Yesterday morning we awoke to the prospect of the weather gradually improving and the afternoon the day before seemed to be a lovely spring day, although Meg and I were only looking out of the window. But we have the prospect before us of something approaching spring weather when we anticipate that we will make our trip down the hill to meet up with our friends in Wetherspoons. These days as I keep a careful eye on the weather, I think I am more concerned that it is not too windy and rainy which might rule out a trip in the wheelchair but if it is a tad colder but sunny then Meg can be kept warm with a multitude of blankets. Pride of place goes to an immensely thick ex-military Russian made blanket which I purchased in the autumn, and which is so thick that I doubt that any rain would penetrate it it any case. We witnessed something in the United Nations last night which one imagines would never be seen. There was a non-binding motion which was passed by the General Assembly (i.e. not the Security Council) in which Russia was condemned for its invasion of Ukraine which happened three years ago to the day. The USA voted with Russia, Belarus and North Korea in voting against the motion which was subsequently passed, and I heard some American commentators who were absolutely aghast that the USA would side with Russia and a few other rogue states in this particular way. Macron and Trump engaged in a carefully choreographed display of public amity after their meeting yesterday but Macron did contradict Trump publicly when Trump engaged in an untrue rant to the effect that the USA had given money directly to Ukraine, but Europe had only dispensed loans. Macron pointed out, with his hand on Trump's knee(!) that actually the truth was that both USA and Europe had made Ukraine the recipient of both absolute loans as well as grants and one wonders whether when Starmer meets Trump he will also publicly correct some of Trump's rants.
On a more mundane note, I had to do a quick search to find out when Lent starts this year and it is in a week's time. This raises the dilemma for me whether I shall give up chocolate for Lent, as I customarily do. I generally find the abstinence from fast cars and loose women is easier for me to bear in the days of abstinence that lie ahead, but giving up chocolate is quite a deprivation. By the way, I wonder if the opposite of 'loose women' is 'tight women' but let us let that pass. Incidentally, it has always amused me that both the Muslim Ramadan and the Christian Lent have been timed to coincide when periods when food supplies were running short after the winter so there was a theological underpinning for the belt tightening which is associated with these periods of abstinence. This morning after breakfast we set off in good time and enjoyed some almost spring-like weather with crocuses out in abundance and daffodils at various spots along our route. We met up with two of our friends in Wetherspoons but the third is having a bit of a rheumatic incident of some kind and so could not join us. On the way down the hill, I did don a pair of gloves to save my fingers sustaining further cracks to which they are susceptible in the cold weather and then took them off whilst we visited Waitrose to pick up our newspapers and some further supplies. But on my way out of Wetherspoons, I suddenly thought 'gloves' but could not remember taking them off and putting them anywhere. On the off-chance I had left them in the store, we retraced our steps back until about 120 yards from the store, I espied one glove. I went a bit further and then discovered its twin that looked as though it had been run over by a car but no matter. I had evidently taken my gloves on entering the store and put them on top of the wheelchair and then totally forgotten them. I could not quite my relief in being reunited with this pair of gloves, not least because they are a good leather pair and not some woollen gloves whose loss could be borne more easily. Needless to say, after this lucky escape, I will take especially good care of them in the future so that I do not need to be lucky a second time. As Tuesday is my sit day, I sat Meg in front of 'YouTube' and the 'Hallelujah' chorus from Handel's 'Messiah' before I made a a lightning trip out to a large store which I know sells some cosmetic products of which Meg has a need, and I need to replenish occasionally. Having parked quickly, located my purchase quickly, I was then stuck behind a chap having an argument with the till staff about whether some items were on special offer or not (to be fair, sometimes the in-store labelling is somewhat imprecise and it is difficult to ascertain to which products the special offer pertains)
There are two bits of domestic news, each unwelcome in its own way. Firstly gas prices are to rise 6.4% in April which is a bigger than expected increase- but those on 'fixed' deals may be able to avoid some of the initial sting of inevitable price increases. But the more dramatic news is that defence expenditure is due to rise from 2.3% to 2.5% by 2027 - in other words some time in the next 22 months. This is going to be paid for, at least in part, buy cuts in the overseas aid budget. So he various poorest on earth are going to be sacrificed in order to re-arm Britain. Personally, I would have liked a special tax to be levied, perhaps as an extension to VAT, and called a 'Putin tax' so that people realised for what purposes the extra revenues raised were intended.
© Mike Hart [2025]