On Tuesday morning I hear that the energy minister said this on Radio 4’s today programme: “Clearly it’s uncomfortable, I’m uncomfortable talking about this now, because he was clearly wrong. But we need to show understanding – and the important thing was he did apologise.” He was sort of, but not quite, apologising for what Tory donor Frank Hester said about Diane Abbott.
There’s been rather more discussion about it since. By yesterday evening the government line was that what he said was “racist and wrong”. Hester himself has apparently said that his remarks were not based on her gender or her ethnicity. Well, you could have fooled me!
I can think of a number of MPs, of various parties, whose ideas I disagree with and whose physical appearance I might not find appealing (as if such things mattered!) but it would never occur to me say that those people should be shot! What a strange world we live in.
I still don’t know what will happen about the money he donated. Will it be returned to him?
Today discussion continued in Parliament, even though Diane Abbott herself was not allowed to ask a question, because of some point of protocol! I suppose the Speaker can only change the protocol when it suits him. But the whole thing led to a lot of almost name-calling with Sunak refusing to be criticised by someone who has ‘supported an antisemitic terrorist’! It’s rather like a school playground with one child saying to another, “Well! You can’t talk because you did so and so and such and such!”
Some talk about bread and circuses but it seems to me that we have the circus but rather a lot of people can’t afford the bread! That’s another matter though.
As for me, I have just spent rather a lot of money on new glasses. Still, it means I have gained a lot of points on my Boots Advantage Card. So I can recoup some of it next time I buy vitamins or cosmetics or shampoo.
I went into the town centre later morning for an eye test, thinking I might return via Uppermill and catch the tail end of the market. That didn’t happen but I must say the eye test was very thorough.
After I had finished failing to read letter charts, and having photos take of the back of my eye, and other such procedures, I ventured out through the rain to the market hall. I really wanted to buy some “pasteis de bacalao”, rather tasty cod pasties, but the Portuguese cafe-restaurant stall was closed - maybe they were out to lunch! - so that idea was shelved for another day.
Next I went to the fruit and veg stall, planning to buy a bag of mixed chopped vegetables to make some soup. I bought apples, oranges, grapefruit, green beans, avocado a whole range of produce but forgot the vegetable soup mix. Another shelved project.
I managed to return home in time for a cup,of tea and a snack before we were invaded by small people. There were parents’ evening for both the smallest grandchildren. One was done as a zoom call, the other face to face. So while my daughter and her partner spoke to the children’s teachers (both are doing well by-ball accounts) said children and I completed craft projects and cooked pizza. All good.
We are fortunate in that the children are progressing happily. According to this article a distressing large number of children are being home-schooled because schools are not managing properly. As a good number of these are secondary school children, failing to cope with the hurly burly, the chaos of staff changes, the pressures to conform, I find myself wondering again if part of the problem is not the sheer size of our secondary schools, becoming large anonymous exam-passing factories! Just a thought … but one of my regular bugbears.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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