18/01/06 I'm Free...

"...and freedom tastes of reality" as Roger Daltrey of The Who sang...
Actually, I find freedom tastes more like steak and kidney pie and carrots than anything else ; but that's probably just me.
I mention this because I have just finished my latest IT Contract and am once more a man of leisure of sorts.
In my spare time I have been making a few Bollywood short films.
Take a look at this and this and this and even this and finally this cinematic masterpiece.

Yes, I know that these are all fairly rubbish, but hopefully one day I will be clever and funny and all that.
These will just have to do for the time being...
It only took me 10 minutes to do them all anyway...so what do you expect...come on!...be reasonable for god's sake...
I have just been out visiting my local, friendly fundamentalist atheist Dave Reilly whose ankle I accidentally broke in a football match 8 weeks ago.
He's still plastered up and is still getting painful grief from his foot.
I advised him he should pray to the Lord and it'll probably heal quicker.
Hopefully, he'll get a good report when he gets a hospital check-up on Friday.
I had brought exotic fruit to cheer him.
He was happy to see it, and it was great fun exchanging chirpy banter with Dave.
I confidently stated that this was the first time I'd been in his house since 1985.
This surprised the Reillys as they only moved in to their house in 1987.
I suspect it's a case of reincarnation, and in a previous life as a gypsy accountant, I may well have been in his house...
But Dave probably doesn't believe in that sort of scientific reasoned argument.
I suspect you can read his version of this historic encounter here.
On the way home "A Little Glass Of Champagne" by Sailor came on the radio (I was listening to Radio 2).
Coincidentally, Dave and I were not drinking champagne, but took coffee instead.

I have stopped smoking again (zzzzzzzzz...boring...boring...boring...).
I had actually intended to keep smoking till the public space smoking ban comes into effect in March.
I just smoked too much one night late on...couldn't get to sleep...was a zombie at work all the next day, and just thought this is fucking stupid.
I don't even actually enjoy smoking all that much.
So here we go again...
Anyway, I've done 15 days now and feel tip top...no cravings whatsoever...but I suspect I've said that very same thing in the past...

I just happened to be flicking channels and I came across Celebrity Big Brother.
I don't watch it really. I just catch the odd snippet. Yes, really.
Anyway, George Galloway came up with an interesting anecdote...
He recounted a conversation he's had with Nelson Mandela relating to his 27 year imprisonment on Robben Island.
Mandela and the ANC bigwigs had come to a group decision not to smoke during their captivity.
This must have been an extremely tough decision to take, as I'd imagine smoking is generally regarded by prisoners as an isolated little beacon of pleasure amidst the tedium and angst of being locked up.
Their reasoning was that the guards already controlled their liberty, and that by smoking, it would give the guards more control over them, in that they'd also have power in terms of controlling tobacco supply to the inmates.
Not smoking was to them a gesture of inner strength and defiance.
So anyway, I really should be able to stop a lot easier than them!
As George said, that's a major reason why Mandela looked so healthy and vibrant when he was released.
He'd probably have looked vastly different if he'd been on 60 a day for 27 years.