NEWS UPDATE

We have just heard from the Sumatra expedition. They are alive and well. There is some exciting news but for reasons that will no doubt be explained anon they have asked us not to publicise it until they have left Indonesia tomorrow.

It is one of the most frustrating things about my job that when an expedition is in the field I often have little or no communication with them, and it is horribly frustrating not to know what is going on. It is even more frustrating to know what has happened but be unable to tell you. What with this and the embargo on the Irish lake monster video until after I have tried to flog it, I hope that you guys aren't too cross with me....

NO NEWS IS....

Somewhere between here and Singapore are four intrepid travellers from the CFZ. I have not heard a dickybird from them since they left, but one has to assume that everything is OK. I always think that an expedition in transit is almost like Schrödinger's eponymous Cat in that it exists in a state of almost quantum indeterminacy until it finally gets to its chosen destination and makes its existence obvious.

So as I always do under these circumstances, I quote a few lines from Patriot (a single) by Scott Walker from his glorious 1995 album Tilt, which I would love to say is a CFZ favourite, but in fact everyone hates it except for me and Max:

The good news you cannot refuse/The bad news is there is no news

Don't know what I am talking about? Watch this: