Winter is Coming

Today’s expedition was to a new place for us. A farm shop or more accurately a nursery. I’ve driven past it 100s of times and never turned in. For the first time this year we had the discussion about turning the heating on but as it’s only September and we are Northern obviously that’s not happening. (The UK North South divide is real) The alternative is to put the fire on. If only for an hour and warm the ‘sitting room’ (lounge) just to take the chill off.

Sot the quest for logs to burn was this mornings task. I spent yesterday sorting books in the historic Athenaeum library after a film crew left it in disarray. Eight person hours. Four columns…twelve to go. It’s hard graft. The plan today is do as little as possible. We went for firewood. Not just your supermarket grab a bad but a range, a selection. Softwood, hard wood in three grades and kindling. We chose some hardwood and a few pieces of eucalyptus to see if it smells just as good when burnt.

The fire is on now. The room has already lost it’s chill after just five minutes. I do t even think we news a second log. Yes, I know air poll and all that but until we get fully funded solar panels I’m afraid we will have to continue burning something.

The Queen is Dead

This is, by now, old news. Its been 11 days or so at time of writing. Most of us in the UK and even the rest of the world have never known another monarch in the UK. I’ve a tendency toward republicanism but I’ve also met the Queen and several other royals in the course of a lifetime through school, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and the Guide movement. Its a strange feeling. On the one hand I’m sorry for the family who have not been able to process this in private and on the other I think that this is the price of their privilege. Am I sorry she is gone? Not at a personal level, she was 96 it was hardly unexpected. I do have many fears for the UK though.

Charles is a different character. He has opinions which he has been known to express in public (I guess I should say ‘the King’ not Charles). These seem to contradict the current right wing leanings of the UK government on issues such as the environment and deportations to Rwanda. Technically he can stop these at any time by refusing to sign any Bill into law. I wonder if he would? I wonder what the consequences would be? I’m extremely concerned by the conduct of the current government and wonder how many more losses the British people will stand before someone stands up and throws the first brick. Martin Luther King described a riot as the voice of the unheard. What will it take? I’m fairly certain that it is coming. Elizabeth II is dead and the stability that her presence brought to the nation is gone.

Watch this space.