The perfumed sea

Five weeks after the container ship MSC Napoli beached in Lyme Bay, some of her spoils began to wash up many miles away on the Isle of Wight.

We were there for a short winter walking holiday, and stared at amazement at the sight of the debris on the normally clean beaches.

There was an odd, if consistent, assortment of goods disgorged by the sea, liberally distributed over miles of sand and shingle bays of south west Wight. Wrapped multiple packs of shampoo and conditioner, but covered in oil; maroon heart-shaped boxes of chocolate (undelivered Valentine's Day goodies, we assumed); long black flexible hoses for car screen wash systems (we could tell by the symbol on the cap); 15ml pots of expensive Lancome Reviving Anti-Wrinkle Cream. And hundreds of pieces of broken wood pallets. The assorted contents of a split container that slipped from the Napoli's deck, no doubt.

The less interesting accompanying sight was huge amounts of plastic scurf, which significantly marred the coastline.

And as we walked the cliff tops, we became aware of an unusual perfume in the air : the smell of shampoo from split bottles, lathered and frothed by the sea.

Pass the participle

Language, of course, is a living thing and meanings and useage change over time.

I had thought that some traditions would be less susceptible to this - for instance the rituals surrounding major life events such as weddings and funerals.

Then my eye was caught by a newspaper report (Isle of Wight County Press 23/02/07) of a wedding between Colin Bond, drayman, and Helen Sutch, chef.

Nothing unusual until the last paragraph: "The couple honeymooned in the Dominican Republic before the wedding."

It might have been a holiday, and even (hopefully) a romantic one. But I think it is stretching definitions a little far to call it a honeymoon.

Risks, roads and rail

On Friday's late evening news, the Cumbrian train crash was featured throughout the programme, even though it was very obvious that hard facts were scarce.

Three different people, from three different locations, broadcast live repeating the same information, which was that there had been a train crash in Cumbria, emergency services were at the scene, and casualties were feared. In the absence of fresh facts, information which was quite obvious was repeated over and again. I guess it's the price we pay for expecting instant news.

By the 8am bulletin the following morning, the situation had become clearer with 1 person dead and 5 seriously injured. No doubt extensive coverage will continue over the next few days.

Terrible though the event will have been for all concerned, it does highlight the different approach to the reporting of public and private transport deaths and injuries.

First there is the language. Almost universally, plane and train incidents are referred to as "crashes", while motorists have "accidents", no matter what the extenuating circumstances.

Then there are the numbers. Over an average weekend, some 20 or more people are killed and approaching 200 seriously injured on Britain's roads, without this justifying more than a mention on regional news, let alone national.

The importance is to get this all in proportion. How many people are terrified of dying in a plane crash, without realising that statistically they are much more likely to be killed driving to the airport?

It's not our reaction to public transport crashes that should be weakened, but our seeming immunity to the price of life and limb on Britain's roads. And still it is performance and speed that is highlighted in car adverts, above safety and economy.

Oh, no John...

John Redwood, the Vulcanised Tory MP who, no matter how hard he tries, never seems able to smile (have you ever seen a photo of him looking happy?) puts a delightful spin on the breakdown of his marriage.

In a "you ask the questions..." in The Independent (19/02/07), he is chided by a reader for preaching family values, while leaving his own wife.

John (I think it is de riguer to call all Tory MPs by their first names now, isn't it?) brusquely retorted that he didn't leave his wife: "...[she] decided to live in her house in Dorset, and sold me her share of the family home..."

The reality of divorce sounds much less messy and more matter-of-fact that way, doesn't it?

If only everyone had the prudence, forward planning and basic common sense to keep a house or two each running and available in the marital background. Just in case.

Barking marking

My employers have thoughtfully provided me with a 16-page booklet entitled “Frequently Asked Questions on Protective Marking.”

It was something of a revelation that anyone would want to utter the words “protective marking”, let alone that there are people who are asking questions about it. Frequently.

But perhaps most surprising is that someone should take the time and expense to furnish me with an expensively-produced booket, complete with colour photographs.

I tried to repay this generosity by reading it, but quickly became discouraged. I suspect it was written by someone who either a) does not have English as a first language; or b) takes particular delight in reading computer manuals cover to cover.

The booklet’s opening paragraph set the scene: “This is meant as a tool to provide accessible answers to the most frequently asked questions…if you have any further questions, please contact…an authorised Originator in your probation area.”

I’ve no idea what or who an authorised (or unauthorised) Originator is, but I guess they must be important to have a capital letter to their title.

My favourite “Frequently Asked Question” of the 28 on offer (OK, it was a hard choice), was question 13:

Q: “What should I do if I suspect that the ‘consequences of compromise’ have changed for a particular information asset?”

A: “Circumstances surrounding a subject of a file or document (or a third party connected to such a file or document) can change to such an extent that there could be an increased or decreased risk of harm if the file was compromised. This would imply that the current Protective Marking might be incorrect.”

I could go on. But for reasons which are probably extremely clear by now, I won’t.

Hotter and hotter

Lots of media coverage of the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which paints a fearsome picture of the anticipated accelerated rate of world temperature increase.

The Independent, not by any means a scare-monger among the dailies, has the headline “The hellish vision of life on a hotter planet”. This cataclysm, including the very real probability of the end of civilised life, is now predicted to happen before the end of this century, unless very drastic international steps are taken.

I can't remember ever being so shocked at reading a newspaper article.

Yet what is the response? Within 24 hours the news focus has moved to Jonny Wilkinson's comeback for England rugby; political sniping about Tony Blair's future; and a re-run of scares about bird flu.

Climate change is the biggest threat ever to our modern world. Perhaps because of this we just can't take it in, and prefer to pretend it's not really happening, or that scientists will come charging to the rescue.

Proof of that is the way that, despite all the blaring sirens about the direction we are heading, nothing seems to dampen our desire to carry on regardless. The advert below the very news article in The Independent (p5 03/02/07) is American Airline's tempting carrot (perhaps that should be doughnut) of a return flight to New York for £199. That's the price of a pair of good-quality shoes to fly from Heathrow to JFK. Environmental madness.

This week's TV schedules had the usual fare of “house in the sun” programmes featuring quite ordinary families and couples being propelled by pretty presenters into buying second homes in Spain, where apparently 1 million Brits now have property. This, of course, is built on cheap and cheerful short-haul flights which add massively to aviation carbon emission.

That's the problem with global warming. It demands that we actually do something to alter our lifestyles, and we don't want to do that if it demands more than a bit of occasional recycling. Our lifestyles and ambitions (greed, perhaps, is not too strong a word) make us rely on cheap and plentiful energy and easy access to cars and planes, with little more than a “what can you do?” shrug at the environmental consequences.

Global warming represents a huge political challenge at every level, and demands an awareness and response from each of us. There needs to be a massive wake-up call throughout the UK, Europe and the World, and strong leadership to understand the nature of the crisis, and ways of encouraging each of us to take responsibility for acting to address it.

Natural beauty

At just after 8am, the sun rose in the clear, frosty south-east while diametrically opposite the moon hung, pale, huge and low in the north-west. A picture of brief but perfect symmetry.

At moments like this, the beauty of the natural world is overwhelming and intoxicating.

We are so used to obtaining our visual entertainment from artificial means: TV, DVDs, computers. With the implication that we can forget the more simpler, but deeper, pleasures that surround us if we only lift up our heads.