In sickness and in health

This week, I have been laid low by a bout of the cold. This is annoying, but it's just a case of mucking down and getting on with it (I'm not much of a man 'flu sufferer, but mum will probably tell you otherwise).

However, I did have to sacrifice a day of work, so I spent most of it doing what I do best: thinking. I thought about many things, but I am only going to write about a couple.

The first struck me when I opened my curtains at about noon that day. I looked out and I was taken aback because I sensed something strange. I don't know what made this happen, but it was like everything was screaming, like it was in some serious pain. It went away again when I closed the curtain and re-opened it, but the feeling still stuck with me. It was strange, and I wonder if my being ill was something to do with it, but it just served to remind me of Romans 8.

Verse 22 says that "the whole of creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth", which was good, not only in that I am not crazy, but that this has been felt for about 2000 years. Ok maybe that's not so good, but the point is that it was the latest in a series of reminders that things are not ok in the world and something needs to be done. Up until 4th year (many moons ago) I hadn't been paying much attention to much else than.. well actually I don't remember, but I was cosy, shall we say. But the last year and a bit have opened my eyes to how much is wrong with creation. I don't want to list everything here, but the only conclusion I can draw as someone who claims to be a Christian is that we don't know exactly how reliant we are on Jesus. We'll all still be screaming, but through Him we know that it will end.

That's the gist of it anyway.

The second thing was that I remembered a time last year when I was unwell. I wouldn't wish what I had on anyone, but that's maybe another story for another time.

I thought about how much illness skews your view of the world. Maybe this relates to my first thought, but I remembered how I felt with this problem and compared it to how I currently felt with my cold. When you are unwell, it's sometimes very hard to appreciate the people who are caring for you, because you're so busy being sick and sorry for yourself. Looking back onto the problem I had, I didn't realise how many people I was rude or short-tempered or ungrateful to because the only thing that I was concerned with was this problem. It makes me think how hard it must be for Doctors and Nurses who work stupid hours to help people who often don't appreciate it.

Anyway, that was just a bit of a spiel about being ill, it wasn't supposed to be anythign mega, but I thought I'd share it nonetheless.

I'll leave you with a line from Doctor Who, which I think is very appropriate:

"This country has been sick, this country needs healing, this country needs medicine – in fact I'd go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now, is a Doctor."

Amen to that.

Taste sensation!

I'm probably not the first person to do this, but I would like to share it anyway.

This morning, while making porridge, I happened to have my generic hazelnut chocolate spread nearby. I decided it might be tasty to mix some into the freshly made porridge, since plain porridge isn't very exciting. And you know what, it was amazing! Try it yourself, you will need

4-5 tablespoons of porridge oats
300 ml/ half pint milk
tablespoon of generic chocolate hazelnut spread

Make the porridge as normal and when done, stir the spread into the porridge, ensuring that it's spread evenly throughout. Add more if necessary.

Enjoy!

Find out about your MP

I found a website today that tells you how all the MPs voted on issues in Parliament.

At www.theyworkforyou.com, you enter your postcode and it tells you who your MP is (although you should already know that) and what their stance is on key issues, as well as key things they might have said recently. It's worth a peek, particularly with the possibility of a general election being called soon. You can catch some top quality Ian Paisley quotes while you're there, like

"I can reply to the second part of the hon Member’s question. I was not at Pentecost, so I do not have the gift of interpreting languages."

A rant about rubbish cyclists (extreme rant warning)

All of you I know are responsible cyclists, so chances are that this doesn't apply to you. I'm just sorry that people that do the things I am about to rant about below tarnish your reputation. But still, a rant has been due for some time...

Anyway, I will start by saying I am pro-cycling. I don't do it myself because I am not confident enough to do it on Edinburgh's roads, but it is nice to see lots of cyclists out on the roads, helping the environment and getting a workout into the bargain. Excellent. However, cyclists are fine when they stay on the roads and on the designated cycle lanes.


Rant I:
One place they are not welcome is the footpaths. I have lost count of the number of times I have nearly been mown down by some idiot who doesn't understand the highway code. Noone should expect anything faster than a jogger creeping up behind them as they are going on a leisurely walk, and even then the jogger can easily get by. What you don't want is a cyclist going downhill at 10-15mph and having to swerve to get out of the way, and then have the audacity to swear at you because you happened to be where you were entitled to be. All this with a clearly marked cycle path on the road beside. Why do people do this? If you're not confident enough on the road then WALK. Yes. Bicycles belong on the road or on cycle lanes, and no cycling means NO CYCLING on Jawbone Walk.


