Returning from the Holy Land

First and foremost, before the occasional reader of this blog accuses me of being hiddenly biased, I have to say that when Pope Francis is concerned, I'm openly biased: I really like him! And one of the things I like the most about him is that he is able to explain in simple terms what his predecessor have been saying for decades.
When returning from the Holy Land the Pope was questioned by the journalists on board the plane about issues that many (usually not Catholics) consider to be the "thorny" issues of the Church like the celibacy of the priests, paedophilia, communion of the remarried, etc.
To all these questions the Holy Father gave exactly the same answer as his predecessor. But he did so in a way everyone could understand so they understood.
- No celibacy of the priests is not a dogma of the Church and yes it can be changed but why change something that has been working well and brings so many advantages?
- Yes paedophilia is a terrible thing and it hurts the Church as well as the obvious victims, the children and yes priests should be trialed by civil justice. But, of course, anyone, no matter how serious his sins might be, always has a place in Church when trully repenting.
- And yes, couples can have their marriage annulled but also Catholics should start thinking and praying more about what marriage is before getting married.
So in a few minutes Pope Francis managed to explain clearly to Journalists and to Catholics back home (and those non-Catholics who are interested) these "thorny" issues of the Church and made them less thorny. He showed that Catholics worldwide don't shy away from thinking, praying and discussing these issues. Above all that the Church of the Catholics evolves gradually carrying on her mission: to bring God to people and people to God.

Uops!

Are these really the results of the first elections I participated in the UK?!
Not too happy about the results but I promise to do bettter next time.

European elections II

I already voted! I was really excited about it because:
1) I generally love to vote;
2) It was the 1st time I voted in the UK - it made me feel more part of this country;
3) I hadn't voted since 2011 (general elections) and at that time I was living in China and had to vote in the Consulate;
4) I teach EU Law, so this is also a professional thing.
Now differences from voting back home:
1) There were lots of political posters at the entrance of the poling station! Back home that's forbidden: there can't be any political advertisement around the poling station. I think in a radius of some 50m or something like that. I have no idea why it is forbidden, though... It didn't shock me at all seeing the posters there. It also didn't influence me, as I already knew very well who to vote for.
2) There was only one lady at the desk. Back home there is one representative from each party. This made sense after the revolution, when everyone hated everyone and democracy was still consolidating. Nowadays it doesn't make much sense: it's a waste of money and human resources. Just put an honest person there, make that person take an oath and then trust the person, like they do here. Maybe they're afraid not to be able to find enough honest people in the country for all the polling stations...
3) She didn't ask for my ID.  I have no idea how they control if someone takes a few polling cards and votes more than once. I guess that's because British don't have a national ID. If they don't drive nor have a passport, there is no document to prove their identity. This is something I find funny in this country. Now, any British would reply that a national ID is an infringement on one's civil rights and liberties. Some things we, continentals, just have to learn to accept in these islanders. Having no national ID card together with driving on the wrong side and using the imperial measurement systems makes them so happy!

European elections

So, the date for the elections in the UK is tomorrow, right? This question in the end of my previous sentence comes from a certain doubt as to the fact presented before. Is it really tomorrow that we're going to have an election in this country?
The reason for this doubt is that I see nothing on the streets: no billboards, no posters, no people giving out leaflets... Nothing! Also, I was told that in the UK candidates would knock at people's doors. Well, not this person's (I'll need to check this last statement with my flatmates, though)!
Do people here know how important the European Parliament is in our daily lives?
- Right now, a vast majority of EU's legislation needs approval by the EP;
- It is up to the Commission to start the legislative procedure but it's the EP that elects the President of the Commission and approves all the members chosen by him/her;
- The EP also votes on the budget of the EU, which is certainly something that has some influence in our pockets.
Now, there are quite a few different alternative parties in the UK and they mostly disagree on a huge lot of issues related to the EU. So why this apathy when it comes to these elections?

