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Sunday 17 August 2008

A rainy night in Georgia

You go away for a rew days and what happens? The Russians invade Georgia; honestly, you can't take your eyes of things for a minute without them going wrong!

In 1956 they did something similar to stamp their authority over Hungary, so 50 years on nothing has changed. They are punishing the Georgian government for wanting to join the EU. So what will the West do? While everyone's eyes have been on the Olympics Russia has declared its intentions of being No 1 in Europe and the West will make some pitiful noises; what else can they do? Declare War?

If everyone is going Green to avoid global catastrophy then who is counting the CO2 emissions from all the wars that are currently occurring? I think governments should walk their talk.

Green Travel isn't so bad

I just looked at my blogging output and found it very sporadic. The trouble, if you can call it that, is that the project is working: I am so busy selling Rotaire Drylines that I haven't got enough time for this recreation. I have just had a great break though. First I went to the Big Chill, mainly to see Leonard Cohen but also because the Big Green Gathering was not taking place and I like a festie now and again. Cohen was spellbinding. It is such a shame that the post-modern soundbite is "Oh, so depressing." If the truth is depressing then you need a counsellor.




Straight afterwards, only pausing to send out Drylines, my wife and I went to Venice and Rome by train. Last year's trip to Crete by air left me with a carbon defecit so we tried something different - and no children either, now that they are grown. The arrival in Venice was a joy, straight off the train, across the forecourt and onto a water taxi, a beautiful launch that took us through the canals to the hotel right near to the Basilica San Marco. The Venetians actually stole St Mark's remains from Jerusalem and set them up here. Marco Polo brought back spaghetti from China too, creating this international cuisine. Rome was fantastic too, but I don't think much can compare with Venice, partly because there isn't a single road, therefore no traffic. Then back on another overnight sleeper, eating dinner while the hills of Italy rolled by. It was so much preferable to air travel, you wonder why more people don't do it.