The millponds were frozen, but the sun was shining on the hills in the distance. It takes a bit longer for it to get high enough in the sky to shine on Delph.
The dog walkers were out in force, one with a little dog in a coat which not only covered its body but went down its little legs as well. “It keeps her warm”, said her owner.
What did dogs do before the doggie-clothing business got going?
Don’t dogs have furry coats of their own to keep them warm any more?
As people are homeschooling a lot of advice appears on-line, explaining the difference between vowels and consonants and diphthongs and the like. It used to be that only spelling and punctuation mattered but now a range of terminology has appeared, or more likely been invented in some cases, which parents feel the need to know if they are to help their offspring. After all, the children are supposed to know it. Even people who make a living out of writing admit to being confused by the dafter elements of it.
Here’s a link to Michael Rosen explaining “frontal adverbials”.
And here’s another link where he decides to contradict himself and talk about his confusion.
It’s a confusing world. And all the linguistic labels floating around make it even more so. Do the same problems abound in the world of maths? Well, yes, I read that they do; new methods of teaching multiplication and long division make it harder for parents to help their offspring. Personally, I remember muddling along and only demanding help when we got round to solving quadratic equations!
Modern problems!
Here’s another one. In various parts of Europe small villages are being abandoned as young people move away to find work, and perhaps a bit of excitement, in larger places, and the birthrate drops and drops. From time to time article appear advertising whole villages for sale, houses being sold for crazily low prices, provided the purchaser is prepared to contribute to the life of the village. I suppose that in most such places now the people who live there are not allowed to escape anywhere because of Covid restrictions but post-Covid the problem will still remain. And stories of animals more or less taking over villages abound. In fact, they seem to do so without the village needing to be abandoned. So here’s a link to a report of brown bears reappearing in Galicia.
Interesting times! The bears still have freedom of movement.
Not so musicians. I’ve been going on a bit about their plight. Here’s something somebody in a Facebook group,Campaign to Rejoin the EU:-
“Yesterday I went for a distanced walk with a friend / neighbour who I know voted Leave. He runs a small music business which mainly involves selling CDs into Europe and arranging Euro tours for bands. Because we have much in common otherwise, we agreed back then not to talk about Brexit and have managed to succeed in that. Yesterday, unprompted, he told me that I had been right and that his mind had been completely changed by the reality. He is sad, embarrassed and frustrated that he had been completely deceived by government claims that nothing would change and that everything would be smooth and seamless. Of course, now his bands will face incredible red tape and costs while touring (the dreaded "carnets") and his European customers are furious at having extra charges slapped on their CDs. Anyway, I say respect to my friend for honestly admitting, in a dignified way, that he made a bad mistake by believing the lies. As a result, in this particular case, I don't feel any Schadenfreude.”
This morning I read a brief article in which a French music promoter said that for every French artist who tours the UK 20 UK artists tour France. Of course, that should be “used to tour”! But really, if ever there was a case of shooting yourself in the foot, this musicians/artists business must qualify.
And finally, there was an article by Hadley Freeman about Jon Bon Jovi. Apart from her being thrilled that he sang for her over the phone, she had various tales to tell, including this one:
“Bon Jovi and Trump have an extremely weird history. Back in 2014, the singer, along with some Canadian investors, tried to buy the NFL team the Buffalo bills, outbidding Trump. But there was suddenly strong anti-Bon Jovi feeling in Buffalo, NY, with “Bon Jovi-free” zones and negative graffiti, stemming from the rumour that he and his partners would move the team out of the city. Bon Jovi fiercely denied that, but the Bills ultimately went to a third bidder and that was the end of that – until three years ago, when it emerged, inevitably, that the anti-Bon Jovi campaign had been started by Michael Caputo, a political strategist, who had been hired by Trump.
“I was really shocked at the depths [Trump] went to. He wasn’t even qualified to buy the team, because you have to submit your tax returns, and he never filed the paperwork. Instead, he did this dark shadow assassination thing, hoping to buy the team at a bargain basement price. But I just couldn’t understand how this misinformation was being put out there. It was seriously scarring,” Bon Jovi says, eyes wide.
After Trump failed to get the team, he stomped off and ran for president. Maybe you should have just given him the team, I say.
“Yeah, for the sake of the world, he definitely should have got the team. Oh well,” he chuckles.”
So it’s partly Jon Bon Jovi’s fault that Donald Trump ended up as POTUS. Who knew? All might have been different. So it goes.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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