My brother works in aid. In the last twenty years, he has worked in various parts of Sudan (including Darfur, before it became the disaster story we read about now), Somaliland (that's the part of Somalia that doesn't have a government), Kenya, and various other places one might prefer not to visit. For the last few years he has been working for Help the Aged International, spending time in Sri Lanka (during the ongoing civil war) and, post-tsunami, Thailand.

Just now he is in Zimbabwe, fact-finding.

It is a strange world.

Over the past couple of days, death seems to have featured. Not my death, I am pleased to say, but in my thoughts, and in the media.

Of course I went to see And When Did You Last See Your Father? last night, where death did seem to feature rather prominently.

( Cut for rambling stories. )

Tonight I saw another preview (thanks, apparently, to a Radio Times offer rather than filmstalker) – this time, Anand Tucker’s film of Blake Morrison’s book, And When Did You Last See Your Father?.
( Cut for spoilers… )

A couple of days in London.

( I met up with my brother yesterday evening; he took me to the Groucho Club. )