Out and about. Stuff going on in the world.

I’ve been out and about today having lunch with a couple of old friends. We went to La Viña on Deansgate in Manchester. We’ve been going there for years.The food is quite good, although I did wonder about the advisability of cooking pimientos de Padrón with honey! Maybe this is Spanish nouvelle cuisine. The food is also more expensive and in smaller portions than it used to be. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. The staff still seem to be mostly Spanish but even when you address them in Spanish, they quite resolutely reply in English. Maybe they are just determined to improve their English.

Meanwhile, out in the world, conflict continues and indeed escalates. The US/UK attack on the Houthis has provoked comments about how governments are more prepared to take action in defence of commerce than in defence of people.

“We must be careful not to legitimise people who are firing missiles at civilian vessel”  - said David Lammy, maybe not his exact words but more or less. That’s what I heard on the radio news programme. 

“It’s importance both parties take a step back,” also said David Lammy. So why is he not calling for a ceasefire.

Here’s a post from a friend of mine:

“Right he is!

"Humza Yousaf calls for parliament to be recalled to discuss UK action in Yemen:

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf is calling for parliament to be recalled to discuss the UK action in Yemen.

Yousaf said it was “pretty frustrating” that he was not briefed in advance of the UK and US strikes carried out last night.

He said there was “no equivocation” that the SNP aligns itself with the UN security council resolution calling for an end to Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea but that the UK’s record of military intervention in Middle East “is not a good one”.

“The correct and appropriate thing to have done would have been to have recalled parliament to have given serious detail about any proposed military action because there are significant questions.”

He said that, despite the UK insisting that this has nothing to do with the conflict between Israel and Gaza “that is a complete fallacy and the concern is that there will be a wider regional escalation because of the action taken.”

“My concern also is that we see thousands of children are dying in Gaza, and I just wish the UK government would care as much about those children that are dying.”

(Guardian update 10:57)”

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!