Sunday Papers

Sunday, day of rest, day of worship, day of reading papers. I read mine online. This is convenient to me because to have the Guardian specially flown in would cost a fortune, but mostly because I just prefer reading online.
I admit, there used to be something exciting about going downstairs and picking up the huge Sunday paper with all its inserts from the doormat, but then the whole bloody thing was annoying too.
I also enjoy doing the paper's crossword online, you never have to leave it half finished because you can always worry away at the words trying different patterns of letters, different vowels until the thing is complete. Yesterday we learned the word 'Dugong' a kind of sea-mammal. Fabulous.

Two stories have interested me in particular this week. No, not Paul McCartney annoying the seal-clubbers.
The first one is an article by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, gleeful that 25 Macdonalds so-called restaurants are closing in Britain, he asks whether this is a turning point for British eating habits. This is an engaging article and Hugh covers everything in it, what this might mean for our health and indentifying some of the people who should be given a pat on the back for changing the nation's eating habits, including the two Davids against the Goliath of the Macdonald corporation in the McLibel case of a few years back. Britons have never been known for their own great cuisine, although no-one does fish and chips quite like us, but we know a thing or two about other people's. Sadly, we're also the nation that gave the world the deep-fried mars bar, oh well.

The second story is the one about Peter Lewis a city trader who was dismissed by his employer, HSBC for sexual harassment and who is now suing them. The Graun seems to be a little light on details about why he was dismissed in the first place. They say he was sacked for ogling a male colleague in the gym. They later refer to the incident as 'a glance'. This is downright bizarre. Surely there must be more to it than that. Don't people go to the gym to be ogled? How can you tell when someone glances at you that they are ogling?
Many years ago when I was young enough to have men whistle at me and at a time when they didn't get the sack for doing so, it was fucking annoying to be walking down the street and have builders pay you loud attention instead of doing their jobs. It was in fact, intimidating.
Even recently, walking with my daughter and suddenly being aware of heads turning and comments being made I realised once again how irritating it is to not be able to simply go about your business without being 'ogled'.
But in the gym, a glance, behave.
I will follow this one with interest, I'm fairly sure that new details will emerge, but whatever happens, there's going to be big fallout and it's a case where the very discussion of the issues are worth airing.