Only 8 days before 'les girls' return from Thailand. They have gone to Ko Phi Phi today.

I pretend I am envious, but (being a very timid swimmer) the idea of a place for 'snorkeling, kayaking and scuba diving' is my idea of hell. Especially with sporty people urging and daring you on (it's too much like school macho for a quiet soul like me).

If I was there I would prefer pretending I am a medaeval native, rather than a Californian millionaire out of the tv ads - I'd be walking in the hills, seeking out Buddhist temples and savouring the local plants. Fnord. I could do with the sun, though.

I have never been a 'thrill-seeker', but I am not a coward. I just never had a boring job to get away from. It was thrilling enough to do acrobatic flips, to ride unicycles, walk on stilts, try out tightrope and trapeze. It was scary enough to go and try to juggle in front of an audience every day, and it was terrifying when filming and the director shouted 'Action!'

My idea of bliss was to NOT do anything scary for a few days.

I haven't changed much. I don't get off on speed or danger. I don't drive, or ski, or even ride a bike. A snail's pace suits me fine. (Isn't it funny how negative 'pedestrian' is nowadays - a metaphor for slow, boring and stupid). Everyone wants to be the rich person (with a horse - or a load of horsepower). I am still happy with bipedalism (walking upright on two legs) which served 99% of us just fine for millions of years. Dashing around the planet was just a phase - an extravagant phase - and we are already reducing the need for a lot of our travelling with electronic comunications....I'll let David Attenborough show me the coral reefs, thank you.

Instead of congestion charges in London, to break the gridlock, we could just do what they did in the 40s. Have a poster asking 'Is Your Journey Really Necessary?" Although, as Tim pointed out to me, you just couldn't get petrol then. (Rationing)
This (pub conversation) led to the conclusion that, if this coming war is about petrol, maybe we just shouldn't fight, and let them keep the damned oil...it would solve the gridlock/affluence problem, and we wouldn't have to fight. Yeh, right...