Granddaughter Number Two will be happier today. For most of this week she has been complaining that it’s been too hot. I agree with her that travelling on public transport is not the most pleasant experience when the weather is warm and she does take a bus and a tram to work in central Manchester every weekday. On Tuesday when I was also in Manchester we tried to meet for lunch. However, my hair appointment went into her ridiculously short lunch hour (can you still call it a lunch hour of it lasts only 30 minutes?) and we were at opposite sides of the city centre. We managed to meet and chat for about five minutes! Today, as the weathermen promised, it is cooler and so she will be happier.
She is one of those odd people who relishes cold weather so that she can wear big jumpers and curl up in a duvet with a good book. While I can appreciate the appeal of that, there comes a point when I really want to get the lighter-weight clothes out and sit comfortably outdoors in the shade with a cool drink and a good book. We have the good books in common.
We missed another pre-election debate last night, the last one before the election a week today. By all accounts we did not miss much. This time it just Sunak versus Starmer. Apparently neither has said anything new or enlightening. We’ll see what next Thursday brings.
Here’s something that has appeared on social media:
“Everyone getting in a flap at having Reform UK leaflets delivered by Royal Mail.
***TOP TIP***
Simply pop the leaflet in an envelope and send it to:
Reform UK Co Ltd
5 - 6 St Matthew Street
Westminster
SW1P 2JT
Just don't put a stamp on it, the surcharges are very expensive...”
Some people have commented that we should just ignore Reform UK as a minority party of no importance. My fear is that they could sneak into a position in parliament where their voice could be heard more often. Some pundits say that voters disillusioned with both Labour and the Tories might well turn to Reform UK as a kind of reaction! We shall see!
Meanwhile, a German friend of mine tells me that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has promised to shorten the waiting time for new citizens to obtain a German passport to five years but has introduced a tougher measure of loyalty to German values. “New test questions have been added on the topics of antisemitism, the right of the state of Israel to exist and Jewish life in Germany,” and new German citizens must declare Israel’s right to exist. Of course accepting Israel’s right to exist does not preclude believing in Palestine’s right to exist but that is not mentioned.
Citizenship tests are a thorny matter; how many of us would pass muster if we all had to go through the test today? How many of us simply do not have the knowledge? And if we had to take the test and failed, what would the government do with us?
Thinking of changing populations, (animal populations), on more than one occasion I have expressed my opposition to the proposal that wild wolves should be reintroduced into the UK. I can appreciate that they are beautiful animals but I don’t want to risk running into one when I am out and about. I feel the same about bears. Anyway, this week I read about a Frenchwoman who spent a night with her family at Thoiry Zoo, about 25 miles away from Paris. They have safari-style lodges in the zoo where you can stay for between £185 and £640 a night. Lodges in the wolf zone promise “silence, rest and disconnection”, according to the zoo’s adverts. They offer “a one-of-a-kind, very intimate experience with the arctic wolves you’ll be able to see from the living room”.
In the morning she got up and went for a run, the kind of thing I might well have done. Somehow she ended up in the “wolf zone”, an area where access is limited to visitors on cars. It’s not clear whether she made a mistaken or if the trail was not clearly marked but somehow she got through “security systems, a trench and an electric fence supposed to keep the animals in”. Three wolves attacked her and her injuries are life-threatening.
That’s the kind of thing that makes me wary of reintroducing wild wolves into the UK. They are, after all, dangerous animals!
We should be wary of all dangerous animals!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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