London went into Tier 4 lockdown last night and there does seem to be a great deal of anger. I wonder if we are reaching a point where it will break. I’m sure much of the anger is at “cancelling Christmas” but much of it is, correctly, directed at Boris and his government. Everyone could […]
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Claws loosened
News came from Kathmandu, the Seeker died. It had not seemed likely, when I met her, that she would live on for two more years, but then it also didn’t seem likely that she would ever die, having clung to life with fingers tightened into claws.
Break out
We broke out and went for a short excursion despite the weekend lockdown. It was the first day of any sun at all, so our resolve to stand in solidarity with the Turkish fizzled away. When we stepped outside, well, it was a rather crowded lockdown on the streets as there were dozens of people […]
Year of sadness
I listened to a podcast on the coronavirus response in the UK. It went through aspects of the pandemic response over the last nearly-year, and asked if it was inevitable that things would be this bad. The answer, inevitably, was no. They summed it at the end: an unserious prime minister, a weak centre, good […]
Roundtable conference
We had a roundtable conference this afternoon, with the contractor, his architect daughter and our local friend. It was a very good meeting: much was clarified and agreed and we now know what the next steps are likely to be. There is one neighbour who is likely to cause trouble, even though we have all […]
Dawn of a new age
This evening a new age dawned, somewhat belatedly for us, as the rest of the world has been on the food delivery wagon for a good long while, even before the pandemic. I successfully ordered profiteroles from my favourite cake shop, and the GF ordered dinner from one of the nicest places in Cihangir. Remarkable […]
Brief excursion
There was only enough food in the flat for one so I left it for the GF and went out for a short stroll and to bring myself back some lunch. I found a new street in Galata, one running parallel to Papadopoulous where the GF and I once viewed a very crumbling flat in […]
Curious
I have been listening to a podcast about the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and learning a little more about Malta. Curious that Malta was admitted to the European Union and, say, Turkey was not. Or perhaps not that curious. Curious also that there are at least three British colonies – Ireland, Malta and Cyprus […]
Consumer drones
It’s an argument I’ve often railed against, or at least fulminated against, the plastic straw argument of disempowered consumerism. That there is no point giving up plastic straws for environmental reasons because it makes so little difference in the larger scheme, when it is corporations and governments that are responsible for climate change. Its most […]
Small victories
A few small achievements on Monday to make up for the stagnant weekend. The first was that I finally managed to call the helpline for our visas to learn that they were still being processed, and that was why we had not heard back. A relief, as it was definitely keeping me up at night. […]