"But one can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen.

NOT ATTACHED ANYMORE

My friends were talking about spirituality. They had a book of spiritual exercises and tests and were congratulating themselves on how well they scored. Especially on attachment. They had learnt not to be attached.
When I reached over and tore a page out of their book, what do you think happened?

PRIMACY

Silence............

Question?

Opinion!

A PRIMITIVE COUNTRY

We have family connections in Sudan. A visit there is imminent. Out of interest I was looking at some statistics about the country.
Their infant mortality rate is 68 per thousand births. That is, approaching 7% in old money.
The UK Caesarian section rate is 23% nationally and as high as 30% in some hospitals.
Does not compute.

WE HAVE BEEN WORTHY OF THE OLYMPICS, BUT HAVE THE OLYMPICS BEEN WORTHY OF US?

The Olympics have been a remarkable achievement on many fronts. Team GB has had a gold fest, resulting in a world sporting standing for Britain which is astonishing. The organization and vision of the games has been, quite frankly, amazing. Its ceremonies have been splendid, uplifting, and a superb advertisement for Britain worldwide. It has lit our interest and excitement and provided many iconic, moving and wonderful sporting moments. More than that, it must surely have a lasting effect in kindling sports enthusiasm and funding up and down the land. And then there are less measurable but nonetheless tangible effects. It has communicated to everyone in Britain a fantastically positive message in support of our diverse racial and cultural community, bringing us together with pride and excitement in the achievements of athletes from widely differing backgrounds. Grand dreams have been played out in grand spectacle, and we have communally overcome our traditional British reserve to show how we feel about it, both on the podium, and up and down the country when yelling at the telly from the sofa. We have cheered home our boys and girls, sometimes lifting them to even further greatness. And our British love of a tryer meant we cheered as loudly for the last man in the marathon, as for the first. And not only is there the implied message that we can achieve grand dreams on the field of play, but the sheer enormity of the Olympics vision and  organization has underlined that we are a country that can pull off with enormous panache even the grandest of organizational challenges. All of that ought, and can, be inspiring to any of us who desires to achieve anything.
It would be mealy mouthed to dwell on small failures - the ticketing failures and the failures of G4S, when so much else has gone so spectacularly well. Indeed, in the latter case, that failure has furnished us with yet another reason to be thankful for our great armed services, and has added some millions back into good causes from a chagrined commercial organization.
We have been worthy of the Olympics.
But have the Olympics been worthy of us?
The Olympic movement has a long way to go to modernize. It is incomprehensible to me why the paralympics are separated from the main games and not fully integrated. The logic underlying which games are selected for inclusion and which are not seems an arcane mystery. I have nothing against syncrhronised swimming. But its inclusion, when golf, cricket, baseball, snooker, karate, cross country, the half marathon, motor sport, darts, aerial sports of all kinds, not to mention a host of others, are excluded, baffles me. Likewise, the Olympic stance on amateur versus professional, which seems to be completely different for different sports (football a good example), leaves me puzzled. Also, the IOC and its rituals could do with an image overhaul. Why are men in grey who we've never heard of presenting the medals? Why are they old? Why are they men? And why the flowers? Why are the ceremonies announced in French? Why are Olympic officials literally treated as royalty? These things are unaccountable gaps between the Olympic movement and current world perceptions and realities as spectacularly displayed by London 2012.
When the London 2012 logo was first released, I must admit I thought it was a mishmash saying nothing. Now, in the fullness of a games that have been diverse, inclusive, exciting, vibrant and absolutely contemporary, and have said the same about London and Britain, I must admit, I was wrong.
Its been wonderful. Now lets hope the Olympic movement catches up.

CASH IN HAND

One of the things government might best avoid is moralising. Yet government seems drawn to it, often with ridicule being the result.
A recent pronouncement on what is or is not moral deserves some ridicule.
It is, apparently, immoral to pay a tradesman cash in hand.
Why?
Because he or she will then evade tax.
Ah.
So my window cleaner's tax affairs, and the honesty or otherwise of his disclosure is my moral responsibility.
I don't think so.

JUST GIVING

Perhaps you give to charity. I do. Not, probably, what one would call huge sums, but a significant enough part of my earnings to feel I am doing something worthwhile. It’s a simple enough process: choose a charity I think is worthy; give to it.

I get irritated by all the justgiving requests I get.

Here are a few examples. A friend is climbing Mont Blanc for charity. Another friend is doing an epic walk in the Welsh mountains for charity. Other friends are running a marathon, a triathlon, a 10k a midnight adventure, all for charity.

Now these are all well and good, but my hypothesis is this: they aren’t doing it for charity. They are doing it because they want to.

I intend to test this hypothesis by offering a pound more than all the funds they have had pledged if they agree not to do it: not to climb that mountain, complete that hike, set off on that run.

This should sort the charitable men from the boys.

IN SERVICE OF THE PUBLIC

The spoilsport strike decision of five and a half percent of the members of a public servants' Union triggering a national strike have prompted some heated debates about the relative efficiencies of public services being met by the state or the private sector, along with the more obvious debate around the merits or otherwise of this rather limited definition of a democratic decision.

Look at the awful things that have happened to state services since they have been privatised, say those whose preference is for state ownership, and look how much profit they are making.

Mathematically, of course, the argument for privatisation, is simple. If service levels can be maintained or improved at same or lesser cost to the user, then profit levels are irrelevant in anything other than a political sense.

Of course you can argue that the same service maintenance or improvement could have been got under state ownership at lesser cost, because the profit margin would be removed. Except that the very people who make this argument - an efficiency argument - are the leaders of the Unions currently threatening strikes on such highly suspect grounds. That does not give one great confidence in their relentless efficiency drive.

There is another smart little argument which applies. Even under a Labour government, there was a constant questioning of whether public services might better be outsourced to the private sector. I have never yet heard of a private sector organisation seriously examining whether a public body should deliver its essential services.

MANTRA FOR THE LONG RUN

Further
Into
Under
         standing

Further
Into
Under
         standing

PHAMIE: A CONTEMPORARY COMPOSER WORTH LISTENING TO

PATTON: A MAN WORTH LISTENING TO.

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

Never tell people how to do things.
Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

ZEN TODAY

Master:   Who is your best friend?

Student:   It is a wise man who knows where the sea ends.