30 June 2020

Tuesday. Another gap :(. The hot sunny weather didn't last very long. Last weekend it turned. Much cooler and with rain. Yesterday it was cold - 13 oC.

Lovely to have some fresh broad beans from the garden though.

26 June 2020

The death toll is now over 65,000. Testing and tracing is still not working and the lockdown is being eased. The pubs are opening on the 4th of July. We are heading for a second wave and it's all down to the criminal negligence of this government.

I just finished reading my latest book - America the Farewell Tour by Chris Hedges. The first chapter blew me away. It's a coruscating blast against the neoliberal USA and the criminal elite that runs it. I'd recommend this book - fasten your seatbelt though!

25 June 2020

Peter and I are going to try and do weekly walks. The weather forecast was for the hottest day of the year so far - 30 oC. We decided to return to Alderley Edge after last week's washout and weren't disappointed. Went for a longer walk and it was really good.

24 June 2020

Nealy another week without posting but Wednesdays seem to be sunnier so we went for another walk. This time in the woods.

19 June 2020

The weather is mixed. Some sunny spells but mostly rain. I managed to get some cherries off the tree before they were eaten by birds but annoyingly they seem to be going off very quickly. I'd better eat them!

18 June 2020

Well, this is bad! A week without posting. TBH there's not much to report. We are still in lockdown here but since Dominic Cummings jaunt to Barnard Castle. Most people aren't wearing masks. The death toll continues to rise and to cap it all the weather in June has been crap, with lots of heavy rain.

But today Pater and I bravely ventured out for a social distancing walk on Alderley Edge. It absolutely poured down and after two hours of walking, we were like drowned rats. It was good to meet up though!

12 June 2020

Sunny day. We went for a walk by the river.

9 June 2020

The row about statutes and defunding the police still rumbles on. So does the rain. So now for something brighter.

8 June 2020

Quiet day. Still cold and rainy. I need a holiday! Here's a picture of Rio chewing some of our Kiwi plant. He loves it!

7 June 2020

What an exciting day! Finally got the new pair of jeans I ordered and a delivery from Morrisons - which I've been trying for two months - and some much-needed beer.

But the big news today was that the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down from its plinth in Bristol and thrown in the harbour as part of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. It was great! Predictably, conservatives whined that this was 'criminal damage' and 'vandalism' - fuck them!

We also went for a walk in the woods.

6 June 2020

Saturday. Whilst I'm pleased with ongoing rain - which we desperately needed I'm not impressed with the cold. It feels like winter. And the lockdown rumbles on.

Here's a picture of the snoozers.

5 June 2020

Still cloudy and rainy. Trying to summon up some energy to get on with my book(s). But editing is sooooo tedious and there's lots more to do 😒

Today we had hailstones! I had to get out there quick before it melted.

4 June 2020

It's still raining but its become colder. I had to put the heater on in the evening and wear a jumper. The rate of coronavirus deaths is falling but the lockdown was fallen apart and there is still a row going on about children returning to school. Black lives matter protests are still going on around the world.

I got this book the other day. Rutger Bregman dispels the myth that humans are aggressive and selfish. Optimistic and uplifting. Just what we need now!

3 June 2020

Halleluia! It's raining!

2 June 2020

Best day of the year weatherwise so far and there have been some good ones, even is it does mean we're in trouble with global warming.

I've noticed that the traffic on the bypass is much closer to 'normal' which suggests the lockdown is effectively over.

It's a week since George Floyd was murdered by the police in Minneapolis and the protests continue.

My garden is growing well.

1 June 2020

It's summer.
It's warm and sunny.

The world is facing a virus crisis.
The world is facing an economic crisis.
The world is facing a climate crisis.
The world is facing a racism crisis.
The world is facing a democratic crisis.

And I still haven't painted the front of the house.

30 May 2020

Hot and sunny again. The global news is dominated by protests at the death of George Floyd and it has eclipsed coronavirus.

I spent a fairly quiet day gardening....and thinking. Meanwhile to ct is snoring.

29 May 2020

A video is doing the rounds on social media of George Floyd who was accused of passing a counterfeit bill and was arrested by four police officers in Minneapolis. It's horrific, sobering viewing, a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes and he was recorded saying "I can't breathe". None of the other officers intervened. He died.

This has sparked off a wave of protests in the USA and around the world. Other videos have emerged of police brutality in the USA, attacking protestors and shooting them in the face with rubber bullets. At least one person has been blinded. Trump was censored by Twitter for posting "when the looting starts the shooting starts".

I'm appalled and my thoughts and solidarity go to PoC the world over who are suffering from systemic racism.

#BLACKLIVESMATTER