A disrupted Wednesday.

 The weather is supposed to be getting milder again but it doesn’t feel much like it so far this morning. Mind you, I’ve not been out and about. My daughter phones at about 7.30am to ask of she could leave Granddaughter Number Four with me for the day. Said granddaughter has tonsillitis and is not fit for school. Normally she could stay at home with her father as she’s no bother and just occupies herself with a book or her tablet, unlike her small brother who “invites” you to play with him constantly. But her father has just had a promotion and needs to work on the office this week rather than from home.  

Consequently I have not cycled to the market this morning. It’s not a problem; the fish-man has gone on holiday for a couple weeks to Portugal and I seem already to have a supply of the excellent oat biscuits sold by Jenny Biscuit. Anything I might pick up from the fruit and veg man I can also get tomorrow from the frutivendolo, Alimentari Alberti, the Italian greengrocery off the main street in Uppermill. So it goes.

Out in the wider world, things are getting very serious in the Middle East. The mainstream media seem so busy blaming Iran for everything that it doesn’t appear to occur to them that what Israel has done and is still doing in Gaza and now in Lebanon amounts to terrorism. 

Here’s a picture of a map of Gaza superimposed on a map of Merseyside, making it plain what a small place it really is. I’m pretty sure a lot of people have no real concept of the geography involved. Maybe TV news reports should always involve maps. 

And here are a couple Michael Rosen posts. First this:

'You must always remember your ancestral lands, sir,' said the King's tutor.

'Oh I do, tutor,' said the King, 'but where exactly are they?'

'A good guide on that matter,' said the tutor, 'is to say that our ancestral lands are where we say they are.'

'Yes, of course,' said the King, 'though I found myself wondering when I woke up this morning, whether everyone has ancestral lands.'

'Well, there are ancestral lands and ancestral lands,' said the tutor.

'I don't follow you,' said the King.

'Some ancestral lands count and some don't,' said the tutor.

'Oh that doesn't sound very fair,' said the King.

'I don't think you need to worry your head about that, sir,' said the tutor, 'all that matters is that we've got our ancestral lands.'

'Apart from the ancestral lands we haven't got yet,' said the King,

'Good point, sir,' said the tutor, 'yes, we really need to do a lot more to get hold of them.'

'Yes,' said the King, 'I would like that...and you don't see any problems with that, though?'

'There would be problems,' said the tutor, 'if the Emperor thought it was a bad idea.'

'And does he?' said the King.

'Precisely the opposite,' said the tutor, 'he thinks it's a great idea.'

'Well that's all sorted then,' said the King, 'what a lovely start to the day.'

Then this:

'Do you think we come across as being very warlike, tutor?' said the King.

'There's no reason why we should,' said the King's tutor, 'why do you ask?'

'Oh just a thought I had,' said the King, 'because we are doing quite a lot of fighting.'

'Indeed we are,'said the tutor, 'but every bit of it is on account of having to defend ourselves.'

'Of course,' said the King, 'I know that's what we say we're doing but is it all really defending ourselves? Isn't some of it attack?'

'Yes indeed,' said the tutor, 'but attack is defence.'

'Is it?' said the King, 'I thought attack was attack.'

'An easy mistake to make,' said the tutor, 'but you have to remember that we have to abide by guidelines and convince people of the necessity of our actions.'

'And do people believe us?' said the King.

'It doesn't really matter whether they do or they don't,' said the tutor.

'Really not?' said the King.

'No,' said the tutor, 'it doesn't matter so long as they let us do what we're doing.'

'I think I get this,' said the King, 'and then the people we've said this stuff to about defending ourselves, they just go about saying we're defending ourselves? Is that it?'

'Indeed it is,' said the tutor.

'Very good,' said the King, 'so we've got right on our side, then.'

'We have,' said the tutor.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!