April 2004

This is the first evening of the year that I have been able to sit outside and write this column.

The ducks are swimming on my river and my trees and shrubs are opening their leaves.  It feels like a new beginning. I hope so.

I do not believe that the terrorist attack in Madrid was a victory for evil forces. I believe that the Spanish people want to see a government that is honest and democratic. The majority of Spaniards did not want the war on Iraq; their government had no right to go to war against the wishes of the people.

We cannot talk about democracy in the East when we do not respect democracy in the West.

George Bush, if he won his election at all, won it by 4 votes, I doubt that gave him the authority to begin a war that broke International law and violated the sovereignty of another country, however much we dislike that country's regime.

Once we tear up the rulebook, and that is what America and her allies have done, we cannot expect any other country to respect that rulebook. Israel is only following America's example - if you hate someone, go and kill them.

I am hoping that in the forthcoming US elections, the American people, like the Spanish people, will speak out against the sinister forces in the White House. We must all fight Terrorism, but we cannot become terrorists ourselves. We can't bend the rules. We can't ignore the wishes of our people. We can't kill because we hate someone.

Our own elections in the UK next year will be tricky, because we have no credible opposition. America is fortunate enough to have a choice.

Here in the UK we will soon be building a wall around Parliament and spot-searching citizens. We will probably have a terrorist attack very soon, and after that will come ID cards and more surveillance and more fear.  I feel very strongly that we should not give in to the 'new laws' and 'new powers' that will be rushed through. I live near a key airbase, and there is already a law in place that will allow the police to close all the roads around my house, if it is in 'the national interest'.

One will have to conclude that the national interest and our personal interests may soon be quite different.

All right, enough of that - on to ordinary matters
  
You will notice a new Home Page on the site and a great new look (I think) to the layout. We are revising the content, but this will not happen all at once, and we are going to include a whole pile of stuff on the new book next month.

LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING is published in the UK on May 4th, but it won't be available in the States until next year, so if you want an early copy, place your order with Amazon now, or ask your local Internet bookshop to order it for you. It is published by Fourth Estate.

If you like to email the site from time to time, please be aware that as of May, we will be changing our email address. Those of you who have had no reply, pity my assistant Jayne, whose job it is to wade through 100's of junk mails, and who now lives in terror of viruses etc. I mean, how many cheap drugs and penis extensions does anybody need?

In May we will give out our new details, and we will post the JW tour schedule on the site. I shall be up and the UK, so there's a good chance of us meeting at some bookshop or festival, and I hope you'll come along and get your book signed. I love signed books, and I love signing books. It feels direct and connected, and nobody can ever guess who are their readers, until we see them.

I am nervous about LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING. Writing books is hard enough, but publishing them is terrifying. People take it personally when they don't enjoy one of my books, (or any of them), and somewhere they feel that my failure to please them makes me a BAD PERSON. So, if you end up not liking LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING, please remember that I have my good points too.

Oh yeah, like what? Well, I only produce one small bag of rubbish per week, instead of the average 9kilos, and I only buy organic, local, and Fair Trade. My animals are content and my godchildren love me. (Maybe because I just took them to LION KING). I have planted 68 trees in the last year, and remembered all of my friends' birthdays.

Ok, so it's not much, and if we start on my shortcomings, this column will turn into a daily Blog. But what I mean is, I have done my best with LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING.

Expect a long extract next month. Meanwhile, if you click on the SEAHORSE, here or on the Home Page, you will get a very short very beginning.

This month marks 40 years of BBC drama, and as a special event, the BBC will show a landmark drama from every year since 1964. ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT will be shown for 1990. Check the Radio Times or the BBC website www.BBC.co.uk for details of showing times.

I feel like Dante - midway through my life and feeling how precious it is. All the more reason to stand up for what we believe in, and never to lie about words like 'freedom', 'truth', 'love',
  
Till next month... xx