The mood in the Middle East has turned from a cautious optimism to one of fear and dread as to what is unfolding. Whatever the peace plan might say, the Israelis have continued with a massive bombardment of Lebanon, killing over 250 in a single day. The Iranians and Pakistanis say that the conflict in Lebanon is an explicit part of the deal but Israel and the USA deny this. We know that in historical terms, the only restraining hand on the military ambitions of Israel has been the USA but this is not now present with the Trump regime seemingly in disarray. Netanyahu has told the world that he has been dreaming of extending a fight into Lebanon against Hezbollah for the last twenty years and he is certainly not going to stop now, whatever the Americans might say. The Iranians, for their part, are saying that the conflict in Lebanon is clearly part of the ceasefire agreement and until Israel stops its attacks, then the Straits of Hormuz shall remain firmly closed. In any case, selective ships from non-combatant nations are allowed through  at a fee reported to be $1-$2 million per tanker which is a lucrative form of income for the Iranians. Meanwhile, the US is saying tha it not did not agree with the published 10 point peace plan but another ‘secret one’ which was a scaled down version of the 15 point plan (essentially a surrender document) presented to and rejected by the Iranians. It seems that we are at an absolute stalemate and the Pakistani negotiators have all of their work cut out to resolve the conflict. Although the ceasefire was supposedly agreed, it was never put into effect and the Israelis carried out a huge bombardment without any hint of restraint so it appears that the immediate future is, indeed, quite bleak. Donald Trump is now threatening more strikes against Iran if it fails to restrain Hezbollah but there is no parallel injunction against the Israelis. The American congress is said to be considering a War Powers act to authorise funding for the war but this is unlikely to change the situation. With an unrestrained Israel, one cannot see how this conflict is going to be brought to an end. It is interesting that the Trump regime is demonstrating a sort of ‘buyer’s remorse’ by indicating that they did not agree to the published peace plan (which they say is a fake copied from a Nigerian website) but another, more secret, peace plan. There is so much misinformation flying about that it must be hard for even independent analysts to make sense of an extremely confused situation.

The evening before last, I went out with the ‘Curry Club’ to have a meal with about 16 other U3A members. The meal was good without, in my view, being outstandingly good and the restaurant was packed adding considerably to the noise levels. Unfortunately, I was seated between two elderly male diners neither of whom had any conversation or had much to say for themselves but ate their meals in silence. I must remember on future occasions to try to position myself a little more adroitly to prevent this happening in the future but it not easy when established friends approach a table and sit down next to each other. When  got I got home I got together some tea and coffee supplies to take with me and I would estimate that I am at least two thirds packed, with the remainder to be finished off today.

I went down to have my Tai Chi class this morning and this proceeded satisfactorily but, unfortunately, the coffee bar I which we are accustomed to having a post-exercise drink is closed for the whole of the week so that the volunteers who staff the kitchen can have a little Easter break. I took the opportunity to go off and visit a ‘Home and Gardens’ type store but they did not have the item for which I was looking and as so often happens these days, I thought I would shrug my shoulders and see if I could do without the item in question. When I got home, I immersed myself in the political  news from the Middle east which is getting murkier by the moment. What is interesting is that after Trump’s foul-mouthed outburst the other day coupled with his threat to destroy the whole of Iranian civilisation if the Straits of Hormuz were not re-opened,  then more doubts are being expressed about the President’s fitness for office. The latest revelation from ex White House cardiologist under a previous  presidency who is calling for an annual ‘statement of fitness for office’ to be made by a competent White House doctor but to my mind there should be a trio of doctors who perform this assessment. In any event, Trump is feeling increasingly cornered and is lashing out in desperation to those around him and I suspect that some more random sackings might be forthcoming. I had a delayed lunch in which I feasted on eggs and ham together with some potatoes and beans, more conscious of the fact that I should not leave food mouldering in the fridge whilst I am away. In the mid afternoon, I received a surprise phone call from my daughter-in-law who was calling from the taxi on her home from the airport. She and my son were meant to be flying out of Birmingham airport on holday n the afternoon. In any event, her flight and the whole holiday was cancelled but there will be an automatic refund. It means that my daughter-in-law can give me a lift down to the bus station tomorrow morning about which I am secretly relieved as I have been feeling a little tired over the last few days and the lift means that I should get to the bus station not worn out before the holiday actually starts. It looks as though some cloudy and stormy weather are I prospect for us but during most of Friday I shall be in a coach travelling Scotland-bound in any case. I am determined not to over-pack on this holiday so I am very strict about what is to be included within the suitcase but there are various things (such as tea and coffee making facilities) the absence of which can mar a holiday. The laptop upon which I compose this blog is going on the top of the suitcase and I can always ‘hot spot’ for a WiFi connection onto my iPhone, so I am hopeful that my blog can continue unabated for the next few days.

