Further to my going on at some length yesterday about Granddaughter Number Two’s graduation, here’s something I forgot to mention. The day worked on a kind of production line of graduation ceremonies, there simply not being room to fit all the graduands (ie. students about the graduate) and their invited guests into the venue in one sitting. So they had a series of one and a half hour ceremonies - get students and guests into place, procession of dignitaries march slowly in preceded by ceremonial mace-carrier, speeches, presentations, musical interlude, more presentations, more speeches, dignitaries process slowly out, everyone gets to leave - over the course of the day. In fact, there are three ceremonies a day over about five days.
At each ceremony someone is presented with an honorary doctorate: introduced by one speaker, that person receives degree from chancellor, and the makes a speech. At the one we attended a businessman, Steve Foots CBE, became a Doctor of the University, and made a quite uplifting speech, with a bit of environmental stuff in there, encouraging the young people to go out and look after the world. However, had we been in the next batch of graduands-becoming-graduates we would have seen the writer Margaret Atwood receive her doctorate. How interesting it would have been to hear what she might have to say about the current world situation where her “Handmaid’s Tale” is in danger of becoming a reality! I would have loved to hear her and so, indeed, would Granddaughter Number Two. But it was not to be. So it goes!
Thinking about the possibility of travelling Phil and I checked up on the expiry date of our passports. The last thing we want is to turn up at the airport only to be told we don’t have enough time left on our current passports. And indeed, while Phil’s might just get away with it, my passport was likely to cause problems. So we spent some time taking photos of each other and making sure they met the Passport Office requirements, before applying online for new passports. And today I posted off our soon-to-expire passports. And so we will no longer have offensive-to-Brexiters burgundy passports; they will be replaced with good British blue passports. I feel quite sad and nostalgic about our time as EU citizens already!
When we travel it is usually with a regulation size and weight small, carry-on suitcase and a regulation size smaller cabin bag. So we always pay to have priority boarding, with nothing going in the hold and no wait at the carousel to collect luggage. Straight to passport control and away we go. Time was when the priority boarding queue was small. Now it’s much longer than the non-priority queue. Everyone has the same idea - at least on “budget” flights.
Today I read that RyanAir pays a bonus to airport staff who spot and intercept overweight cabin bags. This stands at €1.50 per intercepted bag with a cap of €80 per staff member per month. The more bags they can have diverted to the hold, at a cost to the passenger, the more room there is in the overhead lockers, the less fuss there is, and the speedier is the departure. Oh, the joys of modern travel. Some time soon we will give in to the idea of travelling by train, making the journey part of the holiday!
But in the meantime we’re not going anywhere until the new passports arrive.
Out in the wider world, chaos still prevails. People are being arrested for protesting, ICE agents are locking up supposed illegal immigrants, Mr Trump is threatening to remove US citizenship from people he takes a dislike to, such as comedian Rosie O'Donnell, who moved to Ireland when Trump was elected for a second term. He called her a "threat to humanity" and said she should "remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her". And in Gaza people are still being shot as they try to collect much-needed aid. Our government still sells arms to Israel.
Here are a couple of Michael Rosen’s poems:
In 2026,
as the world's press step carefully
over the blood-stained rubble
of Gaza's killing grounds
we, the British govt,
will remind the world
how we issued strongly worded statements
very strongly.
On one occasion we deplored.
The Killing
"We're not doing it
but if we were doing it
we'd be within our rights
to be doing it.
The people on our side
who say that we're doing it
are not the same as us
because we don't say
we're doing it,
so why do you keep
talking to the people
who say we're doing it?"
That’s enough.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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