Still mad…….

Yup, still mad, upset and bemused over the Beslan tragedy. Even copious amounts of Guinness could not completely quell the pain of what happened. We talked about it in the pub with the usual cross section of people giving off views ranging from the eminently sensible to the completely barking (Medallion Man) view of nuking them all. This to me is what the pub is about, and is uniquely British. People out for the night, maybe just a fleeting visit, drinking and talking in an establishment where you never know who’ll walk through the door, chatting idly or engaged in friendly (or unfriendly) banter, or as on Friday with everyone talking about the days events and being given the chance to air their view.

Who says people don’t care?

The Governor was most strident in his views, blaming the Russian Government and armed forces, as well as Western Civilization (see below) in general for creating the conditions for terrorism and ultimately contributing to the events and deaths. Of course these are valid (if unsound) points but the 20 minute lecture on how to free hostages had everyone yawning a bit. The Governor is ex-Army, although like a lot of soldiers its always a bit unclear exactly what he did. He may have been a Commando, he may have been a cook but its funny how he seems to be an expert on everything and everyone. A typical British pub landlord then, almost related to the Great British Taxi driver. Whatever, despite this tragedy the atmosphere was what I had come to expect, glasses clinking, people talking and laughing, no music. A beautiful noise indeed, and one rarely heard in today’s modern theme pubs full of loud music (which I LOVED when 20 but hate now I’m old), quiz machines and fruit machines. A sign of age no doubt, but to my view a very welcome one.

And that’s it for the weekend. Just spent most of it decorating, repairing or constructing stuff, like any other henpecked husband and Dad. Over the next few weeks my posts might be a bit sporadic as my exam is due in October and I have a mighty rush to complete the course work, do the last assignment and revise. All this amongst the stress of my new “management” role within the company with a new team of engineers for me to manage makes life a bit more hectic for a while. The obvious upside to this is the extra ideas it will generate (hopefully) and some more corporate gobbledygook bollocks talk to publish.

I read this today – on the point of Western Civilization. When a Western visitor first asked Gandhi what he thought of Western Civilization, apparently Gandhi replied “I think it would be a very good idea!”

Still in comparison to some other civilisations we currently seem to right at the top of the moral tree.

More later, GrocerJack