Commonwealth Games, Glasgow 2014, racism, Gaza, everything

Rant alert...

Last Monday 4 of us did the trip from Borrowdale where we were staying up to Glasgow for an evening of athletics at Hampden Park, Glasgow. This was for C's benefit, this being her celebratory "retirement/birthday" family holiday.

The park-and-ride car park was about 30 minutes from the ground and then we were kept waiting, hungry and thirsty, in a very un-Scottish sun for well over an hour outside the ground. (When we got home on Saturday we had a voicemail to say the start had been delayed for 30 minutes. Thanks!) Inside the ground the choice of food was poor, you couldn't even get a coke, and the only beer available was a small Heineken at £4.50.

I didn't find the events we saw particularly interesting, but you have to applaud the skill and physicality of the competitors.

The worst part was standing for the national anthems during the medal ceremonies. For as long as I can remember I've been deeply unsettled by the experience of standing for the National Anthem and doing the same for the official tunes of other countries does not feel any better. I can't help the feeling that patriotism is a short stone's throw from nationalism, which is nothing but a couple of short stone's throws from racism, fascism, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and whatever you want to call the attitude of the Israeli government and many of its people to the other races who share their part of the world.

And if anyone else (yes, Jon Voight) accuses people who dare to criticise the Israeli government (or for that matter people who oppose the ritual mutilation of male babies - Tanya Gold that's you - just because circumcision isn't as barbaric as fgm doesn't make it OK!) of being anti-Semitic I shall explode. Not in a nice way.

To anyone remotely impartial Israel is a colonising state which has illegally occupied and populated neighbouring territory and subjugated its people; small wonder that some of them react adversely. Where are the trade sanctions applied when other countries do this? Instead it's 'Oh you've used up some shells - here have some more'.

And while I'm ranting ...the Hamas leadership. It has been said that madness is "trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome". The discriminate lobbing of missiles into a neighbouring, hugely militarised power and other attacks on its civilians, is always going to end in disaster for the people they are supposed to be leading. Over and over again. Try something different!

Rant over. It's probably best not to watch the News or read a newspaper. Makes for a less angry life.