Matters of moment...

Leading the BBC One News tonight, Tony Blair's interrogation at the Iraq Inquiry about his support for the  invasion. In a town cafe today, as I warmed myself with tomato soup, I overheard a conversation about this issue in which the woman described Blair as 'slimy'. Days ago, I was made aware, in conversation with Niki on the flight over, of how much more this issue touches the people here than it does us in New Zealand. She talked of the small town support for soldiers returning from Iraq - which interested me given what I understood to be the unpopularity of the war. And right now the TV news has turned to the repatriation of another soldier killed in Iraq, the distress of people in his home town and the presence of royalty (Charles and Camilla) to pay their respects. There is a lot of bitterness about the invasion and ongoing war in Afghanistan.