186. Firth of stone and fire – North Berwick, Scotland

Posted on 9 July, 2008 by | 6 comments

streets-of-north-berwick-scotland-by-paradasos-flickrThe afternoon has flown me here, all across a summer sky of grey. The evening beckons now, and outside the window the narrow streets are empty, the shops all shut up for the night.

Scotland. June. Long hours of daylight reaching out ahead.

I stretch my legs along the main street, past red sandstone houses, cafés, bistros and grey tile roofs. It’s a dull old Monday, and the North Berwick weekend bustle, if there ever is one, is hidden far from sight.

The town runs out on me with just the links ahead, and so I try the steps down to the beach. The tide is low and the shore is softly rippled, quiet. No traffic noise. No planes. Just grey sky, grey water, and the lonesome cawing of a gull.
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Posted in 2008, geology, golf, history, Scotland, summer, travel

185. On the gallops – Epsom Downs and The Derby

Posted on 25 June, 2008 by | 10 comments

green-tunnel-crunching-flints-rifle-butts-alley-epsom-surrey-england-roadsofstoneSummer drifts across these hills. And on warm June days, this is where you’ll find me, the lazy afternoon lagging heavily at my heels all along this steady climb to reach the Downs.

I leave the grey town streets along the old familiar path and follow its narrow cut between the houses. Up ahead, across the road, the first field opens up beside me, but there’s still some work to do.
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Posted in 2008, geology, history, London, racing, summer, Surrey and Sussex

184. A beautiful day – Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination

Posted on 7 June, 2008 by | 6 comments

barack-obama-st-paul-minnesota-03jun2008-source-ap“Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America,” said Barack Obama in St Paul, Minnesota, earlier this week.

He had taken the stage for his Democratic nomination victory speech to the sounds of U2’s ‘Beautiful Day’.

It was a grateful message, for a domestic audience, at the end of a bruising and extended primary campaign. And this November, let’s hope for a better day, not just for America, but far beyond as well.
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Posted in 2008, divided by an ocean, history, politics

183. Kenya 7: new light on a dark continent

Posted on 23 May, 2008 by | 22 comments

malaria-dysentery-apathy-oxfam-poster-2008-by-roadsofstoneThis poster called as I walked from the station, reminding me that it’s time to wrap up my series on Kenya.

My visit last summer left me with a whole lot to say about the country, about Africa, and our attitudes to the continent and her people. I sat down to write, and the project found life of its own. Today I’ll outline some highlights, final thoughts and reflections.
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Posted in 2008, Africa, environment, Kenya, summer, travel

182. The truth about global warming

Posted on 12 May, 2008 by | 29 comments

The sun is out again in London, after an unusually cool spring. It’s been a cold winter across much of Europe and North America, too. But the year is turning now, as it always does eventually.

Cooler weather will come and go. Floods, droughts, disasters, snowstorms and heatwaves, too. That is the nature of living on the Earth. You’ll see reporters referring unusual weather events to climate change, but that’s largely misleading, and it’s misinformed as well.

So let’s not get confused. That is only weather, and it’s not the same as climate. Reports like those just serve to confuse the public.

The urgently pressing fact is that climate change is real. And it’s happening.
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Posted in 2008, environment, global warming, science, summer

181. The Ophelia of Suburbia – Hogsmill River, Ewell

Posted on 30 April, 2008 by | 8 comments

weathercock-ewell-surrey-england-by-robert-brook-flickrThe rain is falling softly beneath a grey and weeping sky.

Dull, wet, oppressive sinks the afternoon, through a rising restlessness I can’t define. Puddles beneath my feet. Familiar streets chiding my every turn.

Northeastwards from here in Epsom, the city stretches wide. Twenty miles to London Bridge, and as many reaching out beyond. The megalopolis, looming heavy in the rain.
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Posted in 2008, geology, history, life and times, London, Surrey and Sussex, training