On moons and June and school holidays.

 It seems we had a Strawberry Moon last night. Of course, as with so many celestial phenomena, we didn’t get to see it from our house. So I’ve “borrowed” other people’s photos. 

Even though some people manage to take photos of a pinkish moon, or maybe they photoshop them, the moon isn’t actually pink. 

The name originates from Native American traditions, where the June full moon marked the start of the wild strawberry harvest season in parts of North America. Quite poetical those Native Americans! 

This particular strawberry moon, so they say, was special because of being so low in the sky because of something called a “major lunar standstill”, which sounds quite dramatic, like something from a science fiction story, an event presaging disaster for the earth, so I looked it up: A major lunar standstill is an astronomical event that occurs approximately every 18.6 years when the moon reaches its maximum declination, resulting in the northernmost and southernmost moonrise and moonset positions being furthest apart. This phenomenon affects how high or low the moon appears in the sky and can influence tidal patterns.

Anyway, the last time this phenomenon occurred was in 2006 – and it won’t return until 2043. I suppose that its being so low in the sky explains why I couldn’t see it, despite taking a look out of the window at about 3.00 am when I woke up and to went the loo. The local hills would have been hiding it. So it goes.

It feels as though the half term holiday is only just over but already articles are appearing with the regular moan about what to do with he children during the “long” summer holiday. Compared with some countries our summer break is not as “long” as all that, probably because we also have half term holidays. The problem of “what to do with the children” still remains. 

Rhiannon Picton-James, writing in The Guardian, tells us: 

“The problem is, there’s more school leave than parents are legally entitled to take from work, and we’re living in a two-income economy. If two parents added both of their 5.6 weeks of leave together, and were guaranteed the leave they asked for, it still wouldn’t cover the amount of school holiday – and that’s assuming they never took any time off together as a family. The school calendar hasn’t been updated since it was created in the Victorian era, when the way we worked and parented looked very different. To top it all, this generation of boomer grandparents don’t want to help either, because they want to “enjoy retirement” and go on holidays instead.”

Yes, “we’re living in a two-income economy” and I am aware that most families need those two incomes just to pay the mortgage and live day to day. However, there is a part of me that reflects that nowadays almost everyone wants everything to be perfect. The children must each have a bedroom of their own (no sharing); there must be two bathrooms; the kitchen needs ALL mod cons; the family needs two cars, if not more; and you have to go on expensive holidays.

I was fortunate in that as I was a teacher my holidays usually coincided with the children’s. Having said that, when they were small enough to need childcare, which wasn’t easy to find for us boomer parents, I was working in adult education and wasn’t paid for the holidays. Some of our “holidays” meant going to stay with my parents who lived in Southport - another bit of good fortune: we had the seaside! And for quite some time foreign holidays meant camping in Brittany. Oh, and this boomer grandparent does help out with looking after the grandchildren. 

Okay. That’s another rant over and done with. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Some thoughts on protesting, on what people can and cannot wear, on tolerance in society.

We’re supposed to have “light showers and a gentle breeze’ today according to my weather app. The “gentle breeze” is remarkably chilly. And judging by the way it’s blowing the washing I have optimistically hing out to dry in the garden it’s not all that gentle either. 

Apparently Greta Thunberg has been put on a plane to France. “Greta Thunberg is departing Israel on a flight to France,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on its official X account, along with two photos of the activist on board a plane. She’s been getting negative press from some quarters, accusations of being a narcissist; some people clearly don’t understand the concept of taking action just because it’s the right thing to do and not because you are a seeker after fame! 

Here’s a bit of Michael Rosen:

“After we kill the people, then what?

We kill the people who saw us kill the people.

Then what?

Everyone leaves.

Then what?

We move in.

Then what?

That's what.”

And here’s a cartoon:

And some artwork: All eyes on Madleen by Sally Samir.

