BBC World Service

I had an interesting experience on Tuesday of this week. A very nice journalist at the BBC in Newcastle called Jane kindly suggested me for inclusion on a programme on the BBC World Service. Me? On the subject of international aid which hasn't exactly been my specialist subject to date.

A colleague of hers rang me and asked me some questions to see if I was suitable and decided that I was. Did I agree with international aid during a time of economic difficulty in our own country after Hillary Clinton had pledged about $550,000,000 to Afghanistan when the US is in similar financial dire straits? Not really I said, although I could see the reasons for it. I have a bad habit of seeing both sides of the coin.

So having decided I was appropriate she asked if I would be free between 6 and 7pm. Oh no, I said, my Barre class would begin at 6.30pm and I love going! We agreed that they would ring me between 6.05 and 6.20 when I would be waiting to go into my class.

My daughter and I waited patiently in the car until 6.20 for the phone to ring and came to the conclusion that they had enough people on the programme without me, so got out into the rain and went into the waiting area for our class.

Typical! The phone then rang, I went outside to take the call thinking it would be quieter outside. What was I thinking? It was raining and the traffic was loud, so I had to dash back inside, get my keys and go sit in the car. It was 6.25 by this time and I was following a well-infomed lady from Connecticut who frankly was saying what I had planned to. I basically reiterated what she had said but stressing the concern that we have no control over where our international aid was going to when it left our shores and there were no guarantees that it would reach those who needed it most and that it wouldn't fall into the pockets of corrupt politicians and officials.

An Afghani chap replied saying what I think was that they couldn't guarantee that some of the money wouldn't fall into the wrong hands but would help stabilise the country and prevent another 9/11. At least that is what I grasped from what he said, while his English was vastly superior to my Afghani, I must confess I didn't grasp every nuance of what he was saying.

I summarised my thoughts by saying that if those objectives could be achieved I would not object, and thought the Taliban should be, ooh what was the word I was searching for? Sitting in the car with the rain pounding down, listening to the programme down my iPhone, my vocabulary let me down and said I thought the Taliban should be anihilated!

So if a Fatwa is put out on me, that is why! Do I believe it? Yes I do but the BBC World Service might not have been the most discreet place to say it!