Washing Machine

Well the day off yesterday was good, and it has the added advantage of making this a 4-day week. We went out and bought a new washing machine because the old (very old) one is not spinning or draining any more. The new one should be delivered some time this week. In the mean time we must be economical with our apparel.

I was pleased to see that the huge anti-Blair slogan painted on the side of one of the Didcot power station chimneys is still there today. Sadly the message, "Blair's Legacy" does not convey an accusation that we can fairly lay at Mr Blair's feet. It's still nice to see someone else having a dig however.

The weather has turned proper nasty. It was foggy all day yesterday and cold. Today looks pretty grim too, though not as bad. My parents came down at the weekend and missed the bad weather, which was good, but I guess the journey will be more difficult now.

I've come to the conclusion that I am looking forward to Christmas this year. This is something of an alien feeling for me. It's Dumpy's first Christmas of course, which is what is making the difference. We will no doubt be travelling down to Devon for the festive period. There are other things which make this year's Christmas better than usual. I have paid holiday for a start. It's the first time in many years I can take time off without losing huge amounts of cash.

We're planning to go back to Taiwan for the Chinese New Year period. We took Dumpy to the doctor yesterday to see about his vaccinations. He will need Hepatitis-A for Asia, but we can't give it to him until he is 1 year old, so he's already prepared for his first visit. He needs a passport though. I have filled out the form but still need to get two photos and a counter signiture from a person of standing in the community. It seems starnge to me that they include ministers of religion on the list of people who can sign. Anyone can be a minister can't they? I have a politician friend anyway, so we'll ask him nicely.

On another point, strictly speaking, people who counter-sign should have known the person for at least two years. This is pretty difficult for a 7 month old baby.

I suppose I have to mention Saddam's death sentence. Does anybody else think that the sentence coming two days before significant US elections is more than coincidence?

There are pictures on the front page of every paper this morning of Dhiren Barot, who was apparently planning a Dirty Bomb act of terrorism in London. I haven't yet found a report that claims he had materials or know-how to do it. It sounds to me like another case of non existant WMD. I have no doubt that the guy is a potential terrorist, I'm just amused by the way the media has whipped this up.

Speaking of things being whipped up, I read something yesterday from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research actually stating that the "language of chaos and catastrophe has got out of hand". This is worth a read.