So we have awoken yesterday morning to the news that at practically the eleventh hour, a cease fire deal between the USA and Iran was put into effect giving a two week pause. The deal appears to have been brokered by Pakistan and a key element of the deal is that the Straits of Hormuz are to be immediately open to world shipping, thus relieving but not eliminating, the threat to the world’s oil supplies. For his part, Donald Trump will no doubt claim that his draconian threats to end civilisation in Iran have had the desired effect but the truth of the situation is that all sides needed some kind of resolution to the conflict and Trump, in particular, was in need of some kid of resolution even though it can be argued that a two week ceasefire merely means that the ‘can as been kicked further down the road’ Calls were growing from within the US that Trump be declared not for office via invocation of the 25th amendment and the very evident fact that Trump appeared to be claiming for the end to ‘civilisation’ in Iran was going beyond rhetoric. So we have a situation in which both sides can claim victory, Iran not least for just having resisted the might and the power pf the strongest military regime on earth (with the possible exception of China) Interestingly, the Israelis have not been part of the negotiations although  there is a plausible argument that they dragged America into this conflict in the first place. The Israelis are saying that they are going to pursue the fight against  Hezbollah in Lebanon although this conflict ought to be covered by the cease fire agreement. The USA could force its client state to stop the conflict in Lebanon but the Israelis are going to pursue their own war aims, regardless of the USA. I think the world as  a whole is just relieved that the Straits of Hormuz be reopened and the immediate conflict between Iran and the USA put on hold without worrying too much about what Israel is doing. The American liberal media podcasts are already of the view that Trump is suffering a ‘de facto’ defeat but the growing opposition to the war in general, and to Trumps announcements in particular, means that ‘middle’ America is probably relieved that a cease fire means that the boil of the Iran conflict as been lanced. It will be interesting to see what more informed opinion has to say during the course of the day. Meanwhile the day as it unfolds today will be a more domestic one. I thought that in the course of the afternoon, I may start packing my case in preparation for the holiday and this evening I am due to join 19 the members of the U3A group who are attending a very high status Indian restaurant for a ‘Curry Club’ meal which looks as though it is going to be very popular. The weather is positively spring-like at the moment and I am hopeful that the high pressure system persists for a few more days yet. The longer range forecast for Scotland is that it will be rather cloudy with isolated spots of rain possible but should brighten up later, while England and Wales will see the most sunshine.

Later in the morning, after I had tried to digest some of the political news of the morning, I took the car into town as far as the Methodist Centre. Here, I myself and some others had forgotten that in this post-Easter week, the centre was actually closed. So leaving the car parked where it was, I decided to call in at the ‘Gifts of Love’ which I normally frequent on a Friday morning but this too was closed. I did a tour of the charity shops and Poundland, buying some more leather insoles to line the inside of my new trailers. I did feel this morning as though I was wearing a completely different outfit as, in view of the fine weather, I put aside my thick leather Korean cowhide jacket and put on a summer-weight gilet which  wear in the summer. This complete with mu UMIST scarf and new looking trainers made me present a new image to the world. When I got home, I cleaned up a set of wheels which I noticed the other day in the garage and which Meg and I used to convey heavy suitcases from to and from airport carparks. I have in mind to take a slightly larger suitcase than I had originally intended but to alleviate the stain on myself to utilise the wheels to trundle my suitcase down the hill to the bus station on Friday morning. On my return the following Tuesday, I shall certainly use a taxi from the taxi ranks but getting a taxi first thing in the morning is always a little problematic in view of the near traffic jam down the Kidderminster Road. I prepared a simple lunch for myself of some cold chicken breasts, some slices of ham and an avocado and this was more than enough considering I am going out for my ‘Curry Club’ meal later in the evening. As I watching the news before lunchtime, I thought I would seize the moment and sew on a button which was missing from my shirt front. Meg used to keep all of her sewing things for decades in a big old plastic container previously used for ice cream. It actually took me longer to find a needle, thread it with white cotton and find a suitable button than the actual sewing job itself so I may put needle, thread and suitable buttons in another location as I will be doing this more regularly in the future. The possible end to the conflict in Iran is difficult  to comprehend at the moment. It looks as though America originally put forward a 15-point peace plan to Iran which was, in effect, a surrender document and which Iran immediately rejected. Iran then responded with a 10 point peace plan of its own including such things such as complete control of the Straits of Hormuz and it appears that the Trump regime have accepted most of these in essence anyway. A first sight, it appears to be an abject humiliation and climb down for Donald Trump but the full story is still yet to unfold. There are calls for the impeachment of the USA secretary of State for ‘War’, Pete Hegseth, which might gain some traction within the Congress as his complete lack of any substantial military experience rankles with many old- school Republicans with extensive family history within the Armed Services.

