Getting up on crisp, cold mornings. Eulogies and policy speeches. Educating girls. Graffiti art.

Mornings are growing decidedly chillier as September advances frightening quickly towards October. It becomes more difficult to persuade yourself to leave the cosy nest your bed has turned into. Maybe I should employ the 3–2-1 method described by the writer of this article. It sounds a bit like giving yourself a firm talking to: count down quickly 3-2-1, throw back the bed clothes and leap out of bed. Hmmm! It sounds fine in theory ….

Once you are up and about on days like today you realise how much you miss by not seeing the early hours. Again the theory sounds fine. I used to be a leap-out-of-bed-at-seven (or earlier) sort of person. Not any longer. Mind you, I also stay up later than I used to. I don’t think I can burn the candle at both ends any longer. 

Yesterday remained fine all day. We walked up the hill to Dobcross in the afternoon (still not very warm) sunshine. 

Today looks like being much the same, the sky looking rather like one of those Magritte clouds-in-the-sky pictures.

Out in the wider world tens of thousands of people packed into a football stadium for a memorial for Charlie Kirk. Despite Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika calling for peace and love and free speech in the world, it seems that Mr Trump made a rather hate-filled speech, more like a campaign speech than a eulogy. I find the whole Charlie Kirk phenomenon disturbing.

More disturbing though is this article about the education of girls in Afghanistan. Although some non-religious primary schools still exist, the numbers on roll are falling as there is more and more pressure to send girls to religious schools, madrasas, usually with financial, aid-related incentives. There they learn religious texts and rules, rules of nehavious and dress, but no maths of science. A sad situation?

I still find it strange that works by Banksy, basically high class, high quality graffiti have become coveted objects of value. Not that they are not of artistic value but putting a price on them changes the nature of the original protest. Here’s a link to an article about a row going on about works loaned to an exhibition in Italy.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!