When the recent snow was turning to slush we went for a walk and Phil suddenly realised he had wet toes. The sole of one of his boots had unstuck itself. Last week I got round to taking the boot to the cobblers in Oldham market for repairs. Today I went to collect it. For £5 he now has perfectly usable boot once more.
Two odd things happened while I was out and about. I went to a cash machine, withdrew some money and received for the first time ever a £50 note. In Spain and Portugal cash machines regularly give me €50 notes. People appear to use them all the time. Once I even saw someone pay a relatively small bill in a supermarket with a €500 note, much to the consternation of the cashier.
Secondly, as I left Sainsbury’s supermarket and returned my trolley to the trolley park, someone approached me and said, “Excuse me, but did you used to be a teacher at Grange School?” Well, yes, I did but I left the school just before my son was born and he’ll be 47 on his next birthday. It turned out she was one of the many Julies, from a time when there were at least 5 Julies in one class. Imagine still being recognisable so many years on. We had a nice nostalgic chat.
Here is a quotation from our Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, from the lunchtime news: “Southport must be a line in the sand.” He was talking about terrorism and how it is changing in modern times and how he plans to take strong action. I’m not sure that terrorism really defines what went on in Southport in the summer. Random act of violence would be better.
Somehow though his statement was appropriate when talking about a seaside place whose natives are known as Sandgrounders!
Mr Starmer has also expressed his concern about the numbers of people who have been killed in Gaza. Here is Michael Rosen’s response:
“The Prime Minister said
that people in Gaza 'lost their lives'.
That was careless of them.
They must have been careless
about where they were standing,
or sitting
or sleeping.
They didn't get out of the way.
They were forgetful about health and safety,
perhaps.
Like walking out on to the road
without looking,
perhaps.
He seems concerned.
Maybe he hopes that they will get their lives back.
Someone kind person will hand them back to them
perhaps.
Maybe he wonders where they lost them.
Now that he's seen pictures
of streets turned to rubble
maybe he thinks
that they got lost underneath
some bricks or slabs of concrete.
This may, perhaps,
lead him to wonder what it was
that caused the buildings to fall.
He must have found out by now
that it wasn't an earthquake.
Perhaps he wonders
if it could have been anything like
the London Blitz
an event we remember with horror and sadness.
So why would anyone do such a thing
today?
Why would anyone
use weapons against civilians
so that they end up 'losing their lives'?
Surely this would be something
that our prime minister would think of
with horror and sadness.
But it seems not.
It just seems to have happened
because the people of Gaza
were careless.
Thousands and thousands of people
were careless.
The careless people of Gaza.
The concerned Prime Minister of Great Britain.”
Although attacks are still taking place in the West Bank, aid is getting into Gaza and people are returning to what is left of their homes:
“Even those whose homes are still standing are without water, power and other basic necessities.
Noha Abed, 28, had returned with her husband and three children to the family’s home in the southern city of Rafah, which now has only one liveable room. “Our house was beautiful, a one-storey building with three rooms. We lost everything,” she said.
But after cleaning it and putting their belongings in what is left of the house, she said the family “want to live in it until the rebuilding happens”.
For now, her focus is on securing “food, water, electricity, beddings and blankets” for the family, who had been sleeping in a tent further north for about 10 months, she said.
Despite the difficult conditions, she said that this was “the first night I sleep without being afraid for my children””
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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