Just before I went to bed the day before last, I heard the excellent news that the FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been forced to scrap plans to sell off a stake in the World Cup after a global backlash. I am not a avid football fan but the thought of a game enjoyed by millions being hijacked by an autocrat and rights sold to a commercial enterprise run by one of Trump’s relatives was just repulsive. So it looked as though the strong stance played by the European UEFA paid off and we can breathe again – I wonder if a strong candidate will emerge to replace Infantino? It now looks as though moves instigated by UEFA to displace Infantino are accelerating and if this is the case, then it is a case of not if Infantino goes but just a question of when? As well as this good news, I received yesterday an email from my close friend in Madrid (who came to see Meg just before she died and attended her funeral) and conveyed to all of my recent news, including the fact that my American friend and I are booked up to come to Spain in February of next year. Even before that big holiday, my American friend and I are looking forward to four whole days in Yorkshire at the end of the month to celebrate my sister’s birthday but we shall also have some days out to make a mini-holiday for ourselves. As yesterday was the first day of August, I did not forget to say ‘White Rabbits’ (actually repeated three times) as soon as I awoke. People say ‘white rabbits’ on the first day of each month as a traditional superstition to bring good luck, ensure protection, and ward off negativity but it is very much associated with one’s childhood years. The weekend promises to be a quiet one for me but my American friend and I will enjoy a weekend meal together which is becoming a little ritual shared between us. We met the day before yesterday and eagerly communicated the news of the day. My friend had just enjoyed a really enervating swim for the first time in years and felt that it eased her musculature whilst I was still excited about the very enjoyable first meeting of the Philosophy group I have just joined, Although rain seems a long way away, the weather has certainly drifted several degrees cooler but as a nation, we are watching with a fascinated horror the progress of the wild fires in Spain and in France and although we still have a large heathland fire in Suffolk it does match the ferocity of the fires seen in Spain. I ask myself the question of what damage is being wrought to European economies and of course the ecological damage might last for a decade even before we start to consider a pattern of extremely hot summers in the years to come. August is always a quiet month in domestic political terms as the politicians as well as the general population think about holidays and the like but the new government appears to have ‘hit the ground running’ with a series of popular measures. But of course everything has to be paid for and I am reminded of the 18th century French sage who observed that the art of taxation ‘was like extracting feathers from a goose with the least amount of hissing’ Yesterday in our Philosophy group discussion, we were wondering aloud whether we ought to consider other measures of a nation’s well-being other than the very crude ‘Gross Domestic Product’ and also wondered aloud whether the pursuit of economic growth was still appropriate for mature industrial economies such as ours. The stark fact remains that as the data from the Office for National Statistics and independent groups like the Institute for Fiscal Studies confirm that UK living standards have experienced historic stagnation. Typical household disposable income has barely grown since the 2008 financial crisis, making it the weakest multi-year period for income growth in generations.
As soon as I had got myself up and dressed this morning, and before I had breakfasted, I made my way into town in order to pick up my supplement-heavy copy of ‘The Times‘ before they all disappeared. After a chat with one of the supermarket staff I know well, I made my way back hone but spotted my Irish friends so I approached them in the car so that we could have a good chat. As soon as other friends return from holiday, we may have a get together for a little summer party. At home, I processed a machine full of washing including the two new shirts I had purchased the other day. I also spent some time carefully washing my University of Manchester scarf which is now 60 years old and I doubt has ever seen the inside of a washing machine. Today I gave it a soak in some tepid water in a bucket and used some washing liquid designed for delicates. Then after a couple of rinses, I dried it in a towel (as internet instructions recommended) and then put it out on the line with all of the other washing. I have learnt, a little too late, that there is a way to prevent clothes from going ‘crisp’ when air dried. To prevent air-dried clothes from getting stiff, one needs to use less detergent, add white vinegar to the rinse cycle, and shake out each garment vigorously before and after hanging. After two or three hours in the sun, though, I have rescued the woollen scarf from the line and hope to finish off the drying process carefully and slowly within the house. In the late morning, my American friend called around with some of the supplies for the meal which we are going to jointly cook tomorrow. We are treating ourselves to some duck and I have consulted the internet to find the ingredients for a good orange sauce so that we can have ‘duck a l’orange’ and I can get these tomorrow morning after I have attended the church service and washed the car. Later on in the early evening, we are going to have our general constitutional walk in the park when the day has cooled down a little and there is a generally relaxed feeling to the day. This is becoming a routine for us to which we both look forward and slightly resembles the ‘paseo’ in Spain. The paseo is a cherished cultural tradition in Spain where neighbours, couples, and families take a slow, relaxed evening stroll through town streets, plazas, or promenades before a late dinner. It is a time to connect with the community, catch up on news, and enjoy the cooler air after the heat of the day.