We waved goodbye to DM’s folks this afternoon then donned our boots and did a four mile walk, trying to walk off the feeling that the next round of rotten stuff is coming. I love this spot. I know the photo is looking at something in the near distance but it’s the outward view from this point that’s really amazing but it’s almost impossible to do justice to in a photo.

We talked while we walked and came to the conclusion that, having seen “democracy in action” recently, we are now more convinced than ever that it’s a very shabby affair, fraught with one or more of the following: stupidity, corruption or pure pig-headedness. We’re incredibly frustrated by that. That’s not the worst of our problems though…

We’ve discovered that someone we used to consider a friend, has, for whatever reason, decided that they hate us and has been behaving with nothing but spite and malice towards us. It was quite a jolt to realise the depths of the venom that we’ve been in receipt of. We can’t even quite work out why but there it is. What we can't get to grips with is why not just walk away from the friendship and say "it was good while it lasted but it's now over". Why try to destroy us?

This individual has chosen to interfere in our lives in a way that is no more or no less than vicious. So the moral dilemma we face is this – how much of this do we have to tolerate? Do we just, for want of a better way to put it, “turn the other cheek” (or keep on saying “twist that knife, why don’t you?”) Is there any justification for saying "OK - stop now, enough is enough and if you want to play nasty so can we?" Or is it ever acceptable to come to a point where you snap and let the genie out of the bottle knowing that it’ll never go back in and nothing will ever be the same again? Honestly, I’m really close to the latter but I know in my heart that it simply makes me as bad as them…