The king is dead

Sorry for the very long silence... things have been a tad busy, to say the least and it's not going to change for a while - I was successful in my application for my boss's job and since her departure I have been doing both my new and my old jobs. I also managed to sneak in some leave and take a break.

You may have seen on the news that the former king of Afghanistan died on 23 July. I came across some conflicting articles about Zahir Khan and his role in Afghanistan's history. Have a look at the obituary from the BBC and Robert Fisk writing in the Belfast Telegraph.

Three days of national mourning were declared on 24-26 July, and the government did not work, but the rest of the country carried on as normal. The radios were playing funereal Islamic music and the state funeral was broadcast on the national tv station RTA - though lacking in the dulcet tones of a Dimbleby commentary.

Interesting the general consensus among national staff in my office is that the king died at least 3 months ago. Not sure what would be the reason for keeping his death under wraps until now...