I’ve been into Manchester today. I went out in plenty of time for a bus which would take me to the tram stop in Oldham. As I approached the crossroads I saw the bus coming up the road from Uppermill, so i thought ai had plenty of time as it would go up into our village, round the estate and back down to my stop. Instead of going over the crossroads and into the village, however, it took a left turn, directly toward Oldham. Fortunately it stopped and seemed to wait. So I started running, despite not wearing the best shoes for sprinting after a bus, because there was no knowing how long it would wait. I caught the bus! Otherwise the would have been a half hour wait for the next, throwing my schedule out.
Now, last Wednesday I caught a bus (the same service and number as today’s) back from our local Tesco, in Greenfield village. As we approached the crossroads the driver declared, “I’me not going up there. If you want Delph, get off here.” I assumed it was because the bus was running late, but I was a little indignant for people who might be waiting in the village. That evening Phil went out to catch a bus at our usual stop and once again he saw the bus approach and take a left turn rather than go through the village. That time the bus did not wait but simply sailed away into the wide blue yonder. Phil had to send for a taxi to get him to his destination on time.
This morning I questioned the driver. He said it was something to do with scaffolding on the route through the village. Buses have been losing wing mirrors. According to my son-in-law, who works for the Bee Network, the Manchester bus service, and whom I contacted with my complaint, it’s all to do with overhanging branches at the turn-around point. My major gripe was that there is no notice at any of the bus stops warning would+be passengers that the stops, of which there are several on the route through the village, are temporarily closed. It’s been a week now.Just a little courtesy would be appreciated!
Anyway, I went to Manchester to get my hair done. The sun shone beautifully all morning. As I left the hairdresser’s the promised rain started. How very annoying. Fortunately I was able to pop my newly styled hair under my beret and, also fortunately, my raincoat has a good hood!
So much for summer!
Here are a couple of things from Michael Rosen, first a spoof press release:
“Israeli press release:
Good news: no one in Gaza is dead. No one in Gaza is hungry. All the pictures you see are fake. Apart from ours. Ours are not fake. Western civilisation hovers on the brink. You're either with us or with us. Hamas have more planes than the Nazis.”
And then a possible speech from our prime minister(!):
“Good afternoon.
This is a very important day. I'm announcing that we're going to be spending a lot more of your money and this is good for the economy, good for growth and good for arms manufacturers.
We're not spending money in the silly way that Corbyn was going to do - on schools and hospitals - but in good ways. On defence. We all need defence.
Defence is war.
And we're war ready. Grrrrrrrr! That's how war-ready we are.
Turn to the person next to you and say:
Grrrrrrr!
That's shown that bad man Farage that we're the patriots round here.
Grrrrr!
More bombs!
Grrrrr!
That means more jobs.
Job for British people.
British bombs. British jobs.
British bombs to drop on people who aren't British.
At last something for us all to be proud of.
Grrrrr!
It's a dangerous world but we're ready to play our part.
And there are some bad people out there.
Now some of you are confused about this.
The point about bad people, is that we decide who the bad people are. Not you.
Russia - bad.
China - bad.
North Korea - bad.
Iran - bad.
And if we need to biff them, we will
All of them
Grrrrrrr!
Good people:
America
Israel
The Falklands.
Cayman Islands.
Now I just want to say how intolerable things are in Gaza. I am shocked and appalled to the very core of my feet. It's so intolerable I'm tolerating it.
Right from the beginning of this terrible war that Hamas are waging, I've said enough is enough. When it's all over and there's a reckoning, you'll see that we've been entirely consistent in expressing our concern how terrible it may sometimes have been but mostly wasn't. In fact, I was the first to say that Israel had every right to kill everyone. That was the humanitarian thing to do.
People say to me, why don't we send in aid. Ah, if only it was as simple as that. Nothing is simple in politics. That's where Corbyn got it wrong. We're not the simple people. We're realistic.
Grrrrrr!
So thank you for listening.
Remember, Britain is British.
It'll never be an island of strangers on my watch.
My father was a tool-maker.
I'm a Zionist and always will be.
Jeremy Corbyn isn't a tool-maker.
Grrrrrr!”
Meanwhile there is this from this morning’s paper:
“At least 27 Palestinians killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near food distribution point, say local health authorities
At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said.
It is the third consecutive day of similar incidents as Israel attempts to impose a new aid distribution regime on the Gaza Strip, which it has been blockading for weeks.
The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of individuals who had left designated access routes near the distribution centre in Rafah.
Journalists have not been able to independently the casualty count, but Reuters reports a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told the news agency its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.”
That’s all.
Oh, and Mount Etna has been erupting.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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