We’ve just had a fight with the clock on the oven. Other clocks were adjusted yesterday, the ones that you can adjust manually with no problem, but the oven was overlooked, semi-deliberately as it is a bit complicated. So this morning I dug out the manual, followed the instructions and suddenly had a clock which was just going backwards very quickly! So Phil had a go and, unable to undo whatever I had accidentally caused to happen, decided to switch the whole thing off and start again from zero. That worked!
Maybe we should just have left it until spring and resigned ourselves to having a clock that was exactly one hour fast but we do hate to be defeated by technology. That said, I still have not got my head around the instructions for setting the oven in advance so that it can switch on while you are out somewhere and you return home to a cooked meal, albeit one that you prepared earlier. One day I will get all this sorted out in my head! After all, I’ve only had this oven for a couple of years now!!
Technology is fine while it works for you and not against you!
Out in the wider world, it seems that racism is almost acceptable. Of course I know that that is not true but we have had the shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick commenting that he didn’t see a single white face on a visit to Handsworth in Birmingham, Reform MP Sarah Pochin complaining that adverts are too “full of black people, full of Asian people” because "it doesn't reflect our society" and "your average white person, average white family" is not "represented anymore", and now Conservative MP Katie Lam saying large numbers of legally settled families must be deported, in order to ensure the UK is mostly “culturally coherent”. Maybe those who say such things ‘apologise’ later, saying they did not wish to cause offence or that they “misspoke” or expressed themselves badly, but the fact remains that they THOUGHT those things.
Even the Labour Party is looking at changing the law on indefinite leave to remain, demanding among other things that those seeking that right should be seen to contribute to our society, maybe by doing volunteering work.
And I find myself wondering how many good British citizens actually do volunteering work that contributes to society. I know plenty of people who volunteer regularly in charity shops and local libraries or organise events for children and young people or go and listen to children read in local primary schools but many of us, myself included, just donate money to “good causes”, put stuff in collecting bags for charity organisations to collect on the designated day, and make sure we sort our recycling onto the relevant bins. Some, I suppose, don’t even do that!
I wonder about our “culturally cohesive” society too. Have we ever been culturally cohesive? Even back in my 1950s to 1960s childhood when just about every family I knew went to church every Sunday, had their children christened, sent them to Sunday School, and then had them confirmed in our local Anglican church, we didn’t mix much with the Roman Catholics who lived down the road. Well, they were different, weren’t they? Not quite “like us”.
And can we say that the opera-going people are culturally cohesive with the soap-opera-watching people?
Are the drinkers of smart cocktails culturally cohesive with the people who down as many pints of beer as possible with the aim of getting very drunk?
Hmm! All we can do is be more tolerant and accepting of everyone.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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