'Ozgur Can Leonard' has been travelling through the land and posted this excellent series of photographs from Yemen. There may not be a picture of a gunman however there are some remarkable houses  and I suspect remarkable people living in them!