Reptile

I notice the James Randi page this week expresses "regret" that tickets for the London event sold out in under 48 hours, and that they were turning people away at the door. It then goes on to say that it was a capacity crowd of 475. Not exactly surprising that it sold out so fast then is it?! In a city of 13 million people, they booked a hall for 475! What were they thinking? I feel let down by a hero. On the plus side, Randi is in talks about a British tv show, so I guess there is some chance that he'll lecture again here in the not too distant future. I wonder which broom cupboard they'll book him into next time. I'm so glad I didn't travel into town and try to blag my way in at the door.

The story of a man who kept his daughter imprisoned in a cellar for 24 years in Austria is making headlines today. Apparently the woman was 19 when her father drugged her and locked her in the cellar. Since then he's fathered 7 children by her, one of which died. Three of the children were brought up by the father and his wife in the family home above the cellar. The remaining three were kept locked in the cellar and did not see the light of day until their rescue at the weekend.

The suggestion is that no one apart from the father, including his wife, and the three children he adopted, knew about the people in the cellar. I find it hard to believe that a family can live above a cellar for 24 years and not realise people were being kept prisoner there. The guy apparently told everyone that his daughter had run off to join a religious sect and rarely contacted him. He explained away the three children he adopted by claiming that his "runaway daughter" had left them on his doorstep. This all came to light when one of the children in the cellar became seriously ill and the hospital wanted to contact the mother. I wonder how long before someone tries to make a film out of it.

Tony Blair's ex chief fund-raiser, Lord Levy, has dropped both Blair and Brown right in the smeg with a single comment. Now I don't like Levy. No one does. The guy is a reptile. And we have good reason to hate him. He's the man that gave us Alvin Stardust. However, you can't deny that the man is smart. I am therefore quite convinced that telling the world that Blair thought Brown couldn't win an election against Cameron, was no accident. In fact I read a report this morning that went slightly further, suggesting that Levy said Blair considered Brown a liar. The comments come as Levy attempts to raise awareness of the imminent publication of his memoirs. Blair has said Levy is wrong. Brown has said he doesn't care what Levy said. The comments have damaged both men however.

So the long and the short is that Levy, the reptile that many people thought should have been slung in jail after the cash for honours debacle, is quite prepared to dump his old boss and "friend" Tony Blair in it for the sake of book sales. More than that, he is prepared to trash the reputation of his own party leader and his party's chances at the next election in the process. In fairness to Levy, Blair would surely have done precisely the same thing had the roles been reversed. Picks his moments though doesn't he. Local elections are going ahead on Thursday, and the London Mayoral election, and the Labour party is already flagging badly in the polls.

My boss just gave me a new laptop. That's good isn't it. I need to get it formatted and set up, but I can work at home much more easily now. Or I can work in Devon. Maybe I should install wireless at home. I can type my novel on the train now.