Lost Ferret Reunion 20120806_145414_001.avi

I found a ferret on Friday night, when I was coming back from work. I tried to find out where she came from  but to no avail. So I took her home with me on a bit of blanket given to me by someone from the house I'd called at, in a box I had in my car, just before it poured with rain. My daughter was delighted. But I couldn't keep the ferret. I have far too many rabbits, plus dogs, cat and snails.

It's a well known fact that people lose ferrets whilst out rabbiting or dump them because they are sick. I agreed with my daughter that we would keep her only she if were old and sick, not if she were young and healthy.

Returning to work on Monday morning, I saw a Lost Ferret sign outside the house I'd called at, which turned out to be a group of buildings. The ferret belonged to the people in the house next door to the one I'd called at. I contacted the owner who was thrilled to learn she'd been found. The ferret turned out to be a healthy nine year old female. Her name is Maggie.

I took Maggie back home with my daughter, and caught this unedited video on my mobile phone, a few minutes after reuniting her with her sister. This film shows just a snippet of their joy at seeing each other as we follow Maggie exploring her cage with her sister just to check everything is still the same as she left it, before going to bed.

I think the ferret was saying, "Thank you" and "Goodbye" to us as she pressed her face against the mesh. I'm so glad I was able to rescue her from the rainstorm and look after her safely, until we were able to take her home to her sister. I cannot express how amazing it was to see their initial reunion.  This to me is yet further proof that animals are sentient beings, just like us.

Religion for Atheists

Just listened to a really interesting philosopher, Alain de Botton, on Radio 2 with DJ Aled Jones - wasn't he a choir boy? Anyway back to the point which got my brain going: Alain de Botton has published a book called Religion for Atheists. Some might call me an agnostic but I feel very 'decided' about my beliefs so I call myself 'an atheist'.

It was refreshing to hear someone on the radio speak a bit more positively about religion. I get tired of Richard Dawkins attitude towards religion. Sometimes Dawkins comes across as aggressive, in a spoilt-child sort of way. He is impatient with the simple naivety that he sees in religious fanatics and has difficulty in containing his feelings. Alain de Botton defines atheism as a non-belief in the supernatural, as shown in the blurb on his website, http://www.alaindebotton.com . I don't. My atheism is defined as my non-belief in a controlling, supernatural being.

It is in the nature of things to be imperfect and I adhere to what might be called, a platonic view, with the purpose of life being to strive for perfection (not that I am anywhere near it). I also think that, as humans, we have a responsibility to give ourselves a purpose. But I believe in the supernatural. I believe in ghosts, in the ability to predict the future, in faith healing, in the spirit of humanity, the spirit of the planet, and of the universe. I believe in the interconnectedness of everything. I'm not sure I believe in the soul. I don't understand how spirit can be separated from soul. I think it's the same thing.

I once experienced a meditative state which led me into a very temporary complete loss of memory. It was as though I became less than an atom, a proton, or neutron. I visualised myself speeding away from the earth, beyond the atmosphere, towards the moon. I could see our planet beneath me, the stars beyond. I was part of the stratosphere and conscious.

I realised for a moment that I couldn't remember what I was. I couldn't identify myself. Then I remembered I had a name, children, that I was human etc. The point being, really, is that I could have been born anywhere, on any planet in the universe, as any creature, any miniscule speck of any thing. I am lucky enough to be born human on planet Earth, although not amounting to even a mere speck in the expanse of the universe - referred to as the religious element of humility by Alain de Botton on Radio 2 this morning.

I did not become religious through my experience. Rather it confirmed my discomfort with religion. De Botton accurately called religion, paradoxical, on the radio this morning. That is one of my personal major issues with religion. On the one hand, countries say it's wrong to kill; the same country also upholds the death penalty, or makes bombs. And I just can't believe in god. He/ it doesn't make any sense. God is outrageously inconsistent within all religions. Read Dawkins and probably de Botton's book, Religion for Atheists for full details. In the face of our own doubts, Darwin's Theory of Evolution is logical and sensible.