Back in the 1970s, I was a teacher at a quite large comprehensive school with a very mixed collection of pupils: white, asian, afro-caribbean. Everyone wore the school uniform. Girls (and female staff) were not allowed to wear trousers as a rule but the muslim girls wore white trousers under their uniform skirt as they were not to show their legs. Nobody wore the hijab. It was generally accepted that eventually the muslim girls would no longer be told by their religious leaders to cover their legs or allowed by the headteacher to wear trousers. I’m not sure that that change ever came about but there was largely a feeling of tolerance and an optimism for things to continue to become freer. 

How things have changed since then! And now we have a Reform UK MP asking if Keir Starmer planned to follow the example of other European countries and prohibit the burqa. And Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says bosses should be able to ban the burqa in the workplace, stating that she does not see constituents at her surgeries if they have their faces covered, “whether it’s a burqa or a balaclava”.

Are we as a society becoming less tolerant and accepting? I remember a time when women were not supposed to wear trousers to work, when air hostesses (hostesses, please not, rather than cabin crew!) were expected to wear heels of a certain height and to be perfectly coiffed and made up. Go a step or two further back in time and my grandmother, a most respectable lady (my mother’s description of her mother-in-law) would not leave the house without her hat, and women who didn’t go as far as a formal hat usually work a headscarf. Will we go back to that? 

Here’s a link to an article by Nadeine Asbali, a secondary school teacher in London and the author of Veiled Threat: On Being Visibly Muslim in Britain, writing about how unsafe and threatened she feels because of changes in our society.

We’ve been watching the Netflix series “Yellowstone”. All the men in Montana seem to wear cowboy hats all the time: outdoors on their horses or in their cars, in the bars (even for dancing) and at formal dinners, where the only seem to remove their hats to say grace before eating. And now there’s something of a controversy about who can or cannot, should or should not wear a mask to cover their face. Basically, ICE agents - yes; protestors - no!

“The hypocrisy of this administration is simply unbearable. If you’re an actual insurrectionist, such as those who participated in the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol by destroying federal property and attacking law enforcement officers, you’ll receive a pardon or a commutation of your sentence. But if you join the protests against Ice raids in Los Angeles, you face military opposition.”

So much for freedom! 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Monday’s madness: L.A. protests and intercepting Madleen. And a lot of tennis silliness!

Another Monday rolls around. It’s not raining … yet! Granddaughter Number One has already posted to our group chat a whole litany of things that have gone wrong with this Monday. So it’s a fairly standard Monday. 

The world continues to be more than a little crazy. 

In Los Angeles there have been demonstrations against ICE and the president of the USA  has sent the National Guard to “help” the LAPD police force to sort things out, against the wishes of the governor of California. California is a very wealthy state. I read somewhere that if it were an independent country it would be the fifth richest on the world. But they also rely on immigrant workers to do low paid jobs that Californians don’t want to do. Another bit of chaos!

Here’s something from Fox News this morning:

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are beginning a nationwide initiative to arrest illegal immigrants after asylum hearings as they leave courtrooms, multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News.

The effort will target those who have been living in the United States for less than two years, sources said.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strategy aims to get illegal immigration cases dropped. Federal officials plan to arrest migrants and place them in expedited removal proceedings, fast-tracking them to deportation out of the country, allowing for almost-immediate removal without a hearing before an immigration judge, according to ICE sources.

If a migrant has an active, pending court case, expedited removal cannot happen, which is why DHS officials are planning to get them dropped. Immigration judges, however, have to agree to drop cases, and so far, they are cooperating with the effort, sources said.”

Is it a coincidence that the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is such a cold word - ICE? The USA is still a relatively young country; only 150 years ago immigrants - yes, immigrants! - were still heading west in wagon trains. The current president, descendent of immigrants, seems to have forgotten that his country is based largely on immigration. 

And protests are being suppressed. But back on our side of the pond moves are also ongoing to restrict our freedom to protest. Do we have the right to criticise other countries?

