Yesterday in the late afternoon / early evening I sat outside in the garden, talking about this and that with the neighbours. We wondered about our chances of getting to see the northern lights over our houses. On Friday the immediate next door neighbours had been out in the garden late at night getting very excited about the celestial display. I didn’t hear anything but the neighbour on the other side of them had already told me about the fuss. Apparently they had considered knocking on both our doors to tell us to come and look but, perhaps out of mistaken respect for our advanced age, they chose not to, in case we had already gone to bed. Such are the stereotypes!
Anyway, we worked out that last night we had a chance to see the lights at around 10.30. I duly looked out, even went into the garden, at 10.30. Not a thing! Just a rather damp mist in the air and a little sliver of waning moon. So that’s another celestial event I’ve missed.
This morning several of my nodding acquaintances around the village have commented on not having seen the light display either. Granddaughter Number Two went out specially in York on the same mission and also failed miserably. According to my daughter there were traffic jams late last night as people drove around looking for a goos spot to see the lights, the result of all the publicity it was given yesterday.
The other thing I didn’t see yesterday was the Eurovision Song Contest, which has become very political. I have long wondered how Israel managed to be part of Europe and therefore take part in the competition. This year there were protests because of Gaza. Israel had to change the lyrics of their entry. Some people were banned. Flag waving, which last year was encouraged if it was a Ukrainian flag, was banned this year if it was a Palestinian flag. Our entrant was criticised for not refusing to take part in protest. And apparently the Israeli competitor has had a lot of hate mail and has need security. I could almost feel sorry for her. It must be hard to be 20 and have the eyes of the world on you, not for your talent but because your country is disregarding the criticism of the world.
When I was in my mid-teens I enjoyed the Eurovision Song Contest, mostly because I enjoyed hearing songs in foreign languages and discovering that I could understand what they were singing about. It seems to have become a kind of circus of the absurd and outrageous nowadays. I long ago stopped watching.
Today is cooler than it has been over the last few days. This may be the consequence of Granddaughter Number Two having declared that it was time to break out the sundresses and sandals. Also, there is the fact that Phil has cut the grass, despite advice to wait until June or July in order to allow the bees to benefit from the dandelions. Another contributing factor is my having hunted out the bead curtain we hang in the doorway when we leave the back door open. This is a perhaps vain attempt to discourage wasps and bees and other insects from flying into the kitchen. On Friday I rescued two huge bumble bees who had bumbled into the kitchen and seemed unable to find their way out.
Catching bees is not easy. I use the same techniques as I do for spiders: pop a glass over the beastie, slide a card underneath, ideally without breaking their legs, and then taken them to the bottom of the garden to release them. Popping a glass over a bumble bee is quite hard because they will refuse to remain still on a suitable surface. So it goes.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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