And so the day came to darkness, the snow is still on the ground and icing over, glistening in the moonlight. There is a new moon, not much more than a slice of pale melon, but the sky is full of stars. If ever a picture captures the town I call my home, this is it. A bycycle by the sea, the pier in the background and just a wee hint of silliness - who would cycle in this weather after all? The temperature is set to hit -7 tonight and I can confirm it is getting close to that now. The log fire was on, the lentil soup simmered and I wound my way to the end of the working week - its been a good one. But the world is a big place and Christmas down under is also going on, and indeed will go on before I awake - I was sent this and I love it for its difference (to differ and defer) - not jingle bells but white wine in the sun - what fun while we watch the snow, to know there is a life going on elsewhere - though quoting Conrad: “The mental feeling of being in two places at once affected me physically as if the mood of secrecy had penetrated my very soul.” It can be strangely affecting, sitting here in the comfort of Brighton while the problems of the world still rage. And while that may be there, and not here, the resonant traces of the sorrow and pain of others is ever present, lest we should forget. And of course the Copenhagen Climate Summit has been going on too - fill a room full of important poeple and they still can't see the light switch - the BBC report: Key states have reached what they call a "meaningful agreement" at the Copenhagen climate summit. Five nations, including China and the US, reached a deal on a number of issues, such as a recognition to limit temperature rises to less than 2C. US President Barack Obama said it would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go". However, the deal could be rejected as a number of nations expressed "dissatisfaction" with the contents. "Can I suggest that in biblical terms, it looks like we're being offered 30 pieces of silver to sell our future," Tuvalu's lead negotiator Ian Fry said during the main meeting. "Our future is not for sale." But surely that is the point, it has to rise above price, for the only legitimate thirty pieces of silver are these - with no firm target for limiting the global temperature rise, no commitment to a legal treaty and no target year for peaking emissions, countries vulnerable to climate impacts are not guaranteed the temperature targets they need. This is not about thirty pieces of silver but the slow suicide that followed and will surely follow... och, as we Scots might say. Soon we could all be singing this Christmas song called White Wine in the Sun...
And so the day came to darkness, the snow is still on the ground and icing over, glistening in the moonlight. There is a new moon, not much more than a slice of pale melon, but the sky is full of stars. If ever a picture captures the town I call my home, this is it. A bycycle by the sea, the pier in the background and just a wee hint of silliness - who would cycle in this weather after all? The temperature is set to hit -7 tonight and I can confirm it is getting close to that now. The log fire was on, the lentil soup simmered and I wound my way to the end of the working week - its been a good one. But the world is a big place and Christmas down under is also going on, and indeed will go on before I awake - I was sent this and I love it for its difference (to differ and defer) - not jingle bells but white wine in the sun - what fun while we watch the snow, to know there is a life going on elsewhere - though quoting Conrad: “The mental feeling of being in two places at once affected me physically as if the mood of secrecy had penetrated my very soul.” It can be strangely affecting, sitting here in the comfort of Brighton while the problems of the world still rage. And while that may be there, and not here, the resonant traces of the sorrow and pain of others is ever present, lest we should forget. And of course the Copenhagen Climate Summit has been going on too - fill a room full of important poeple and they still can't see the light switch - the BBC report: Key states have reached what they call a "meaningful agreement" at the Copenhagen climate summit. Five nations, including China and the US, reached a deal on a number of issues, such as a recognition to limit temperature rises to less than 2C. US President Barack Obama said it would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go". However, the deal could be rejected as a number of nations expressed "dissatisfaction" with the contents. "Can I suggest that in biblical terms, it looks like we're being offered 30 pieces of silver to sell our future," Tuvalu's lead negotiator Ian Fry said during the main meeting. "Our future is not for sale." But surely that is the point, it has to rise above price, for the only legitimate thirty pieces of silver are these - with no firm target for limiting the global temperature rise, no commitment to a legal treaty and no target year for peaking emissions, countries vulnerable to climate impacts are not guaranteed the temperature targets they need. This is not about thirty pieces of silver but the slow suicide that followed and will surely follow... och, as we Scots might say. Soon we could all be singing this Christmas song called White Wine in the Sun...
