Winter sun

The sun hung blindingly low in the sky. She continued walking down the street, into the light, into the glare, into the sun, unable to see anything.

Why was the sun so low? Was the pressure from the heavens bearing down upon the sun? Or was the earth so jubilant at its appearance that it chose to rise up to meet it? Who knew? All she did know was that she couldn’t see a blasted thing as she strode through the town but that was ok.

Maybe she didn’t want to see anything because her mind was occupied with the thought of someone else. And how that person might change the direction her life would take.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

All barriers, no action

Walked through the city this morning on my way to Liverpool Street station to catch a tube to work. There were barriers everywhere in anticipation of the protests – this year’s April Fool’s Day has been renamed Financial Fool’s Day and a number of demonstrations have been organised in and around the city of London. Never before have I seen so many scared looking office security guards or bored looking city workers.

The media seem to have been hyping up the event. Despite reports suggesting that there are around 4,000 protestors and 8,000 police, the media is gagging for some action. In the online news footage, viewers can see masses of TV cameramen and press photographers, seemingly making up the majority of the frontline scrum of surging people. Some news stations are reporting an escalation of violence. This, it turns out, means 19 arrests and four broken RBS windows. Hmmm. Not particularly news worthy. Compare that will the violence of the May Day protests in 2000.

Anyway, maybe we shouldn’t be worrying about bankers, and we should, in the words of Brian, consider the lilies of the field. What have they done for the global economy, eh???

BRIAN: Consider the lilies! …
WOMAN: Consider the lilies?
BRIAN: Well, the birds, then.
MAN: What birds?
BRIAN: Any birds.
MAN: What about them?
BRIAN: Well, have they got jobs?
MAN: Who?
BRIAN: The birds.
MAN: Have the birds got jobs?
MAN 2: What’s the matter with ‘im?
MAN: He says the birds are scroungers.
BRIAN: Look, the point is, the birds, they do all right, don’t they?
MAN 2: Yes, and good luck to ‘em.
MAN 3: Yes, they’re very pretty.
BRIAN: OK! And you’re MUCH more important than they are, so what are you worrying about; there you are, see?
MAN: I’m worried about what you’ve got against birds.
BRIAN: I haven’t got ANYTHING against the birds! Consider the lilies…
MAN: He’s having a go at the flowers now.
MAN 2: Oh, give the flowers a chance.