Did you know about this?

While this tragedy: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22166037#1 and this major funeral: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22151589#1 were being reported, this was also going on: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22168202

A major earthquake hit the Iran/Pakistan border, which caused at least 35 deaths, was the most powerful quake to hit that area in half a century and led to evacuations from buildings around 1,000 miles away.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/17/iran-earthquake-thousands-homeless-pakistan

It made a few headlines. Some people maybe heard a snippet about it, perhaps it flashed up on the TV for a couple of minutes.

But I don't think it got nearly as much coverage as it deserved. Buildings shaking, houses crumbling, lives changes, siblings, mothers, fathers, killed.

The Boston bombings, Margaret Thatcher's funeral AND this catastrophic event need to be heard about far and wide.

What do you think?

Adios, for now.

Ahh, trains

The 'ahh' in the headline is like the 'ahh' in bisto gravy ads, not the 'ahh' in scary moments of life... So, I'm on a train going down south and am struck today by the idiosyncracies of this classic mode of transport. Someone has just started knitting, another is furiously typing on an iphone, and someone else is listening to music. Trains are funny - a bunch of people who don't know each other all sitting in close proximity to one another and trying to avoid everyone else's eye contact. Well, mostly- one guy across the aisle from me started chatting to the knitting person as soon as she got on. As I write this the light is fading. That's another great part of train journeys- the beautiful countryside which you can see (at least for a few seconds) as you zoom by. The light is fading...but holidays are rising on the horizon. Adios

Reflections on London 2012...

Here we are, at the end of London 2012 (at least until the Paralympics) and I've been pondering a few things from the last 16 days. Usain Bolt is more popular as an underdog. Four years ago when a tall talented Jamaican strolled across the line to win the 100m final there was amazement, but was there joy? I'm sure I remember comments about Bolt being a bit too brash, not trying hard enough and generally being a bit unsportsmanlike. But now, after a season in which he's been beaten and when he claimed he was only 95% fit, the Brits think he's great. Now the posturing on the start line (and during the race, and after it) and all his other antics are embraced and we think he's great! Maybe 'minor' sports deserve more of our attention Dressage, water polo, handball, clay pigeon shooting. When was the last time you watched these before last week? Beijing 2008? Maybe we should seek out some of them on tv, get behind the teams in their warm up matches in far flung places and revel in their European championship victories? Football is suddenly unappealing Did you know the premiership football season is just getting ready to burst on to the scene? It is! But are you bothered? London can make a massive event work They did it! Copious planning, billions of pounds, hours of discussion and everything paid off. No terrorism (at least none I'm aware of), no massive travel chaos on the roads during the Games and no horror stories of athletes missing their events because they were stuck on the jubilee line. Medals fade, unlike some things. 1924. 400m. Gold medal. In the events which would eventually inspire the film Chariots of Fire (and the music before each medal ceremony at London 2012), Eric Liddell surged to gold. His medal is now probably faded, his GB kit a shadow of its former self, but the faith he had in God and in his son Jesus Christ still remains as un-dimmed in the 21st century for people as it was for him then. Olympic TV totally beats Judge Judy Scene pre-Olympics: home from work, flick on ITV, watch programme about US judge sorting out pretty minor disputes assisted by an almost comedy clerk. Scene during Olympics: 'Hmm, 20-odd channels to choose from, shall I watch table tennis, a spot of canoeing, or maybe some javelin?!' We could do this every four years Dear The IOC, Having just run an excellent games here with passionate crowds, excellent stadia and blanket media coverage, we would like to apply for the next 100 Olympiads. What do you think? Yours, The British Public Adios.

Welcome to the undergrowth

Have you ever watched a tv programme online? I'm not talking about bbc iplayer. Oh no, iplayer is the king of online tv. The first class lounge of streaming. The Ferrari of the hour-long-documentary-watched-while-preparing-a-meal.

I mean have you ever watched something on ANOTHER online tv portal? ITV player? (shudder) 4od? (no thanks). Well until Friday night I hadn't ventured further than those three either.

But on that dark and stormy night in January, I ventured deep into the undergrowth. I burrowed down, past the prince of online tv (whatever that is), past the second class area, and the ford fiesta, to catch up on Suits, a new legal drama, on the Dave channel...

There I discovered tv watched in 15 second segments. One small snapshot of action followed by a much longer pause followed by another small snapshot of action...

'Hello, my name's Edmund, and I've come to' PAUSE... 'investigate you for' PAUSE...

Now as enjoyable as this drama was (and it was pretty enjoyable because otherwise I would have given up), it is impossible to dwell on 15 seconds of dialogue for very long!

You do however get to analyse the background of each shot, consider each line, muse upon the way every brow is furrowed.

It did also give me the chance to play one of my favourite games: the 'I think he's going to say this next' game! And I punched the air each time I got it right!

Have I learnt a lesson? Stick with the Ferrari, the first class, the king?

Well maybe, but if I'm not around at 9pm on Tuesday to catch Suits 'live' on Dave, I may venture into the undergrowth again...

[Just to say, and in case someone from Dave reads this, the problem may have been my internet connection, the laptop, the time of day... And not your tv service. And for the first 30 mins of the programme it wasn't so bad.]

Adios!

A mixed bag

I'm travelling back to newcastle today. I'm standing at reading station as I write this.

So who travels on a Sunday morning?!

From today's results it seems like superheros (no joke- two guys dressed up, fighting on platform 4), families (lots of luggage, quite a few glum faces), and people going to newcastle (or maybe that's just me...)

Adios. :-)

Smiles- the longest word in the dictionary.

Have you ever tried smiling at the people you pass in the street?

I often find as we walk around places, people look gloomy or sometimes even angry.

And it's easy to join in with the frowns and the furrowed brows.

But sometimes as I walk along the street I choose to smile at people as they pass me.

And the effect is amazing- they look surprised and then joyful.

It's like they remember- 'oh yes I HAVE got something to smile about'!

And it fills me with a large amount of joy too!

Why don't you try it?

[The smiles title? There's a mile between the two s'! Thanks to my work mate for this... :-) ]

Adios.

Sometimes

Sometimes a piece of news just grabs you. For me, today, it's the story of the miners trapped in Wales.

As I sit in my warm home, eating some tasty food and listening to classical music on the radio, the closest I feel to the conditions in that mine is the dark, grey, wet weather outside.

But the emotion of that story still makes an impact.

Tragically as the day has gone on the headlines have changed from 'search continues for miners' to 'one miner known to be dead', to two dead, to three. As I write this that is the latest.

Awful.

What it must be like for those men to go to work as normal one day and then face such a terrible series of events, I do not know.

I pray for those men's families and for the remaining miner stuck there and for the people working on the search and rescue operation.

And, although I am sure there are differences, it makes me think about how amazing the rescue of the Chilean miners was.

Well, adios.