About three years ago I got a tattoo on my arm in tibetan sanskrit saying "love, compassion and the aspiration for enlightenement". As I have been getting more and more cynical I have wondered whether I still believe in that or not......

Then the other day i was cycling to work at 7am, past the grey people at the train station waiting in the rain in their suits. As the rain soaks through my shorts I become comfortable and begin to accept the situation - after all, it's only water. I cycled past the mile-long queues of cars with their engines running, trying not to inhale their poisonous fumes too much. Then, as I reached an open stretch of road, and increased the pressure I felt the most at peace I think I ever have. Maybe I do still believe in it after all.

I'm dressing as a bat at halloween.

Beard