Source: http://www.eucountrylist.com/map.html

Isle of Skye

In four days four friends decided to visit the Isle of Skye. We knew something of what was expecting us, like the Old Man of Storr:

We kind of knew how beautiful the landscape was going to be. But we had to go, photos are not enough to describe this:

And we realized how comfortable and cozy nature can be when we found a valley with running crystal clear water and a waterfall for our daily showers. OK, now it's the time to confess that the daily showers were not the most warm in the world. If anything, they could be among the coldest showers ever endured by human beings. But we endured them!

And after going there I can only recommend a visit!

The tragedy of the comb

Do you see this comb in the picture? Does it look like any regular comb to you? If it does, that's because you're an absolute sane and balanced person. However, this is my only comb and the loss of it this morning led me down a spiral of pessimism, anguish and despair to the point of making me wonder what the less painful and cheapest way to commit suicide could be. OK, I'm being a bit dramatic here but that's just because this is the beginning of this story of sorrow called: THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMB!
When yesterday I was jogging around Arthur's Seat, with the sun in my face, seeing the ducks and swans in the lake, listening to the birds singing, I had no idea how one day later I would be considering suicide due to the loss of a comb. But this is a tragedy in four acts, so let us start with the first act.

Act I

The Bankruptcy

This tragedy starts when I realised that I had gone bankrupt in the UK. OK, not really bankrupt, just out of money in my current account. I still have a savings account but I don't want to touch that one until the end of the PhD... So I tried to transfer money from my Macau account and couldn't because they changed the procedure. Now they will text you a one time code every time one needs to transfer and the text just wouldn't come! I realised with utter distressed that I was a bankrupt man! I would need to cal the bank the next morning (today).

Act II

The Scholarship

It was at the same time that I realised that I was virtually bankrupt in the country of Her British Majesty while having enough money to last me one year in the gambling capital of the world, that I received another tragic financial news. I wasn't going to get a scholarship that I thought was almost sure. That was very frustrating, specially because I lost two days preparing the application.

Act III

The Oranges

So I woke up today with this strange feeling that I only have 80p in this country. As every day, I go to the kitchen to eat an orange when I realised that was my last orange! I would need to buy oranges, but how, if I have only 80p left? Now, the act of eating my morning orange is almost sacred because it's when I say my morning prayer. Today, however, there was no morning prayer, there was just the anguish of being bankrupt and without oranges!

Act IV

The Phone Call

When I lived in Macau, I was totally used to cal the bank. It's not an easy procedure, mind you! You need to wait on hold, need to understand the Chinese accent of the person on the other side of the line and need to know that there will be some complication. However, after almost two years in Edinburgh, I lost this practise. Today it took 7 minutes to be attended, I couldn't understand the lady and they wanted me to remember a phone number I haven't used in 2 years! I finally managed to change my number with the bank but this will take one day to process. Oh stress! Only one thing could save me from mental collapse: one hour in the gym not thinking about my worries.

Act V

The Comb

And that's when the comb comes into the picture! While preparing my bag to the gym, I realised I had lost my comb! Problem 1: it's the only comb I have. Problem 2: I don't have the money to buy a new one. Problem 3: my hair is really long at the moment because I'm waiting to go to Portugal in a couple of weeks to cut it (much cheaper!) so I really need the comb not to look like the beggar I'm about the become. I searched and searched and there was no way to find the comb. I gave up going to the gym and decided to tide my room instead as it was already a vision of hell. Still, no comb! I lift the bed: could only find a book in German from my predecessor in the room. It was by that time that I thought with despair that I couldn't even go to the pharmacy and buy enough pills to commit suicide because a) I have no idea what pills to buy and b) if I had enough money to buy enough pills to kill myself, I would rather buy a comb and oranges instead.

Act VI

The End

Finally I found the comb! It was under the drawer. Probably fell and I kicked it there or something like that. That's when I realised that all my problems would soon be solved. I can just use my Macau card to withdraw money in an ATM that will serve me while the transference doesn't come through. If that doesn't work, the Portuguese card will. If that still doesn´t work, I have good friends in Edinburgh that can lend me money for 4 or 5 days - my flatmate had already proposed that when he saw my utter despair because of the lost comb. And if, worst case scenario, I really can't make the transference from Macau, my savings account here will be enough for 2 months and the payment for my classes will arrive in a week or two. How easier is it to rationalise your problems when you have a comb at hand!