Every so often you read a story that is genuinely shocking and so it proved the day before yesterday when I was perusing the columns of ‘The Sunday Times’ for press cuttings. The story relates to an entrepreneur in Israel who was giving access to a piece of land which presumably he owned which overlooked a portion of the Gaza Strip. This individual was hiring out binoculars so that people could gaze upon the devastated landscape in the Gaza Strip to observe first hand the devastation that Israeli military action has undertaken. The latest estimate is that 71,000 people (many women and children) had been killed in the bombardments and the Israelis had moved their ‘yellow line’ so the Israeli defence forces now occupied 60% of the territory of the Gaza strip. What I found shocking was the account that an Israeli citizen had driven forty miles in order to observe first hand the destruction of Gaza and then admitted to his disappointment that there were any buildings left standing at all, rather than the vast majority of them destroyed by missile attacks. The displaced population are now living in rat-infested tents as they do not have any habitable homes left to which to return whilst a ‘cease fire’ is theoretically in operation. Of course the world’s attention has been diverted from these wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza and one is reminded of the Roman tradition of ‘bread and circuses’. ‘Bread and circuses’ (panem et circenses) originates from the Roman Poet Juvenal, who used it in his Satire X around 100 AD. It describes how leaders gained public approval not by good policies, but by giving citizens free grain (bread) and massive entertainment events like chariot races and gladiatorial games (circuses). Roman society was subject to periodic revolts by slaves and the dispossessed and ‘bread and circuses’ was one way to divert public attention from their present day concerns. So I believe that the World Cup served this function as reporting of conflicts were pushed aside. There are some cynics that argue that here in the UK we put on similar shows of pageantry to divert public attention elsewhere when things get tough politically. There is much public disquiet about the ‘early release’ schemes in which some prisoners are being released after only a third or a half of their sentences in order to release capacity in the prison system which is running at about 98%-99% full. During the age of austerity, the building of new prisons took on a very low priority and although new prisons are under construction, they take time and money to build. Andy Burnham has bowed to public pressure and halted the early release scheme for some categories of crime (such as rape and child sex offences) but there are some notorious cases in which early release will sill apply. Victims claim that it is they themselves that are subject to a permanent life sentence as the effects of the crimes persist in their lives whereas offenders may be released back into the areas in which the crimes were committed within a period of a few years. There is no easy solution to this problem and all that the government can offer is a more stringent tagging regime. Meanwhile, we read that American oil and gas giants raked in massive spring profits while fighting between Iran and the U.S. impeded petroleum shipments and consumers around the world paid more for fuel and confronted shortages. The conflict, now in its sixth month, halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that previously served as a delivery route for a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas. With global supplies constrained, prices for Brent crude, the international standard, soared from about $70 to above $100 a barrel for much of March, April and May, and at one point reached $126. So oil and gas has been extracted at one price and then sold for a much higher price so this strengthens the case for a windfall tax upon the profits of companies like BP who have similar profited.
Before I attended my weekly Pilates class, my son and daughter-in-law called around and it was lovely to see them after a gap of over a week. After exchanging family news and gossip, my daughter-in-law took on the business of tidying my food shelves and ensuring that I am not hanging onto any out-of-date food. After I returned from my Pilates class, my family had very kindly made a salad out of some mackerel which I provided and other salad ingredients which they had brought along. Then I had a delicious mackerel salad, made all of the nicer for the fact that I had not prepared it myself for a change. We brought each other up-to-date on family news and then they returned to their own flat whist I had a doze. Looking at current news items, the following caught my eye about living costs in Spain. If a British person wishes to live in Spain on a permanent basis, one has to apply for a non-lucrative visa and demonstrate that you have an income of about £2,500 per month and pay for some health insurance, but after that costs start to fall rapidly. It is 32% lower than in the UK, at almost £400 a month less, making Spain the cheapest nation among 11 top foreign destinations analysed by Overseas Home. It was the fourth cheapest for groceries (22% less than the UK), second cheapest to run a home (-32%), sixth for travel (-21%) and top of the leaderboard when eating out and other leisure activities (-44%). You can enjoy a fantastic menu of the day, three-course lunch with wine for €12 – €15 (£10 – £15) in a local restaurant. A nice dinner for two with wine costs around €60 – €80 (£52 – £69). In the shops, fresh produce is significantly cheaper than in the UK. Property in Spain is considerably more affordable too, with a square metre up to 50% cheaper, according to Blevins Franks. €120,000 (£104,000) gets you a good choice of nice apartments, not obviously on the beach, but in those popular areas of the Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol. If it’s something really nice, then you’ve got to be looking at €200,000 (£173,000). Drive an hour inland from the Costa del Sol and property prices halve. Obviously, people don’t necessarily speak English. I am not tempted but it is starting to make my Spanish holiday booked for next February look attractive. Some British people spend the winter period for extended periods in Spain and one can see the attraction.