You know what I mean…Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine…the list just goes on and on. And that is before we mention Ebola and global warming.

William PooleySo…here is my modest, random, idiosyncratic attempt to cheer up the world – or at least those of you who read my blog!

  1. Nurse William Pooley – not just a thoroughly descent man, but someone we can all be proud of, who insisted on treating Ebola patients, knowing the risk.
  2. The British public who took the arrival of someone infected with Ebola in their stride – in contrast to some hysterical US reaction suggesting Ebola victims should not be brought into America for treatment.
  3. Apartheid – the curse many thought would last for years – has been defeated.
  4. China and India, once considered economic basket-cases, now almost rule world manufacturing, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty.
  5. France and Germany fought each other three times in 75 years, losing 58 million people between 1870 and 1945 – now they live as peaceful neighbours.
  6. Many more girls now have the chance of going to school in the developing world, and having a better future, even if far too many are still denied education.
  7. At the Commonwealth games in Glasgow ordinary men and women donated £5 million to the children’s charity, Unicef by texting.
  8. British rivers are now so clean otters have returned to areas they have been absent from for years. The magnificent red kites, have been successfully reintroduced  and there are  more forests than at any time since Richard the Lionheart ruled Britain.
  9. We are ever so close to ridding mankind of polio – with a new form of vaccination. Just one more shove!
  10. No asteroid has collided with our planet – recently.

Any other suggestions?

Martin