Alan Bennett

Finally, I have got  a hold of some Alan Bennett, British playwright. Holy Moly, what a wonderful style he has. So soft and so subtle, yet absolutely hilarious. I listened to some of the History Boys with my old favourite, Richard Griffiths. I am not sure if there is something wrong because my Ipod tells me it is seventeen hours long. Have to check that.

Last night I listened to The Uncommon Reader which was so funny I got through 4 of the 5 chapters in one sitting. I finished it off today during my afternoon siesta.

Now I am acquiring Talkingheads and a bunch of others. I just love his lilting voice and gentle, yet cutting dry wit. It's like he uses his soft, lovely voice to strike like a hammer when he lets go a corker.

Along with this I sat through, A Private Function and got a bunch of TV shows of folks reading his stories, among them Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.

There is a fun Fry and Laurie Reunited show on the Net which is well worth a view. Fry is in fits of giggles sitting opposite Hugh who just has to look at him to set him off. It is nice to see such a great friendship and to see Fry falling into uncontrollable hysterics. They keep falling back into old characters off their show and they do a rendition of Cocktail Recipe which is a hoot.

I am wondering what the Hell is going to happen in Korea. And what the Hell role China will play in it. One more push by the North and the South seems certain to retaliate. With the US involvement makes the whole thing decidedly sticky. With the capital Soele being so close to the border is a bit scary too. I hope my old pal Philip "The Flip" Hiver is okay, especially as he is about to become a father.

Wikileaks, I am not that bothered about, but I do wish Hilary Clinton would push off. She seems like a nasty piece of work. And with the States potentially fighting on another front, they really are spreading themselves out a tad far, and we all know it's when an empire is fighting on multiple fronts that it falls into a very weak position. The day when China decides to make some expansion plans, I don't think anyone will be able to stop them. Countries like Laos are already virtually owned by China.

We are in the throws of acquiring visas for Oi and Grace for our UK trip next year. What a minefield. In fact, I have delegated to whole thing to Oi as I just find it far too stressful. The British Embassy in Bangkok even want my mother's passport for Oi's verification. WHAT? I screamed. And she has to go there in person, 1000 clicks away with young Gracie. Fucking horrible. For once it is the UK being difficult and not Thailand, as is normally the case. For me to go to Thailand from UK, I pop a tenner in the mail to Hull and a few days later the postman bring me my visa. No such story here.

I am not ruling out major changes for us in the future if life becomes too difficult here. The salaries fall way short of carving some kind of existence. Time will tell...