One more for the Road...

Whilst descending an escalator the other day, I noticed a sign which said :"Most accidents happen through loss of balance."
This was presumably intended as a warning for anyone on the escalator, but it struck me that the same is true in any sphere. The old adage that when you start believing your own PR you are already in trouble supports the thesis, and, arguably, the financial meltdown we have all been experiencing represents a collective, massive loss of balance.
The Edinburgh architectural practice that has hired Sir Fred Goodwin has either lost it's marbles and balance or has just scooped the most massive coup. According to all reports I have read it is the former, but I seriously suggested to a colleague recently that we could do much worse than hire Fred. He looked at me as if I had two heads. As you know, this happens quite frequently to me.
It was suggested I had been on the Buckie, better known as Buckfast, which is a fortified wine that seems to contain massive doses of caffeine - about 5 coffees per glass.
The report in the Herald today has some gems about this most revered of down-and-outs drink.
For instance, it accounts for 0.5% of all alcohol sales in Scotland ( mostly around Glasgow) yet would appear to be a factor in a very much higher incidence of violence. Over 5000 crime reports in the last year have mentioned it, and a Buckfast bottle has been used as a weapon in more than 114 cases. This far outstrips any other bottle as a weapon - you might almost say it is the weapon of choice among a certain section of society.
So today has had a sort of surreal aspect so far, and my mind is full of cowboys drawing their Buckfast bottles at the OK Corral...
As Alin would say, We shall see....