New Life

Most days I ignore the Iraqi carnage I am ashamed to say but today – with the abduction (and I presume execution) of workers at the Ministry of Education and the murder of another 50 or so people – it was hard to ignore. The only word I can think for this whole fiasco is ‘revolting’. What puzzles me is that everyone I knew before the US/UK invaded in 2003 predicted that exactly these things would happen. Politicians who say ‘No-one could foresee these events’ are perhaps hiding behind their own inadequacies. Everyone I knew did. What exactly do we pay our foreign office to do? To scenario plan likely events around the world like this I would have thought. That they didn’t foresee this or anything like it is rather worrying. Anyone with the vaguest understanding of tribalism in this part of the world should have known. Our foreign office in the late 80's and early 90's also did not see how the wind was blowing in the Balkans. They gave tacit approval to the Milosevic regime while most other parts of the world (Russia supported its old ally) could see the game he was playing.

That was today’s gripe and I got it out of the way because I had many happy things happen to me. My first positive thinking book is being translated into Korean! When you have a monstrous ego like mine, combined with bouts of low self-esteem (and yes, the two do often go together) then any affirmation of one’s capabilities is welcome. And besides I am rather pleased a very successful country, built out of difficult circumstances, wants one of my books. I heard today from two old friends. Richard Roxburgh – a major influence on my life and something of a mentor to me in my twenties (although he may not know it) and Chris Carling, a lifecoach who runs her own website chriscoach.com.

So a day for old friends and new life as my sister sent me pictures of my new-born niece on the web. I am an uncle for the first time. I hope to be more than just a birthday cheque. I am thrilled and equally so for my sister as she and her partner John had to go through the medical gamut to be able to have their daughter Daisy.

Today is my last day in Kosovo punctuated by a security alert (only a ‘practice’ one), unannounced which rather curtailed my seminar. I am almost ashamed to say that I was not so worried to see the seminar restricted as I was extremely tired and I think struggling to get through to my audience. But the response seemed ok but so perhaps I shouldn’t worry as much. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog that Arlind put me right on the Serbian constitution vote. If Serbia sees Kosovo as a part of Serbia why weren’t Kosovars allowed to vote on it? Particularly as the issue of Kosovo is part of that new constitution. The OSCE election observers said there were only minor election irregularities. This sounds like a quite a big one.

So in the morning I leave in a UN vehicle bound for Ohrid in Macedonia which I have never visited before and my blog may be curtailed for a few days. I will try to record events at least twice while there but I am partly now motivated by thoughts of getting home and may do a big ‘wrap-up’ blog of the whole Ohrid adventure when back in France. We are taking a UN approved route – is that good? It makes it sound like if we go off the beaten track we will be abducted by fanatical Macedonian highjackers. Watch this space. I badly need exercise and I just hope that the hotel has a pool but I suspect it probably won’t. I will be on the salads and the bike when back in France. Penance for the vat of vin rouge I shall be consuming while there.

I have given up on ‘Death in the Afternoon’. I loved this book when I was young but now I think it is actually badly written (bad form I know for a semi-literate blogger to say this). It rambles too much and I felt I was reading too much between the lines about Hemmingway’s ego.

Song of the day: Coumba: Orchestra Baobab. Great early 70’s African music. The best decade for music from that continent.