The ongoing "Humanitarian Crisis" in East Africa.

The TV is quite clear. There is a full blown famine decimating Sudan and neighbouring Ethiopia. The local population are dying of hunger, thirst and disease. As fast as aid can be flown in, it is being distributed to aid camps. At the gates of these camps emaciated carcass' queue, hugging new borns to their bosoms, waiting patiently with the swarming flies around their eye to be admitted. Could the picture of human suffering be any clearer? Could human suffering be any more crystallized into a single event?

Yes. There could be twice as many people in the queue and half as much food to go round.

Picture that. A queue as far as the eye can see snaking into the scorching desert. But that couldn't happen, could it? The aid agency's would see to that, no?

Sadly the opposite. It is the aid agencies that are currently engaged in killing millions of, as yet unborn, babies. They bring 'em in, patch 'em up, send 'em out and give their blessing to the next generation of starving locals. Don't believe me? The current disaster is apparently the worst for twenty (or thirty depending on who you listen to) years.  Amazingly, given the scale of this clearly desperate situation (two major humanitarian disasters, not counting the constant background wars and tribal tit-for-tats) the population of Sudan has grown from 11 million in 1960 to 45 million today. But that's at the cost of Ethiopia in the form of refugees, right?


Nope. The population of Ethiopia has grown from 22 million to 86 million in the same period. In the last thirty years the population has doubled. That's despite natures best efforts to keep the population of both nations in line with the amount of natural resources available.

As quick as nature takes food away, we fly it back in (I know, from an engorged west). As quickly as we clear paths to the smaller villages and settlements, they replace the land mines that mame and kill not just those that live there, but also those who come to help. As fast as we educate that HIV can be stopped by condoms, the witchdoctors advocate sex with virgins (Again, I know, the Vatican doesn't help, and the witchdoctors are dying out).

All in, their fucked. The more we try to help them the worse it will get. We're just propping up an already untenable situation. Fast forward twenty years to when the US and China are fighting over oil and Europe is tearing itself apart over immigration and the aid dries up totally.

Now that would be a true Humanatarian Crisis. Hell, the population might even level out.

Great Chalfield Manor

The view from the front

Went on a visit to Great Chalfield Manor today (As our guide said "If you are into the internet, look at http://www.greatchalfield.co.uk/). Well she was about 80. Ignore the slight out of focus photo on the website - this place if quite majorley cool. Built in the 1500c by Thomas Tropnell after he knocked down the original building on the site and created the manor, roughly as it is today. It's had the crap kicked out of it by a bunch of tenant farmers, who among other atrocities decided to tear down the minstrels gallery and burn it for firewood, and was then rebuilt by the present day owners the Fuller family. Better known for beer and rubber (really, they own Avon Rubber). These guys really restored it with sympathy and a great deal of care. Using drawings taken over a hundred years before, they recreated many of the original features (included the aforementioned minstrels gallery).

However impressive the inside of the building, the real jaw dropper are the gardens. The current lady of the house (pretty cool title, hu?) and one full time gardener have done an amazing job of creating a hugely colourful display from every side of the manor. After gifting the house to the National Trust in the 1940s it shows real love of the place to still be putting so much effort into the whole estate. It's clearly a very much loved place by the family (family photos of the last wedding sit in pride of place next to 400 year old tapestries) and all the rooms are still very much is active use.

If you're ever at the Bath junction of the M4 with a spare half day, set the Sat Nav to SN12 8NH and enjoy - you will not be disappointed.