"And we'll change the world"

It's gone pretty much unnoticed in the UK - and in many ways it's understandable; there are maybe bigger things going on over here right now, and in any case, who's bothered about Canada? - but the recent passing of Canadian politician Jack Layton merits perhaps a little more coverage than has been evident in our media so far.

Plumbers needed

Browsing a bit of Facebook today, I came across a remark from Attila the Stockbroker - fine poet and modern-day troubadour that he is - about the Libyan situation:

I'm a mammal!

So we've had, what, two-and-a-bit days of continued sunshine and warmth so far?

Far too much. So far as I'm concerned, you may keep it. I am a man who craves the crisp, snapping cold of an early winter morning, possibly the dank coolness of a damp autumn evening. Even a drizzly June afternoon, grey and miserable and heavy with the disappointment of a summer lost, is preferable to this sapping heat and close, oppressive humidity.