20 Oct 09

A piece I wrote for gair rhydd, the student newspaper, whichwas unfortunately returned as they'd already printed one a few weeks ago. That'll teach me to not read our student publications!!!

Maldives Under Water! (Well, the Government Anyway...)

The Maldives government have held the first underwater cabinet meeting in order to raise awareness about global warming. With the majority of its land being only 3 ft above sea level the Maldives is the lowest lying country in the world, making it one of the most susceptible to the effects of imminent rising sea levels.

The meeting took place to the north of the capital city, Male, with all members submerged at a depth of 20 ft. Extensive training was undertaken during the two months preceding the event, and each cabinet minister was accompanied by a diving instructor and a military minder to ensure health and safety measures were met. Of the fourteen cabinet members only two were not granted permission due to health issues. Communication problems were overcome with the use of hand signals and white-boards and a document was signed calling all nations to dramatically reduce their carbon emissions.

A United Nations conference to address the challenges of climate change is scheduled to take place in Copenhagen this December, with hopes of updating the 1997 Kyoto carbon emissions agreement which is due to expire in 2012. Scientific models have predicted that the country could become uninhabitable in less than a hundred years. At a follow-up press conference, also held in the water, President Mohamed Nasheed said that if no action is taken “we are going to die”.

Autographed wetsuits by each minister are to be auctioned online at www.protectthemaldives.com to raise money for coral reef protection programmes.

11 OCT 09

Goldcliff Wetlands, South Wales

An American in Cardiff

I've had (nocturnal) Rachel staying with me in Cardiff this week. She's been learning things at the university (which is more than can be said for a lot of the Freshers I've bumped into this week, but that's another story) and I took the opportunity to show her around Cardiff. True to form nothing goes to plan and these, I believe, will be the most memorable moments of her trip:

1. Shortly after arriving we encountered a middle-aged lady wearing a washing basket on her head.

2. Dismembered pigeon wings on the pavement.

3. Hoards of screaming, drunk students littering the streets.

4. Having to call an ambulance to assist a man with a bleeding head after being bottled after a football match on Thursday evening.

5. Witnessing a passer-by ask a homeless man for 'change for a fiver' and proceeding to walk off when the homeless man pointed out that he somewhat lacked spare change.

So I apologise firstly to Rachel for such a strange visit to Cardiff, and also to Wales, for not giving our cross-Atlantic friends a very good impression of what I consider a fine, fine city!

01 OCT 09

The summer may be over but the sun's still shining in Cardiff, *touch wood*, and therefore I haven't quite missed the boat for an update of the warmer months!

The Great Dorset Steam Fair, which takes place near Blandford each year, was just as busy and steamy as ever. An endless supply of engines, tractors, horses, cider, cars, fair rides and every variety of dog known to man made for an interesting week with the addition of 'Steam Sounds', the latest attempt to occupy trouble-makers in the evenings and provide the eccentric enthusiasts with some light entertainment. Of course, in reality, the enthusiasts were probably still up to their knees in coal throughout the night, but the rest of us witnessed some musical wonders including 'Winston the Singing Farmer'. Ingenious. Also playing (at every available opportunity) was my little brother 'Ant'.


I don't think it's possible to see everything in the five days but you can certainly start to tire of trudging around in the mud, and a highlight for me was taking time out to watch the falconry display.


But naturally, given that it bears the proud title of STEAM fair, the main attraction is the enormous number of steam engines that accumulate in the quiet fields of Dorset each September. I would be surprised to find anything quite like it anywhere else in the world; 200,000 visitors took the steam pilgrimmage to the 41st event. Agricultural machinery, Showmans' engines and the heavy haulage engines all draw large audiences, but my personal favourites will always be the beautiful machines that power the old fairground rides...