New Year's Resolutions

No 1: I am gonna be the Howard Hughes of Hodgkin's disease. Yup -no more going out to restaurants, shops, etc. I followed medical advice to lead as normal a life as possible. And what did it do to me? It made me Mr Hot Water Bag on three horrible occasions. I can't take this temperature yo-yo-ing anymore. So my incarceration begins today. I might not quite wear tissue boxes on my feet like Mr Hughes did to keep germs away but I have gotta do something. Cambridge will miss my spending power...

No 2: Iraq and new labour. What did they do to me? I can't take their criminal distortions anymore and I have to reaffirm my faith in things. So 2005, cancer permitting, I have got to do my bit for some of the things we value: honesty, decency, beauty, truth, e/quality, compassion, liberty, peace. Arundathi Roy put it "innocently" and strikingly a few years ago:

To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand.

I will start by designing a "Hang Blair" poster.