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures of Madleen, the boat Greta Thunberg has been travelling on to take aid to Gaza: food and medical supplies and baby equipment. Before and after photos - before and after being stopped. 

Despite still being in international waters, the boat has been “forcibly intercepted” by Israeli forces. Here’s a link to the Guardian’s report. The activists will apparently be required to watch a film of the 7th of October attack before, hopefully, being sent home. 

Here is Zarah Sultana on Facebook this morning:

“Every person aboard the Madleen @gazafreedomflotilla is a hero.

The genocidal Israeli state’s attack on unarmed activists aboard a UK-flagged vessel delivering aid to Gaza is a flagrant breach of international law.

The UK must sanction Israel, end all arms & surveillance, & expel its ambassador.”

She continues to protest against the madness of the world. 

On the brighter side of things, Carlos Alcaraz has just won Roland Garros, his fifth grand slam success, apparently won at exactly the same age as Rafa Nadal was when he won his fifth grand slam - 22 years, 1 month and 3 days. There are, amazingly, people who research such coincidences. And people like me who pass them on. At the press conference after his win, Alcaraz had this to say: 

“Well, I mean, I have to realize that I’ve done it. I think that’s the first step. Honestly the coincidence of winning my 5th Slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal…I’m gonna say that’s destiny I guess. It’s a stat that I’m gonna keep with me forever. Winning the 5th Slam at the same as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It’s a huge honor. Hopefully, it’s not gonna stop like this.”

And both he and Coco Gauff, another winner, shared their triumph with the ball boys and girls.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Enough rain, thank you! Ridiculous queues. Socialising on the street. Happiness lectures.

It’s raining … again! I think we’ve had enough for a while now. The powers that be were rather concerned about the low levels of the local reservoirs but I can’t help feeling that the last week or two must have gone some way towards restoring normality. Not only is it raining but it’s cold. One of my nodding acquaintances commented this morning (I ran before the latest lot of rain began) that her dog is still wearing its winter coat - sensible dog!

I saw a video clip, probably on Facebook, of people, masses of them, queueing up for the opening of a new branch or JD Sports in the Trafford Centre, advertised as the “largest store in the world”. I just checked online to see of I had the right sportswear vendor and found this:

“The Trafford Centre has issued a statement after a crowd surged forward into a new JD Sports store during its official opening.

More than 1,000 people had gathered outside the enormous store to watch it being opened by Usain Bolt and YouTubers Beta Squad.

The atmosphere reached massive excitement as attendees raced up and down a track outside the store, while fans screamed ecstatically.”

I suppose quite a lot of the people were there to see Usain Bolt. Otherwise, are there really so many people who have nothing better to do on a Sunday than queue outside a sports shop to buy sports gear that some of them won’t actually use for sport? Maybe there’s a secret belief that wearing sports gear is as good as exercising.

In parts of the world where summer is guaranteed, places like Spain, it is quite usual to see groups of older ladies (and gentlemen and mothers with children) sitting out in the street having a chat. We used to be amused by the elderly gentlemen who played cards on a board balanced on top of a hedge in the gardens of the Castro in Vigo. Now it seems that the town of Santa Fe in Andalucia has put out a reminder that the pavements are a public right of way and request that people take their chairs back inside in the late evening so as not to disturb the neighbours with their noisy get-togethers. Surely this request was aimed at younger people, not at solidly respectable matriarchs. Unfortunately they used a photo of those solidly respectable matriarchs to accompany their request. Maybe the current cohort of solidly respectable matriarchs are growing old disgracefully and disturbing the peace.

It may be a tradition to take your own chairs out into the street in Spain, but in fact most places there have public benches around squares and at intervals along main streets, surely intended for folk to sit and pass the time of day.  

Incidentally, when we were having our warm and sunny spring around here, I noticed a regular group of older gentlemen sitting on benches in a sun-trap corner of the village near the church gardens. With the right weather, we too can do outdoor socialising. There’s nobody sitting there today!

