Back at work but still feeling crappy, with this enduring cough and headaches. At night I sweat it out and Graham coughs and coughs.

George has an ear infection resulting from his cold, and has to take anti-biotics as the anti-inflamatories didn't work and he was inconsolable last night. It's a terrible thing not to be able to comfort one's own child.

Our sufferings are, of course, minimal compaired to the poor victims of the Tsunami, which struck Asia on Boxing Day. There has been an unprecedented worldwide fundraising effort. Mum and dad have even donated money for George to the relief effort, as part of his birthday present.

At work I am cutting the footage related to the Swiss relief effort. The videos are littered with images of the mangled bodies of children. I sit and work with tears streaming down my face. Inky, my Icelandic friend who works at the BBC in London, says the same. As a parent, you feel it much more acutely, the sense of loss.

The Swiss President made an excellent speech at the memorial service in Bern for the 150 thousand dead. Here is a copy of his words:

"How can I answer the question – why them? It can’t be a punishment. The creator does not use nature to punish people. But nature is more powerful than us. It is beautiful, has many secrets and reveals itself to us in all its splendour. But nature operates according to its own set of rules. It brings us beauty and destruction. Death is part of life and we are destined to live, even while we are dying. Let us not be vanquished by grief, but let us embrace life".

Maybe he forgot about the Noah's Ark story. Didn't God create a flood to wash away the sins of man at the beginning of time?