See how they run...

Nearly 12,000 people with nothing better to do were running around Dublin today.

They call it the Dublin Marathon, and most of the runners taking part have not the slightest clue what the name means and where it comes from. They are just happy to run 26.2 miles and exhaust themselves once a year.

They have no idea that the first Marathon was run by only one man, a messenger, who ran from the battlefield at Marathon in Greece to the city of Athens to bring the news that their army had just won a huge victory against their arch enemy, the Persian Empire. And they also don't know that the runner collapsed and died shortly after delivering his message.

Maybe human beings are not meant to run 26.2 miles in one go.

But now it's a popular fashion and thousands do it every year, with no connection to the historic event, and no understanding what they are actually doing. The Jones' are running, so we have to run as well. What's the point?

Oh yes, I almost forgot, it's all "for charity". That's alright then, yes? We torture our bodies in a way it is not prepared for, so some more lazy gaffers will give us a few Euros for it...?

We must be totally mad. If people want to donate money to charity, they can do it any time and very easily, without thousands of sports freaks running around, blocking Dublin city for a whole morning and making a show of themselves.

And not enough with that, some really silly buggers are running the Marathon in stupid outfits or awkward costumes. Those idiots should really be rounded up and put into a lunatic asylum. Then they can run around all day wearing silly costumes, and no-one is bothered.

If you want to know why this country is in a crisis and running out of money as well as common sense, just look at events like the Dublin Marathon and you have your answer. We have become brainless lemmings, running blindly after something or someone who tells us it's fashionable. It may be a Marathon today, or a housing bubble tomorrow, and the need for more holidays or a new SUV next week. We no longer think for ourselves and just follow whatever is advertised as "the thing to do".

When the original runner from Marathon delivered his message in Athens, he collapsed and died. And when the lemmings reach the coast, they jump over the cliffs and die as well. What a great way to live our lives... I hope you enjoy the Bank Holiday.

Easy Riders

While Elizabeth Windsor is learning all about Google, her two
grandsons William and Harry are enjoying themselves with
two motorbikes on a 1000-mile tour across South Africa.
For the two Lieutenants of the British Household Cavalry this
is a nice adventure holiday, but officially they are doing it - as
a press release says - "for charity". It seems that whatever a
member of their family does is always "for charity", but hardly
ever do we know what kind of charity their fun is actually for.

In this case it is probably irrelevant, as - according to South
African media reports - the costs of providing "security" for
the two precious young men are much higher than the money
they raise for charity from their cross-country motorbike ride.
Some Royal charity, indeed!