Thumper

This is a piece of calcified chalk from down near the wave cut platform in the bay. It was chucked up onto the prom by the recent waves. That is pretty good chucking by my book.

It didn't land on the guard-rail post. I put it there.

I could have posted more low level sun and the reduced waves on the beach. Or high level shots from the cliffs. But for some reason I chose this one.

The gas guys are having a whale of a time. Tearing their hair out. I met up with them as they tried to fit a new supply to a house with a really steep terraced garden (tennis court, olives trees - you get the picture?).

They were having to drive a new pipeway with their ingenious 'mole' - -a  pneumatic thing that buries itself in the ground and drives in a straight line. It was amazing to see it hit the previous hole drilled out from under one of the terraces' retaining walls.

I ran over to John later and opened the first window on his chocolate advent calendar. He didn't seem particularly impressed. Although he enjoyed the chocolate.

I've been trying to make sense of extending the bombing campaign to Syria amidst the brew-ha-ha within the Labour Party. Seems to me you either have to campaign against the UK's ops in Iraq and refuelling and intelligence in Syria or get behind the extension into Syria.

I'm reluctantly for the latter with all the very considerable reservations. But otherwise it feels like hypocrisy letting the US carry the burden (they are doing 95% of the strikes although 75% of these don't drop ordinance according to John McCain due to target scarcity and justifiable fear of 'collateral damage'. The airwars.com site is very good on numbers and locations of airstrikes in Syria and Irag and civilian casualties.) The absence of an exit strategy is worrying and the last thing I want is for Assad's forces or his Iranian or Russian allies to be strengthened in any way. Lots of tweets on my feed at @FergusMMurray.

Off to Oxford tomorrow (round the southern M25 oh joy) to see my mum who had a fall last week.