This week being the week after Easter, my routine is altered in various ways. My Pilates class is cancelled for this week as our instructor is away on her own holidays but two events are going to mark this week. Firstly, I have been fortunate to availed myself of a last minute cancellation so that I can now join the other 19 members of the U3A curry club to a local (Droitwich) based Indian restaurant with a very high reputation. This will take place at 6.00pm on Wednesday evening and it looks as though our party will occupy about one half of the restaurant. Until I get  there, I don’t now if there is anyone else that I will recognise but I have done a quick reconnaissance of the 20 of us who are going and have ascertained there are four couples but the rest of us equally split between males and females so this should make for an entertaining evening if we get suitable seating arrangements. I am quite pleased that it will be light when we are making our way to the restaurant because I do not particularly like fishing about for new venues in the dark. Later on in the morning, I thought I would call in at another of the supermarkets in town where there is a pharmacy so that I can et some last minute supplies before I go off on holiday. Actually, knowing the notoriety of the Scottish midges, I did consult the web and found a product which is acclaimed to be the market leader in the fight against Scottish midges. The product (‘Smidge’ which  I suppose is a contraction for [S]cottish [Midge] claims to be especially formulated in Scotland to deal with Scottish midges so on the strength of this information, I went ahead and ordered some supplies from Amazon which should  arrive before the end of the week. By the morning’s post, the brand-new University scarf in UMIST colours arrived and it is of high quality being 100% wool and measured it against my recently discovered scarf, I find that the new product is ½” wider and 1′ longer than my old scarf. This difference may well disappear as and when I subject the new scarf to the washing machine but as things stand, I have about one third more scarf in the new product. It is actually made by the official robe makers to the University of Cambridge who advertise the fact in rather an obtrusive label. My son called around at around breakfast, recently returned from visiting  his in-laws in Watford. He, to, is going off on holiday at the end of the week so we will both be away together but I explained to him how life as getting quite busty in this post Easter period as I have one U3A activity  before my own holidays and two immediately following  each other upon my return. Also I have a couple of social events to which to look forward in May so the intensity of my social life is increasing.

I got into town somewhat later than  intended as m attention was diverted some photographs in some small albums to which our domestic help draw to my attention when she was dusting a bookcase. Some were of my stay in Indonesia whilst yet others were of Meg, my son and I on top of a snowy Lake District mountain evidently some time in the 1970’s,judging by the age of my son. Some were of our friends in Spain which I must remember to take when I eventually make it over there. One of the purposes of my trip my town was to my local Poundland where eventually I located the ‘pets’ section. The reason for this is because in the past I have found that the collars sold for dogs is a strap of exactly the correct length to held together the two retaining straps of a rucksack so that they do not slip off your shoulders (which is quite a frequent occurrence if the clothing that you are wearing has a somewhat sloping angle to the shoulders) But my efforts this year were crowned with failure and the current stock was polypropylene rather than leather and an obscure design so that  couldn’t work out how you possibly get it over an animal’s head. So I abandoned this and came home to cook myself  a late lunch of potatoes, ham and egg. Meanwhile, the whole world is watching and waiting to see if how Trump attempts to carry out his latest blood-curdling threat to bomb Iran back to the ‘Some Age’. His threats clearly break every single protocol against  retribution of civilian populations about which the world conventions are completely clear. His new post says: ‘A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again’. But it later adds ‘maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?’ Trump suggests he’s negotiating with new leaders in Iran, after ‘total regime change’ there. But experts have frequently pointed out that the current war has not brought down Iran’s rulers, even though Israeli and American strikes have succeeded in killing individuals high up in the Islamic Republic, including Ali Khamenei, Iran’s previous supreme leader. That post threatened to reduce Iran’s leadership to ‘living in hell’, calling them ‘crazy bastards’. We shall see what transpires but it is quite evident that Trump has got the USA into a mess completely of its own making and is lashing out at allies, particularly Britain, who are failing to help him extricate himself. When his various  threats do not materialise and deadlines come and go with the Iranians just sitting tight for the time being, I suspect that Trump will declare total victory and then declare that his vague and contradictory war am have been fulfilled. Even some quite loyal Republicans are now starting to questions Trump’s state of mind and general health. I am currently starting to think about the things I need to take on holiday with me starting on Friday. I am inclined to under pack rather than fill a large suitcase so I am planning to take an intermediate size suitcase with me. I will also take a small rucksack with me for day-to-day things to take out on trips  and, again, I shall think hard what to put into this. I am thinking off an extremely light-weight raincoat in case of sudden downpours and a thermos flask and precious little else apart from insect repellent. I am also to pack a little notebook so that I can note down the details of each photo that I take which will make the job of cataloging the snaps easier when I return home. Of course I must not forget either to take with me my regular medications ad vitamin tablets although I suspect I shall be eating some hearty breakfasts on most of the days and only the lightest of lunches.

