It's not easy

Lionel Shriver's strange column, volume two. She doubts Tony Blair's ability to stand up to terrorists, in light of concessions made toward terrorists in Northern Ireland. It's a complicated issue, and perhaps she draws parallels too quickly. I think when you have to live with people who harbour some legitimate grievences against you, compromise is necessary if you want to move out of the Dark Ages. In Italy, ignorant people engage in print warfare. It's drawn parallels to this story, as Theo Van Gogh's murderer goes on trial in Holland. There is no black and white anymore, no room for sweeping statements. Living together has become unbelievably complicated and requires an open mind.

I enjoyed "The Dialectic of Fat" from Ms. The article talks about the centrality of women's weight to her identity, double standards, fat as a feminist issue and the new globalisation of eating disorders. I find it so interesting to look at the way Western media has affected women's body images internationally. It's sometimes difficult to strike a balance between these feminist fat acceptance ideas, and the fact they could be seen as excuses to be unhealthy. I think the former is more important. The article mentions the amount of time women spend at the gym these days, and how many of these women really are seeking health over thinness. It's an absolute fixation for most women I know, regardless of what they actually weigh, and really there are so many more important things to worry about.

Found The Gates of Ivory by Margaret Drabble today in a used bookshop. It's the final book of the Radiant Way trilogy, the first of which was absolutely brilliant and the second (A Natural Curiousity) which I enjoyed. I've never seen it used (or new- it's out of print now) and the spine wasn't even cracked. So now I have all the Drabbles except "The Red Queen" which isn't in paperback yet anyway. And we saw Dr Barnardo's Children tonight. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen, so moving and entertaining. It's such an important story and was told in such an honest way. We also went to our wedding reception venue to check it out and it was lovely. Tomorrow we're renting a sander to get ready to repaint some furniture for our new apartment and selecting flowers for the wedding, and perhaps going for a ride on our boat on Clear Lake.