Changing temperatures? Out and about. Stephen Pinker on good and bad news. Bad news about Rwanda.

Yesterday I was tempted to say I wasn’t impressed by the much vaunted warm front that was supposed to be moving in. The millpond was still deep frozen. Even the corner the ducks where still managed to swim was frozen over. And although pavements were mostly safe to walk on, footpaths through wooded areas were even worse than in previous days, if that was even possible. The slight thaw followed by rain and then refreezing had left the paths positively glassy. You had to walk on the remaining bit of frosty grass at the edge of the path. 

But this morning it’s quite balmy out there. Well, the temperature is up to 11° or even 12°, which is hardly warm but everything is relative. There is also, however, wind and showers of rain to contend with. I had a little chat about the weather with a gentleman in the bus station in central Oldham this morning. This is what happens around here - conversations with complete strangers. The bus station is a notoriously cold and windy place even in the summer time. 

The centre of Oldham seems to be in turmoil as they pedestrianise and gentrify the shopping areas. They seem to be knocking things down and re-paving areas in what looks like a haphazard fashion but I suppose someone has planned it. There seem to be lots of places which now have sets of steps and all sorts of different levels, which surely will not be very user-friendly to the disabled or just the old and doddery. So it goes.

Stephen Pinker, “cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author and public intellectual”, has been writing about how we are attracted to bad news. This is why we like murder mystery series and stories. Personally I like such stories in fiction but I have no interest in learning the gruesome details of real cases. It is also why bad news features more than good news in regular bulletins. Bad news has more dramatic impact. 

And on the subject of bad news the High Court has decided that it’s perfectly legal and reasonable to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Quite how anyone justifies sending people half way round the world to have their application for asylum here

Jonathan Gullis, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North says that there is no reason for anyone to risk their lives by getting into small boats to cross the Channel, enriching people traffickers. He said: "The people of Stoke-on-Trent North and I find the number of migrants coming across the English Channel from perfectly safe neighbouring European countries like France totally unacceptable and deeply concerning.

"We need to bring this national and European emergency to an end, as well as fulfill our promise to the British people by taking back control of our laws and borders. When we as a country voted to leave the EU in 2016 we did so in order to restore our ability to control our laws, money and borders. The people of this great country felt that too much power wrongly lay in Europe, and their voices were ignored."

I wonder if all the people of Stoke-on-Trent North still really all that stuff?

That’s enough miserable news!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!