When I awoke this morning, there was quite a dramatic news flash that made one’s stomach turn over. This was the news that Donald Trump was not only going to extend the military detention centre at the now infamous Guantanamo Bay in Cuba but also that a further facility was to be constructed that would hold 30,000 detainees as the Trump regime processed the illegal migrants into the USA. But this news was itself crowded out by even more dramatic news about a horrendous air crash in Washington, DC in the vicinity of the Potomac river. A military helicopter seems to have been flown straight into the path of an incoming jet and the casualties are reported to be very heavy. As the crash took place at night and the weather conditions are very cold as is usual for Washington at this time of year, then rescue attempts are proving to be very difficult. No doubt as daylight dawns, this event will dominate the news media throughout the day, but it could be one of those crashes in which there are no survivors. The political news from home today is that water bills will rise by about £123 a year (£12 a month) from April which is the largest price hike since privatisation is even more than the £86 predicted by Ofwat as companies add inflation on top. It seems ironic that this is happening when a Labour government is in power and will no doubt be accompanied by howls of protest. The companies say themselves that this price increase is necessary to fund the investment programmes that the water supply and drainage industry so critically needs but of course so much money as already been siphoned off (if I can use that phrase) to fund the bonuses of the executives who run the industry and have regarded it as a gravy train for years. The day before Rachel Reeves had announced her growth ‘reset’ and announced the intention to build a third runway at Heathrow. The chancellor says the expansion of Europe’s busiest airport is ‘badly needed’ – but the Green Party’s Sian Berry calls it ‘the most irresponsible announcement from any government I have seen since the Liz Truss budget’ with which judgement I must concur here and there also mutterings that in all of the recent growth agenda, the North of England is being relatively ignored. One has to say that with the correction of an Oxford-Cambridge ‘arc’ announced yesterday and the Heathrow announcement, then the announcement of plans to renovate Old Trafford, the home ground of Manchester United, have received public support from Chancellor Rachel Reeves but must seem pretty small beer. Last week, the Government approved plans to revitalise the region surrounding Old Trafford, citing it as ‘a shining example’ of its ambitions to foster economic growth.
Yesterday got off to a very slow start as the care session was scheduled for 8.40 but the pair of care workers did not urn up until nearly 9.15. I have a fair idea of what happened as one of the young carers who arrives by motorbike had picked up a spike in his tyre which causing him to have a slow puncture. So unable to use his own means of transport, the young worker had to rely upon another colleague to bring him and she is generally late anywhere. As soon as Meg was up I gave her normal breakfast of porridge followed by a banana and then immediately went off to the weekly shopping. Fortunately, this went fairly smoothly but I had to race around because I wanted to get back before the District Nurses were due call to check over Meg’s pressure points. The sit finished and soon afterwards, the two care workers called around for mMg’s lunchtime call. They had not long departed when the District Nurse called around and this meant that she and I had to utilise the hoist, once again, to get Meg into position on her hospital bed so that her pressure points could be checked over. The District Nurse did bring with het two ‘gel’ cushion type arrangements to fit under each heel and we discussed the best ways in which myself and the carers should manage this aspect of Meg’s care. After all this, it was time for a very late lunch so I fried three small onions and then added some low fat pork mince to them. When this mixture is softened and half cooked, I made an onion gravy which I enhance with a dollop of brown sauce. This stew I then serve with a baked potato and some of the last remaining bits of Cavolo Nero kale. I was pleased to see that Meg had her (normal for her) ration of this and followed it up with some Coconut yogurt so although I did not much succeed in getting much fluid into Meg these days. After the District Nurse called around, I continued with writing my blog in plenty of time so that it can be posted into the WordPress system and Meg and I were listening to the last of the Simon Sharma programmes on ‘The Story of Us’ which is like a modern cultural history. Simon Sharma was born almost a couple of months earlier than myself so we are almost exact contemporaries.
Asa we might imagine, the US plane crash is receiving so much media attention. It looks as though the military helicopter was definitely ‘in the wrong’ but, of course analysis and blame will continue for the days ahead. In the meanwhile, Donald Trump is doing his best by being unpresidential and blaming ‘diversity’ training’ as the case of the cash. He now appears to be ad-libbing and is using the briefing to make political points. He says he will ‘restore faith in American air travel’ but hits out at the Federal Aviation Administration, criticising what he says are rules on who can work in air traffic control and government diversity efforts. ‘My administration will set the highest possible bar for aviation safety,’ he says, adding you need a very special genius to coordinate air traffic. Instead, he says the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) was ‘actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions’.