If further proof of my reverse Midas touch were necessary, my earlier mention of earthquake shelters came back to haunt me.  I was awake at the time, and the feeling was unmistakeable (I recall from the simulator at the Science Museum) and far more distressing than my previous seismic experience.  Leaping out of bed, by the time I had decided which of the concrete beams looked least likely to tumble, it had finished.  I am devoid of window sills, so could not follow the Jodie Foster shelter plan.  It has been difficult to find out details from the official news agencies, but I gather the epicentre was about 150 miles away.  Close enough to knock out the electricity and phone lines for a bit that day, but we didn't experience any after shocks.  It was in the same area as the 2008 earthquake, but seems to have been far less destructive.  I've been attempting to find somewhere to donate blood, but either it is not the done thing, or my decadent capitalist O+ is not welcome.  I was thankful the incident didn't occur the previous weekend as I was about 80 miles closer to Ya'an.

I assume that someone has blamed the gays, but it did occur to me that the earth's crust might be reacting to the beatification of Margaret Thatcher, or the revelations about Rolf Harris.  I was explaining the scandal to an artist here who said that he looked a bit like a weirdo.  I felt it best to preserve their innocence and not show any pictures of Jimmy Savile, fearful of what it would do to the unexpectant mind, and not wanting to pollute my browser history.

In what I can only imagine was a traumatic response to the earthquake, I discovered a woman singing Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' in Chinese whilst making ravioli-type dumplings.  I trust the international community will rally round so that this phenomenon does not spread.