Rant II:
Red lights mean stop. Not "stop only if you have a motor", it means stop. Cyclists are not exempt from the laws of the road. Pedestrians should be able to cross when there is a green man in confidence. Being hit by a car can be fatal, but being hit by a cyclist who thinks themselves above the law can still cause serious problems. Use the extra areas at the front of the traffic queue to get an advantage, and you won't endanger pedestrians.


Rant III:
I don't know how many road deaths Steve Jobs has indirectly caused, but I'm pretty sure having an iPod on when cycling is more of a distraction than having the radio on in the car. You can do without it for 20 minutes. Oh, and wear a freakin' helmet. God won't care how nice your hair looks.

I speak as a pedestrian, and not as a motorist. All I want is for cyclists and pedestrians to have consideration for others and for their own safety. The driving test means that motorists are generally more road aware than cyclists, but the lack of compulsory training for cyclists means that bad ones will always be something of an urban menace, but I hope one day all road users can live in perfect harmony (although this is akin to asking for world peace and asking the BBC to acknowledge that a team from outside England might win the Champions League. Hmm I smell another rant...).

Oh and as a token gesture, here is a pedestrian rant. If you are waiting to cross a busy road, it helps to press the button. There is nothing more annoying than coming up to a crossing where there's a group of people waiting and waiting ages to cross only to realise that no-one has pressed the button. You press it and the lights change immediately. Witchcraft!

Anyway, to counterbalance this massive display of negativity on my part (it's been coming for a while, if I am honest), I'll be doing another anti-rant about stuff I like soon. But for now, I'm going to take some valium.

Almost there...

I wanted to rant about how rubbish Northern ireland are at the minute, but I decided instead to give a short resumé on what Scotland have to do to qualify for the euro, after their amazing win in Paris today. The table looks like this: (top two qualify)

Group II	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points	Goal Difference	Max
Scotland	9	7		2	17	7	21	10	30
Italy	9	6	2	1	15	7	20	8	29
France	9	6	1	2	15	3	19	12	28
Ukraine	8	4	1	3	10	9	13	1	25
Lithuania	9	3	1	5	7	11	10	-4	19
Georgia	9	2	1	6	14	15	7	-1	16
Faeroes	9	0	0	9	3	29	0	-26	9

Max means maximum available points. Lithuania, Georgia and the Faeroe Islands cannot qualify.

Now, France, Ukraine and Italy all have a game against the Faeroe Islands, and you would also expect these sides to beat Georgia and Lithuania at home. Thus, the top four table is (effectively), not taking into account changes in goal difference:

Group II	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points	Goal Difference	Max
Italy	11	8	2	1	15	7	26	8	29
France	11	8	1	2	15	3	25	12	28
Scotland	9	7		2	17	7	21	10	30
Ukraine	9	5	1	3	10	9	16	1	25

We see that Ukraine are effectively out of it.

The remaining games involving these sides are:
13/10 Scotland v Ukraine
17/10 Georgia v Scotland
17/11 Lithuania v Ukraine
Scotland v Italy
21/11 Ukraine v France

Seven points would see Scotland qualify ahead of France, because the deciding factor between two teams level on points is the aggregate score between them (i.e. 2-0 to Scotland). However, a victory over Italy and a victory over either Ukraine or Georgia would also seal qualification.

So it's still a tough task to make it certain, but it means that victory over Italy is not essential in the last game. However, the last thing we want is to need Ukraine to beat France on the last day. History shows that these things don't always go one's way...

See you in Austria!

Monopoly money (moderate rant warning)

This is a bit pointless, but I thought I'd record it anyway. I have decided that euros are rubbish. Just look at the picture below of the five euro note."What's wrong with it?" I hear you cry. Well look at it. It just looks like it was dreamt up by some suit in Brussels. Which, of course, it was. "But there's a picture of the arc de triomphe" you say. Well, look closely and you will see it is not the arc de triomphe. It is a ficticious building based on the arc de triomphe, in some ludicrous PC stunt to avoid it favouring any EU member state. Why do that when you have the common agricultural policy?

My problem is that if you have banknotes in your posession, they should feel like they are worth what they say they're worth. A classic example is the Bank of England £10 note. With the Queen on one side (and I have to say it is a fetching photo, if heinously out of date) and Darwin on the other, the water mark and the satisfying way "£10" is written on the top left, you feel like you are getting your money's worth. Similarly with a dollar.

But the euro note has no soul, no pride or identity. It doesn't make me proud to be european, and, if I am honest, it doesn't feel like real money. Obviously it is, but I would feel more distressed if I lost a fiver than if I lost a €50 note, because that doesn't feel like money at all.

So in summary... bank notes are better when they make you feel good about having them, and I don't mean because it makes you feel richer.

Rant over.

Apologies for lack of coherence, structure, or point.