Well, our politicians continue to have their problems. Mr Trump may be losing his Catholic supporters because of his ongoing feud with the Pope. But maybe not, some of them will just pray for him. I read of one woman who declares she prays every day for his heart to be softened … but she still supports him. And poor Mr Starmer needs to sort out his team and make sure they ‘keep him in the loop’. It must be hard to keep track of everything when you are the party leader, especially if your senior people (reportedly) decide not to tell you things!
Is there a collective noun for over-protective subordinates?
I have learnt today that we can speak appropriately enough about a “prickle of hedgehogs” as well as “a prickle of porcupines”. Maybe “a problem of politicians” ?!
In an article about problems in families caused by older family members becoming rightwing (some of this rightward drift exacerbated by their spending more and more time online, downloading stuff off YouTube), I came across this statistic: “In 2025, the industry regulator Ofcom found that Britons aged over 65 now spend a record three hours and 20 minutes a day online.
Wow! I don’t think I quite reach that total. My iPad usually tells me at the start of the week “last week you spent X amount of time onscreen”. It always surprises me but, on reflection, I check my email, I read the news headlines and occasional article over breakfast, I spend some time writing this blog, I check the weather, I keep up with the family news on our group chat, I do some Italian homework for my conversation class, … and I could keep this list going. So, yes, the time mounts up.
We tend to think we have not grown too conservative (with a lower case c) as time has gone by but we do have a tendency to look back at ‘how things used to be back in the day’. We see a statistic about mental health, about special educational needs, obesity … you name it, there is a statistic … and wonder how we used to manage ‘back in the day’. But mostly our nostalgia runs to music and films, seeking out recordings of artists or film clips on YouTube or Netflix.
So it goes.
Interestingly, most of the older family members referred to in the article I read seemed to be in their sixties, which nowadays hardly seems to count as elderly. Our view of age changes as life goes on. I remember being a young teacher who regarded colleagues aged 40+ as ancient. Now I look at our daughter and her friends, in their mid-forties, and think how young they are. When we moved into this house the ‘old lady” who lived next door was 60 and seemed ancient. Nowadays 60+ and indeed 70+ people are ready for adventures. All is relative.
The other day I wrote about an 86 year old Frenchwoman arrested by ICE in the USA. This article tells us that she made her way safely back to France, travelling in her ICE detention outfit, but fortunately without the shackles.
It’s good to know she managed to break free!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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