Economics 101

Summer Evenings

Pigeon Fear

I have peristerophobia, a completely irrational, but very strong, fear of pigeons.

Last night I watched the series finale of Modern Family and was not at all happy when the story included a pigeon flying into Mitch & Cam’s house while Mitch was home alone with his baby daughter. Watching the pigeon fly around the house, and how close it was getting to him, was making me FREAK OUT in a more dramatic way than the over-the-top-camp fictional character was. It was absolutely horrendous.
Lately I’ve been more aware than ever of just how scared I am of pigeons, or more specifically of one touching me. The flat that Ian and I live in has a little balcony off our kitchen and during the recent hot weather, when it would have been nice to have some fresh air wafting through, I have left that door shut and locked for fear of a pigeon, or any bird, wandering into the flat, getting trapped and touching me in its flapping panic to get out. I also don’t open windows wider than a couple of inches for fear it would be an invitation for one to hop on in.

The other week I accidentally hit a pigeon with my car when it was flying loopily under a bridge. I could see it coming and because of the traffic had no way of avoiding it, so I shut my eyes and shouted “no, no, no, no, no” when I felt it hit. I pulled over immediately and was cowering in the car on the phone to Marge, panicking, hot, short of breath, crying and screaming at her like a mad woman that I didn’t know where it had landed and that it might be on the roof. I imagined it rolling down onto the windscreen and that I’d have to look at it all the way home or touch it (aaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!) to get it off. She tried to calm me down, but I knew she thought I was insane so I called Ian and told him that in 5 minutes time I would be pulling up to the kitchen door at the restaurant he works at, and that he had to come and check my car to see if there was any pigeon on it before I could get out. I drove there at about 10mph, making sure I didn’t take any sharp turns or brake too suddenly, then when I got there he swore on his life I was all clear, laughed at me and told me that all his colleagues think his sister is demented.

That night it took a couple of serious vodkas before I stopped shaking, and I was traumatised for quite a few days afterwards.

I don’t really know why I’m so scared, I vaguely remember dropping a teeny, tiny, fluffy new chick on the floor at Grandma’s friend’s farm when I was 3 or 4 because it was scratching at my hand and it was TOO WEIRD, and when I was about 13 a pigeon’s wing touched my arm when it flew past which really upset me. But then all of a sudden when I was around 16 I just lost the plot. I can’t sit down on chairs or benches outside in case a sneaky one walks too close to my feet and then needs to fly and ends up getting tangled up about my person. I can’t cope when there’s a pigeon inside a building, even if it’s a massive building like a train station or shopping centre. Naomi once had to drag me out of the Arndale Centre in Manchester because there was a pigeon that was trapped in and trying to get out through the glass door, banging around and completely out of control - I was on the verge of crying and / or doing a little wee through sheer physical terror.

I’m a bit scared of all birds, but my fear of pigeons is the most intense – probably because they’re around more and there’s something about how solid-looking they are and the knowledge that some of them aren’t scared of people that really gets me. Also, I think that just like you get insane people you must get insane pigeons who forget that they’re not supposed to land on humans and peck them / flap on them / claw them.

You can't tell me this isn't horrific.

When I went to Venice with Rachael I kind of ruined her plans because I refused to queue in St Mark’s square to get into the Basilica because it was heaving with hundreds of pigeons that were so used to being fed and petted that they were just landing on people and touching them when they were walking around their feet. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It was such a beautiful place but I couldn’t wait to get out of that square – I was completely pre-occupied by fear.

I agree with most people that it’s a bit funny and a lot pathetic, so I’m going to try and get over it. Maybe I should just get it over and done with and touch one…

NOOOOO!

My Favourite Smells

Ghost perfume, petrol, lavender, honeysuckle, bonfires, Jon Hamm (I imagine), fresh bread and coffee, the air as you get off the plane in a hot country, mop hair products, a hot bath with bath house salts

The weekend is nearly here!

Tomorrow I'm visiting Elanor, one of my top 5 cousins of all time(!)
Last time I saw her we abseiled down the Cunard building.

