As I drank my second cup of breakfast coffee this morning I skimmed an article where columnist Emma Beddington bemoaned the fact that people pay £6.50 for a cup of coffee, something my Italian friend also finds incomprehensible. Indeed British coffee culture is a mystery to her and she misses being able to order an espresso for a probable maximum €2 and drink it standing at the bar. The columnist declared her desire to return to instant coffee as she can’t stand the snobbery around the different types of coffee people prefer (what level/method of roasting and which country of origin, which hints of ‘interesting flavour’ they discern) and even the complication of the coffee machine she has in her kitchen.
For a while we had a complicated coffee machine. I think we gave it away in the end and reverted to our Italian style coffee maker, the sort that apparently almost every Italian household uses. Although how long that will be the case if Starbucks manage to invade Italy. (We have several sizes of this useful but simple device.)
We’ve not travelled as much in the last year as we usually do but when we have I have noticed that in airports such as Oporto there has been a creeping invasion by chains such as Costa and Caffe Nero, with the usual range of oddly flavoured coffee. Personally I don’t want my coffee to be flavoured (adulterated) with caramel, vanilla, fruits flavours or anything else.
But, sorry Emma Beddington, I couldn’t go back to instant coffee. I’ve become a coffee snob.
I’ve never been a fan of golf. It’s often seemed like an unnecessarily complicated way of going for a walk with a load of equipment you need to carry around - or have someone else carry around for you. But whenever I have seen news reports of golf tournaments they have always seemed very polite affairs, with spectators standing politely, rather in awe of the skill of the professional at getting that little ball to go where they choose to send it. Like tennis it has always seemed like a ‘refined’ kind if sporting activity - and one where you probably need enough money to pay for the equipment and the membership of the clubs where the sport is played. I think of Wimbledon and in my head I hear the umpire calling out “Quiet please” as the first serve of a match is played. And the crowd goes silent!
Football crowds sing and shout in support of their teams but somehow we expect golf and tennis crowds to be more restrained. So what has been going on at the Ryder Cup in New York this week? Spectators shouting abuse at the UK team, presumably because they were defeating the USA team, which they eventually did. Rory McIlroy says his wife was struck by a flying beer bottle! “I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” said McIlroy. “I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people. Sometimes this week we didn’t see that.”
Quite so!
Maybe it’s indicative of the odd state the modern world has got into. Not only are people quick to criticise, and abuse, on social media but there seems a greater willingness to get into actual verbal and physical abuse in real life situations.
Have we lost our British politeness and restraint?
I keep hearing reports of people afraid to walk through the streets in some big city areas. Is that because of a kind of licence to be rude and aggressive! I’m glad we live in a quieter place!
Despite Reform UK having few MPs there is a growing fear that they could not only win more seats but even become powerful in parliament, some say even become the leaders. Even Rachel Reeves seems quite understanding about people being persuaded to support Reform UK. And she believes that you do ‘t have to be a racist to support Reform’s racist ideas and policies. Here’s the report of an interview with broadcaster Nicolo Ferrari:
“Reeves says people can support racist policy without being racist, in reference to PM's comment about Reform UK
Ferrari asks about what Keir Starmer said yesterday about Reform UK’s plan to end indefinite leave to remain being racist.
Q: Does supporting that policy make someone racist?
No, says Reeves.
Q: So you can support a racist policy but not be racist.
Reeves says it is a racist policy.
Q: But how can you support a racist policy and not be racist?
Reeves says people support Reform UK for all sorts of reasons.
Ferrari says he does not see how you can support a racist policy and not be racist.
Reeves says she is not sure lots of people do support this policy. She says:
I think there are lots of people who back Reform would be horrified by the thought that people who came to this country legally, are working and contributing, will be deported from this country. And we had to call out Reform for their policies. And this is a racist policy, and it’s a bad for our country, and we need to call that out.”
It’s time to provide an acceptable alternative.
To finish off, here is a Tom Gould cartoon about banning books:
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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