Le Park

Here we are, finally, in Richmond Park which is only a short walk from our house. For those in the know, during King Edward's reign (1272-1307) the area was known as the Manor of Sheen - hence, we live in East Sheen but otherwise there is no Sheen. The name changed to Richmond during Henry VII's rein. In 1625 Charles I brought his court to Richmond Palace to escape the plague in London and turned it into a park for red and fallow deer. His decision, in 1637, to enclose the land was not popular with the local residents, but he did. graciously, allow pedestrians the right of way. To this day the walls remain while Richmond remains London's largest Royal Park and the UK's smallest National Park. For scale, it is about 3X the size of Central Park. On a clear day, one can see St Paul's ten miles away. In fact this is a protected view and no building may come between King Henry's Mound,. the highest point of the park, and the cathedral.

Prime Minister (I have to say that again) Prime Minister David Cameron comes out swinging this morning by noting that the budget crisis much worse than expected - about £250B vs. £160B - and the cheerful 3% growth forecast supplied by de-throned Labour will be cut in half. The PM prepares us for the slash-and-burn suggesting, as an aside, that the British way of life might come to an end. Yawn. What we observe here, folks, is politics 101: prepare everybody for the worst, blame one's predecessor for the mess, loudly denounce a few unions then business-as-usual. I sure hope I am wrong as Greece offers the reality-show which could be coming to a UK station. I discussed this with some smart financial dudes the other day who note: It has not hurt Iceland. Sure, they cannot go on vacation outside of Iceland, poor guys, but everybody is eating. What's the big deal? And the US? Fellas buying more greenbacks thanks to the Euro's recent collapse. Despite $12T of national debt, Uncle Sam the safest bet in town. Yes, Reagan's wonderful legacy: deficits? What, me worry? Well, the Big Hurt is coming, one way or the other.

Me, sternly: "Stop comparing everything to your brother."

Madeleine: "You would never say that to Eitan!"