Wednesday 7 September 2016

The Three Degrees ...

What a difference three degrees make. Until the end of August we were feeling hot and sticky and the air conditioning came on in the living area about four o'clock in the afternoon until bedtime, and then it was on overnight in the bedroom. Lovely as it is to be cool inside when everywhere else is sweltering, I am not a great fan of air conditioning. Even in the car, when we are driving in comfort, we know that the moment we reach our destination and have to leave the vehicle ...

And so two or three days ago the temperature dropped from about 33°C to 30°C. What a difference. Windows open during the day to catch the breeze and - best by far - windows open in the bedroom at night to sleep in coolish air. Until you have lived here (or in another country with a warm climate) I doubt whether you can appreciate how much difference three degrees makes.

We are also pottering about outside during the day, and Ann is making inroads into the gardening. We are planning for Autumn planting, and have great plans for next Spring as well. I think we now appreciate that July and August are just too hot for most of the plants we have and so a clean-out in the Autumn will be called for.

The sad state of British politics is ever more apparent, with the Government blundering about. It is like watching someone at a children's party trying to pin the tail on the donkey whilst blindfolded. There appears to be a phoney war going on, with the UK Government incredibly seeming to believe that they will dictate terms to the rest of the EU and the rest of the world. I am dumbfounded by this naivety and by the blind faith of those still supporting BREXIT that it will be alright on the night. Even the dire warnings of the Japanese are cast aside by the knuckle-dragging racists who beat their chests and say that Britain will be great again.

As Winston Churchill is reported to have said "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter". Never were truer words spoken I feel, and if you want evidence of that view just drop in on one of the many tabloid newspaper online columns and read through the the contributions of their "readers". The columns are filled with xenophobic rubbish spouted by the semi-educated. The 1870 Education Act, which brought widespread access to education to the people of this country, was widely praised throughout the civilised world. Nearly one hundred and fifty years later and this is the best that can be achieved.

I increasingly believe that if BREXIT happens, and that is a big IF, it will take years and years and years to achieve. It will involve some cobbled together agreement that allows immigration of one form or another and then people will ask what the referendum achieved after all.

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