Earth Day 2019

Warning: disturbing images below

‘It’s just one straw, it’s just one disposable cup, it’s just one plastic bag.’ - 7.4 billion people. WRONG. It’s NOT just one straw, it’s NOT just one disposable cup, it’s NOT just one plastic bag.

This Earth Day, can we please change our mindset, behaviour and attitude already?

Earth Overshoot Day

The Earth Overshoot Day, the day when humans’ annual demand on natural resources exceeds what our planet can regenerate or reproduce in one year, fell on 2 August this year. Yes, we had managed to use a year’s worth of resources injust seven months. This means we have used and consumed more trees, fish and water than can be regenerated over the entire year and emitted more carbon than what the forests and oceans are able to absorb.

The Global Footprint Network calculates each year’s Overshoot Day and according to the calculations, we’re using the resources of 1.7 planets every year. The equation has four main factors: how much we consume; how efficiently products are made; how many of us there are; and how much nature’s ecosystem is able to produce. The Overshoot Day and how many earths we need differ among countries as the pictures below show.

When will we ever wake up and acknowledge that global warming is real? When will we realise that our greed, insatiable appetite and unthinking ways are putting constraints on the environment? We are using more ecological resources than nature can possibly regenerate and this is putting the Earth on an unsustainable trajectory. We are demanding more from the Earth than it can produce. You can track what impact your own actions have on the world’s natural resources here.

  

I was at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel prayer room just last Saturday. As my usual practice, I went to the bathroom first before performing part of ablutions at the bathroom (the bathroom tap dispenses water automatically so I could control how much water I should use and not get my clothes wet as I’d be prone to do if performing ablutions at the prayer room. Of course I still had to wash my feet in the prayer room) before heading to the prayer room. There were two ladies who were there ahead of me and they took so long to perform ablutions that I had finished two sunat prayers and started on my Zuhor prayers before they were done with their ablutions. The taps were on full blast and I couldn’t help wondering at the gallons of water wasted and how they managed to keep their clothes dry. Was it necessary to waste so much water (and mind you, that was no isolated event)? In Mecca and Medinah, pilgrims are able to perform ablutions using only a small bottle of water so why do we use so much water here? Similarly, why do we use so much water to wash our cars and porch? Have we forgotten the drought days of El Niño when it got so bad that we had to live days where the tap water was switched off and only had hours to refill our containers and pails when the tap water was switched back on? It’s alarming how short our memories are!

It’s time we start changing our unsustainable ways of living. Educate our children and teach even our pets not to waste resources (I wince whenever I see video clips of cats playing with tap water). We are already living in deficit as it is. The world’s resource bank has gone into overdraft! 

Adek’s Week Off: Epilogue

First off, I know, I know, I haven’t been diligent about updating my blog. There are times when I feel I have so many things to share but have difficulty forming them into words. And there are times when I just struggle to find anything to talk about. I’m sure it happens to some other bloggers too.

Anyway, this was my second week-long trip off. I used to go on a fortnight-long leave but because dad was not well in July and August of 2015, I could only manage to go for a week-long trip in September 2015 (I went to Taiwan instead of my usual European trip in May 2015). And because it was only for a week, I decided to try to pack less than usual and not check in my bag on RyanAir. Well, I did and I found I could do it. I could actually pack light! And I repeated this feat again on my recent trip. Oh, I’d travelled before to Padang/Bukit Tinggi, Jogjakarta and Krabi and not checked in my bag either for those trips but then again, I didn’t need to pack jackets or shawls for chilly days/nights for these places and the duration was about 4 days on average. RyanAir provides a pretty generous 10 kg cabin baggage allowance (AirAsia provides 7 kg) and I do find it quite adequate. I have to give up a few things though: souvenirs and fridge magnets even for myself.

Previously, I used to return back from Europe on Friday, arriving into KL early Saturday morning. Well, I have been arriving back just the day before I was due to return to work for many trips now. My long-since retired boss once told me that she never suffered from jetlag (her children were all studying and working in England and she visited them often) and that she would return to work the very next day after arriving home. I remember thinking, whoa, if she could do it, then so can I! And that’s what I’ve been doing and I find it’s a good way to combat any jetlag. I refuse to be one of those annoying moaners who’d whine about needing another holiday to recover from their holiday. Insufferable brags!

