The storm seems mostly to have blown itself out although the wind is still quite strong. But I was back running along the boardwalks again this morning. The waves out on he ocean are still pretty impressive.
Yesterday evening we went along to the opening ceremony for the chess congress here. The organiser is determined to link chess with Portuguese culture - music and poetry, a lot of thank yous to his various local sponsors, and some nice eulogies for some of the outstanding older chess players. The music was fine but it would have been good to understand the words of the songs. Likewise the long speeches in Portuguese. Just when I begin to get the gist of what is being said, he goes into more complicated stuff. Of course, what I really need to do is dedicate as much time and energy to learning Portuguese as I have done to Italian.
After we returned from the opening ceremony, we treated ourselves to a little beer in the hotel bar. It’s nice to treat ourselves once in a while.
Now for more serious stuff. I found this comment on social media:
“After thirteen years of Tory rule, an unprecedented number of people are sleeping in tents.
The Tory response is to ban tents. “
Here’s an explanation, from yesterdays’s Guardian:
“The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice” while defending her decision to restrict the use of tents by homeless people on the streets of Britain.
According to Whitehall insiders, Braverman plans to crack down on tents that cause a nuisance in urban areas such as high streets – amid growing numbers of rough sleepers and what the government considers a rise in antisocial behaviour.
The home secretary has also proposed the introduction of a civil offence, which could lead to charities being fined if they provide homeless people with tents, the Financial Times reported.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Braverman defended her proposals, saying: “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.
Asylum seekers who are granted leave to remain are now given just seven days to vacate their hotel or other accommodation, which puts many at risk of homelessness.”
Back when George Orwell was experimenting with living as a tramp, being homeless really was a “lifestyle choice” for some people - restless souls who wandered the country, doing odd jobs here and there and sleeping rough, or in barbs if they could. Life was simpler then.,
I was struck by this sentence within what Ma Braverman had to say: “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless.” She herself, however, seems to seriously lack compassion.
But then, politicians not listening to what people think and want is very common, especially at the moment. Huge pro-Palestinian demonstrations , with a large number of Jewish participants by all accounts, have been taking place in countries all over the place. Manchester Piccadilly station was the site of a huge sit-in. London was more or less closed down by demonstrations. I’ve seen photos of protests in Berlin and particularly impressive was the photo of crowds of protesters in Washington with the Capitol in the background. But it seems that most of our political leaders still support Israel, even when going through the motions of calling for a ceasefire.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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