Catching Up

Here are a couple of stories that I found interesting during the sad hiatus of the past week. Was just too sad to post. Better now.

1. Horror of horrors, from the Telegraph:

"Chocolate should be taxed to control obesity epidemic, doctors are told ... Chocolate should be taxed in the same way as alcohol to control Britain's obesity epidemic, a medical conference has heard"

What is wrong with people? No, let me restate that - what is going on in the UK? It seems like the government has decided to make laws to fix every problem, rather than finding ways to encourage people to fix themselves. Tax chocolate? Not while I am alive! Of course, that may not be long if I eat it since I am diabetic. Nevertheless, surely this is not the way to go:

"Dr David Walker said chocolate used to be a treat, but has become a harmful addiction, causing weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and back pain. Consumers are often eating more than half a day's worth of calories when they polish off a bag of chocolates in front of the television, he claimed."

Excuse me for a moment, I think there is an old piece of Ritter Sport with hazelnuts in the back of my cupboard. Back soon.

2. The Prince must be fumigated, from the Times:

This turns out to be an ecological issue, rather than a political statement.

"The normal procedure for greeting royal visitors involves a red carpet, an official welcoming committee and possibly a fanfare or two. Last night, however, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall received a rather less gracious reception on their arrival in the Galápagos Islands, when they were thoroughly fumigated before being allowed off the plane."

The rest of the story is here.

3. England win the World Cup of cricket, from the Telegraph:

"Charlotte Edwards thus joins Rachel Heyhoe-Flint and Karen Smithies as the only English cricketers - of either gender - to lift a global trophy, "I don't think it will sink in for a while," said Edwards afterwards, "but this is a special moment and we'll remember this for the rest of our lives. The team have been amazing."

No-one can doubt that England were the best team in a tournament they dominated from the start. They only lost one match - and that a dead rubber against Australia with qualification already guaranteed. Claire Taylor finished as the World Cup's leading run-scorer and off-spinnner Laura Marsh the leading wicket-taker, but the real quality of the squad was in its depth."

Yes, ok, I snuck a sporting reference in here at the end. However, this is a major achievement. And a major achievement for English women. So three cheers for the English cricketers: Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!