Spare a thought, tonight, for the Indonesians who live in the shadow of Mount Merapi.    This is the holy mountain for the people of Java, and the city of Jogojakarta, which has 10 million inhabitants, is just 10 miles away.    This is a very fertile farming area (because of the volcanic soil) but really, these people live at barely subsistence levels.    They farm their little farms, selling their produce in Jogojakarta, and until 9/11 were beginning to see their economy grow through tourism - the ancienttemple of Borobodur, which some people may remember from Michael Palin's first round the world TV series,  is on another volcanic hillside nearby.

People living within a 5 mile radius are being evacuated -heavens only knows where they are being taken - but life is going to be very tough for them. 

We went there back in 1997, and it is one sight I shall never forget, seeing the sun rise over the jungle forests, from the top of the temples at Borobodur.

Margot