All kinds of disinformation are taking  place in the Iranian theatre of war as details emerge of the rescue of the second downed airman from a few days ago. What we are being told officially is that the badly injured airman crawled up a 7,000′ mountain in order to find a secure hiding place and a huge military operation was put in place to find him. The Americans did not want their airman to be captured and to be paraded on TV (quite contrary to the rules of war) and their military operation to rescue him involved dozens of aircraft. Two of the huge C130 transport planes and two helicopters were lost in mysterious circumstances – of course, the Iranians have claimed to have shot them down. But the USA military is claiming that it destroyed the two C130 transport planes themselves, presumably because  they feared that they would fall into Iranian hands. We know that many C-130 Hercules variants—particularly specialised versions like the EC-130 Compass Call and MC-130 Combat Spear—are heavily equipped with extensive communications, intelligence, and electronic warfare suites. While the base C-130 is a transport aircraft, its modular design allows it to be filled with advanced communication equipment for specialised missions. If this equipment had fallen into the hands of he Iranians, they could presumably have shared all of this with the Russians and even the Chinese and so the USA was quite contented to destroy its own aircraft completely for this not to happen. I am reminded of the saying associated with the veteran Labour party politician, Denis Healy that ‘In war, the first casualty is truth’ and possibly the full account of this daring rescue mission will never actually see the light of day. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has posed a blood curdling threat to the Iranians that he about to bomb their civilian facilities ‘back to the Stone Age’ if the Gulf of Hormuz is not re-opened within a day. But what is remarkable about the post is that it contains foul-mouthed obscenities which have never before been publicly attributed to a world leader, let alone an American one. So by releasing this foul-mouthed torrent, Trump is almost publicly admitting his own dementia. But whether Donald Trump’s increasingly foul-mouthed language indicates dementia is a subject of intense debate among critics, commentators, and some mental health experts, rather than a confirmed medical diagnosis. But calls are growing that the 25th amendment  to the US constitution be put into effect. The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1967, provides the legal framework for handling cases of presidential incapacity, death, resignation, or removal. It ensures a clear line of succession and provides mechanisms for a Vice President to assume the powers of the presidency, either temporarily or permanently, if the President cannot fulfil their duties. Meanwhile, I shall re-entering a ‘Bank Holiday’ routine where  I hope that unlike yesterday, I can actually obtain a copy of my daily newspaper. The night  before, I had successfully completed not one but two ‘super fiendish’ Sudoku so I must be getting better at these and I am anticipating that our domestic help calls around a day earlier than usual as jury service is calling her imminently.

Now it comes to confession time but one to which I am willing to own up. Since I went on the trip to Jodrell Bank some twelve days ago, my Manchester University scarf has gone missing. This I purchased some 61 years ago and is, literally, and practically, irreplaceable as Manchester University have redesigned, and thus changed, their official colours. On the day after I had missed my scarf, I counted up that  had been in eight different locations including coffee bars, coaches and dark exhibition halls. Meg when she was alive used to say to me that it was important that ‘we should possess our possessions and not let them possess us’ and so I tried not to get too upset by the loss of a precious heirloom. I did go on the web and purchased from the Manchester University shop a replacement scarf but not, evidently, in the original colours. There are one or two very specialist  outlets from which it is possible to purchase replacement scarves but their selection is very limited and arbitrary. I did manage to track down a UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) which is very similar to the Victoria University of Manchester scarf but is distinguished from it by an additional orange stripe within it so I ordered this as well because Meg and I used to visit ‘J’ floor which was the Students Union every Sunday evening for a folk singing evening. When my domestic help called around today, I was looking for my every day rucksack which had been pushed into a corner of the kitchen floor and when she emptied it of various bits of clutter, there was my scarf – in other words, not lost at all! It is hard to convey my emotions at being reunited with my supposedly long lost scarf and, needless to say, it put me in a tremendously good mood for the rest of the day. I walked down into town in my very comfortable newly acquired trainers and collected my newspaper and sat down to drink my coffee. Then I observed one of the rarest of sights. A young man purchased seven plastic containers of sushi which I know would have cost him £19.00. Then he proceeded to eat one after the other until he had consumed all seven and then he left. I mentioned this to one of the staff I know quite well and they admitted that it was a bizarre behaviour pattern but as the had observed it many times before they had given him the nickname of ‘Sushi Man’ I know some people might have some idiosyncratic behaviour traits but I had never seen anything quite like that before. When I got home, I lunched on a sort of salad which was chicken breasts, avocado and beetroot slices on a slice of seeded brown bread – all designed to keep my protein count high these days. Incidentally.my speculations about the American C130 transport planes, packed with communications equipment,  proved to be entirely correct as the Americans had indeed blown up their own aircraft as they could not take off from a ‘soft’ landing strip in which the wheels of the C130 had become embedded and hence they were destroyed lest they fall not enemy hands. Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.

