Casualty

It's a bit blowy today - gie windy - it's gie'in it a guid blaw - etc etc etc. So much so that a few people at work had expected me to seek out alternative transport to come to work, leaving the bike at home. After almost 5 years I'd have hoped they'd know me better than that...

I full intend to be one of the two cyclists aboard the ark in 40 days time.

Did anyone else see the astounding breaking news last night? It was around third item, after 'Cumbria' doing some more bracing (see yesterday), and the usual political 'they started it waaaah' argumentation. David of Beckham has been pictured with... an inhaler (Rebecca Loos is simply a 'mouth breather', totally different thing). There followed a very bizarre, public-service-announcement-esque, 5-10 minutes of 'asthma doesn't necessarily mean you can't be a top athlete', proven by reference to half a dozen other sportspeople with the condition.

The very fact they were able to find the other examples so easily really highlights how much of a non-story this would be if it weren't for the fact it was Beckham involved. Apparently the 'revelation' could act as an inspiration to young kids with asthma. Which may be true. In much the same way that he's an inspiration to anyone with a squeaky voice.

I can't actually blame him for the coverage. To be fair to the guy he just seems to enjoy playing football, and comes across more often than not as a nice (if a bit dim) bloke. Unlike his stick insect wife. Though the random flaunting of cash can be a little grating. Jealousy? Perhaps, but more that he got to be a professional footballer while I never had the talent.

As for the news making it a story, please, please, please, can you stick to genuine current affairs next time?

p.s. the floods in the UK at the moment are awful, a terrible tragedy for many, but news reporters, it's NOT armageddon. God only knows how you would have reported on the floods in India and Bangladesh earlier this year in which hundreds of thousands died. We might have found out if you weren't indulging in parochial navel-gazing and celebrity stalking in place of investigating the goings-on of the world.