Devonlad’s Weblog

I’m now back in beautiful sunny Devon ready to start my dissertation tomorrow. The journey down was quite eventful and I eventually arrived about 2hours later than expected. I would love to travel on the trains for a week. They are such easy places to start conversations with people and just show kindness to others by helping them with their bags and things. What an oppurtunity it is for us all whenever we travel on public transport. Going on trains gives us great oppurtunity to show love to others but can also be a pretty depressing place. A few things I noticed today that really saddened me were; The fact that signs need to be put up saying ‘please give up your seat for elderly passengers’ Surely we should just do this anyway? why don’t things like this come to us naturally anymore? , the fact that even on the train there is a tv on with news and sports and things, can’t we escape from this and just hold a conversation even for five minutes, And the fact that at just gone midday some people who looked like they had just passed there eighteenth birthdays were buying lager from the in-train buffet. When you look into a teenagers eyes when they are drinking at midday you see nothing. No joy. Well that’s cheered you all up! I will be posting some exciting info about my diss tomorrow and will also add some photos so check back and you’ll be cheered

We’ve all heard in the news this week about the taking of nine British and American diplomats at gunpoint in Harare, Zimbabwe. They were reportedly stopped in the road by an unmarked van and attacked by war veterans loyal to President Mugabe.  They have since all been released unharmed. In the same week it was revealed that the British taxpayer is paying millions of pounds to fund a Somali police force full of militiamen and led by one of the country’s most nototrious warlords Abdi Hasan Awale Qaybdib. Though these two things seem similarly news worthy (and terrible) only one of them has been widely broadcast. Only one of them Shows Britain in a poor light. So only the other one reaches the news. How willing are we to look beyond ‘the news’ to see the real news of hundreds of thousands of people being exploited day by day that go unnoticed. Do we really know (or want to know where our taxes go.) Let’s not allow the media to control our view of the world, be prepared to search a little deeper and be shocked by some of things you find.

I have eventually been persuaded to start a blog. We’ll see what happens from here..I shouldn’t actually be writing this at all as I’m meant to be out working on my dissertation. Weather like this really makes me miss Devon and the swan inn in lympstone. really good cider!