Red Snapper9

Here we go with my new blog - my chance to reflect on some of the things that are important to me.

AT this time of the year I love getting out into the countryside to photograph different types of fungi. I have a friend who loves to pick and eat wild fungi even if she isn’t sure what it is. I, on the other hand wouldn’t even touch any of it let alone eat it. This made me think about taking risks and why some of us are inveterate risk takers whilst others, like me, do everything we can to avoid taking risks. The biggest risk I take these days is crossing the road. I guess it must have something to do with fear of failure and discomfort at unforeseen consequences.

Putting yourself forward as a potential candidate for election, particularly at a Parliamentary level, is pretty much of a risk and I really admire people who are prepared to put themselves on the line and face the risk of losing. But the risks we take in politics are nothing compared to the risks that some people take in the course of their work. Journalists who work in war zones for example, risk their lives every day. Like Anna Politikovskaya, the US-born Russian journalist who was brutally murdered, shot to death in her apartment on 7 October in what is believed to have been a contract killing. She was outspoken in her criticism of the Chechin conflict and the Putin administration . She risked her life because she believed that what she had to say needed to be heard, and that must surely be an example to us all. In all the publicity about the dreadful circumstances surrounding the death of Alexander Litvinenko let's not forget the courage and commitment shown by Anna throughout her career as a journalist. Her death was just as tragic.