Daily archives: January 24, 2003


Heavensent- Chapter 9, Part 3

The patrol boat circled around seaward of Stran island and headed back into the turbulent waters of the inlet. They had been seeding the water with scuttling charges, hoping to shake loose any more human torpedoes like the one lying on the rear deck. Two engine men were examining it.

It was near impossible to see anything. The fresh water was glass clear and ice cold, but it was mixing with the warm, thick and murky sea water. The two flows curled around each other, creating a milky green wash. Still crewmen stared over the side, priming and tossing the scuttling charges at the merest hint of a shadow.

There was a cry from the high view. The boat changed attitude and turned toward an object on the surface. The autoguns opened up, churning the water around the barrel shaped target.

At the back of the boat, the engine men cursed as the sudden turn threw them over. The senior man stayed down. Certain he had heard something, he pressed an ear to the body of the torpedo. There was a low, insistent ticking. He shouted, screaming at his junior to throw the bomb overboard. They strained at the torpedo trying to lift it. Other crew members watched with confusion, what was this panic about?

The explosion obliterated the rear half of the boat. The front was thrown spans into the air, tumbling to crash upside down in the choppy water.


BNP

The British National Party has taken a council seat in Yorkshire. This looks bad, but it isn’t as big a disaster (or victory) as people like to make out. More people voted against them than for them (over 2:1), and you can bet there was a low turnout- most of the people who didn’t vote would have gone for one of the other candidates. What is interesting is that they intend to go for seats in Allerdale next time. This is quite close to home and I remember, a few years ago, reading that the parliamentary seat of Workington, within the council’s boundaries, was the third most white constituency in the country. Which is probably why they’re trying out there.

[Actually, Workington is the only place I’ve ever seen the National Front trying to sell their paper. This was in the mid eighties. Whenever we went shopping there on a Saturday I’d pop into the town’s big newsagent to get model magazines and comics and outside would be the NF man trying to sell The Briton, or whatever it was called. The amusing thing, for me, was that he was always shadowed by a Socialist Worker who would be across the precinct touting copies of the eponymous rag. I stopped visiting so regularly, but it stopped some time around when I went to University. Any Workingtonians dropping by want to tell me when?]


Bear? Bull?

If I had any money to do so, it could be getting to the perfect time to invest in shares as the market sinks. In most cases the only way, once the panic is over, is up. Though I’d probably have to be unethical and invest in defence companies to get the best returns (and airlines and related stocks are going to tumble even further when the backlash to Bush War 2 hits.)