I was trying to make it most of the way through the day without actually waking up, but I went outside at lunch and the chill breeze woke me up. Damn it. ;)
Fencing last night was great – they marked out a piste (the area where you actually fence, 14′ or so) and had people bout as they would in a competition setting. The coach, Steve, was the director, and there were four judges (two people on each end who vote yes or no regarding hits on the opposite fencer). New experience for everyone except for me, and much enjoyed. Especially since all of the very wild people were more careful. Phil did well, once he decided to be more agressive. I was down four to one, and then came back to win mine 5-4. It was very enjoyable. We need to buy fencing gear when we have the chance, though – the jacket that I had on was too small, and the pockets for the breast protectors (plastic hubcap-type things to prevent tissue damage) rode just under my chin. NOT comfortable, and not protective.
Saw an article about Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull (I’d been wondering if they were still around) making a gaffe in the States. lol…has no one learned anything from The Dixie Chicks? “I really didn’t understand – even after 35 years of visiting the USA on a regular basis – that this symbol had such fierce resonance for so many people,” he was quoted. Dude, the whole country is in the grip of over-the-top, rabid, unquestioning patriotic fervour right now. Don’t be so naive.
In other news, a 14-year-old boy was kicked to death by two teenagers simply because he was a member of the travelling community. This relates to an entry on Phil’s blog about the people that were arrested here for buring a gypsy caravan and family in effigy. That is why you cannot tolerate ANY kind of hate crime…it leads to this.
Sad days…
Makes you wonder what the parents have been saying to these kids, they must pick up their views from somewhere. Even if it did not come from them directly I think they need to acknowledge that their ignorance/tolerance of their sons behaviors lead to another childs death.
Yes, it’s true. For example, I have a lot of relatives who live in the Southern United States. On one occasion, I heard appalling racist statements coming from a cousin’s small child, who obviously was just repeating what she’d heard from the adults. She had been fed these attitudes from infancy, and I was horrified.