I must also admit that I’m a kiasu traveller. I’m one of those who would rush off the plane to clear immigration. I would visit the lavatory in the plane just before it starts to descend or wait until I have cleared immigration before finding a bathroom. I’m the girl who will run to catch a train leaving in two minutes because I’d rather do that than wait another 15/20 minutes for the next train. Hey after all, time is precious and with one-week breaks, my time is limited! I don’t stop at cafes to have a cuppa. It’s walking and exploring and being on the go. Sure, I do stop every now and then to have a snack but that’s it. I walk anywhere between 7 to 13 km a day when I travel although I did walk more than 27 km on my first day in Lebanon and about 26.6 km in Cinque Terre. Alhamdulillah, thanks to Allah for giving me good health and a good pair of legs to put to use.

I love ruins and I’m of those who are happy to spend a few hours in a museum trying to absorb the history of the city/country. My priority is to cover the main attractions before shopping. Of course I love shopping but the main reason I travel is to visit places and learn about them. Shopping is a bonus.

I’m a planner: I plan where to go, where to stay, mode of transportation, transportation times, transportation alternatives, etc. (I had once spent a cold night outside Venice train station with my mates because when we bought the tickets, we should have said 23:00 hours instead of 11:00 p.m. because we got issued the 11:00 a.m. tickets instead. It was something I hope not to repeat.) I do make adjustments to my plan as and when as I want to be flexible and not too rigid. E.g., I may plan to visit a place on Monday but decide to go on Tuesday instead and switch the itineraries. Or I may decide to site A, site B followed by site C but change my mind and do site B, site C and site A last.

As a kiasu traveller, I try to cram as many places as possible into it as I want to get the most out of my trip. I once travelled through 14 countries in 2 weeks (some because of flight connections). It’s bad enough that I have to travel 12-13 hours to get to Europe and be stuck at some airports for hours so it’s imperative for me to make the best out of the limited time I have at my disposal. My trips are therefore not what some would view as a relaxing vacation because it can be packed and hectic. I don’t mind taking an overnight bus or train if it means I can arrive into a new city the following morning. Besides, it saves me accommodation. I also overnight at airports if I have a ridiculously early flight the next morning or arrive too late to find my way into the city and accommodation. I don’t like sleeping at airports because I can never sleep in them but I’m prepared to do that instead of missing the flight or wandering alone at night trying to find my accommodation. Having said that, I did have to venture out in the ungodly pre-dawn hours to get a bus to Luton and Girona before. And I also did have to take a very late night city bus and wander to find my hotel and all because Eindhoven Airport closes from midnight until 4 or 5 in the morning.

I do stay at hostels but usually in a single room because I don’t like to be stared at when I perform prayers. I had stayed in dormitories before though. I don’t mind staying at B&Bs or pensions and some are really artfully charming.

I know people who get up late, who like walking leisurely and stopping for a cup of coffee etc, reasoning they’re on holiday. I understand that but I’m not one to do that. I get up early and I set off early. I’m a kiasu traveller and the early bird catches the worm after all.

I like to think I’m an environmentally conscious traveller. I launder my clothes and not resort to disposable innerwear. I take the public transportation. I bring a water bottle and a tumbler along and I either boil water or buy a huge bottle of mineral water (5 litre) to refill my water bottle. I bring along a canvas bag so that I can pack my purchases in it instead of resorting to plastic bags (some countries charge for carrier bags so having a canvas bag is really handy). I bring travel-size toiletries instead of buying them in each country and leaving them behind. Packing efficiently also reduces an airplane’s carbon emissions – the lighter the airplane is, the less fuel it burns - and I’ve since cut down on the printed papers (I now save them on my iPad instead). For more tips on how you can be a green traveller, go here and here.

Apart from being a kiasu traveller, I’m also a kiasu ‘unpacker’ (I’m not a kiasu packer though; I do iron my clothes in advance but I don’t pack them in the bag until the evening before or sometimes the morning before my flight if my flight is in the evening). This means when I get home, I immediately unpack. In between, I head to the kitchen to bring my dirty clothes and pill box and clean the kitchen table, sweep the kitchen and dining areas and even mop those areas. Then I resume unpacking and I’d finish unpacking an hour within arriving home with the bag all stored away and clothes and toiletries all kept away. I don’t like to procrastinate because the bag isn’t going to unpack itself and I still have to do it sooner or later so why not there and then? Then only would I relax. (Back when I was staying fulltime at micasa, I’d unpack, put all clothes that needed washing into the washing machine and run it, grab the broom and sweep the floor before mopping the house and washing the bathrooms. Yes, I believe in delayed gratification.) An hour after arriving home and I would have unpacked and cleaned the kitchen. I would then take a short rest before getting up and pumping the iron. All these help me acclimatise back to the local time and keep the jetlag at bay.

