I wonder how Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala managed to get into Oxford University?! Only kidding - well done her - much deserved. She has more courage, intelligence and education (will have even more after she is done with her Oxford education), than those half wits who tried to stop her.
I wonder if my advice was heeded and the White House had a revolving door installed at its entrance. If so, I do hope it spun with dizzying speed when Steve Bannon was ushered out.
Now you may think this is my cue to talk about Charlottesville. Well, you will be wrong. Why? Because words fail me (please don’t look for flying pigs). They really do fail me.
All I will say is, when a group of marching white supremacists chant, ‘jews will not replace us,’ and there is a fatality on the opposite side, and the democratically elected leader of that nation responds with, ‘the blame lies on both sides’, it beggars belief. And personally, when a situation calls for belief to be beggared, I am rendered speechless.
I sometimes think that British politics is too beige. But when I see the orange politics across the pond, I say thank you to the colour beige.
I am anything but speechless in what I am about to write now. I am not going to be ‘light’, I am going to rant. Yesterday at around 8 o’clock in the morning, my family and I were in the middle lane of the motorway - not having a picnic, that would be plain stupid - ( and I promised not to be ‘light’!) but driving towards London.
Anyway, I noticed a car in the fast lane, move to our lane quite hurriedly, to let the car behind it speed past. ‘Idiot’, I thought to myself. No sooner had my brain processed that justifiable observation, then another car in the fast lane - an Audi TT - sped past us at an even greater speed. ‘Another idiot’, my brain thought, rapidly joining in the speed fest.
And then my mind and the minds of all the motorists and passengers I am sure, froze at the ghastly sight of the Audi TT spinning uncontrollably across the motorway in front of us. We watched in horror as the car did a bizarre version of a spinning tea cup on a fun fair ride, wondering if it or any other braking car, was going to start a pile up. Through sheer chance and luck, it finally hit the barrier on the opposite side, did a final spin and stopped on the hard shoulder, smoke billowing from the bonnet.
The driver appeared shaken, though unharmed. Had I known what was to unfold, ‘idiot’ would not be my choice of word to describe this fool. If the outcome had been different, can you imagine the number of lives he would have affected?
It is one thing when incidents occur that are beyond our control. But to make a conscious decision to speed recklessly on the motorway (or any other road), is to irresponsibly endanger lives.
It is a testament to the goodness of people, that a lot of cars whose drivers and passengers were subjected to the terrifying experience caused by this driver, stopped to help the man. I hope he, along with other 'speed kings', realise that 'Speed Kills' is not just a cliche.
On August the 15th, India celebrated its Independence day. I remember the annual celebrations well. Lots of marching and lots of pride - rightly so. What I don’t remember, ever, is having a moment’s silence to reflect on innocent lives lost in the bloodbath that followed Independence in 1947.
While it is commendable to stay in the present and look with hope to the future, I think reflecting on the past and learning from it, is equally important, lest history repeats itself.
I sometimes wonder what I’ll do when I retire. Bore all of you with more blogs I suspect. Apparently, Bubbles, Michael Jackson’s playful Ape companion, who is now retired and living in a sanctuary, has taken up painting. These paintings were recently put up for auction.
A person from the sanctuary suggested that these paintings could ‘create conversation’. If I see one of Bubbles’ paintings gracing the walls of any of my friends’ homes, it will create a conversation alright. A two worded one - ‘you’re bananas!’
If I were to describe Las Ramblas in Barcelona, I would say ‘cosmopolitan’, ‘colourful’, ‘vibrant’.... the list is endless. Now I would add two more words to describe this extremely popular place and its inhabitants - ‘defiant’ and ‘brave’.
Until next week, stay safe.
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