Thursday 26 November

First of all, happy Thanksgiving to all the folks in the States. Here in Lewis, Thanksgiving is also celebrated: it is the only place in the United Kingdom to observe this religious festival in November. Elsewhere, a harvest festival is celebrated in September. Other than the religious link, I don't think there is much in common with the American holiday.

The weather today is nice and sunny - at the moment - although the radar is showing some light showers out in the Atlantic which are headed our way. I've just filled up the bird feeders, which are being emptied at a phenomenal rate. November is nearly over, and the temperature is slowly declining: a max of 9C / 48F today.

I have been sending out Google Wave invites; still got 4 in hand, so anyone who is interested please email me on adb422006 [at] gmail [dot] com.

Over in the States, there is a huge debate going on about the funding of health care. It is an issue that naturally interests me. Having read journals over the past 3 or 4 years, the problem has become quite graphically illustrated to me. Today, I posted an entry on Call for Support for Christina - and if you read her entry, you'll see the point I'm making. It is atrocious that any person combating cancer or any other major disease has to worry about money to fund their treatment. That should be taken care of through taxation or the equivalent of national insurance contributions, or even private health care insurance, to such an extent that you don't have to worry by the time you need health care.