Right. That’s that chapter closed then. Hmm, now where shall I head for next?

El Niño Is A Problem Child

Today, I want to touch on one aspect of human nature: wastefulness. We do like to waste, don’t we. No matter how we try to deny it, admit it, we are wasteful. We never learn from past mistakes, we are extravagant, we don’t think about the consequences of our action, we don’t consider the impact on the environment.

I’m sure we all know that we’re going through a phase of long drought. Dry, unbearable weather. Hot and humid conditions, sweltering days and hot nights. It’s been going on for months now (last December was one with the shortest number of rain days I can recall) and it doesn’t look like it’ll improve anytime soon. And we’re not alone in facing this latest trial: Thailand, the Philippines, India, some African countries like Malawi and Ethiopia are all facing the effects of El Niño. (By the way, I don’t  know why the local media likes to say that Equinox is a phenomenon. Well, it isn’t, so stop saying that it is! Go and re-learn your lower secondary Geography yea). Schools in some northern states have closed for a number of days due to the hot weather and we hear about the declining water level in the dams around the country. Even if we’re not tuned in to the current news, surely we can feel the unbearable heat and see the browning of grass and lawns, the drying (and in some cases, dying) trees and plants and failing crops.

And yet, and yet, we continue on to waste that most precious resource of all: water. I observe this happening every day: at prayer rooms, at pantries, at washrooms, at my neighbours’. We don’t need a lot of water to perform ablutions, we don’t need to have the tap running while we wash up or brush our teeth, and surely we can skip the long showers and take shorter showers or better still, bathe from water stored in pails or buckets. We don’t have to wash the car or porch every so often. We should know better than watering the plant at noon or in the afternoon so turn off the sprinklers at those times. Water your plants in early morning or in the evening when the sun is down. Malaysians really need to start using less water. We consume a lot more water than our neighbours and much more than that recommended by the United Nations.

In many religions, water has a special meaning and is often at the beginning of creation accounts. Most religions emerged in water-scarce areas (think Judaism, Hindu, Christianity and Islam). In Islam, water as a precious gift of God has an impact on how people handle water: I should esteem it and not waste it; if it is a gift to me, then it is also a gift to my neighbour, and I should not deprive him of access. The Quran as well as the hadith (written collections of the words and deeds of Prophet Mohammed PBUH) make explicit statements on the duty to use water economically, equitably, with consultation of all stakeholders, and with respect for the environment. It is related that the Prophet once passed by his companion Saad who was washing for prayer and asked, ‘What is this wastage, Saad?’ The companion asked, ‘Is there wastage even in washing for prayer?’ and the Prophet responded, ‘Yes, even if you are by a flowing river!’ And yet Muslims here use way too much excessive water to perform ablutions! Come on, Islam forbids Muslims from being wasteful so can we stop wasting water unnecessarily already?

As for me, I ‘recycle’ the water that I use to soak my vegetables and fruit by watering some plants. I collect the water from ablutions and use it to flush my toilet (you don’t need a lot of water for flushing the toilet after you pee. If you notice, the smaller level on dual-flush toilets for flushing liquid waste dispenses only minimal water). I collect water in a bucket to cool it down (water from the tap can get too hot sometimes) and bathe from it. I never turn the tap on when I brush my teeth. I collect dirty dishes and wash them together in one go instead of washing as and when – this doesn’t mean my sink is overflowing with dirty dishes (I hate having my sink full of dirty dishes anyway) but I wash a few items together at one time and not piece by piece. There are a lot of ways where we can play our part to cut back and conserve water, some are here but I’m sure Mr Google has many more suggestions.

As hot as it gets, I try not to switch on the fan unless absolutely necessary. I use handheld fan to fan myself. I have a pair of good arms and hands and I am capable of that. This is part of my effort to conserve electricity, indirectly playing my part to reduce global warming. After all, everything is intertwined – energy use, fossil fuel-depletion, climate change, global warming... 

