A Marathon is a Really Long Race.

In fact every year at least person makes a point of not finishing the London Marathon until about a week after it started. I think this year it's a woman trying to highlight the advancements made by cybernetics in the treatment of spinal injuries which is very Terminator-esque.

So you'll excuse me for going on about it but at  around 15:10GMT on 24/4/12 the Justgiving.com website for the woman who died during the race - Claire Squires - has raised around £400,000(USD640,000) for the Samaritans charity and the total's growing at a rate of around £16,000(USD26,000) per hour. While I can't really think of a better charity to donate money to if you are in a giving mood there are other charities to give money to because I think the Samaritans have met their entire annual operating budget from this alone.

While I suppose they would be classed as a mental health charity the Samaritans are basically and anti-suicide hotline. They operate a toll free telephone number that is promoted around suicide hotspots like Beachy Head in Eastborne and the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. The idea is that if someone is seriously contemplating suicide they ring the number and speak to a trained volunteer who will talk them out of it. However I wouldn't really describe the Samaritans as a mental health charity because although they want to kill themselves most of the people who use their services don't have a recognised mental health condition. Instead they've just found themselves in an exceptionally stressful situation because of financial worries, the end of a relationship or a bereavement. So all they need is someone to calm them down while the situation naturally improves and they get on with their lives.

Against the back drop of the global recession and the austerity measures this type of suicide has become a hot issue especially in Europe. While I haven't seen the figures I suspect the suicide rate in Britain has increased significantly and in Greece in most certainly has with a recent gruesome incident where a pensioner shot himself in the head outside the Parliament building. So by drawing attention to the Samaritans Britain appears to be focusing on this very tragic human consequence of austerity in order to energise anti-austerity movements across the Eurozone while Britain itself sorts it's economy out by pushing ahead with austerity measures. Gert Wilders in the Netherlands appears to be helping them by effectively vetoing the Dutch Budget.

However having said that I seemed to have talked myself into actually reading the Dutch Budget. Not tonight though, it's Tuesday so I'll shortly be going to the pub and becoming incoherent by around 18:20GMT.


Edited at around 17:05GMT on 24/4/12 to add:

Of course today my father and I have been to the supermarket which gave me a break from Jame Murdoch's 6 hour testimony to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards - an event where I am undeniably the elephant in the room. Unfortunately it wasn't enough a break to avoid leaving me feeling like my head's about to explode. I wouldn't worry too much though. It's either too much caffeine or not enough. Either way I'm sure beer will fix it. Anyway as a result I've not read the Dutch Budget or actually looked Claire Squires' Justgiving.com website so you'll excuse me if I just sort of make this next bit up;

According to at least one under pressure British newspaper I've been reading today the majority of the £400,000(USD640,000) total has been made up by a high volume of small, individual donations of like £10(USD16) or £20(USD32). So the whole thing looks rather like the 2008 campaign fundraising efforts of a one Mr Barack Obama - I believe you may have heard of him.