Grounded

Mr and the ex-Mrs Saatchi have been airing their dirty laundry in public.  I can't see either of them coming out of it very well.  Mr saatchi appears to be just a nasty, nasty man, and Nigella is fallen from grace as a national institution - did she really spend ten years of her marriage being 'off her face' every day; it seems unfeasible that Mr Saatchi didn't notice it; it seems unlikely that we wouldn't have noticed something was amiss when she was cooking on telly.  Anyway, it seems a shame, but perhaps the world really is just fully of nasty rich people.

The Spanish seem to have picked an odd time to pick a fight over Gibraltar...surely sorting out their domestic problems with an unemployment rate of 25% should be more of a priority?  Or perhaps they haven't noticed whole towns of empty houses which were built to fill the speculative bubble.  Of course, it's a distraction from domestic woe, and that's what happens when you leave politicians in charge.  I'm all for giving bits of land back to the countries here they logically belong.  In this case, I'd sell Gibraltar back to the Spaniards (and make them give those couple of bits of Africa back to the countries they've been carved out of), I'd give Northern Ireland to Eire, The Falklands is another one I'd sell.  As for Scotland, I can't see that it's really a different nation...but my solution to the whole devolution thing would be to create a federal union with England, Scotland and Wales with their own Parliaments.  I'd also sort out the House of Lords whilst I was about it...Tony Blair made a right royal feck-up and no one has got the balls to sort it out...I wouldn't have an elected body, but a gathering of 'elders'...people who have risen to the top of their profession (and I'd include unions and other bodies which might be fairly said to represent the non-chattering classes).  Anyway, another piece of political nonsense from me.

I went to see Gravity the other night...I was by myself as The Cat's Mother was out with girlfriends and The Boy was being truculent.  I thought it was very good...tense and exciting from start to finish.  probably not as good as the critics would have you believe it still managed to deliver a good evening's entertainment.  I really like George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, but I suspect in the hands of more subtle actors and with a better script, it would have delivered more.  On the plus side it was free.  On the downside it was free because in the critical bit when all hell breaks loose, the projector broke down which somewhat undermined the tension.

A walk in the forest

I love this time of year, especially when I have the chance to have a stroll in Epping Forest which is undoubtedly at its best when the leaves turn to various shades of red, orange, yellow and brown

Off your bike

I rather like this...someone has built an instrument designed by Leonardo DaVinci...I wonder what other wonders are still sitting in the notebooks of this genius just waiting to be brought to life




I generally stop riding my bike when it gets very cold...early December...and start again in late February. Not that it's warmer then, but if I don't get on, my weight swells to such an extent that that if I don't start doing some exercise, the bike won't support my weight.  But this year it's slightly different. Having been sent flying at the end of September, I've ridden just twice - once into the office, once on the 100km night cycle.  In the meantime six people have been killed in London in just a couple of weeks on the very roads I use.  I'm feeling a little unsafe.  Sadly, there's been a lot of mud-slinging and finger pointing...ignorant cyclists, dangerous drivers etc.  I'm sure there are good cyclists and good drivers and bad of both; equally we all make mistakes.  What matters most is that people whether cyclist or drivers are more considerate of others and when mistakes are made there is sufficient margin that it doesn't result in another corpse.  I read somewhere that the medics have a term they use 'Talking Dead'...these are people that are horribly injured (usually with a lorry on top of them) but adrenalin or whatever else has kicked in and they're quite conscious, alert and indeed talking until the moment a little while later when they just stop. Dead.

On a more cheerful note, we headed off to see Turin Brakes on Wednesday evening.  They were the first group that I took The Boy to.  I've seen them so many times that I've lost count.  They are the only group who I've ever managed to get an autograph of...thanks to Auntie Gwen.  They have a new album out.  Do buy it...it's very good, and they've never really had the success they deserve.  Be warned, the video is a bit Quentin Tarrantino