Happy Earth Day! Let’s change our attitudes today and start playing our part in caring for Mother Earth if we haven’t already. After all, handling climate change - and El Niño - is serious business and no child’s play. And let’s make it a continuous effort and not just during a drought and a particularly prolonged dry spell, shall we.

Earth Day 2013

It’s Earth Day today. The theme this year The Face of Climate Change. How has climate change impacted you? And what are you doing to be part of the solution? Because it doesn’t just affect you and me but also the polar bears in the melting and diminishing Arctic, the tigers in India’s threatened mangrove forests, the safari animals whose habitat is shrinking, the orang-utans in the Borneo forests segmented by more frequent and indiscriminate fires and droughts.

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My poor baby was red-carded on Saturday. We were jaded and played worse in the second half. Per the BFG nodded our only goal in the first half but we were content to just pass the ball and chase it when we lost it. Huffing and puffing against ten men – that was until Giroud was red-carded and we were also reduced to ten men. Harsh indeed. Because now we are five points behind Man Shitty and devoid of a striker.

 BFG!!!

 

My poor baby. Let me hug you 

But nowhere as harsh as Suarez’s bite on Ivanovich.

Kitty’s attempt to recreate the incident

The Good Earth

Happy Earth Day!!! Let’s continue to care for the environment by reducing our impact and conserving resources. Ask ourselves if we are already environmentally aware and conscious, if we already incorporate and embrace the green culture. Remember, we all have our part to play however small. So reduce, reuse, recycle, replenish and restore!

The Last Syaaban Weekend

The weekend couldn’t come soon enough after a challenging week at work. It was the last weekend before Ramadan commences and well with the Mega Sale going on, I really didn’t need an excuse to go shopping. I headed to Isetan KLCC during lunch on Friday and had a quick browse. I was late in finishing my house work on Saturday and left only after 11 am. After dithering, I decided to go to BB and walked to the KL Sentral monorail station and oh boy. It was madness! I saw some queues but didn’t know where they started. I had to weave my way around before I could squeeze myself through to the turnstile. Thank God for Touch ‘n Go cards.

The crowd at the platform wasn’t any better; there were dozens of people waiting at the platform. I managed to squeeze myself through and got in (good thing I was alone). It was the same at most of the stations we subsequently stopped at. Really, I never realised it was that bad - and it was as bad as or worse than riding the komuter on weekday mornings. You don’t even have to hold on to any railings because your fellow passengers are there to support you shoulder-to-shoulder, arm-to-arm. There’s barely enough room for you to stand on; all you have is what little square cm you do occupy which incredibly is enough to propel you along the ride. I did wonder at times if the train would not just topple over onto the roads below and when I thought of this, I quickly prayed that we would balance the train on the track somehow. You do get the feeling like you’re a bunch of sardines in a tight can moving along the conveyor belt for processing. Sheesh.

Anyway, I survived the ride after countless elbowing, being elbowed, jostling, hustling, pushing, shoving and being squeezed half to death at Imbi station by passengers alighting from the train. I didn’t buy anything at Isetan Lot 10 and made up for it at Pavilion. Then I sauntered over to KLCC, with a pit-stop at Mandarin Oriental for prayers in between, and resumed shopping at Isetan. There were a lot of people there who also had the same idea (i.e. hit the shops before it’s Ramadan. I don’t know about them but I don’t like to venture out during Ramadan except for Friday lunchtime and fortnightly weekend visits to Isetan) – from local gals like me to white girls and black-clad Middle Eastern women.

In fact, the sale was so good (or rather, tempting) that I debated going again on Sunday. I seriously contemplated and had even put on my contact lens but finally I decided to just stay in. If the bargains are still there on my next visit, that’s fine and if they’re not, then they’re not meant for me.

In short, it was a satisfying weekend for shopping but it was also too hot and humid. There was a strange haze over the city on Saturday and I thought, great, the haze is back. But the haze cleared up yesterday and today is just another hot, tropical day.

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Mother Nature has been sending some messages to us what with the terrible flooding in China, Pakistan (its worst in decades) and India, and drought and haze in Russia, to name just a few calamities. I was horrified to see the extent of the floods – the destruction and the death toll left in the wake – and was dismayed to see the haze in the Red Square and around Kremlin in Moscow. And yet, there are those who turn a blind eye to all these catastrophes, preferring to call them acts of nature. Well, I’m sure we are all guilty of contributing to the greenhouse gas somewhere along the process.

