Alan Johnston - what you can do

As I write this, the journalist Alan Johnston has been in captivity for nearly two months. No one knows where he is and no one is really sure if he's okay - though apparently at the NUJ's vigil last week there were "assurances that he is alive" and that the British and Palestinian governments are working together to secure his release - as we should bloody well hope they are. If I'm not mistaken this is the longest that a Western hostage has been held with no claim being made by a kidnap group, and no idea where he is.

I know it's not a very Baroque subject, but what is happening to him is positively - as they say - Byzantine. I'm not a reporter and I have something like awe for people like Johnston, who not only are reporters (and thus, unlike me, have to get their facts straight every single time) but go and report on the hardest things that are happening in the world. I for one cannot get anywhere near the bottom of the situation in Gaza, to say nothing of the whole Palestine/Israel issue. It does my head in, whatever else my head may be good for, and that's the truth. Alan Johnston is a much-needed member of our society. And the fact that he and I both belong to the same union makes me feel both proud and very small.

Click on the button I've added to the sidebar,* and it will take you through to a BBC page where you can add your name to a petition and learn more news.

* At the time of posting this button is sitting right next to a huge picture of Richard Gere, but I'm hoping this situation won't persist for much longer.