BBC World Service

I have had impossible internet connection for the last couple of days – therefore  have not yet been able to boast about my appearance on the BBC World Service’s radio  programme ‘Have your Say’ Tuesday  morning.  I was awoken from my slumber by someone calling from London saying that they had been reading my blog and wanted to know if I could take part in a panel discussion about the Mali situation, which would coincide with Tuesday’s big meeting in Brussels about Mali’s future. ‘Well I am not much good at this sort of thing’ I said. I am likely to freeze if I think I am talking alive to the whole world! Oh, but it is not the whole world, said the producer, it is only 200 000 000!

I agreed to take part..

 I am particularly  happy that I got the last say, just a minute from the end of the programme when I managed  to object to the BBC’s Mark Doyle’s  comment that ‘Mali now wants training for its Army in order to be able to ‘crush the North’ or something similar. I said that I didn’t think it was unreasonable for Mali to want a well trained army, and that it was  in order to be able to defend itself against possible future attacks from Jihadists, not to ‘crush the north’! I very nearly got an apology out of him! Anyway, it was fun...

And yesterday the air rather went out of the balloon- or the football!- for Mali as their team was defeated 4-1 by Nigeria in the semi final of the African Cup...