From the terraces of Radovljica

It is just 10 am Monday morning. The village clock has chimed the hour and shortly we will take the train into Ljubljana before connecting to another train south towards Croatia and the Adriatic sea. Yvonne has headed off to find a few of those outdated things called postcards to send to various friends and family. So I am sitting on a huge outside balcony of the gastolina overlooking Radovljica and across the valley to the mountains beyond.

A good time to record some observations perhaps?

At one level, we are slaves to our own cultures and exposed to the media that surrounds our lives. For over 2 weeks now and since we have been in Europe, CNN is almost 24 hours a day on an oil spill which seems to be vitally important for the whole world. Do I really need constant commentary and a live video feed of the problem? Seems just a bit over dramatic for the world's biggest resource user and biggest polluter to be so focussed on this event when we know that similar oil leaks have been happening for years in the developing world? Nigeria is a complete mess and the US gets almost 40% of its oil from there. The leaks there are just as big as the BP one, peoples' lives have been wrecked and most of the world does not seem to care.

BBC has psychologists analysing the English football team after the draw against the US and the the goal keeper seems to be traumatised. Apparently his wearing a green jumper was also part of the problem. The BP situation is a concern with the BBC too, especially with Obama seeming to be blaming BP in particular and UK industry as whole for his own political troubles. BP dividends and therefore UK pension funds are also highlighted.

Australia is concerned about a football disgrace it seems and the politics of a Government, or better, a one man show, making a mess of the world's best economy is a continual focus. Management, leadership and operational skills with the Rudd government are at last being publicly discussed it seems. Talk about kicking our own goal. Rudd and cohorts have failed followers almost at every turn. So will they survive the year?

And here in Radovljica, life goes on, seemingly without much concern for the Grand Alliance. The gostilna staff are cleaning as guests depart. Yvonne and her new friend Katalina have exchanged gifts and promises on embroidery and Yvonne is rightly feeling pleased with herself despite language difficulties in cultivating the friendship.

Finally, Randall has his wi-fi connection and cursing the fact that today is a public holiday again in Australia and the market is closed so that he cannot get a stock price fix. Not that he has the decision making guts to change his portfolio today.

So he downloads another hundred or so photos from Yvonne's camera, completes a few blogs and posts them, updates the ipods with the latest ABC podcasts so we can be wired up with whatever subject we have taken a liking too whilst on the trains before checking banking details and payments etc.

That leaves one or two emails to deal with. Perhaps skype might get a thrash when Yvonne returns.