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Arsenal played their last pre-season friendly and it was a mad one. We finally emerged the winner – after letting in three goals in the first 36 minutes. That’s letting in one goal in every 12 minutes. Damn you Flapianski. Then Chamakh pulled one back (he’s a dream transfer for Arsenal just like Arsenal is a dream move for him) and Eboue scored two consecutive goals to make it 3-3. Then the goals started coming again, Gibbs scored a beautiful fourth, JET scored the fifth and Nasri completed his brilliant pre-season with a sixth. The good thing is we came back from behind despite being three goals down, and when it would be so much easier to just give up we never gave up and kept fighting. The bad news is that we need a new goalie right about now and some other defenders too. I’m getting agitated what with the new season kicking off just days away and there’s those meaningless senseless friendly matches stuck in between.

Cesc had put an end to all speculation and protracted transfer saga when he led the team out at the Members’ Day on Thursday. He admits joining Barcelona would be an attractive move – and he was recently honoured in his hometown Arenys - but now pledges his future at Arsenal with his official statement. And while I wish his statement would be more passionate like RvP’s, I won’t question his love for Arsenal and I sure don’t blame him for feeling frustrated like he was when he led the team for their lap of appreciation in May; after all, the team did let him – and the supporters – down. But for now, it’s Barcelona who are swimming, no drowning, in their tears (hahaha). Of course we would keep him, you idiots. You would too, as Guardiola pointed out – though why this fact was beyond you lot much earlier is beyond me. So stop saying that signing Cesc was a priority when what you did was to sign David Villa first.

The Spanish team would be travelling to Mexico for the meaningless friendly and guess what, Cesc has been called to the squad. Knowing him, he won’t refuse. It’s not enough that they have won the World Cup, they need to still prove it in a friendly. Why not just field a mixed team? After all, it’s the club who pays the players’ salaries, not the country. Sheesh. As Arseblog points out, we’ll be without Nasri, TV5, Cesc, Vela, Wilshere, Gibbs, Walcott, Rosicky, Eboue, Flapianski and Shava until Thursday at the earliest. Double sheesh.

Anyway, here are some photos from the Members’ Day.

Earth Day 2010

It’s Earth Day today – so soon after the volcanic ash effects from the eruption beneath an Iceland glacier forcing airspace closures across northern Europe for the last few days and the earthquake in China. Are those natural disasters simply nature’s way of telling us to treat it well or are they just acts of nature?

On my part, I continue to –
- Carry shopping bags and water bottles with me when I go shopping or travelling
- Carry food containers when buying food especially from the cafeteria here and even food bought from food courts
- Use detergents that cause the least impact on the environment
- Use public transportation
- Use resources as efficiently as I can.

I did not participate in Earth Hour because I already try hard to be energy-efficient everyday and not just on one designated evening. And besides I feel there are a lot of other more meaningful things that one can do to save the environment but hey, as long as it starts somewhere, why not. The problem is that’s where it stops too, for most people. They still use plastic bags, pack their food in polystyrene containers (made from liquid hydrocarbon no less), throw rubbish thoughtlessly, and drive everywhere... in short, do not change their lifestyle.

Happy Earth Day, everyone. In tribute, I’m wearing shades of green today. Well, except for my shoes.

WED 2009

Today is the World Environment Day. This year’s theme is ‘Your Planet Needs You! UNite to Combat Climate Change’.

We can all play our part by consuming less and doing more.

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I went through my wardrobe two weekends ago and discovered a few things. Like I have enough black trousers (OK, I have way too many of them actually). Like I have too many t-shirts - enough to dress a whole class of students. And like I have two similar jacket blouses (same colour and same design/cut/style from the same store! The only difference is their sizes: one is an S, the other an M). Oh. My. God. Only a ditsy girl can do something like that.

I decided to sell off one of the jacket blouses but who can I sell it to? After thinking hard, I remembered I’m almost the same size as a mate. So yesterday, I finally remembered to send her a message and ask if she wanted to buy it. Thankfully she did. Phew!

This has given me an idea to sell off other yet-to-be-worn clothes. The only problem is not many people share my size.

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My sister just called to tell me something awful had happened. Abah called next to tell the same thing. *Sigh* It looks like it will be a long, tiring weekend ahead.

