When Ben met Micheal

Just a note to let the two of you know that 'When Vila Met Gan' my latest contribution to the Blake's 7 canon has been recorded and is now in post production.

The recording session was especially fun for me because not only is Gan being played by my brother Owen but I got to meet Micheal Keating as well - cool.

I'm currently finishing up another prequel, this time centered around Kerr Avon, and other talented writers have either written, or are scheduled to write, stories about Jenna, Cally and Travis.

Which of us gets to write the Servalan story has yet to be decided - presumably by single combat.

Conspiracy Theories

The beauty of conspiracy theories is that it's so easy to invent one. To prove it here's one I prepared earlier.

What has Robert Mugabe got on Thabo Mbeki?
President Mbeki's attitude to Robert Mugabe has become increasingly bizarre. I can understand his desire to pursue 'quiet diplomacy' and not to be seen to be doing the bidding of the former colonial power. I can understand the ties that bind men who have faced a common cause and the well of gratitude that ZANU PF can draw upon with the ANC but really...

President Mbeki is now acting contrary to the interest of his nation, his party and the region as a whole. Assuming for a moment that he doesn't have a cunning plan why does he continue to give succor and support to a bloody handed regime like the one in the process of fixing elections right now?

The only plausible explanation is that Robert Mugabe knows something about Thabo Mbeki that the President of South Africa doesn't want anyone else to know. I suspect it dates back to Mbeki's time in Zambia. It can't be a sex scandal, I doubt that Mbeki would warp South Africa's regional policy over an ancient indiscretion, it must be something terrible, something that would not just destroy his career, he is wise enough to know that power is fleeting, but also his reputation.

Working for the KGB wouldn't cut it, the cold war is old news and anyway that would fall under the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' get out clause. I doubt it would be a massacre of civilians or some other atrocity committed during the war against apartheid - such things have too many witnesses, we'd at least have rumors by now.

No the only thing that Mbeki would literally do anything to keep secret, remembering that this is all baseless conjecture, would be proof that he collaborated and/or worked for BOSS during the struggle.

So there you go - one conspiracy theory served up piping hot - enjoy.