Bits of irony, everywhere!

Here are some odds and ends I have found in the news over the last few days.

 

Because of problems with transport and with lack of workers in abattoirs large numbers of pigs are having to be culled in the UK. At the same time, however, it seems that huge volumes of EU pork are being imported into the UK. Why is that happening?

People on Universal Credit, many of whom have jobs which are recognised as not paying enough to live on, have had the amount they receive reduced by £20 a week. At the same time, I hear that Tory MP Sir Peter Bottomley has complained that some MPs find it “really grim” to live on a salary of £82,000. I don’t think he can be described as one of the “working poor”. 

Oxford educated Dominic Raab was pressed on BBC Breakfast about whether misogyny should be a hate crime, but he appeared not to understand the term as he said “misogyny is absolutely wrong, whether it’s a man against a woman or a woman against a man”. Hmmm!

Yesterday I wrote about a school that is working to improve its students standard of written English by banning slang from the classroom and from written work. Today I read that some universities and colleges are failing to mark down students for poor spelling, grammar and punctuation, which is leading to grade inflation because of a misguided application of equalities legislation, according to England’s higher education regulator. Maybe they are afraid of being accused of discriminating against students who can’t spell and punctuate. But surely there are already provisions in place for students diagnosed as dyslexic. Having studied for a degree in French and Spanish, I find it odd that a higher standard in a foreign language than in your native language can be demanded. 

And surely such a lax attitude to use of language does not explain Mr Raab having vocabulary problems. 

On a number of occasions over the summer we noticed lots of butterflies while we were out and about. But an organisation called Butterfly Conservation counted butterflies and moths between the 16th of July and the 8th of August said we need urgent action as they have found the lowest numbers since the Big Butterfly Count started 12 years ago. Maybe their counters are in the wrong place. As for us, we’ve even seen peacock butterflies, one of the species they are worried about. 

And we thought declining bees were the only major problem!

Life is full contradictions. Even the weather can’t decide what to do. 

However, we managed to get out for a walk in the sunshine yesterday. It was bright and sunny from first thing in the morning. My cycle ride along the Donkey Line to and from the market was very pleasant. 

And today has had its bright interludes so far. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.