Yeaterday began with torrential rain. I set off for Manchester in my raincoat to meet some old friends for lunch. By he time I reached the tram stop in Oldham the rain had more or less stopped. By the time I got to Manchester the sun was trying to shine.
I met my old friends, we put the world to rights and made our way to an Italian trattoria that one of my friends had noticed on her way to our meeting point in Waterstone’s cafe. We had some very good pasta and a glass or two of wine while we reminisced and put the world a little more to rights.
When we left the trattoria in the mid-afternoon we all felt decided overdressed with our raincoats. Girls were out and about in cropped tops and shorts. Goodness, this was the last day of September.
After I returned hoe, Phil and I went for an early-evening stroll round the village, admiring the blue sky.
And then as the sun disappeared over the hill, the temperature plummeted. We need a new name for the season as it seems to include summer and autumn - possibly sumtober- not to:mention hints of winter in the late evening!
I hear that Jurgen Klopp is disgusted by suggestions that his German team is “not white enough”. Oh boy!
“The barrage of racist and generally offensive commentaries on social media followed Germany’s 1-0 defeat by Greece last Sunday, in the Nations League, marking the first time Greece had beaten Germany.
It is also reflective of plenty of utterances from MPs of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the largest opposition party in the Bundestag, who have repeatedly and consistently criticised the diversity and ethnic makeup of the national team, often referring to the squad in derogatory terms such as a “politically correct mercenary force”.”
But he has been quite restrained.
“Asked to respond to the debate as to whether the national team were “not German enough” or “not white enough”, he said: “There is absolutely no reason to pay attention to these people. You won’t get my thoughts on this. I have little time in everyday life for idiocy – and even less on social media.
“The great crux of our lives is that everyone is allowed to express their opinion … it’s insane when something like that exists.””
The world grows crazier by the day.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
