I read a report yesterday which I thought had been lifted straight out the pages of the comic book world – the scientists that maintain the Doomsday Clock are thinking of moving the minute arm to 2 minutes to midnight. Midnight of course is when the world comes to an unceremonious end. The argument is that with all the expansion of nuclear weapons, climate change and general uncertainty we are back to the height of the cold war. I have to say I think this is nonsense for two reasons: Firstly whilst the threat of nuclear annihilation is still there it doesn’t feel anything like as real as during the cold war and secondly we humans have a track record of surviving – after all the Doomsday clock has been set at near to midnight for the whole time it has existed yet here I am calling into question the whole notion of the doom and gloom implied by the clock.
Which in a strange way brings me to my back. Over the past fortnight it has been giving me hell but I’m glad to say it seems to be getting a little better. During that fortnight there have been times when I thought that the end was nigh (over exaggeration I think!) yet experience has taught me that things will slowly get better and I will survive for another day. Which, in a small way, is the same with life – we all have periods when things seem really bad but eventually things start to pick up and get back to an even keel or am I just being too optimistic and the world, along with my back, is going to hell in a hand cart? What a strange thought to start the day with.