So Easter day has dawned at last and I will be very pleased to join in the general celebratory atmosphere which most church goers will experience on Easter Day. I am going  to take along with me my Italian friend as it happens to be the anniversary of the death of her husband and hence a very important date in her own personal calendar. Last night, I watched a documentary on the life of Mozart which the YouTube algorithm had suggested for me and this particular programme detailed the significant events in practically every year of Mozart’s very short life (he died at the age of 35, just a month before his 36th birthday). I also made myself watch a series of three linked but very good programmes on the diagnosis and care of dementia. This, too, was particularly informative and filled in one or two gaps in my own knowledge. It contained the revelation of has caring for dementia patients can be so damaging to the lives of the carers themselves. It is common for these carers to have increased levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, for extended periods of time. Cortisol is the primary stress hormone, produced by the adrenal glands to manage the body’s response to stress, fear, or danger. It increases glucose in the bloodstream, alters metabolism, and affects immune function. While essential, chronic high levels can lead to fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, and high blood pressure. In the course of the evening, I also completed putting together the Italian and English translations of the libretti to accompany my little website of Mozart arias. In at least one case, the translations were so ‘flowery’ that I was forced back onto the web to find a more sympathetic translation of the original but I am pleased that this particular task is now completed. Before I finally took to my bed, I have a deep clean of the trainers which I purchased yesterday as well as doing some research on the brand I had purchased. The company making them was a Leicester-based company and they seem to have established a good reputation for both the style and the comfort of their footwear. I had tried these on in the shop and they seemed a good fit. Actually, when I got them home, I discovered that the European size of 41 equates to 7½ which is my exact shoe size so it appears that they will be a perfect fit. No doubt, they can have a good trial when I go on holiday next Friday up to Scotland and I would not be surprised if a goodly proportion of the other holiday makers were not wearing similar foot apparel as well. Now that Lent is well and truly over, I can indulge in the pleasures forsaken during Lent (following George Best these are booze, fast cars, loose women and, in addition in my case cake and chocolate) My son and daughter-in-law very kindly bought me an Easter Egg so this is a treat for later on in the day.

I went to the Easter Day service in the morning, taking along with me my Italian friend as he happened to be the anniversary of her late husband’s death and she particularly wanted to attend the church on today of all days. The church was absolutely packed to the rafters and possibly so full some members of the congregation were left standing at the rear of the church. Afterwards, I took my Italian friend home and she gave me some delicious Italian coffee and biscuits. I had taken along my iPad and  managed to show my friend two things. The first of these was the rolling displays of the 67 photos illustrating aspects of Meg’s life to a musical accompaniment. The second pf these was a video filmed on a mobile phone which showed Meg giving some reminiscences of our married life on the occasion of the 50th wedding celebrations which we have for the benefit of our Yorkshire family. This piece of video is very precious as it shows Meg before the ravishes of dementia came to manifest itself and it illustrates Meg at her fluent best and speaking for some 10-15 minutes evidently without any kinds of notes or aide-memoire. My Italian friend and I would have preferred to have spent longer with each other but my iPad was running of battery power and my friend was in danger of running late when she was due to see her sister who lives not too far away and we both had to leave. I got my weekly living money out of an ATM but then failed in my quest to get a copy of the ‘Sunday Times‘ Both the major supermarkets were closed all day and evidently copies of this newspaper had vanished from the stores of my local garage and One Stop shop much earlier n the day.  I got home rather late and got out a risotto from the freezer (which I did not particularly enjoy as it happens) I have a bit of a dilemma with my TV viewing in the evening. There is going to be a biopic of the life of Alan Turing, the famous British mathematician whose breakthroughs led to the breaking of the Enigma code and, some say, shortened WWII by some two years. But as it does not start until 10.00 I may have to postpone watching it and get it on ‘catchup’ some time tomorrow. News filtered through in the course in the afternoon that the remaining US pilot has been located and rescued, although badly wounded as a result  of use of the ejector seat. This does pay tribute to the efficacy of American search and rescue operations but it is possible that a very high price has been paid. Donald Trump has praised American forces following the rescue of the F-15 pilot, but questions about exactly what happened remain. The US leader said no US troops had died in the operation, but did not say if anything had happened to aircraft. Iran has claimed that two American C-130 transport aircraft and two Blackhawk helicopters were shot down. Iranian media have released images and video of what they say is a crash site around 45km (28 miles) south of the Iranian city of Isfahan. Although without Sunday newspapers, the afternoon  is unwinding in a pleasant way because ClassicFM always use this particular weekend to play the top 300 musical tracks as voted for ClassicFM listeners. This means that as one listens to the tracks, each one is guaranteed to be as popular as, or even a  smidgeon more popular than the track that precedes it. So there is a slow but quite exciting build up in this year’s Number 1 track will be played towards the end of the evening on Bank Holiday Monday.

