I was woken at about 2.00 this morning by a thunderstorm, rain lashing down (again!) and thunder rumbling and rolling around. This morning everything is a lot calmer. The wind has died down. The sun is shining. If there’s a further improvement in the weather it’ll be because we are going home tomorrow.
We have just come to end of what I am told is the 17th Festival Internacional do Xadrez here in Figueira da Foz. We‘ve not attended all 17 but we’ve been to quite a few. Always enjoyable, even when Storm Claudia comes along.
Here’s a chess-related photo from Nairobi, Kenya.
‘Young people compete at a chess tournament in the Kibera township. The tournament brings together 195 children from different informal settlements in the Kenyan capital with the aim of nurturing young minds, strengthening critical thinking and inspiring the next generation.’
Today we are hunting for somewhere new and interesting to go to for lunch. This may be difficult as many places close on Mondays. We shall see.
Further to my remarks about Icelandic yesterday, here’s a word I found which maybe should be introduced into English, which is, after all, a language influenced by all sorts of cultures:
Hoppípolla, pronounced hop-pee-poh-lah (Icelandic verb). To jump in puddles. A playful act that celebrates childlike joy, wonder, and the delight of small, unexpected moments in life.
Hygge (a Danish and Norwegian word that describes a cozy, contented mood evoked by comfort and conviviality) has become fairly standard English, so why not hoppipolla as well. I’m sure A. A. Milne, with his love of puddly places (from his collection of poems for children Now We Are Six, I think), would approve.
Here’s a ‘Men Behaving Badly’ comment on the Trump - BBC confrontation: ‘Our client has broadcast all of the right words, but not necessarily in the right order.’
I am old enough to remember that scene from the TV show where Morecambe and Wise harassed, nay humiliated, Andre Previn.
We’ve borrowed vocabulary from the Danes (see my reference to Hygge) and now it seems the UK Home Office would like to copy some of Denmark’s policies regarding immigrants. Here’s a link to one of the latest ideas, seizing immigrants possessions to pay for processing costs.
According to Home Office minister Alex Norris on Sky News, “At the moment, the British public pay billions of pounds a year so that those seeking asylum, or those who have already failed in their applications, can be supported in their accommodation and their living.
“It is right if those people have money in the bank, people have assets like cars, like e-bikes, they should be contributing. No, we’re not going to be taking people’s heirlooms off them at the border. But … people have cars. People have e-bikes. Those are assets they should contribute to the cost of benefits.”
Now, I am sure that people seeking asylum want to contribute to costs. Maybe it should be made easier for them to actually work and pay taxes and so on. I’m a little worried that statements such as the above by Mr Norris might provide fuel for myths about ‘rich’ asylum seekers exploiting Britain! We live in dangerous times!
On a lighter note, here’s a link to an article about paganism in Sweden, and people worshipping the ancient god Thor. Maybe it’s a sign of how alienated some people feel in the modern world. Worshipping Thor perhaps brings them a modicum of comfort in trouble times, after all, he was the god of war. Wikipedia describes him as ‘a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, storms, strength, protection, fertility, farmers, and free people’. Maybe it was Thor who woke me in the small hours of this morning.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.
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