It was a bright, crisp morning when I persuaded myself to leave my warm nest. There was frost on all the cars and rooftops, the swans and seagulls seemed surprised to find themselves limited to a smaller than usual area of the millpond. By early afternoon the cloud had moved in but the temperature had not gone up greatly.
It must have been cold in the depth of night on the Channel coast off Calais. Apparently it was calmer than it had been for the last week and so it was a “good night” to try to cross the Channel in a small boat. It capsized before even properly setting off. People on the boat were calling emergency services. Five people died. A reporter from a French newspaper said that the water temperature was about 9°, the kind of temperature at which you would be lucky to survive ten or fifteen minutes if you were in the water. How desperate must you be to attempt such a crossing in the middle of the night?
I’ve been baking apple pie, as I often do on a Sunday morning. A young friend - well, relatively, as he must be rapidly heading towards 40 and there was a time when I regarded 40 as ancient - posted this on his regular allotment accounts:
“After the recent passing of the great Benjamin Zephaniah his family let it be known that the legendary poet, author and activist did not want flowers at his funeral and that he much preferred plants which still had their roots. Today in his honour I’ve planted a Granny Smith apple tree whose surplus will be given to local food banks and whoever needs apples, pies, sauces or jams.”
I wonder how long we will have to wait before I can invite him round to sample a Zephaniah apple pie; in his childhood he was a famous consumer of apple pie!
“We are bombing Yemen to allow Israel to Bomb Gaza”, so said Andrew Murray (Stop the War Coalition) in London yesterday, a friend of mine reports. Maybe we’re also bombing Yemen because our prime minister and the president of the USA both face elections and want to be reelected.
The same friend also posts this:
“On the 100th day of the genocide:
"Death toll in Gaza reaches 23,968, says health ministry
A total of 23,968 Palestinians have been killed and 60,582 injured by Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday as the war reached its 100th day.
In the past 24 hours, 125 Palestinians were killed and 265 were injured, the ministry added."
(Guardian update 11:27)”
And this:
“On the 100th day of the genocide killing nearly 24,000 and injuring over 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, we're being treated to full-blast Israeli brainwashing on German tv (what else...)
Apparently, they've installed several tourist attractions in Tel Aviv to commemorate the day appropriately. One of them is "a replica of the tunnels" they believe the Israeli hostages are held in; you can go on a "tunnel tour" and whilst you are there the experience is "enhanced" by simulations of the horrendous noises from the Israeli bombing of Gaza, making the whole experience even more creepy.
I don't think they actually get the full irony (or rather: cynicism) of their own installation...”
Years ago I visited a similar “installation” in Guernica, Basque Country, with simulated bombing raids going on. An odd kind of tourism.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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