22 March 2011
At last the weather improved sufficiently for me to return to my old golf club at Worlington, Mildenhall.. It was a mild day, not sunny but very pleasant. Barry took me and I arrived just before 11 to be picked up by Griggsy in his buggy and was driven around the second nine holes by two other semi invalids, John Stevens and Karl Creasy, who is suffering from a number of broken ribs caused by a collision on the ski slopes by a mad out-of-control Frenchman.. Tony Griggs (Griggsy), now 80 years old, in a show of bravado to show us all how young and fit he is,. Insisted on walking the entire 18 holes, 6 miles. or so Good for him. I remember when he returned from home living in Spain,. some years ago, having played all his golf riding in a buggy, he was physically incapable of walking that far, so all credit to him. He has certainly improved his. physique since returning to the UK. We then sat outside for half an hour or so before lunch where I was able to have a cigar and a drink with. many of my old mates, most of whom were kind enough to come up and say how good it was to see me back. Then lunch with everyone being extremely kind and helpful. I managed to feed myself with a spoon and a great deal of effort but in the end, the major (Guy Hipkin) kindly gave me the last few spoonfuls. In any event, it was great to be back.
The situation in the Middle East is becoming extremely tenuous. The UN agreed to imposing a ‘no fly zone’ for Libyan aircraft over Libya to prevent Gaddafi from bombing those people who are opposing his regime.
Unfortunately, the UK, together with France the USA and Qatar are policing the air space over Libya, but for how long? I hope to goodness we are not being sucked into another expensive long-term commitment and that somebody has worked out plan B! It is a real moral dilemma. As caring human beings we are caught between a rock and a hard place. How can we stand back and watch innocent people being murdered? Yet, on the other hand, getting involved in the affairs of another country could well find ourselves committed for a long period for which we are not financially or physically able to do. Then there is the nightmare scenario that the same situation won’t care in other surrounding Arab states were minor uprisings have already started. What on earth do we do then?
I have just finished watching the third episode in Wonders of the Universe on BBC television. It was absolutely fascinating and so well presented by the professor Brian Cox (cCan he really be a professor when he looks so young!?. In any event encyclopaedic knowledge of the universe clearly warrants the title). He made the most complex of thermodynamics physics and other scientific phenomena relatively easy to understand. Two things remain with me. Firstly, everything in the entire universe, which comprises billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars is made up of a combination of the main 92 elements starting with hydrogen as a lightest moving through the spectrum to the heaviest. (Chemical element 118?). Secondly, every single thing in all of these billions of stars is made up of atoms with a nucleus and electrons. That goes for 99.99999% recurring, of every item is universe, including humans in the animal kingdom, so that most of everything in the universe has to be almost entirely space. Professor explained this by saying that if this space in the atoms, which make up in every human being on this planet, was able to be removed ,the entire population of earth could be fitted into something the size of a sugar cube which would be so dense that if it was dropped, onto the earth. it would slice through it like butter.