The search for the missing American crew member of the downed fighter jet continues apace but so far without success. Although the Americans are not unaccustomed to losing the occasional aircraft, this is usually as a result of an accident or even ‘friendly fire’ and it is quite rare for an American aircraft to be shot down by hostile fire. Yesterday, the Americans lost not only their fighter jet but a ‘Warthog’ used in the rescue and a couple of helicopters were fired upon and damaged. All of this does rather puncture the Trump claims of complete domination of the skies and points to the fact, disturbing for the Americans, that their aircraft may still be vulnerable to Iranian air defence systems particularly if the latter are of the mobile variety. Trump is keeping tight-lipped over the American losses ad may well be contemplating a way in which he can extricate himself from a mess of his own making whilst claiming complete victory. Meanwhile, there is a part of the American liberal podcast media which is claiming that Trump has lost control of his bowels and they have an incident captured on film in which officials have to usher everybody quickly out of the room. One American specialist  has even gone as far as to suggest that Trump’s dementia is advancing at the rate where he only gives him another 4 months left. Some psychiatrists and reporters have speculated that Trump may have mental health impairments, such as dementia (which his father had) or narcissistic personality disorder. Such claims have prompted discussion about the ethics and applicability of the Goldwater rule, which prohibits mental health professionals from publicly diagnosing or discussing the diagnosis of public figures without their consent and direct examination. However, video is emerging practically every day of Trump either falling asleep or giving vent to random thoughts and non-sequiturs in the middle of his rambling speeches, so it is no wonder that speculation is rife. There are several schools of thought concerning recent sackings, such as Bondi the former Attorney General. One explanation is that Bondi was sacked because of her dismal appearances before Congressional committees where she refused to answer pointed questions. Another line of argument is that Trump sacked her because she failed to pursue his political enemies through the courts with sufficient vigour. A final line of argument is that when things are going badly, Trump will lash out and sack almost anyone so that they and not he can take the blame – certainly, the last explanation fits in with the ‘Narcissistic personality disorder’ from which many would claim that Trump has suffered for years. The investigative psychiatrist Robert J Lifton once explained to us that Trump is a solipsist, as distinct from the narcissist that he is often accused of being. A narcissist, while deeply self-infatuated, nevertheless seeks the approval of others and will occasionally attempt seduction to get what he wants (I think of the French president, Emmanuel Macron). For Trump the solipsist, the only point of reference is himself, so he makes no attempt even at faking interest in other people, since he can’t really see them from his self-centred position. Trump’s absence of external connection is self-evident: his treatment of the ‘other’ – from his own family to his tenants, his political rivals, the victims of the Los Angeles fires or the displaced people of Gaza – displays not only a lack of empathy, but also an emotional blindness. How else could he tease out loud about dating his own daughter, Ivanka? How else could he so cruelly insult former president Biden in his inauguration address, with Biden seated just a short distance away?

The day has turned out to be an interesting one. In the morning I spent a certain amount of time putting the Italian/English lyrics to some of the Mozart arias in my little presentation and I now have only two more to go. In the late morning, I went into town and picked up my newspaper and then went on to my ‘Gifts of Love’ horse sanctuary outlet where I met up with the proprietor and a volunteer and we had a lovely long chat. On my way back to the carpark, I popped into the Salvation Army and saw some trainers of a good make in quite good condition which I picked up for £4.00. The ticket machine in the car park would not accept any of my coins so I got a ‘free’ 30 minute ticket ad explained on it how the machine was malfunctioning thus saving myself £2.50 so on this reckoning I had only paid £1.50 for my trainers and if they last me until the end of the summer, I shall be quite content. When I got home, I cooked myself a meal of pork mince with onions, potato and green beans trying to ensure my protein quota is reasonably high. After lunch (and a rest), as we had a small burst of sunshine,  I got round to cutting the back lawn where the grass seemed incredibly high but it was easy enough to cut. A U3A member of the Classical Music Group and I have been ping-ponging messages to each about getting access to musical tracks and I passed on to him what I hope is useful advice about utilising YouTube but also information on the next U3A trip out to Derbyshire. My Italian friend from down the road gave me a swift telephone call as I had volunteered to take her to church as and when she wanted. It happens that Easter Day is the anniversary of her husband’s death so I am more than happy to take her to the later service  which is held on Sunday morning. Afterwards, I might be able to give her a little view of the rolling photos of Meg’s life to which I can add a sound track supplement of a Handel aria ‘Waft her, angels, through the skies’ so I will take my iPad along with me to church in the morning. It goes without saying that I am looking forward to the next day if only because I can start to indulge in some chocolate tasting again. I know that parents buy Easter eggs for even their (grown up) children but I have noticed that this year, children seem to be doing the same for their parents (myself included) but perhaps this has gone on for years and I haven’t really noticed!

