Should I get my hair cut?

Since the dawn of time men have debated (women have better things to do) whether or not I should get a haircut. Socrates was stumped as was Nostradamus.

But now I put it to you; should I?

Im back

I am sorry for the pause in my blogging. I know you have been living day-to-day. But now I am back with more of your favourites:

jokes
photos
mountain ranges
political monologues

the lot!

Hairstyle

Who thinks my hair would look good in the style of the man on this webpage?

Don't become a slave to slavery

Today was the 200th anniversary of a hollow and watered-down law banning slavery in the British Empire. It was basically implemented by a very young Prime Minster (Pitt the Younger who was 24) with the help of a young minster and advisor- William Wilberforce. Parliament 200 years ago didn't look anymore kindly on 2 whippersnappers making laws then than they do now. In fact the youngest current MP is 32 (Sarah Teather). The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act which became law in March 1807 by which time William Wilberforce was 48 and Pitt the Younger had been dead for 1 year and he was 47 when he died. But they were both very young when they started the abolitionist movement. Slaves were still be traded in the empire decades after the law was pasted because it was difficult to stop the super-powerful slave-owners. Some slaves were even worse off after the law was passed because they were kicked off of the plantations but nobody wanted to hire them anymore. At least when they were slaves they got shelter and food.

Nevertheless I went to Brixton (the heartland of Afro-Britons) and watched a movie about apartheid at the Lonely Planet film festival. The film I saw was called Catch a Fire. It was an excellent film. It reminded me of Hotel Rwanda. Catch a Fire was about a black South African in 1980 and his struggle against the white South African secret service.

Anti-slave protester who tried to attack the Prime Minster and Queen today on the 200th anniversary of the end of slavery service at Westminster Abbey

The Domino effect.......

Yesterday Robyn and I were in a pound shop in East Ham called Manny's Two. It is a very cramped shop with many objects piled up high and narrow walkways between the veritable Aladdin's cave. As Robyn and I were picked our way through this treasure trove of delights we spied an elderly eastern European woman. She had a sour, wizened face and she grimaced at us with contempt of our age and stunning good looks (we are a handsome couple you see). Anyway we were going opposite ways down the walkways until we got to a 90degree bend. Then, suddenly, almost slowly, a stack of pots, pans and crockery about 4 feet high started toppling- set in motion by the old lady as Robyn (who was the closest) was at least 1metre away. We both lunged towards the declining mass of kitchenware. We just about caught some of it but it was too late; the initial topple had triggered a domino effect round the store. Half of the central area was crashing down around Robyn and I (strangely enough not the old lady). We struggled to catch the falling kitchenware and housewares but it was a largely futile attempt. Pots crashed onto the floor, saucepans clattered onto cheese graters and lemon zesters toppled casserole dishes. After half of the central stack had fallen there was a sudden, uneasy silence. The woman scowled at us; she may as well have pointed a finger. But she broke the silence by muttering a couple of sentences of a Russian-like language before turning tail and disappearing the other way down the aisle. Robyn and I tried fruitlessly to pick up the merchandise off of the floor. 2 male shopkeepers were bearing down on us in seconds. Robyn prompted me towards the door. We escaped Pompeii and burst out onto the street laughing.

We only wanted a small plastic basket.

First List; Mountain Ranges

I have decided, for want of any better subject to blog about, to do lists every week or so. These lists will be informative and interesting and give the impression that I regularly update my blog. The list this week will be:

Mountain Ranges I Have Been To:

Canada:

Rocky Mountains
Alberta Badlands#
Coast Mountains
Canadian Cascades*
Pierce Range
Beaufort Range
Pelham Range
Somerset Range
Seymour Range
Gowlland Range
Inside Passage#
Niagara Escarpment

Rocky Mountains October 2005 Columbia Mountains

USA:

Cascade Mountains*
Adirondack Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Olympic Range

Shawangunk Mountains

Taconic Mountains

Okanogan Range

Cascade Mountains October 2006

England:

Chiltern Hills
Cotswolds
Dartmoor Hills
Exmoor Hills
Lake District
Malvern Hills
Mendip Hills
North Downs
Peak District
Pennines
Salisbury Plain Downs
South Downs
Lake District June 2006

Wales:

The Brecon Beacons
Black Mountains
Cambrian Mountains

Black Mountains September 2006

Scotland:

Southern Uplands
Scottish Highlands
Cheviot Hills

Southern Uplands August 2006

France:

Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord

Crête de Valenciennes August 2005

Greenland:

Watkins Range

Watkins Range from the air November 2006

*= Geographically the same range

#=Strictly speaking not ranges but still peaks of elevation

Bloody Yuppies.

This has to be a defining photo of the changing face of Pakistan- a human rights lawyer after being whacked with a police trucheon. He was protesting over the senior Pakistani lawyer being put in prison. He has ruined his nice suit.

Last Day at the Smart Centre

Friday the 9th of March was my last day at the Smart Centre, Morden. The children made me a card, the adults bought me a card and gave me a box of celebrations. Also 4 people gave me their phone numbers. I had only worked there for 3 weeks.

