There is a real chill in the morning air now, the walnuts have dropped most of their leaves and the millipedes are all over the house, climbing walls and crawling across floors, not to be trodden on; it’s that time of the year. It must have been this time last year that I looked up millipedes to find out (a) why they come inside in the first place and (b) what they eat? Whatever I learned I’ve forgotten. It’s just as well the central heating boiler was serviced yesterday though the clothes dryer is out of action which is not good for coming wintry weather. And it would seem I’ve caught the first cold of the year.
I see in “Headlines Today” that in Thailand 8000 volunteers took part in a trial for an HIV vaccine. This means that 8000 people had unprotected sex and naturally some of them became infected and there are evidently now grave doubts about the efficacy of the vaccine anyway. I realise the 8000 were volunteers and probably enjoyed it all while it lasted, but what kind of morality or scientific justification is it that puts them at such a risk and how do those who ended up contracting the virus feel about their participation now? It really is a queer old world. Al-queda started as fanatical militancy towards the west, particularly I suppose the USA, but now they and the Taliban have been creating merry hell in Pakistan, a Muslim country. Sooner or later I suppose it was inevitable they would be at each others throats as are the Sunni Muslims and the Shias in Afghanistan. As bad if not worse as Catholic versus Protestant. Tribal loyalties seem to enter the equation as well as religion and who knows whether tribal loyalties will ever die out. Fat chance I reckon.
I see also on the news that a woman in Manhattan is suing the management of her apartment block and Madonna because ever since the latter moved in she has had to move out whenever they have a rehearsal or jam session, (good old-fashioned expression that) which is evidently pretty frequent, because of the noise. She is suing the management because they have done nothing about her complaints. I know very well how she feels and she has all my sympathy. When we bought the house in Farleigh Road, Stoke Newington, the house on one side owned by a housing association was occupied by West Indians who partied all night long and what one got in the bedroom was the thud thud thud of the bass reverberating through the wall. It drove us mad. In fact I don’t think I’m exaggerating if I say it almost turned us into nervous wrecks. No amount of complaints to the housing association brought relief and if any night the police were called the noise would stop for half an hour, just time for the police to come and go, before starting up again. Naturally these nightly shenanigans were not just house parties. They were running what was virtually a nightclub next door. When I went in one morning to remonstrate I was proudly shown speakers large enough to have done duty in the Albert Hall. The problem with terraced Victorian houses is that they were not built for noise. On the other side was a charming West Indian couple who ate their supper in the kitchen at the rear of the house while watching television which was on at the front. Naturally the volume was on full blast but when we mentioned it to them they did turn it down. Even someone vacuum cleaning could be heard through the walls loud and clear. We had double glazing fitted that stopped the noise from the street but had the effect of enhancing the noises from within.
Natural street noises at night one can get used to. I got used to New York which must be the noisiest city in the world from dusk to dawn and back again and I get used to the traffic outside the flat in Athens very quickly but that thud thud thud in Farleigh Road was more than our hearts could bear. Anyway it came to a head one night when a shaking bruised and bleeding African girl came climbing over our garden wall seeking sanctuary. She had obviously been beaten and was scared out of her wits. We took her in, called the police and very soon after that the noisy West Indians were removed. That made room for the builders which is another story altogether!