Yesterday I could have collected a prescription for special eye drops for Phil from the local chemist. I completely forgot when I went out running in the morning. Then I got busy for the rest of the day. I planned once again to stop off at the chemist’s when I went for a run this morning. Some time after I had returned home, showered and washed my hair, I realised that I had forgotten AGAIN! By then the morning was going on and the chemist’s shop closes at midday on a Saturday. So in the end I stuffed my wet hair into a hat and went off to the village again once we had had some breakfast.
Before the feminists explode, yes, I know Phil could have organised himself to go into the village but I did volunteer! And besides, it’s been a nice day so far, blue sky and sunshine. A perfectly nice day to be out and about.
There was a little Saturday morning traffic mess going on in the village centre. Nobody seems to respect the double yellow lines outside the post office, the coop store and the chemist’s. Someone was parked right outside the chemist’s door. The driver, who was in the shop waiting for a prescription, clearly had mobility problems. The driver of a lorry in a side street just across the main road came in and asked if the car could be moved so that he could reverse his lorry safely round the corner. No problem: the driver went out to move his car. Before the lorry driver could reverse his vehicle a post office van took the place of the previously parked car. Oops! Further explanation ensued. Vehicles moved all over the place. By the time I came out of the chemist’s total mayhem was going on. One driver was trying to do a three-point turn, blocking traffic in both directions. Cries of “Idiot!” and “Moron!” and lots of serious swearing filled the air! Great fun! I went into the coop and when I came out it was all over.
On Any Questions on the radio they’re discussing Rishi Sunak and his wife, especially the matter of where his wife pays her taxes. I understand all the arguments about her paying her taxes in India as that’s where she “earns” it. (Do you really “earn” money if it comes from investments?) I can remember being a little indignant while living in Spain because of the suggestion when I had a Spanish bank account that I should play taxes in Spain on my English pension. I suppose that if I had gone for permanent residence I might have had to accept that. I wonder where all the British living on the Costa del Sol pay their taxes. My contribution to the Spanish economy would have been very small though. Rishi Sunak’s wife has a lot more money to play, and pay, with.
On the wider issue of wealth, I remain amazed at how much money some people seem to need. A friend passed on this comment to me:
“Akshata Murty is worth £27bn and went to all that trouble to avoid £20m tax. That’s the same as having £27,000 in the bank and dodging paying 20 quid. The greed is mind boggling.”
It’s not so much what Akshata Murty does or doesn’t pay that bothers me, but all the rich folk, at various levels of wealth, who seem to feel the need to avoid taxes as much as possible. And not only that, but so many of them seem to feel the need to carry on amassing wealth. I find myself wondering if rich people are really insecure and desperately fear finding themselves without money! When you reach a certain level of wealth, surely there is no real beed to carry on grabbing more and more! Spread it out a bit, you rich ladies and gentlemen! And do they really “earn” it in the way more humble working people earn theirs?
Discussion in the radio programme went on to whether the really rich should be allowed to be in government. After all, they have no personal experience of “ordinary life” and “ordinary problems”. So how can they make decisions for the rest of us with any kind of empathy? Hmm! Part of the problem is that anyone wanting to move into politics and get into government needs a lot of money or a lot of sponsors. That’s another problem. The world is mad!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.
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