The Mind Meld

There's obviously something about me at the moment that is inviting people to test my faith in humanity.

After the incident at the Ghanaian embassy in which I was told to leave my passport without any proof that I'd handed it over, the exact same thing happened to me when I took my bike in for a repair on Friday night.

It had a puncture and needed a general spruce up to see it through the winter months. I said what was needed and the man said I could pick it up on Saturday.

I asked for a receipt and the man said it wasn't necessary.

The bike is now back with me and in the bike house downstairs. So if it can work for the bike it must be able to work for the passport.

Well that's the theory. Or as Mr Spock says in the Star Trek episode now running on the video ... "a radical alteration of our thought patterns must be in order.."

This is the one where they are dropped into the OK Corral and they all have to become convinced that they can survive the dream sequence that has been created for them by some fantastically powerful alien race.

Captain Kirk says Spock needs to perform the Vulcan mind meld on him, Scotty and Dr McCoy so they can elude the impending carnage.

While I don't expect a barrage of bullets during my stay in Ghana, an alteration of thought patterns does seem to be in order.