Religious arguments are often used to further the aims of groups and individuals. It's true that religion also reminds us of kindness, and upholds the arts - two subjects generously covered by Alain de Botton this morning but if humanity is to move forward without religion, it is important to grasp the threads of morality and creativity without religious props while we still can.

Humanity is fast losing its faith in religion but science dismisses the supernatural. In doing so, science dismisses humanity. Humanity has a natural affinity for the supernatural. There is something in the human psyche connected to religious concepts - scientists are reported to have found a link in the brain a year or two back: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/godonbrain.shtml.

Calling myself an atheist can sometimes feel like being stuck between a rock and hard place. I don't believe in god but I still pray. I don't believe in heaven, or hell or the devil and I struggle with the idea of pure good / pure evil . In fact, taking these two concepts into account only serves to show that purity is not necessarily perfection!

So in terms of my platonic empiricism, perfection is difficult to define, being more balanced than purity itself. So that too is paradoxical. The supernatural can often be explained in scientific terms but I am sure there is more to life than what we see. We can't see atoms but we believe they exist because science has 'proved' it. Science hasn't found a way to prove that ghosts exist, so dismisses them. It is up to science to learn how to prove such things. I want science to embrace the supernatural, to engage with it, explore it; by doing so science will embrace spirituality without having to embrace illogical religion.

I have engaged with the spirit of the planet within the experience of silence which de Botton touched upon today (see also, the Society of Friends website for details of prayer through silence). I think humanity is evolving away from religion and must delve into the spiritual. We must explore spirituality and aim to create a perfect planet.

The exploration of spirituality is not about concepts; it is the exploration of attaining balance, a scientific principal in order to attain fairness, arguably a qualitative concept, but it's up to humanity to explore the concept as atheists , not as fundamentalists. This can enable us to retain a connection with the human principals of kindness and creativity, so Alain de Botton's exploration of religion and atheism is further important step into working towards a perfect planet.

Fukushima

The media furore has quietened to silence the protests against nuclear power stations which were springing up across the world. Disgraceful. How convenient to quietly close the news window on this, one of the most serious nuclear accidents of all time.

My guess is that they do have core meltdown and that they don't know how to deal with it. It is one thing having an explosion. Chernobyl demonstrated the ratifications of unleashing such power into the atmosphere but a meltdown is a different issue and it's not one anyone really seems to know how to deal with.

Supposedly the power station is built on granite so the heat from the fuel rods is burning into the ground and that's why the surrounding sea water is now 100 times more than the legal limit. They have to prevent the core burning into the water table and it is ironic that in this age of advanced science they are shoring up with sandbags, concrete, and tarpaulin.

Can anyone point me to more info on this?

Driving in Morocco

It's probably better to visit Morocco for a few weeks, not just a week - it's a big country for somewhere that looks small on the map. Or return there, having visited on a previous occasion.
I hear public transport is good although we travelled by car. If you are going to drive you have to be a confident driver like my brother. I was very impressed by his ability to slip into driving like a Moroccon - much better than a Moroccon actually but that's because he isn't a completely anarchic driver. I am a pretty confident driver over here but I don't think I'd enjoy driving in Morocco. I certainly don't recommend collecting your car from the airport to drive to an unknown location in the middle of the Medina (in the middle of the Marrakesh) in the rush hour.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE: We didn't really check the map properly, neither of us was exactly certain of the location.
DON'T RELY ON THE ACCURACY OF SPELLINGS: I knew we had to get to the Place Mokef (the welcome email from the Riad said "Mokef") but on the map it's shown as Place Moukef so we were constantly uncertain as to whether we were going to the right place.
GETTING TO MARRAKESH MEDINA FROM THE AIRPORT (as I remember....) Turn left out of the aiport - remember Moroccons drive on the right. Follow the signs to Centre Ville (Moroccons speak Arabic and French). So...take the second right but then you also need to work out which side of the Medina you are travelling to (East, West, North, South) as you'll be driving around the walls of the Medina to find a gate that takes you towards the place you want to be.
STATE OF THE ROADS
Even a road which looks like it's a main road may be rutted/gritty/full of potholes and people.
TRUST YOUR RIAD
If they say they'll come to meet you, it's very likely they will.
BE PREPARED TO USE A TELEPHONE
There are teleboutiques everywhere with public payphones and someone who will provide change. Don't be scared to go in and ask for help.
PEOPLE OFFERING HELP MAY BE LOOKING TO MAKE SOME EASY MONEY
If you've arrived at the right place and have spoken to the people at the riad and someone has said they're on their way to meet you, they probably are, so there's also no need to accept help when it's offered.
RULES OF THE ROAD - with pushbikes everywhere, and no helmets on motorbike riders (nor lights on motorbikes), plus babies on motorbikes, trucks, buses, and donkeys, camels, horses, dogs, cats, children, many people blind or with difficulty walking:
Be assertive
Conform to anarchy - everyone expects you to miss them
Be aware of uneven road surfaces
Lots of diversions - not clearly marked
Drivers hoot to warn when they are overtaking but you can be fined for using your horn too much in town
Wear your seat belt or be fined
The road signs are similar to those in the UK
You often have to pay for parking but can't rely on the care of the attendant - one of our wheel trims went missing in Essaouria!
It's not far to the mountains from Marrakesh
If you can, have a car with air conditioning - a pleasant luxury although obviously you can end up using more fuel.

