London, July 2005.
There was Live8 in Hyde Park,
Then there was the Olympics win,
Then the G8 at Gleneagles,
Then the 0707 bombing.

I left London,
Amidst all these headliners.

Goodbye drinks was a blast,
Thanks to all the lovely people who came.
Spent the next couple of days packing,
Moving, archiving, catching up.

Then it was Thailand,
Where I got a bit of a tan,
Plus made some new friends.

And now Singapore,
With all the stuff lined up.

The thought of having no income,
Suddenly hits home really bad.
Hopefully the excitement of a new country,
Will drive away the stress soon.

London2012!



Julia & I were 3 minutes too late,
But we saw the planes flying by,
With blue, red and white smoke.
Personally, I am not all that excited.
But it was indeed a beautiful sight,
And of course an experience.
(I should plan to buy a place in the Eastend ASAP.)

The next few days will be very much more important,
As the G8 gather in Gleneagles.

Alas!
Angelina Jolie was at Eden Project on Saturday!
But I think I would still have gone to Edinburgh if I knew,
Cos a man's gotta go what a man's gotta do...

..............................................

I did something on Saturday,
That made me feel like a total jerk.
And I am not proud of it.
Actually, it was more of what I didn't do.

Magda was selling her anti-war badges & stuff,
During the march in Edinburgh.
Sean aka "Bono" was doing a fabulous job helping the sales.
There was one occasion,
He approached these four ethnic-looking ladies,
To ask if they would like to make a donation,
For "A badge with a big slash across that evil man's face".
The very generous American ladies gave £20 for 4 badges.
Now, that is a helluvalot of money for 4 badges.

I saw these 2 little girls standing behind the ladies,
Reaching forward to see the goods on sale.
"Just take what you want," I told them.
The looked at me with uncertain eyes.
Then Magda kindly offered them some badges.
And I saw their eyes lit up,
And their lips parted to form little smiles.
They shyly pointed to the gloves and asked how much those costs.
Sean pointed out that all was required was a donation.
The woman behind them, whom I presume to be their mother,
confessed that she didn't have much money,
Dug out a bunch of 5p from her pouch,
And gave the whole bunch of coins to Madga.
Magda then gave the girls a pair of gloves
(Says 'no war' only on one hand),
And I saw the glow in their eyes once more before they left.

"Why don't you just give them 2 pairs?", I asked M.
"Oh... should I?"
"Well... it's up to you but I'm just suggesting..."
Sean was ok about the idea,
But later thought that the girls wouldn't have much use,
For an extra pair of gloves anyway.
And so we left it at that,
Cos the girls were already about 200m away.

I know I'll make a very bad businessman from that second.
Business is business,
But if an extra pair of gloves can yield greater joy,
Rather than having them sharing a pair,
I really would have given them another pair.
Afterall, that was right after the Americans gave £20...

The reason I felt terrible the whole incident,
Is not because M didn't give them another pair of gloves,
But because I stood by and did nothing about my belief.
I should have offered to pay to get them another pair!
Afterall, it was the day of giving, if not loving.

I do hate my ability to explain and express my views.

Got rather upset,
And got reminded of Kevin Carter.

Remember this picture below?


(Read the story here.)
Kevin Carter took the picture and committed suicide a few months later,
Because of his inability to cope with the depression,
Of having stood there and not helped.
Even though what I experienced wasn't on a comparable scale,
I felt a sudden strong connection between us.

Go Forth, Be Great.

For many many years,
Nothing could go close to the castle.
Banners? You must be outta your mind.
But look at it today.




"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity,
it is an act of justice.
It is a protection of a fundamental human right...

Sometimes it falls upon on a generation to be great.
You can be that great generation."

Nelson Mandela.

Moments.

If my life is to be reduced to one minute,
This is all I am asking for.



Keane gave a good performance,
At the Wireless Festival.
And I've heard 2 more artistes that I like:
+ Rufus Wainwright
( "I feel like a 14-year-old girl when I play this" )
+ James Blunt
("This is a sad song...hold hands...you might just pull")

Pull.
This is what I am going to do tonight,
Because I can't think of any other way,
That I can get accomodation in Edinburgh.
(Hostels booked up cos of MPH march)

Make Poverty History.

Going to Edinburgh for the big day.
Hitch hiking tomorrow afternoon,
From a stranger called Simon Billinton.
Hope everything turns out fine...