A case of very unfortunate coincidences?

DO you ever have the impression that someone is out to get you? It is called paranoia. I mention it because some days ago, riffling through the foreign news section of a newspaper I spotted a story to the effect that terrorists had detonated a truly massive bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 14, killing a total of 512 people. That makes it the biggest terrorist bomb ever (in casualty terms). The reason for the delay in reportage is because it has taken this long to sort out all the bits.

Peering down the column I noted the bomb went off in or in front of the ironically named Peace Hotel. Hello, I thought, I stayed there when researching The Kill List some years ago.

On the next page was another story. On January 18 four gunmen from the Taliban faction had burst into the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, and wiped out a dozen guests, not unnaturally all foreigners.

Hello, I thought again, I stayed there too while researching an earlier novel, The Afghan. I haven’t been back and I suspect the latest incidents will not appear on the brochures. But one sees the point made by the CO after Mogadishu: any more barmy trips to war zones and she is going to see a solicitor.

I have mentioned that she might end up a wealthy widow but she insists she would like me around for a while longer. Ah, bless.