Then we went for lunch and a big glass of red (or two). This time I think it will mainly just involve the wine...

Happy Weekend!

Happy Birthday Marge & AB!

On a lighter note

It’s lunch time & the sun is shining and for some reason this has reminded me of the enormous salads that Rachael, Naomi and I enjoyed in Corsica last summer. The most typical Corsican salad is the Chevre Chaud au Miele, or warm goats cheese with honey, and it is totally unhealthy and completely delicious – just how I like my salads!

Naomi and Rachael in the Bavella Mountains, Corsica 2009

To make the salad:
· lamb’s lettuce or baby spinach
· fresh goat cheese
· 1 avocado
· 1 large tomato or several small ones
· 2 slices of fresh bread (preferably baguette)
· butter
· honey

For the dressing:
· honey
· dijon mustard
· olive oil
· balsamic vinegar

First slice the bread and toast it in a pan with some butter. When the bread is golden and toasted, add a thick slice of fresh goat cheese on top. Place it under the grill with a low setting so that the cheese softens but doesn’t melt completely.

In a separate bowl, make the dressing by combining a small spoonful of honey with a small spoonful of dijon mustard. Beat with a fork until blended. Then add a splash of balsamic vinegar and blend again. Finally, add a generous amount of olive oil and keep beating the dressing with a fork until it is completely smooth and thick. If the dressing separates, keep adding small amounts of each ingredient until it blends smoothly.

Rinse the salad greens and arrange them on a plate. Distribute the sliced tomatoes evenly on the plate. Add a few slices of avocado. Pour some dressing over the salad. Finally, place a slice of bread with the warm goat cheese in the middle of the place on top of the salad greens. Drizzle with honey and serve.

I don’t think my egg mayonnaise sandwich is quite going to cut it now…

A Serious Issue

This blog is still brand new so I haven't really established the direction or tone of it yet - I imagine that it will mostly be my light-hearted news, wish lists of things I like and photos I’ve taken and want to share. One thing I didn’t plan on sharing are my partially formed opinions about weighty political issues and events that I can’t claim to know much about at all.
That being said I have been very moved by the news this weekend of the Israeli Naval Commando attack on the flotilla carrying aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. The attack and resulting loss of life and serious injury is obviously shocking in itself, but furthermore it has put the spotlight on the severity of the Gaza blockade that has been in place since 2007, and brought it further into the public consciousness.

According to the BBC website the UN agency UNRWA reports that as a result of the blockade 80% of Gazan households rely on some kind of food aid and that when aid is discounted, 70% of Gazan families live on less than a dollar a day per person. People can’t afford to provide for their family, even where items are actually available, because unemployment has soared since 2007 - before the blockade 3,900 industrial premises were operating, employing 35,000 people - by June 2008, and only 90 were still functioning, employing only 860.

This conflict is rooted in thousands of years of murky history and religion, and the things I know about it are a drop in the ocean of all the past events, but I fundamentally believe that the Israeli government should not treat these people, 1.5 million human beings, in such an appallingly inhumane manner.
Regardless of the security issues ongoing in the area, to forcibly deny the ordinary men, women and children who live in the region the necessities to live is unacceptable and our government and the UN should be putting serious pressure on Israel to change its tack. At the very least they should allow the people of Gaza access to clean water, food and medical care as well as allowing them to trade freely and removing their reliance on aid agencies and handouts.
In a 2008 article Chris Guinness of UNRWA was quoted as saying "This is not a humanitarian crisis, This is a political crisis of choice with dire humanitarian consequences." The same article quotes Tony Blair, in his role as Middle East envoy for the Quartet (US, Russia, the UN and the EU) saying "the present situation is not harming Hamas in Gaza but it is harming the people" and that the blockade was reinforcing rather than undermining Hamas’s hold on power.

If the Israeli government can’t bring themselves to remove the blockade simply because it’s the right thing to do, then perhaps they could consider it a political move to stop the inevitable radicalisation of every single Gazan resident if the blockade continues.

As for the attack on the Mavi Marmara, perhaps the most we can hope for is that it was the catalyst for change that is so desperately needed.