When I awoke yesterday morning, it was to the strains of a Good Friday hymn played a minute or so before the 7.00am news to remind us all that we are well and truly into the Easter period. My U3A trans-Atlantic friend has been designated to read some of the lessons in the many church services and I believe that many of the churches collaborate in a religious procession in which a cross is dragged through the streets of Bromsgrove. For my own part, I looked in the media sections of the Sunday newspaper to discover that Bach’s Matthew Passion is to be broadcast in its entirety from 1.00pm-4.00pm this afternoon  and I shall certainly listen to this in its entirety.  I have started  to think in earnest about the breakfasts I have each morning and decided to follow a recipe to which I had been alerted on the back of a packet of porridge oats. The recipe called for some maple syrup (of which I just happened to have some) to be blended with some plain Greek yogurt and whole milk before a serving of rolled oats is stirred in and then the whole left in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning, I will probably need to add a bit more milk, yogurt and some fruit topping. I sought an explanation for this preparation and this is what I found. Yogurt and oats are left in the fridge overnight to allow the raw oats to fully absorb the liquid, transforming them into a soft, creamy, and pudding-like texture without cooking. This overnight soak makes the oats easier to digest, improves nutrient absorption, and provides a convenient, chilled grab-and-go breakfast. A key reason for the overnight fridge method include obtaining an optimal texture. While they can be soaked for less time, 6-8 hours ensures oats fully absorb the yogurt and milk, resulting in a thick consistency rather than chewy, raw oats. An additional benefit is improved digestion and nutrition as soaking oats in an acidic medium like yogurt helps break down phytic acid, making the oats easier to digest and allowing for better nutrient absorption. So I now I am appraised of the science behind the culinary preparation. Whilst having a brief moment of wakefulness during the night, I started to think how I might add some more protein to each of my breakfast meals. I will certainly have the oats plus yogurt mixture on two days a week and then I return from church on Sunday morning, I generally treat myself to a fried egg accompanying some spaghetti or beans on a slice of toasted sourdough bread. For the other four days, I can now plan variations around the other ingredients I have bought. One day I can have lean chicken breasts perhaps enhanced by some onion and avocado. Another day, I can have some shredded ham and so make myself a traditional ‘ham and eggs’ style of breakfast but I only intend to eat meat like this once per week. On another day, I can have some prawns that I bought and on the fourth day, I shall probably add some cheese to an omelette and that completes a rota for the week. When my son calls around, I shall discuss my ‘healthier’ eating options with him because I know that he and his wife are very well informed about such matters.

The morning has proved to be a quiet one. I popped down to get my newspaper as I know from bitter experience that supplies of things like newspapers can be a little ‘iffy’ on Good Fridays. I arrived back in time for my son’s visit and was delighted to give him the Easer eggs recently purchased for him as well as the ‘spider’ plant for his wife. Whilst my son was here, he did a little cutting job on some material that he was using to enhance his newly installed kitchen units. I had set myself to task of bring my very oldest iPad into use to assess what functionality it had left but my efforts were not really successful but it may be that there are sone videos in place on the use of older iPads which might be of some assistance for me. I made myself a risotto meal with some kippers purchased yesterday and as always, I tend to make enough for two meals rather than one so I now another meal in store for later on. In the late morning, I received some interesting news relating to my joining the U3A Curry club which is due to have an ‘elite’ meal next Wednesday. Initially this was over-subscribed but I was the first  on a waiting list. But I received the news that someone has dropped out so I can now occupy the 20th place on the list next Wednesday. I let the organiser know when accepting the invitation that I had curry once a week since I was a student some 60 years ago although admittedly these tend to be of the home made rather than the restaurant provided variety. The news was broken in the afternoon that the US have lost an F5 fighter plane over Iran and the US has despatched a transport plane and a couple of helicopters in an attempt to locate and rescue the pilot and the navigator. The Iranians are claiming that the fighter jet has been shot down but the Americans have not (and may never) admit that this is the case. There is a massive race on the ground because if the Iranians manage to locate the crew before the Americans, then they can be deployed in a massive propaganda display (quite contrary to the rules of war, of course, but these have been torn up, by both sides for a long time now) The analysis given by the media pundits on Sky News is that Trump would have been warned, over and over again, that if Iran were attacked they would close the Straits of Hormuz, would attack American bases in neighbouring countries and that the loss of aircraft would happen even only accidentally in a conflict situation. There is the possibility that a rescue mission could endanger the rescue crews themselves but it has certainly given the story a new twist. Donald Trump, other senior US officials and their cheerleaders appear to be embracing attacks – and threats of attacks – on Iranian civilian infrastructure, which legal experts say appears to constitute serious war crimes under international law. In a rambling national address on Wednesday, the US president warned that if Iran did not reach an unspecified deal with him, US forces would ‘hit each and every one of their electric-generating plants’ and ‘bring [Iran] back to the Stone Ages – where they belong’. Amnesty International’s senior director of research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said: ‘Intentionally attacking civilian infrastructure such as power plants is generally prohibited. Even in the limited cases that they qualify as military targets, a party still cannot attack power plants if this may cause disproportionate harm to civilians. Given that such power plants are essential for meeting the basic needs and livelihoods of tens of millions of civilians, attacking them would be disproportionate and thus unlawful under international humanitarian law, and could amount to a war crime.’ 

