Back again

Hello,

Back again after six weeks off. It's nice to have breaks. Sometimes you need to just switch off and do your own thing. Anyway, here's what I've been up to, for those who are interested.

August: went to Turkey for 2 weeks with J, read a lot, chilled a lot, went to the Turkish baths a lot, turned extremely brown. Came back, had another week at home with J. Bliss. He went back to work, and I took the last week of the month off. Did a load more reading and gardening, planting flowers in memory of Mum, who died in late August last year. Being quiet. You know how it is.

September: I was invited to New York to address the UN on terrorism. Yes, really.
I know, crikey, eh? It was a great honour and an incredible experience.

(This is why I took down some posts at the end of July, by the way. I didn't want the Un and Foreign Office bigwigs to check the blog and find a load of personal lightweight stuff about me lazing about in a bikini and reading novels. Or posts containing lots of swearing. )

Here I am at the UN ( red jacket). Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is in the middle of the picture. I sat at a table with him, his wife, Columbian hostage Ingrid Betancourt and some other amazing people.

Interesting random fact about the UN: you can't smoke indoors in NYC, or in any public area, but you CAN smoke in the UN bars and meeting halls. This is because the UN is 'international territory'and not subject to NYC law. So, yes, I availed myself of the facilities repeatedly, as it was all quite nerve-wracking.
Security was very, very tight withthe guests and attendees only announced on the day (which is why I couldn't write about it before I went.) It was an extraordinary occasion, personally convened by the Secretary General to consider the needs of victims of terrorism worldwide - the first time the UN had ever done anything like this. One of the problems had been that the UN was historically unable to agree on a definition of terrorism. We pushed for a UN Declaration of the Rights of Victims of Terrrorism. 18 people directly affected by terrorism, who had a record of working with victims and being an activist/advocate, plus international experts - many of whom had been victims of terrorism themselves - were asked to address the UN. It was harrowing, but inspiring to hear people's testimony. I hope that the UN's new focus in this area makes a difference - the actions of terrorists blight lives all over the world and too many people get no help at all in the aftermath. The webcast is here .

I have written an article about the symposium and will post it up later, when I can find it. (I'm on J's laptop as mine has given up the ghost. Thank God I put the book manuscript on a memory stick before disaster struck)

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to explore New York as it was pretty much all work - I arrived on Sunday 7th September late afternoon, after an 8 hour flight, met some other delegates for drinks, went to bed at 10pm ( 3am for me) and woke up at 4am NY time - it's five hours ahead over there and I never did manage to get used to it. On Monday 8th I went to Ground Zero to pay my respects, then straight into rehearsal all day, followed by the dinner with Ban Ki-Moon, Tuesday 9th was the Symposium, and on Wednesday 10th I flew home after meeting my friend for a quick burger and beer at lunchtime in an Irish bar opposite the hotel.

I'd have loved to have stayed longer in New York, but it was my best friend's wedding in Shakespeare's church in Stratford upon Avon the next day. Wet - it poured down all day - but wonderful, with wild dancing at the reception. The next day was my sister's birthday party. Which had a red-neck theme, bales of straw, line-dancing and pin-ups of trailer homes.

And after that week I was pretty much shattered - the lack of sleep and the jetlag hit, big-time - and there just didn't seem to be time for blogging. Campaigning for various things went on, behind the scenes, and when I wasn't doing that, I indulged my hopeless addiction to the US Elections coverage.

I think I may turn this blog over to US Election comment for the next few weeks. It has taken over my brain. I even dream about it. I am an Obamanerd. It has got really quite sad. If you've not been following it, here's a round up of some of the most interesting bits.

1. The Republican Convention in one minute

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

2. The first Presidential debate in one minute

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

3. And finally, the wonderful Sara Benincasa, who has been running a Governor Palin vlog. Here, Governor Palin is possessed by Satan during rehearsals for the Vice-Presidential Debate.


P.S: You can see the preceeding video, JESUSCHRIST! here - which is even funnier - and follow the whole Palin vlog story from the beginning on Youtube. New Palin videos can now be found at 23/6.com

It's good to be back. What have you been up to?

Weekend blogging round up...

I've finally switched to the new blogger system. I didn't want to risk it for months because I was scared of losing everything on the blog. Recently, however, I got to a point where I decided I simply didn't care anymore if the blog disappeared into the ether forever, so I closed my eyes and clicked ...

..and phew, all 560 posts, all your comments and all the links are still here, which is good because now I can do a round up of some of the good stuff that has been written this week. I have not been able to read other people's blogs for about a month, because I have been working flat out, so it's been great to catch up a bit this weekend.

Not Saussure on the extremists within our midst....

'I’ve also asked Ruth Kelly to set up a study group to investigate ways of better integrating motorists — many of whom were born and brought up here — with the community and ways of persuading them that sending letter bombs is very un-British. I would encourage the parents of young motorists to look for the danger signs — a fascination with Top Gear is very suspicious — and to report them to the police as soon as possible for their family’s sake...'
more...

Sunny from Pickled Politics in Comment is Free

'As I stated in November when introducing New Generation Network (NGN), the idea that whole "communities" can speak with one voice is not only disingenuous but counter-productive. It only benefits those willing to constantly shout the loudest and spend time pushing their own agenda...'

Sunny also has a good guest post on Islam and Feminism from Zohra, and a lot of other interesting stuff.

Wife in the North has been consistently excellent since she started blogging, and here is a taster, for those who have yet to discover her writing Mothers and Daughters

'She told me the nurse was going to give her an anemone. I thought this unlikely. The bustling Scottish nurse arrived, not with flowers but with rubber gloves. Mother mine, teeth biting into the cotton pillow and tears falling onto my hand shrieked in silence as the nurse got on with it. Old age smells of shit and shame not Chanel...'

One Violent Crime and the Female Victim (hat-tip: Incurable Hippie)

'Again and again, women are told that we can avoid rape if we don't go out alone, don't get drunk, carry our car keys as a weapon, take self-defence classes, don't dress revealingly, don't talk to strangers, and on and on. We get it. We live it. And we still get raped.Women get raped sober and drunk. They get raped when they're out and when they're home. They get raped wearing short skirts and wearing burqas. They get raped by men they know and by men they don't know. If one woman avoids rape by using her self-defence skills, a woman unable to defend herself gets raped instead. Whatever women do or don't do, men continue to rape them....'

And whilst we are on the subject of rape, please send a prayer or a wish for one of this blog's readers, whom I will call Annabel, ( not her real name) who contacted me this week to tell me about the rape trial she is in the middle of, where the verdict is expected soon. Any raped person who finds the strength within herself to stand up and face her rapist down in court does us all a great service, and I wish her every success in getting the justice and the closure she deserves.