Stormy weather. Being fiercely independent. Teaching children to play together.

 It seems that we can expect the arrival of Storm Gerritt, moving in from the west across the country:| -

“Drivers have been warned of potentially hazardous conditions as Storm Gerrit hits the country on Wednesday.

The storm is expected to be felt across the UK, with a number of yellow wind and rain warnings in place.

The Met Office has chosen to name the storm as it is expected to be a busy day on the roads, with people returning home after Christmas.”

Nonetheless I managed to go out for a run first thing without  being rained on. There were three young swans on the millpond - elegantly swan-shaped but still with some muddy brown plumage. They optimistically swam over to where I was standing but I had nothing to give them. Nodding acquaintances’ dogs also look at me optimistically, expecting me to have a pocket full of dog treats: after all, almost everyone they meet has a dog and, therefore, a regular supply of treats. I draw the line at carrying swan/duck and dog treats around with me. Later in the day Phil and I did a brisk walk around the village. Very windy but still not raining. Maybe the rain in the small hours was our share of rainfall for the day.

Every so often I hear something about Brexit benefits - usually non existent! Today I read about a strange one. Soon it will be possible to buy  “pint” bottles of wine - 568ml for those who stubbornly insist on being metric. Before we joined the Common Market, I am informed, pint bottles of champagne were sold in the UK and remained on sale until 1973 when we caved in and started to use metric measurement. Even my milkman delivers litre bottles of fresh milk! But now we have “taken back control” and we are set to benefit from new post-Brexit "freedoms", according to the government. I’m pretty sure the wine will taste the same. The standard size of a bottle of wine sold in supermarkets, off-licences, pubs and bars is 750ml. Will they charge the same for a slightly smaller bottle? I wonder!

Oh, boy! The joy of being fiercely independent. 

Here’s Michael Rosen on the subject of being fiercely independent: 

“'We're fiercely independent, aren't we?' said the King.

'Absolutely,' said the tutor, 'and luckily the Emperor supports our independence.'

'Yes,' said the King, 'I've often wondered why he is so supportive.'

'Because we create regional stability,' said the tutor.

'Yes,' said the King, 'though I have noticed there is some occasional regional instability.'

'And when that happens the Emperor is there straightaway to help us deal with it,' the tutor.

'Could we deal with the regional instability on our own?' said the King.

'Probably not,' said the tutor.

'But we're fiercely independent, aren't we?' said the King.

'Absolutely,' said the tutor.”

And here’s a comment from someone on Faceboo’:

“Let’s not talk about the weapon stockpiles in our closely guarded warehouses. Move along there, nothing to see. Fiercely independent.”

Hmmm!

Meanwhile, there are little glimmers of hope about people wanting to live together in peace. Here’s a link to an article about “Standing Together”, a sort of craft centre/organisation for Jewish and Palestinian Israeli children. “‘We don’t want the kids to be afraid of each other’: the Jews and Arabs uniting to heal rifts of war” reads the headline.

I was reminded of Daniel Barenboim, more than 20 years ago organising a youth orchestra of Arab and Jewish children. Spinoffs from that are individual musicians and quintets who play all over the place, but apparently never in Israel. Here’s a link to an article about it, dating back to 2014.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!