20 years since the return of Doctor Who

I am pretty sure that I did not imagine, when I sat down to watch "Rose" a few days after it aired (I was on holiday at the time) that the show would still be going 20 years later, with I believe 188 episodes having aired since then, not counting Children in Need stuff.

It's been through some good times, it's been through some bad times. We've got a critical new season ahead of us that will probably make the difference between the show carrying on for a few more years and a quick end; Disney will want some good ratings for their money.

But at least we have it. At the moment, many of us really need some form of distraction from the darkness seemingly coming back in much of the world.

Happy anniversary!

Capital Ring Section 1

 

Having completed the London Loop last year (see my previous posts), I am now moving onto the Capital Ring, another "circular" footpath that covers inner London.

This has a lot more tower blocks and a lot fewer cows, but the views can still be very good on a clear day - I did this on Thursday 20 March, the first warm day we've had all year.

I've also made an investment in my walking; as easy access to various bits of equipment is handy in this, I acquired an old crime scene investigator vest from a military surplus place near where I live. It also has an inbuilt hood, although I didn't need it.

Section 1 starts from the southern end of the Woolwich foot tunnel, then after a while beside the Thames, heads south/south-east, going through three parks, Woolwich Common and four woods stopping just over the A2.

Counting the station links, it's about 7.2 miles, although I might have done a bit more due to wrong turnings.

Much of the route is on pavement or properly surfaced paths, although it gets bit more unsurfaced near the end. Even for a Thursday, there were plenty of people about, including dog walkers; you're definitely not in the sticks like with much of the London Loop. There's even a somewhat pongy industrial estate once you come off the river; I don't know how many of those I'll encounter on my way.

One notable area on the walk is Severndroog Castle, a Gothic "folly" on Shooter's Hill, built in memory of a British admiral of the East India Company who won a victory for them against the Maratha Navy in 1756. There is a viewing platform, but it's only open on Sundays.

It took 3 hours and 21 minutes to do the lot, including a break for lunch at a small café in Charlton Park. Pretty easy going, the good weather helping even if it meant I got a bit sweaty... which is kind of the point, as I am doing this to help keep myself in trim.

I might do Section 2 on Good Friday or Easter Monday; other things depending. But I will definitely be doing it.

Don't mind me, I'm just here for Jemma Simmons (Review: 'Mystery Island', 2023)

Well, there are worse ways to keep your SAG-AFTRA health insurance.

Gaza: Here we go again

There are sensible solutions to the Israel-Palestine situation. Unfortunately, there are few sensible people on any position of political power in the region.

It is clear that Israel never intended to proceed to stage two of the ceasefire; withdrawing from Gaza is a security gamble for them and in any event, Netanyahu is completely opposed to any Palestinian state. So is the US, with Donald Trump's crime against humanity that would be the Gaza Plan being seemingly official policy for both that country and Israel. Israel has also blocked all aid to Gaza, itself a war crime. Soon hunger is going to become a serious problem for that territory and you can hardly put bread in a rocket, can you? Israel cannot ultimately defeat the Palestinians without a huge number of deaths, some of which will be on its own side and becoming a pariah state.

Hamas is refusing to release the hostages because it is using them as leverage to prevent further Israeli attacks... which is causing further Israeli attacks. They seem to bent on fighting a war that is frankly unwinnable and they should never have started in the first place. They're not firing rockets at this stage - one wonders how many they actually have left.

The Palestinian Authority is worse than useless - not trusted by either Hamas or Israel.

So, the hostages remain in place. Possibly only 24 are alive. How many will survive this next stage? Indeed, how many Gazans will be alive?

In which Hippies cancel Star Trek (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.20, "The Way to Eden")

There is a character in this episode called Tongo. He might as well be called Torgo, as this is arguably the most riffable episode of Star Trek I've yet come across.

That means it's awful in a funny way. Well, somewhat.

Our Very Disturbed Man Flint (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.19, "Requiem for Methuselah")

You can tell the episode has a messed up concept when Spock needs to step and erase someone's memory.

Three years of war between Ukraine and Russia

It feels longer in a way to me. I imagine it must feel like an entirety for those involved in one war or the other, including the refugees that I know are in my area.

I don't think anyone wants this war to go on; Ukraine just wants a peace that will keep its country secure in the long-term, because it seems that Putin wants at the least a client state and at most to end Ukrainian independence. They might want to do a mineral deal, but not at the price of becoming an American vassal.

Trump has done vast damage to European security in his first month in office. It appears that we will now have to defend Europe from Russia largely on our own, with implications for public spending in other areas, not to mention taxation.

In any event, it seems Putin is not willing to compromise on anything meaningful and produce a peace deal that Ukraine should accept, so I guess the suffering will continue on both sides for a while longer sadly. Many more people will die or suffer life-changing injuries because one man wants to recreate an empire, regardless of cost.

I just wish more people would accept that, on both far-right and far-left.