As so often happens in these grim times, the cartoonists have been busy at work. Two in particular have found their way into my Inbox, the first of which depicts Trump standing in front of a row of furled, black sun umbrellas with a strap line that for six hours, Trump thought he was negotiating with the Iranians. The second depicts the personnel on an American warship one saying to the other that new orders had been received to the effect that they had to wait until the Stock Exchange opened before launching the next attack. And right in the middle of a war, the Trump regime has removed the head of the US Navy, on what grounds it is unclear. The head of the Army was replaced about a week ago so I suppose this balances things up. What is particularly interesting about the Iranian conflict at this moment of time is that the Iranians possess two key negotiating cards and potential levers against the Americans. The first of these is that my reasons of geography, the Iranians are in de facto control of the Straits of Hormuz immediately proximate to their shores (a little like the English Channel) and short of a really massive ground invasion there is nothing that American military might can do about it. The second critical factor is just the passage of time as Trump’s support (as well as his health) are ebbing away day by day and week by week and Trump is feeling the need for a deal. In the meanwhile, the Iranians have to do nothing except wait until such time as the Americans are forced into ‘de facto’ concessions. In our domestic politics, we are also in a countdown situation after the enquiries into the Mandelson affair. We are in the period before the May 7th local elections in which it looks as though the Labour party will be put to the sword and calls for Starmer’s resignation will become overwhelming. So whilst desperately unhappy, Labour MPs are just biding their time, a little like turkeys the run up to Christmas. An evident leader in waiting, Andy Burnham is not yet in Parliament which prevents him being portrayed as the ‘prince over the water’ so I suspect that the Labour party are wondering if their weakest MP might do the decent thing and die soon so that a by-election can be called in a safe Labour seat (but in the present, febrile mood of the party, perhaps there is no such thing as a safe Labour seat) Later on in the day, I anticipate doing my Tai Chi and having a chat with one or two of the regulars at the Methodist Centre which I have not visited since my return from hospital but I am pleased to have the week’s shopping out of the way, having moved my weekly shopping day from a Thursday to a Wednesday (when the stores are very quiet anyway – a fellow shopper and I were chuntering away to each other because there were no manned tills but only the self-scanning tills which evidently we both wanted to avoid)
In the morning, I had my normal Tai Chi session in which our instructor was concentrating today upon our breathing techniques. This was followed by the normal coffee and toasted teacake and a chat with some of the regulars. There was a considerable amount of discussion about a report in a local newspaper that there are dozens of individuals in Worcestershire County Council who are paid in excess of £100,000 a year. As you might expect, the report was greeted with universal horror but I wish we had more information about which roles were attracting these salaries and some justification for the monies paid. Leaving aside the Chief Executive although I have some doubts whether these salaries are justified in local government the argument is that for certain roles (for example an IT director) this is the rate for the job and one has to compete with the private sector to attract and retain individuals of the right calibre. It could be that there are some roles that are self-justifying – in the past could be paid a high salary of a large amount of money had been extracted from European and similar funds. Trying to talk around a subject when you only have the newspaper headlines and not the detail can be frustrating. I left the Methodist Centre and paid a quick visit to the supermarket where I bought some melon and ham for tomorrow’s lunch and then returned home to make a conventional meal of ham in in onion gravy, a baked potato and beans. Trying to care of myself as the years advance, I am always interested in recent research findings on the most effective forms of exercise. Regular exercise can help to manage blood pressure, because it makes our hearts stronger. But according to a huge 2023 study, which looked at 270 trials from 1990-2023, isometric exercises might be the most effective at the job, with ‘wall sits’ the best performer among these. Researchers found that isometric exercise was more likely, on average, to lower blood pressure than aerobic exercise training, dynamic resistance training, combined training, and high-intensity interval training, though all forms were still immensely helpful. Isometric exercise, sometimes called static exercise involves keeping your body still while you tense specific muscles for a set period of time. You don’t move your joints during the movement. It is the opposite of dynamic, or isotonic exercise, which involves little load and consistent pressure on various muscles, for example, running and swimming. Most forms of exercise involve a combination of isometric and isotonic exercise, though some are 100% one or the other. Wall sits are generally held for 30 to 60 seconds for beginners, aiming for 1–2 minutes (intermediate) or up to 3+ minutes(advanced) to build serious leg strength and endurance. The goal is to maintain a 90-degree angle with knees over ankles for 3–4 sets, 2–3 times a week. I happen to know that my Pilates teacher is very keen on this particular exercise so I may well attempt to incorporate it into a daily routine. First, though, find a good piece of wall that it important not to get it marked whilst it gets leant against and the skirting board always gets a little in the way.