Spot the difference

One thing that makes me laugh in the local paper, other than the report on the piles of sand that have been blocking access to ulica Roża for a few days, are the photos announcing new babies.

They have a rows and rows of close-up shots of newborn babies' faces in black and white, and all it does is show how unbelievably similar newborn babies look. Sure, there's the odd one with an abnormally large head, or more hair than the others, or a little cap, but generally? Kind of the same.

Still, it is more entertaining looking for the odd ones out than spending time wondering how long those piles of sand are going to be left.

Duck!

If you've looked at the bbc news website recently, you may have noticed this story, which was then followed by this one, about the duck who refused to die.

If you didn't see it, basically a hunter shot a duck, took it home and put it in his fridge. The hunter's wife discovered two days later that it was still alive. The duck then went through surgery to remove the hunter's bullet and stop breathing twice during the operation. It survived and they're now raising money to provide long-term care for the bird.

I thought about this story a surprising amount. The duck survived against plenty of odds, but a long chain of people, starting with the hunter's wife, helped it. They have gone out of their way to keep the duck alive and ensure it has the best possible conditions for survival. All for a bird. A bird that someone originally intended to eat, presumably.

Why can't more people use that kind of effort helping people?

I've got nothing against the duck. Actually, if it wasn't absurd to admire a bird, I might find myself doing so, but it seemed a little unbalanced.

Not sure I have much of a point.

Could try and tie this into living a country ruled by the 'Duck' twins, or try following the duck's lead - getting up again whatever knocks you down. I could do with some of that duck's fighting spirit at the moment.

Maybe it'll come to me if Poland beat Germany tomorrow in the handball final...