We have collectively survived what might have been the hottest day of the summer and the temperature outside my back door reached 35° yesterday but is predicted to drop to a cooler 29° the following day. My American friend and I spent most of the day together keeping each other cool and well hydrated and we enjoyed a salad lunch together. When she left to go to her own home the evening, there was a burning smell in the air and I wondered if any vegetation near to me had caught alight. There has been a very significant fire in Stourbridge which is only some ten miles distant and at least six houses were caught up in the flames. In fact the whole of the West Midlands was quite affected, including Stoke on Trent. On consulting the web, I discovered that the smell of burning could be carried for many miles. A significant fire in South Wales that is believed to have sent smoke drifting 70 miles away across Worcester continues to burn. Residents in the city, the Malvern Hills, and in Herefordshire have reported smoky air and the strong scent of burning. Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) believes that the source is likely to be a fire in Llangynidr Reservoir, near Ebb Vale, which has been burning since Friday evening. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said this morning. The moorland fire near the Llangynidr Reservoir is still ongoing and crews have been at the scene all weekend and have been containing the spread of the blaze. The other significant domestic news which cane through in the small hours of the morning was Nigel Farage’s ‘success’ in the Clacton by-election which he had won easily as the other major parties refused to participate. So Nigel Farage’s major challenge came from Count BinFace (dressed, of course, as a dustbin) who managed to secure 27% of the vote compared with Farage’s 63%. So Count BinFace managed to secure three sevenths of the vote won by Farage which may count as a moral victory of sorts. On his return to Westminster, Farage still faces investigation over his acceptance of a gift of £5 million which, in theory, could trigger another by election in Clacton. Looking forward to our mini-holiday in Yorkshire, another of my nieces has got into contact with me about which I am particularly pleased. Because I now have so many great nieces and nephews and even a couple of great-great nieces and nephews, I am going to write all of their details n a little hard-back book so that my American friend will have some idea who she is interacting with when we all meet in about a fortnight’s time. Her own family is much smaller than this but my Yorkshire family being so much larger, my friend who will no doubt assume the soubriquet of ‘great aunt’ and needs some more systematic guidance. When we journey up by train, I will give my friend a full briefing so that she can come with a degree of preparedness. When you imagine that the news from the USA could not get any worse, it just has. The ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agency in the US are equipping themselves with special gloves which render a dramatic electric shock to individuals as soon as they are handled causing them to fall to the ground in agony and therefore, presumably, make them easier to arrest. Apart from the absolutely inhumane methods of treatment, may of those detained by poorly trained ICE agents turn out to be citizens who have the right to stay in America but who may have been subject to the most inhumane treatment in the meanwhile. It looks as though a budget of anything between $10-$20 million has been allocated for the purchase of these horrendous control agents which one can almost predict now will be inappropriately used by poorly trained ICE agents. The ICE have become a sort of shock troops for the Trump regime and their excesses are already well known as being directly responsible for a number of deaths in the US.
In the morning, having collected my newspaper I had a leisurely stroll along the High Street but I was assiduous in keeping to the shady sides of the street whenever I could. My journey this morning was quite fruitful as I managed to get some items f stationery of which I had run out and also took the opportunity to buy some household goods (principally some fly and wasp killer) which are not stocked in my usual Aldi store. I also called in at my local bank so that I could get some living money from their system. Whilst in one of the charity shops, I bumped into a couple that Meg and I knew quite well in our park-walking days. In fact, this particular couple were very kindly both to Meg and myself and we went for a lunch with them on a couple of occasions whilst Meg was quite ‘compos mentis’ – they had spotted my trademark black Australian style bush hat and concluded that it must have been me. When I returned home after quite a lengthy stroll, I did not feel particularly hungry so just had some ice-cream and a slice of melon, kept in the fridge and both items were enjoyable as they were quite cold. I eventually made myself a tomato and grated cheese omelette which is all I felt could face in these hot conditions. The local fires in Stourbridge hav destroyed nineteen houses and damaged a further eighteen more. According to the local fire services, what had made the fire so difficult to fight is that it seemed to have started in multiple grassland areas at about the same time and the area was quite close to a residential development. One neighbour said that the fire had spread so rapidly that she had only time to grasp her cat and no other possessions before fleeing. The seriousness of the incident is underlined by the fact that the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has paid a visit to the area declaring that the whole country is like a tinderbox. We are also hearing stories of another train derailment (caused almost certainly by rails buckling in the heat) but fortunately on this occasion the carriages have remained upright. I have ensured that I have kept myself well hydrated today and also happen to have a good supply of zero alcohol beer to refresh me during the evenings when I am enjoying the last day of the European athletics meeting.