Well, it appears that the cruise ship which spent three, no, four months stranded in Belfast tried to set off but got into a muddle over paperwork and had to drop anchor again, still not far from Belfast. One passenger said he was a bit “confused” by the situation but was “happy to be home” and to have slept in his “own bed” onboard the vessel for the first time. What an odd situation! Imagine considering a cruise ship as “home”, even one where you plan to spend the next three years, and to consider the bed in the cabin as your “own bed”. Mind you, I hear they have paid large amounts for their cabins so I suppose they are entitled to consider them their own.
It’s not what I would want to spend my money on, assuming I had enough to afford such things. Somehow the thought of all that water below my “home” would be quite disturbing. Haven’t they heard about the Titanic? I have no idea of how long you might expect a huge boat like that to last but I read that this particular one is 31 years old, and it had been idle for four years before being taken over by the cruise company. Hmmm!
But it’s not my problem, thank goodness!
I notice that Michael Rosen has returned to his practice of posting “letters” from Boris Johnson:
“Dear Mogg
I am splattered all over the News outlets, all picking up on the sensational turbo-charged reveals in my great memoir. I've cast myself as a 21st century Scarlet Blimpernel heroically saving GB from the Corbynite Stalinist woke Reign of Terror.
Detritus reflux
Boris”
Mr Johnson is receiving quite a lot of media attention again lately, maybe because he’s been writing his memoirs but also coinciding with the Conservative party leadership circus. Is he being reinstated?
Here are a couple of things about women.
First, here is a link to an article about a woman going to court in 1697 in Preston, asking to be paid what she was promised for fostering a child, not that they called it fostering back then. But the practice of having children looked after by women not their mothers seems to go back a long way:
“The practice of “boarding” or “tabling” a child with a woman who was not a relative held an ambiguous legal status, but was a crucial element of the ad hoc provision of welfare of the time. Poor laws gave local officials the authority to seek care or apprenticeships for children who would otherwise be destitute, and to place them for a small sum with women who might otherwise need aid themselves – potentially addressing two problems at once. Forty shillings, the most commonly cited annual sum, was equivalent to 22 days’ worth of wages for a skilled tradesman.”
A good solution to problems in society. We still have stuff to learn from the past.
And here’s a link to an article about a Bolivian mountaineer and mountain guide who climbs wearing a “pollera”, a traditional voluminous floral skirt over layers of pink petticoats.
A woman in what is often considered a man’s role, she has a very positive attitude:
“It is not all about reaching the summit,” she says. “Sometimes it’s about enjoying being in the mountains and going as far as you can, without suffering because of them. Since I began climbing mountains, I’ve learned the same applies to life. t’s not about getting to the top, but enjoying yourself on the journey. The most important thing is to be happy.”
She is a “cholita escaladora”, one of a group of women who have become known for mountaineering. The word cholita comes from chola which was previously used as a pejorative term for indigenous Aymara women. They’ve reclaimed the word to make it a positive thing. But she and her companions don’t give up their traditional women’s garb: “I have never worn trousers to go up a mountain and I never will. Our polleras don’t impede us,” she says.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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