And my joy of finally bagging the tote bag has been wiped out by the bad news.

It’s A Heat-wave

Sing to Bonnie Tyler’s It’s A Heartache:

It’s a heat wave
Nothing but a heat wave
Hits you when it’s too hot
Hits you ‘til you wanna melt down
It’s a nature’s game
Nothing but a nature’s game
Standing in the baking sun
Feeling like melting down

Oh God, it’s been so very hot the last few weeks even the occasional showers don’t have much effect. Funny, I always associate April as a rainy month (OK, I keep thinking of April Showers) and I can’t recall April ever being this hot before. It gets so uncomfortable at times that I wonder if the temperature has already hit 40C. I keep thinking if this is how living in the Middle East is like. And I don’t know how the other mammal animals with their fur can stand this heat. OK, I’m beginning not to talk sense – blame it on the heat!

Watched He’s Just Not That Into You on Saturday and quite enjoyed it. I cringed watching Gigi trying to find a guy and thinking some blind date was into her. Never, ever make that mistake dear. But I enjoy her ‘accidental’ friendship (if I can term it that) with Alex, the charming and good-looking bar owner (yup, Justin Long is an eye candy alright). Like I said, it was quite an enjoyable movie and it made me think too.

Went for a (long overdue?) haircut Saturday afternoon and it couldn’t come too soon. I doubt I’ll ever keep a long hair again – it’s been ages since I last kept it but of course that was in the good old days in England. Not with this heat will I sport a long hair ever again just as I’ll never ever wear a pair of jeans again ‘cause they’re just not practical wear in this weather/country! (The last time I had to travel in early spring, I had to hunt for my old pair of jeans which thankfully I still fit in. Not going to buy any more new pair of jeans ever).

The team managed by the youngest manager in the Premier League travelled south to meet the team captained by the youngest skipper in the Premier League yesterday. Fabulous Cesc Fàbregas aka Captain Fantastic fired two goals in the Sunday match against Boro. I was so delighted with his brace but am not too hot about his facial hair experiment (just as I’m not too hot about Theo’s facial hair experiment either). I thought Shava looked a bit tired but hey he is the BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match (8.72 on 90 minutes). He didn’t score yesterday but hey neither did Torres a day earlier. Oh, and Cesc may have inadvertently saved Hull from relegation too.

Mummy said he looked like an Arab. Heh.

Happy days mate, happy days. Now if only they’re not so hot. Well at least it rained heavily yesterday afternoon.

Earth Day 2009

Happy Earth Day to all. I try to do my part as best as I can: I carry a shopping bag when I do grocery shopping; I carry a water bottle so that I won’t add to the number of bottles that need to be recycled; am quite energy-efficient at home (the heat wave of late is sure challenging though); recycle whenever I can; and take the public transportation. I’m still thinking of other ways to reduce my impact on the environment, any suggestions? Just don’t ask me to cut down on travelling and anyway, I fly economy when travelling on my own (the more passengers the plane carry in economy means the less fuel burned per passenger) and I have taken to packing lightly too (every kg of weight that a plane carries increases the amount of fuel that it burns, so reducing your luggage weight actually reduces your environmental impact).

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It was a weak Arsenal side that travelled to Anfield: they were devoid of Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy, William Gallas and Johan Djourou.

And what a crazy incredible match it was. I said crazy because it was such a strange match, strewn with defending errors (on both sides) and superb goals (again on both sides). Russian star Arshavin became the first man to score a quartet of goals (and his first ever quartet of goals) in a League game at Anfield in 53 years - with Arsenal’s only four shots on target. Four attempts, four on target, four goals. Both teams had to settle for a draw and frankly neither side deserved to lose. For more pictures, go here.

BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Arsenal’s four-goal Russian roulette Andrey Arshavin after that extraordinary display, scoring a round-number pleasing 9.00. His first quartet of goals too.

Oh and I want to share this quote from Arseblogger:

‘Arshavin himself must have been upset not to start (in the FA semi-final match), particularly in a game against a team managed by his national coach. He doesn’t strike me as a sulker though and the perfect response tonight would be the kind of performance that says ‘Next time, Arsène, pick me.’’

Ar - Ar – Arshavin’s over from the Russian scene
Another Arsenal legend is born
Ar - Ar - Arshavin’s Russia’s greatest goal machine
And now at Arsenal he’ll carry on

From Russia With Love indeed.