Bali Bombing 2002

On Oct 12th 2002 a suicide bomber inside the nightclub Paddy's Pub detonated a bomb in his backpack, causing many patrons, with or without injuries, to immediately flee into the street.
Fifteen seconds later, a second and much more powerful car bomb was detonated by another suicide bomber outside the Sari Club, located opposite Paddy's Pub. Damage to the densely populated residential and commercial district was immense, destroying neighbouring buildings and shattering windows several blocks away. The car bomb explosion left a one meter deep crater.
The local Sanglah hospital was ill-equipped to deal with the scale of the disaster and was overwhelmed with the number of injured, particularly burn victims. There were so many people injured by the explosion that some of the injured had to be placed in hotel pools near the explosion site to ease the pain of their burns.
Many of the injured were flown to the relatively close proximity of Darwin and Perth for specialist burns treatment. The final death toll was 202, mainly comprising Western tourists and holiday-makers in their 20s and 30s who were in or near Paddy's Pub or the Sari Club, but also including many Balinese Indonesians working or living nearby, or simply passing by.
Hundreds more people suffered horrific burns and other injuries. The largest group among those killed were holidayers from AUSTRALIA with 88 fatalities.

In 2002 I wrote this song.

FAR TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Chorus They came from the land down under They went to Bali just to play ay
They came from the land down under But now some of them are there to stay

It was a Saturday night there in Bali
Paddys Bar was packed with people all around
When the first bomb went off and then another
If you lived you'd never forget that dreadful sound Ch

The Sarie Club was also stacked with Aussies
There was Michael Steven Brendan Sue and Sally
They were all young Australians having fun
But it all ended so cruelly in Bali Ch

There were Aussie Rules players in the corner
There were surfers and soccer players by the door
But little did they know that night in Bali
Was going to be the last goal they'd ever score Ch

We'd read about the Jew and Arabs in Palestine
We'd heard Paisley in Belfast and the Pope in Rome
We'd seen on the telly Bagdad, Kabul and Bosnia
But Indonesia was far too close to home Ch
DOUBLE

For more info see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/asia_pacific/2002/bali/default.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bali_bombing

Roman Aqueduct Segovia Spain

I will never forget the feeling as I drove into Segovia and was immediately confronted with the magnificent aqueduct. The photograph was taken 25 years ago and I discoverd it on a contact sheet which I was able to enlarge and colour. The original was black and white. Well worth a visit and close to Madrid.

Bullfight Rejoneadore

When I lived in Spain, I was fortunate enough to be taken to a bull fight by an affectionado who explained in enough detail what was going on. I know Hemingway had written enough about the subject but he was an American and (I have found) that Americans often see things from a different point of view. Well, I am not going to help you make up your mind here but before you decide, at least listen to both sides. Perhaps when you see the whole event as a pagent it is easier to understand the event. (My american friend seemed unpopular when in his own words he rooted for the bull!) It is not meant to be a fair fight. If the crowd feel that the bull is too small or the horns are too short, then they let their feelings be known and the presidente of the corrida will signal and a herd of cows are brought in. This calms the bull and he is eventually led away in some disgrace (not that he cares). You can imagine what happens to him then but he is certainly not allowed to enjoy himself with the cows.

It can be really exciting when the whole fight is performed while riding a horse. The rejoneadore has a selection of horses at his disposal and he uses them expertly to entice the bull to charge. I did witness an event when the horse froze (well who would blame him) and the bull dutifully tossed him (and his rider)on their respective rear ends. The adrenaline surge of this event was the biggest I have ever experienced. If you are interested, see the following site.
http://www.flamencoshop.com/bullfight/picador.htm

"Look Closer SEE ME!"

In the late 70's, I worked for a Hospital Equipment Company in Birmingham England. My colleague, Mike Dunnett, claimed he found the following in a hospital locker.
He wrote this explanation.....

(Found 10 years ago in the hospital locker of an old woman who had just passed away.)


"What do you see, nurse, who do you see?
What are you thinking.... when you look at me:
A crabbed old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes,

Who seems not to notice the things that you do,
And always is losing a stocking or shoe."
Is that what you're thinking? Is that who you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, you're not seeing me.

I'll say who I am as I sit here so still
As I move at your bidding and eat at your will.
Inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells
And now and again my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain
And I'm loving and living life over again.

I think of the years, all too few, gone too fast
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, nurse.... open and see,
Not a crabbed old woman .... look closer, SEE ME!