Lunar Eclipse

On Saturday evening of March the 3th there was a lunar eclipse. Robyn and I drove out across the Hoo penisula until we reached Northwood Hill RSPB Reserve near High Halstow. It was very dark and there were plenty of stars. Slowly we saw the earths shadow cover the moon until it was blood red. It went red at around 11:15pm. Below is a photo of the lunar eclipse and the picture of Northward Hill during the day.

Plastic Cup Politics. Part One

Blair and Bush divide?

Is Tony Blair edging away from George Bush's stance on the war in Iraq? For starters Tony Blair has reduced funding for the Ministry of Defence and increased funding for domestic anti-terror organisations including SOCA and MI5. There have been complaints about the poorly funded army but could this be a shrewd decision in the long term? When all British troops have left Iraq the British Army will be bolstered in Afghanistan. With less financial pressure on the British Army in Afghanistan their effectiveness will rise. So from a fiscal standpoint underfunding the army for a year or two will save money in the long run. Tony Blair has obviously known he would make the announcement below for some time.

Today Tony Blair announced that 1,500 UK troops would be coming back from Iraq for good in the next couple of months. By summer 2008 they should all be back. The UK currently has 7,100 troops in Afghanistan. Lets look at the list of nations with troops in Iraq:

COALITION FORCES
US -132,000
UK - 7,100
South Korea - 2,300
Poland - 900
Georgia - 800
Australia - 900
Romania - 600
Denmark - 460
El Salvador - 380
Bulgaria - 150

A few weeks ago George Bush announced that the US was sending 21,500 more troops to Iraq later this year. With the UK pulling out I predict most other European nations and Australia will pull out as well. I believe they joined the coalition because they thought that the UK was making a good decision in trying to stay economically aligned with the US (a bloody huge economy). Now the UK have decided to withdraw troops other European nations and Australia (which has very close ties with the UK don't forget) will pull out. Then in the future they can say to the USA "We were in Iraq as long as your biggest ally (the UK) was. Because we were so loyal to you, you must invest in us". I predict Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria and Australia's governments will announce in the next month a full troop withdrawal plan. The other countries have other motives for keeping the US sweet but theirs are slightly different. El Salvador is the only Latin American country with troops in Iraq. El Salvador are basically saying to the US "All the other Latin American countries hate you but we like you. Can you please build all your South American factories and headquarters in our country please"? South Korea's motive is to try and prove to the US that they are close allies to reassure them over the North Korea factor. Georgia and Romania are former communist countries which are trying to boost ties with the US as if to say "We are your friends now. Please trust us, defend us and invest in us".

So why is George Bush sending in more troops? Perhaps he is predicting that with the coalition disintegrating he needs to make up for the lost of future troop numbers. Also, as has been proven, non-US coalition forces pacify the Iraq population much more than the American army. A good example is British Basra or Polish Najaf which sees relatively low insurgency compared to Baghdad and Falluja which are US controlled. The military planners at the Pentagon expect a rise in violence when the UK and others leave.

But clearly George Bush and Tony Blair have very different stances. On the surface they shouldn't. They are both in their political twilight years. But with Tony Blair bringing troops back from Iraq, cutting military funding and increasing domestic security funding George Bush is doing the exact opposite. George Bush seems to think that because he has 100s of thousands of troops sitting in sandy countries that he can't pronounce they are safe. So he cuts domestic security funding in the US. He then sends 21,500 more troops to Iraq and increases US defence funding 'again'. The US has a bigger defence budget of the entire countries of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg combined!

To basically it looks like 'the special relationship' is crumbling. Whitehall and Washington are drifting apart.

Also a quick message to ignorant tabloid-readers. When you scream: Get Our Heroes back! you seem to miss facts.
In 2003 the UK had 47,000 troops in Iraq (half of the total army). It now has 7,100. The troops numbers have dramatically fallen over the past few yet nobody notices that.

I would very much appreciate comment on the above topics.

The above opinions are my own and nobody else's. Most of the facts are from memory so there may be incongruities.

It did snow!

Yes 10cm of snow fell on London. It was the worse snow since 1996. I can remember the 1996 snow- building a snowman in my front garden when I was 11. By why do all the papers have to have as the headline "Winter wonderland". Also "Its snow joke" is another one. No editorial imagination. Of course the whole country was brought to its knees as per usual. 1 million people didn't show for work in London and the UK economy lost 400million pounds because of the snow. But what about the extra porridge, gloves and tobboggan sales?My road at around 8:30am. My local park covered with snow in the morning.

A blizzard whipped up while we were in the park
An evergreen tree covered with snow.
A brave crocus pushes its way through the snow.

Blanket of snow over the park.

Weird snow/hoar frost patterns.

Also goto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv3M2veoR2M to watch 1 of my movies I filmed in the park during the blizzard. There is no sound. A 1 point I wipe some snow off the lense. Also look out for the flashing lights of gritter trucks.

Will it snow?

The UK met office has forecasted up to 15cm of snow in London tonight and tomorrow. Its 1c so its cold enough. I hope it does snow! Then Robyn and I can have a snowball fight in the park!