Amongst all the doom and gloom stuff that is published and broadcast nowadays I came across this about the University of Birmingham:

“Did you know that a generous philanthropic gift to the University has sparked decades of inspiring conversations about what it means to be happy?

The annual Baggs Happiness Lecture on campus has welcomed household names such as Sir David Attenborough, Sir Trevor McDonald, Bernardine Evaristo, and Benjamin Zephaniah who have all given their thoughts on the topic. Last year’s guest speaker was beloved British writer Michael Rosen.

The series was made possible through alumnus Thomas Baggs who, when he died in 1973, bequeathed money to the University to provide for an annual public lecture on the theme of ‘Happiness'.

Some of our Baggs Happiness Lectures are available to view online. Take a look at some of the most recent events and discover more of the famous names who have delivered the series over the years.”

We need more happiness lectures!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

Different categories of rain in a short space of time. Depressing reading about Gaza. Making art out of atrocities.

 I thought I had dodged the rain when I went out running earlier today. Indeed a friend whose path I crossed even commented that although it was dull the day was good enough. However, I stopped off at the co-op for a couple of things and when I emerged it had started to drizzle. By the time I arrived home the drizzle had turned into proper rain. By the time I had showered that “proper rain” had become what Granddaughter Number One usually refers to as “biblical”. Yet now, a few hours later, the rain has stopped again and the day is a good deal brighter than it was when I went out in the first place. So it goes. 

Some stuff about words: I  read something the other day about graffiti in Paris and came across the word “Bobo”; this means “bourgeois bohemians”. Then there are the nouns that have become verbs: nobody “refers” to things any longer but the “reference” them. Neither should you “display” interesting items any longer but they need to be “showcased”. This process has been going on forever, or what seems like forever. After all we have “chaired” meetings for as long as I can remember, so long that it would be difficult to find an alternate that was not very wordy. We have decided that this process should called the ”verbing of nouns”.

My skimming and scanning of newspapers seems to have been rather depressing this morning. Here’s a link to an article about a mother who was shot while waiting for the “humanitarian” aid distribution centre to open its gates - one of the Israeli and US-backed food distribution centres. Imagine walking for hours day after day to try to collect food for your starving family. Imagine returning empty handed. Imagine going one more time and being killed. Imagine your twelve year old son witnessing that. The UN and major charities had established networks for distributing aid in Gaza, networks built up over years but those are not allowed now. The US and Israeli system has food delivery in hubs guarded by private security contractors and the Israeli military. Humanitarians had warned that mixing guns and food would put civilians at risk but maybe that was part of the plan all along. 

Depressing reading, as I said, but some people are able to make beauty out of bad situations. Here’s a piece of art work by a Palestinian artist, Abdul Al Rahman Al Muzzian.  

And another by Palestinian artist Wadei Khaled

And here’s a bit of Michael Rosen irony for us:

“Keir Starmer was asked today

what he thought about 

the moment in the Bible 

when King Herod ordered that all the male

infants should be killed.

Sir Keir was forthright in his condemnation.

He said this cannot and will not be tolerated.

One interviewer asked him 

why then had he authorised the selling of swords

to King Herod which could  then have been used

to kill the babies,

to which Sir Keir replied

that was an outrageous accusation

and that he and his colleagues had strained every sinew

to restrain Herod 

and that the record stood for itself.

Then, when he was asked whether these deaths of innocent people 

could be called a 'massacre'

Sir Keir replied, 'It's not for me to say.

and that it's not helpful to call what's been going on

'The Massacre of the Innocents.'

And Sir Keir left to spend more time straining his sinews.”

And another:

“Good news on the BBC News: it seems as if the people now providing aid in Israel are Christian Zionists, the folk who want me to emigrate to Israel so that Jesus can come again and that I'll convert or be put to the sword. See! It's not all bad news at the moment.”

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!