It's A New Life!

There was absolute carnage on the river yesterday. We were entered into a special competition to win a trophy for the class of boat we sail – which is a Merlin Rocket. I was all geared up for what promised to be a very tough and physical day, but still looking forward to it because we have won this trophy for the past three years in a row, and I expected to win again. However, my crew mate had injured his shoulder at the last moment and although he would have been okay to sail in more benign conditions, yesterday's wind was threatening to gust up to 35 mph – too strong for a weak shoulder to handle. So, we opted to forego the racing and instead, volunteered to man the rescue boat. Boy, were we needed! People were capsizing everywhere – broken masts, shredded sails, snapped shrouds – we were darting about the river throwing tow lines and plucking people from the freezing waters all afternoon. It was all huge fun and I got nearly as much exercise as I would have done sailing the boat! However, it was very cold out there and like a fool, I was inappropriately dressed, so when I arrived home I needed a delicious home-made chicken curry and a good bottle of Rioja to warm me up. The perfect day!

And now I'm hoping for the perfect week (nay, I'm expecting it). It's Monday morning and there's work to be done. My diary is full for the whole week – meetings, inspections, social intercourses, Spanish lessons, piano lessons etc. It all has to be done and there's no getting away from it. But the other thing I need to be on the lookout for this week is the unexpected. It's the unexpected that makes the world such fun – and if we make our minds up, the unexpected can only be good. However, yesterday evening I was surprised by something I saw on television. I don't often watch TV but last night, curled up on the sofa after my curry and wine, I switched on Stephen Fry's documentary about his trip through America. He was visiting the oddest place I've ever seen – The Garden of Earthly Remains. It was an enclosed garden somewhere in Tennessee that has hundreds of rotting dead bodies simply strewn about it, wrapped in a series of anonymous black bin-liners. A most extraordinary place – the curator of which was a disarmingly charming young lady who luckily, confessed to having a poor sense of smell. She cheerfully explained why the sight of ants crawling over a cadaver's bare feet gives an indication as to how long the 'individual' (her word) has been dead. Fascinating.

It could only happen in the US of A.... but then, only in the USA would we see the likes of one of Bush's & McCain's old friends rooting for the opposition. Colin Powell's blistering attack on the Republican candidate (and that scary woman Palin he chose for his running mate), and his glowing endorsement of Obama, is just awesome. Go for it, Colin - you're fab!