Having returned from Morocco

Having returned from Morocco, I must be honest in saying that I am glad to be back. It rained a lot which was surprising. Driving through the desert along the stark, barren landscape, I was amazed by the shock of rain in a warm climate:

The soil swallows up the water.
The rivers swell but so few plants grow,
Sharp, stunted bushes pepper the landscape
Water pulses through the cracks
along the dry lines of desert,
rocky beds glint under delicate footprints
left by the goats and the sheep and the wild scruffy souls
who watch flocks with care, warning off cars with friendly sticks.

Arriving in Essaouria

We have arrived n Essaouria, about 130 miles west of Marrakech. The road wasn't too bad and once we had got out of the city, the route was fairly straightforward across miles of dry dusty desert, peppered with argan trees and small bushes. I can't believe how many sheep seem to survive on nothing as there is no grass but you often see small herds with their attendant shepherd crossing the spartan terrain.

Essaouria is known as the Windy City and it certainly lives up to its reputation. There are huge waves crashing on the massive beach which is just visible from our rooftop terrace. We've been lucky enough to find a house to rent through Facebook friends. It's a big house with beds for at least six people and it's clean and tidy and beautifully decorated, owned by some english people. Adam really likes it too.

There's something special about renting a house rather than staying in a hotel. you get a degree of freedom and privacy which you can't get in even the best hotel. We ate fresh fish from a stall near the harbour this evening: red snapper, sardines, scampi, prawns and sea bream - all for around a tenner between us (and that was probably expensive) but I, for one, was too tired to go shopping around all the stalls.

I do love Morocco. It's so different to the UK - even though it rained heavily today! Tomorrow I am hoping to ride a camel on the beach (or a horse). I love camels! I rode one in India years ago and really enjoyed it. I know everyone says they are smelly creatures with bad breath but I like them because they seem to have very powerful personalities.

Leaving Marrakesh

So today we are driving to Essaouria. I've enjoyed staying in this riad. The beds are clean and reasonably comfortable, the shower was hot and our room opened out on to the central patio area where there's a small, clean, unheated pool. There's an orange tree outside the door too and last night an old white cat came and sat on my lap for hours. She was friendly and not manky like so many Moroccan cats.

Breakfast has been OK, with bread and jam and pancakes and coffee and fresh orange juice. Friendly people here but hardly any english and "mon francais c'est tres mal."

It's good to visit Morrocco at this time of year as it is fairly cool and there aren't lots of annoying mosquitos. There are lots of birds, big fat sparrows or finches - I'm not sure - although I have watched them through the binoculars...I wish I had a birdbook here! Yesterday I spied a fat kestrel flying above us in the Atlas mountains. I'd like to have seen a leopard but obviously they are very shy and also very rare. In some of the shops in the souks there are animal skins hanging up which is rather depressing (as were the chained monkeys in Al Jeema Fna Square). We might go and get a coffee there now before we head out to the coast - I'm as yet un decided but hey....I better go pack!