Yesterday we strolled out in the early evening, after we had eaten. We contemplated doing so before we ate, while the sun was still shining but decided to eat first. When we set off it was still bright but the sun was going down and the ‘gentle breeze’ seemed to have changed into a chilly wind. We commented to each other that the much vaunted heatwave was not really making much impression here in the Northwest.
We have just this morning spoken to our son who lives in Buckinghamshire, at the end of the Metropolitan Line into London. He has just returned from Baiona in Galicia, Spain, and says the weather in Buckinghamshire is much the same as in Baiona. So it goes.
They saw no evidence of wildfires but we saw news yesterday of serious fires in an unnamed part of Galicia.
And I have come across this bit of news from Spain:-
“Brits visiting Spain will "roast" under strict rules banning air conditioning from being set lower than 27C in the summer, a tourism expert has warned. A new set of energy-saving measures approved by the country will also prevent heating from being raised above 19C in winter.
The rules, which comes into force next week, apply to bars, restaurants, and shops as well as public transport systems and transport centres. Only hotel rooms are exempt from the changes as they are considered private spaces.”
In London, the heat, especially during the heatwave proper has caused problems with IT systems. Computers crashed Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals at the height of the heatwave, leading to cancelled operations, postponed appointments and the transfer of patients to other centres. There are fears about the impact of climate change on data centres that store medical, financial and public sector information. Modern problems! We need a modern solution!
Also yesterday came the news that Judith Durham, singer with the Seekers back in the day, has died, aged 79. Another bit of our youth disappears. Some time soon we will reach a point where all the famous singers around will be people we have never heard of!
On a more serious note, as the Ukrainians shell a nuclear plant currently held by the Russians, surely not the most sensible of undertakings, I wonder if there will be anything left at all.
I was also reading about Afghanistan, which has been largely out of the news in recent months, although I did see some reports of people still trying to get out, and about people having fled Afghanistan still living in hotels in this country best part of a year after being given shelter. The system isn’t working well.
Getting back to Afghanistan though, it appears that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a gift to the Taliban, drawing the world’s attention away as the group cranked up their extremist policies. Promises were made that girls would be able to continue with their education. Left to themselves, the Taliban have stopped girls’ secondary education. Likewise, women can work but only in health care and education - presumably teaching only in primary schools. One 10-year-old apparently told reporters that she has a strategy to stay in school for another year. “I will make sure I don’t answer too many questions right. I have decided to fail, so I can study sixth grade again.”
Girls and women are being beaten for being on the streets unaccompanied, improperly covered or being too loo loud and cheerful out and about. The rest of the world’s attention has been distracted.
But investigators are predicting problems:
“The Taliban are representing the Taliban, not Afghanistan. Half of the population has not been represented in government at all in the past nine months,” said the Afghan analyst. As in 2001, whole ethnic, religious and cultural communities have been excluded from a government dominated almost entirely by Pashtun Taliban extremists.
Those groups have a long history of fighting and, if the Taliban cannot ease Afghanistan’s political and economic crises, may too easily be persuaded to pick up guns again.
“Only 2% of Afghans are over 60, and 45% are under 14,” said one veteran of several of Afghanistan’s many civil wars. Give a boy $100 and a Kalashnikov and you have a fighter. We are living with human timebombs. They grew up with weapons and don’t need two weeks’ training: one hour will be enough.”
Hmmm!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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