I awoke yesterday to a beautiful bright day but there is still quite a cold wind around to lower temperatures a little way below the seasonal norm. Last night, I watched one of the Simon Scharma ‘History of Britain’ programmes and this was concerned with the Jacobite rebellions and the gradual incorporation and union between England and Scotland at the start of the eighteenth century. Right at the end of the programme, reference was made to Robert Adam who designed houses in neo-classical style, one of the most famous of which is Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. There were just a few shots of the glorious interior and what was so interesting is that this is the National Trust to which the U3A group have organised in a week’s time. So naturally, I am looking forward to that trip as well as to the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire. This is my next trip ‘out’ as it were and these trips are always worthwhile as the cost of the coach trip is even less than that of the petrol cost if you were to make the journey as independent travellers. The war in the Middle East is in a kind of abeyance or even a stalemate as Donald Trump goes off to visit President Xi of China in a visit already delayed once because of the war. I saw a very interesting analysis on Sky news on what is going on in the Middle East at the moment. The state of Qatar is heavily reliant upon LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) exports which can only be conveyed by tanker. There seems to have been a tacit deal whereby one tanker (and possible three more) has left Qatar and has been granted passage around the Straits of Hormuz in order to offload to an oil terminal to Pakistan from whence the rest of the Asian market can be supplied. As of early 2026, Pakistan Army Chief (and appointed Field Marshal) Asim Munir has been central to managing energy security and geopolitical volatility, acting as a key intermediary in a US-Iran ceasefire following rising hostilities. Munir has brokered deals, including potential investment in Pakistani oil and mineral sectors, to secure economic stability after Iran-related disruptions. So according to the analysis I have seen, although Iranian control of the Straits of Hormuz is contrary to international law, it is quite possible that Iran is settling up several side deals from which Iran can benefit and which can only act to the long term detriment of the USA. Trump hoped to go and see China’s President Xi with the war already won but it is not which puts Trump in a weaker position in terms of being able to negotiate better trade deals with China. Of course our attention is diverted by the shenanigans at home which will probably resume in earnest once the Kings Speech has been delivered in Parliament and a six day debate starts on the contents of he King’s speech. The latest situation is that 86 MPs have signed a letter expressing no confidence in Starmer whilst another 100 have signed a letter of support, leaving the stock exchange in rather a nervous condition (which always pushes up our borrowing costs).
Yesterday was the morning in which I normally go to the Methodist Centre to have a chat with whoever is available.I had promised to take my Italian friend with me as she has lived in Bromsgrove for decades and was bound to run across some people that she knew. We both bumped into the person who had introduced me to the Methodist Centre and was a volunteer serving teas and coffees to the rest of us. Anyway, we three of us had a jolly good chat and I think it was a good strategy to take my friend there to see what friendships she could recreate. Whilst I was there, I was approached by someone who knows me by sight and he as telling me about an organisation which was in effect ‘North Worcestershire friends of the National Trust’ which organises trips and other activities. So I said I would do some research and see if this another network of friends and acquaintances that I might join. I eventually dropped my Italian friend off home and it was so late by this stage that I cooked myself a lunch of quiche and beans and then set forth to my weekly shopping. This I did after lunch trying not to buy too much but making sure I had plenty of fruit and vegetables. Then I sorted out some newspapers as I need to get them into our green recycling bin as this is the week when the green and brown lidded bins get emptied. Then I had a long telephone call with my American friend who is trying to fight off a cold and a virus – we are both hopeful that we might be able to meet for a cup of tea or something a little stronger when she is feeling better. In the meanwhile, I am roaming the airways in search of some comedy. There is a fairly obscure channel (65) called ‘That’s TV (UK)’ which is showing some classic 1970’s and 1980’s British comedy including ‘Rising Damp’ This used to be broadcast at 6.50 in the evenings but I thought I saw a glimpse of it on one of the TV schedules early in the day. I tuned in 16.20 and got about one half of a showing on ‘Rising Damp’ so to get my daily ‘fix’ of comedy, I probably need to tune in at about 6.05 each day (which I intend to do from now on) Most, if not all of the episodes I have seen before but the humour is pretty timeless and always worth another viewing. I am going to treat myself to a science programme on ‘Temperature’ later on this evening followed by a regime of ‘early to bed, early to rise’ before I go off to ‘Tai Chi’ the following day. After the texts, emails and messages of goodwill I have received over the last few days, I sent off several messages this morning hoping that we can arrange to meet up with each other in the weeks ahead. One has to say that now that the summer months are almost upon us, it is much easier to arrange these meetings as we do not have the dark, cold and wet evenings of autumn and winter with which to contend. Having said that, it is unseasonably cold at this time of year with icy blasts of rain – and worse. As I was putting the wheelie bins out ready for collection, I noticed that lodged in the door frame of our backdoor gate was a collection of small hailstones which is not normally expected in mid May!