Me holding a snowball at the top of Sulphur Mountain, Alberta in October 2005

Almost terrorism.......

I forgot to post it at the time but a couple of weeks ago I was coming home from work as usual. In fact I was making good time. I was on the Hammersmith and City line at Aldgate East when the following event unfolded:

The train doors opened as usual and few people got in and out. The train wasn't very busy for the time of day and most of the seats were full with the odd person standing. The doors shut as normal. The train started moving then after about 5 seconds it lurched, there was a loud bang and all the lights went off in the train. It was at that moment, to everyones horror, that smoke was pouring from the tunnel in front of us. The driver came on the tannoy and said in a shaky voice "There is smoke coming from the tunnel ahead and we are unable to proceed". I was in the front carriage so the smoke was pretty bad. Everybody was looking at everybody else ashen-faced. Don't forget that it was nearby that Shehzad Tanweer detonated his bomb which killed 7 people and injured 171 on the 7th of July 2005.

We sat there for 20 minutes in grim silence. Then the driver came through the train and asked if everyone was feeling alright and if there were any pregnant women or anything. It was an experienced, short chap in his 50s and he had a strong London accent. He was desperately trying to keep everyone calm but the fact that the driver was coming down the train alarmed everybody. After going the length of the train he went back to his cab. Shortly he came on the tannoy saying "The Fire Brigade are at the scene". Through the clearing smoke on the platform I could make out firemen on the platform. They were standing in a circle discussing what had happened. I remembered that I had my camera so I took some photos of the firemen on the platform through the window of the door.

Later on the driver announced that the fire was caused by rubbish inside the tunnel that had somehow caught alight. Then we were off. But its nice to know if it had been a terrorist attack we would have been in safe hands.

Fireman talking on the platform.

Firemen on the empty platform

A policeman gives the firemen the all clear.

A Test of Nerve For Thee

Please read this sentence and count the Fs:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-

SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-

IC STUDY COMBINED WITH

THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

Email me at cowana00@gmail.com to let me know how many Fs you saw.

Trip to Camulodunum

On Saturday Robyn and I went to Colchester with Robin and Jonathan (Robyn's betrothed friends). We went to a quaint teashop/resturant (twice), the Natural History Musem, the Castle and the old priory. The castle was actually a museum and it was easy to forget one was in a Norman castle. Also Roman mosaics remained, displayed on the walls. We all walked down the narrow winding medieval streets, with the gloamy sky ever-threatening rain. But it didn't rain. And of course no trip to a historic city would be complete without visiting 'ye olde' Wilkinsons.

The old priory.

Waynes Surprise 21st Birthday Party

On Friday I went to a surprise party for an old primary school friend of mine: Wayne O'Docerty. The party started at 7pm and Wayne turned up at 8:30pm. Everyone jumped out at him and he was so overwhelmed that he took several steps back. He recognised me and made a beeline for me, thanking me for coming. He then confessed to me that he was shaking and showed me his trembling hand. I also met other old friends; Micheal Scott and Adam Ivory. Micheal and Waynes brothers were also there, as was my brother. Anyway I danced until my muscles ached and talked until I nearly lost my voice. A fun time was had by all. It did take me 3 hours and 40 minutes to get home though because someone was under a train at Barking and they had to close the Hammersmith and City Line and the District Line.

Wayne (centre) shortly after being surprised.

My brother (left) and Micheal Bluetoothing it up until........

.......the party really got going.

Rochester on a shoestring.

On Saturday Robyn and I went to Rochester. After the secret free-parking place I found we went to the catheral for free, the Guildhall museum for free, the largest 2nd hand bookshop in the UK, a pub for a vegetarian lunch (for me) then the Castle for free. It was rainy, misty and water dripped from the ancient stones. But I didn't take any photos of ghosts, unlike last time:

Global Warming strikes! (All the terrorists are on holiday)

Last night Robyn and I noticed it was 12c (56f) outside at midnight. Tonight it was 16c (61f)outside at 9:30pm. Thats way warmer than it should be for January in England (2-6c in January*). Fancy not wearing pyjamas and having the window wide open all night in January! What would my grandmother (80) say?

*SOURCE: UK Met Office

Which London photo goes? You decide. (In a distinct Northern English accent)

I have lived in London for a month and a half and I have taken some pretty top-notch pictures. Here are the 5 best. Vote for your favourite by sending LONDON PHOTO COMP+ 1,2,3,4 or 5 to: cowana00@gmail.com to stand the chance of winning a prize. Winners won't be selected at random as it's rigged. (Cue Match of the Day Goal of The Month competition music)

Foggy Old London

Just before Christmas 2006 it was very foggy in London. 1000s of people were delayed at all the aiports in the UK. I went to Hampstead Heath that day to see the view across London. Here it is:

Also it was 3pm and there was frost because no sunlight could penerate the dense fog:

Also a little know fact is that Hampstead Heath is actually until the control of The City of London (The Square Mile) even though it is many miles from its boundaries.