Had it not been for the snow last Sunday morning, I would have gone to the Free Tibet march as planned, but being such a drip at the first sign of a decline in temperature, I chickened out at the last minute. I suppose I could always use a long list of things to do as an excuse, but really and truly, it was nothing but the cold. My only venture out of the building ended up being a trip to the corner shop to buy the Sunday papers and it lasted all of three or four minutes, before I scuttled back in to the tropical heat to thaw. The rest of the day was spent with Prince's Sometimes it Snows in April playing on a loop. Not the most uplifting of songs, I know, but very appropriate. Well, at least the title.
As a champion of the underdog, I was - and continue to be as the news trickles in - all for the disruption of the Olympic torch ceremony. In fact, I am all for the disruption of the Olympics period. I consider it obscene that a country with one of the world's worst human rights records gets to host an event that has - and here I quote the official Olympics website - "always brought people together in peace to respect universal moral principles". That's some cheek.
So I'm very pleased to hear the news that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided not to attend the opening ceremony in Beijing come August. I'd be even more pleased if he was boycotting the ceremony altogether, but that's a bit difficult, particularly since England will be next to host the games, and politics require him to be there. Most of you would have by now worked out that I am not much of a sports person. I cannot remember the last time that I took part in some sort of sporting activity (I blame it all on my years at St Aloysious) or watched any of it, although in my early days I was considered to be a promising swimmer. The only reason I ever follow the Olympics is for the spectacle of the opening and closing ceremonies, or to marvel at the gymnasts' and swimmers' bodies - although at my age all that does is reinforce the fact that I am never going to have a decent body. Mind you, at this point, I've dealt with all that. This year I'm going to make sure that the TV is tuned to another channel, and I won't be watching any of it. I do not want to be seen endorsing the games in any way, in fact, if I could, I would make sure that nobody goes there. Sadly, I can't do that.
As a champion of the underdog, I was - and continue to be as the news trickles in - all for the disruption of the Olympic torch ceremony. In fact, I am all for the disruption of the Olympics period. I consider it obscene that a country with one of the world's worst human rights records gets to host an event that has - and here I quote the official Olympics website - "always brought people together in peace to respect universal moral principles". That's some cheek.
So I'm very pleased to hear the news that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided not to attend the opening ceremony in Beijing come August. I'd be even more pleased if he was boycotting the ceremony altogether, but that's a bit difficult, particularly since England will be next to host the games, and politics require him to be there. Most of you would have by now worked out that I am not much of a sports person. I cannot remember the last time that I took part in some sort of sporting activity (I blame it all on my years at St Aloysious) or watched any of it, although in my early days I was considered to be a promising swimmer. The only reason I ever follow the Olympics is for the spectacle of the opening and closing ceremonies, or to marvel at the gymnasts' and swimmers' bodies - although at my age all that does is reinforce the fact that I am never going to have a decent body. Mind you, at this point, I've dealt with all that. This year I'm going to make sure that the TV is tuned to another channel, and I won't be watching any of it. I do not want to be seen endorsing the games in any way, in fact, if I could, I would make sure that nobody goes there. Sadly, I can't do that.