send in the clowns?

Well this is something for us to look forward to:

Our first clown.

Doesn't seem very level headed though, to talk of tickling the astronauts while they try to sleep.

What does he think will happen if the crew turn into a bunch of sleep-deprived caffeine addicts?

We'll just give that flight a miss, thank you.

disappearing choc shock

Bad news that world cocoa supplies continue their downward slide.

The major manufacturers tell us they will have no choice but to increase point of sale prices for their chocolate nibbles - but when did they need an excuse anyway?

Rumour reaches us of a company called Hotel Chocolat who have an engaged ethics project supporting cocoa growers in Ghana, and are reviving cocoa plantations in St Lucia.

Perhaps we should give them a try, rather than put our money into the international coffers of the corporate giants.

the day after yesterday

We're safely back to our own cloudscapes today, after our earthbound adventures yesterday.

It seemed the excursion went well, and several good reports were received about the loud stripey jacket (still available to view if you missed it, web address as last post).

We'll be staying safely within our comfort zone for the next little while as we regather our energies. It brings us to exhaustion having to embody ourselves to spend time amongst you mortals.

The notion of softly supporting cloudlets, and plentiful ambrosia being brought to us by cheerfully smiling cherubim is infinitely welcome, so we will now retire gracefully until we find ourselves recovered.

statues?

Hot news at the moment is that a group of us are planning a trip to join you mortals for a few hours.

We've managed to tweak the system to get ourselves a stint on the 4th Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London. Not for one of the peak hours; that would have been just a bit too obvious - but look out for our representative on Thursday 24th September, between 6 - 7 am, London time.

Go to: www.oneandother.co.uk/participants for plinth watching - drop 'participants' to go straight to the live view.

So far we've not picked the lucky candidate for the starring role, but whoever it is will be wearing a particularly loud stripey jacket, so you'll be sure to know we're there.

We'll make sure we give you a wave; mind the shop for us until we get back on Friday!

light extinguished

Hard to imagine a programme that started out as a radio soap opera way back in 1937 is still being broadcast as a television show in 2009 - but that's how it's been with Guiding Light.

Until today.

Falling audiences have convinced bosses to cancel the show, and even though there were around two million regular viewers it's now too late for any cable network to step in as many of the show's actors have already moved on to new parts elsewhere.

The end of a long and action packed era.

Wonder if any of today's shows will last as long.

next step 'one small step' in klingon?

On 17 September 1976, a mere four years after the decision was made to develop a low cost reusable space shuttle system, NASA's first orbiter spacecraft was rolled out.

This was a test vehicle not itself built for space flight, and had had the working name Constitution - but during development there was an orchestrated write-in campaign by trekkies so that the spacecraft actually rolled out under the name Enterprise.

A worthy tribute to the continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, even though as an orbiter of course, there would only ever be this world.

But perhaps this one's strange enough.

tomorrow's war?

The minor godlet brought us good reviews of a film he saw recently: The Hurt Locker. Apparently set in an army bomb disposal unit, the suspense and rising tension really struck home with the college crowd and has raised the interest of some of our greybeards to such an extent that we have arranged our own viewing tomorrow afternoon.

There will be wine of course, as we enjoy the show, so just imagine the heated discussions the old warriors among us will enjoy - Call that fighting? Where are their spears, and the swords for hand to hand combat? This is nothing but magician's tricks, to cause such harm from such a distance...

sabbath prayers

We have noted that for some of your very many religions Sunday is the day marked out particularly for religious observance.

Why this should be is not quite clear to us, as those of you who wish to commune with your god surely will do so on more than one day each week.

The time seems long gone when those working for a living could only be sure of a break from their labours on those days set aside for churchgoing, but perhaps it suits your religious leaders to organise their lives so.

We were particularly interested to overhear one piece of religious radio programming from the UK today - featuring the Archbishop of Canterbury discussing his relationship with god and prayer. He seemed a man full of humility and love, tending rather to the quaker way of speaking with god, out of inner stillness.


For ourselves, we admit we do sometimes enjoy a bit of singing and dancing from those trying to catch our attention, just to liven things up on what can be something of a dull day you understand.

Wage Slavery

Yesterday morning I stood in the kitchen and shed tears at the prospect of going into work. And then I pulled myself together and set off for the office.

During the morning an opportunity came up for me to mention to my boss that all was not going too well in my section and that I was in a bit of a state - to which she replied "I am too" and gave me a couple of extra pieces of work to do.

I'll be back there again tonight, helping support the fight against injustice (which is what we do) but now and again it would be so nice to have a little more support for the staff within the office too.

folding stuff

burma; thailand; japan - an exotic threesome, bound together in a recent story with a sweet sounding top layer, but a bitter taste at the centre.

A Thai origami contest this year was won by a twelve year old boy whose plane stayed aloft for twelve seconds (or for a more dubious twelve minutes, according to some reports). Victory has brought entry to a prestigious Origami Airplane competition in Japan, but unfortunately the boy did not have the papers necessary to re-enter Thailand if once he left.

How so, given that he was born in the kingdom? Because his parents are Burmese migrants with only temporary permission to live and work in Thailand, so that their son is only a temporary resident.

Apparently there are half a million people in this situation in Thailand, effectively stateless, many of whom feature on a list of those who will be considered for 'repatriation' to Burma in February 2010.

The sweetener to this sorry tale is that following something of a national outcry the young champion has been granted a temporary one-use permit that will enable him to travel to the competition in Japan later this month. After which he will revert to his current status.

brotherly love?

some religious belief systems are built around the idea of forgiveness (forgive them father, for they know not what they do; forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us).

other religious belief systems retain the central tenet of a just revenge against those who have harmed us (an eye for an eye).

the recent release on compassionate grounds of a (wrongly?) convicted bomber so that he could go home to die seems to have stirred many passions.

it seems that astonishingly many of those who would claim adherence to a religious belief system that favours forgiveness, are adamant that this compassionate release was the wrong decision.

perhaps it is good that sometimes we get the leaders we need, rather than the leaders we deserve.

no such undertaking...

three score years and ten: the regulation lifetime, since britain declared itself at war with germany and world war two was underway.
Not quite twenty one years since the end of the war to end all wars, with its mud and its trenches and its poets.
The new war would bring us bigger horrors, with its camps and its mushroom clouds.
How hugely grateful should those of us born in the west during the last seventy years be that we have never had to face such a situation.
Let us give thanks and praise.