Trouble at the front door: Round the corner

As I mentioned yesterday, today is Independence Day - one of the two days out of Lebanon's many bank holidays that are compulsory. (I think the other one is New Year's Day - both are secular for obvious reasons). The day itself has passed quietly. I met some of my friends in the local shopping mall for lunch. The vast majority of shops were open and although the mall was a lot quieter than usual, by the time we left at about 9pm (we stopped for a couple of cocktails!) it was fairly busy, although nothing like you would expect for a national holiday. Again, it is the businesses that will suffer as a result of political uncertainty.

Tomorrow has been declared as a day of National Mourning - there are actually going to be three days of which today was one - and there will be a large demonstration in Martyrs Square. Apparently buses are being laid on to bring people from all over the country. The theme of the demo is likely to be 'seeking justice' and will certainly include many anti-Syrian demonstrators. Whether the pro-Syrians will seek to cause trouble is uncertain. Political leaders have not really been mincing their words here and there has been a fairly large, albeit peaceful demo in Sassine Square again tonight. When I walked past there were about 200 people, 99% male, standing around, waving flags and playing political songs. There was also a heavy army presence but it was all very peaceful and no repeat of the bin burning that happened last night*.

Although all businesses are supposed to be closed tomorrow, I received a call from my boss at Time Out saying I was to come in. We are publishing a small Christmas guide in about a week and there is loads to do. As I only work afternoons there at the moment I will see if I get a call tomorrow morning with a 'revised work plan' i.e. work from home. It's still tense here and another assassination could push people over the edge. I have noticed that political leaders are not necessarily calling for calm, more pointing the finger at Syria if they are anti-Syrian, or elsewhere if they are pro. So much posturing and so unnecessary at a time like this.

The marathon/my 10k has been postponed. Although on a personal level I am not too sad (training was going abysmally), it is another disruption to the life of the city that it doesn't need.

*bin burning. Some bins were set alight over the road last night. After a period of time the fire brigade turned up. They are not a service you would wish for in the UK. After filling the bin that wasn't burning up with water, they realised they had run out of water and had to perform elaborate mechanical feats on the fire engine to get more water. In the meantime the bin that was alight, burned itself out. So they headed off, job done! I am now being extra careful about our fire-safety arrangements!