The evening before last, I tuned into Sky News before drifting off to sleep but found the news dominated by the blast-off the latest American space flight to the moon – the first for half a century. The count down went more or less as planned and the entire mission is planned to be about ten days in total including a fly-by of the ‘other’ side of the moon. To the obvious question which is asked why the Americas are doing this, there appear to be two answers. The first is a really  old-fashioned space race as the Americans feel that they may be under competition from the Chinese (rather than the Russians) A second explanation is that the moon will be regarded as an essential staging post for a planned first visit to Mars (from which astronauts, by the way, will never return) It looks as though the explanation lies in the fact that a three year journey will so weaken bones, muscles and organs including the heart that astronauts, even if their vehicle could bring them back, would not be able to cope with the strains of returning to the earth and would die. So if ever we get humanity to Mars, it looks as though it may be a one way trip for the astronauts involved – in other words a suicide mission. This fact is hardly discussed though by the advocates of space travel. Later on today, I have a little project in mind which is to rethink what I have for breakfast every morning. Knowing that older adults need less protein rather than less as they age, I need to think of breakfasts that push up my protein levels first thing in the morning to avoid muscle wastage. I may start on a diet of Greek yogurt enhanced by nuts and other nutrient rich additions but in the short term maybe a meal of scrambled eggs continuing some salmon pieces might be a good way to start. Last night, I cooked myself a meal of salmon and scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough bread and it might be pure imagination but I think I feel the better for it and certainly slept better. Some of my preliminary investigations are extolling the virtues of oats and Greek yogurt but prepared the evening before and then enhanced at breakfast time with some toppings of fruit but this needs a bit more investigation. I certainly don’t want to spend 30 minutes cooking each morning but I may have to be put a little more thought and effort into food preparation, particularly for breakfast time. When Meg was alive, I did get into the habit of having a cooked breakfast in the mornings but this fell by the wayside as Meg could not eat these any more. The weather is still on the chilly and cloudy side and I am anxious for the weather to improve a little so that I can get on with some outside jobs. Later on today, Tai Chi beckons and I generally bump into some acquaintances with whom I can share a coffee upon its completion.

The day developed into a rather unanticipated direction. After I had partaken of an extensive coffee break and toasted tea-cake, the Tai Chi class having been cancelled, I made my way to Asda in order to try and return a light raincoat I had recently purchased from Amazon but turned out to be about two sizes too small. I have returned items to Amazon  before but this proved to be complicated taking me deep into the depths of a Post Office app where the menu items did not match up with the Amazon instructions. Altogether I struggled for about an hour last night before generating some kind of QR which did not look right. At Asda, the QR code refused to scan so I had to return home and struggle again. This time, eventually got a QR code generated  but it took 40 mins and interaction with an automated query system to get the correct code re-generated. This I did take down to Asda and the parcel is back into the system and also an email telling me my parcel was back into the system and to expect a refund in due course. Whilst I was in Asda, I took the opportunity to buy two reasonable quality chocolate Easter eggs for my son and daughter-in-law. I also took the opportunity to buy some ‘high protein’ things I can utilise to enhance my breakfast each morning. I bought some chicken pieces, ham pieces, prawns, Greek yogurt, blueberries and a special protein rich  drink so now I think I have enough foodstuffs to give myself a healthier breakfast. I lunched on the remains of a curried something I found in the freezer and then in the late afternoon  my hairdresser called around to give me a (delayed) hair cut. I have also ensured that I have the elements in place to give a rolling display of the elements of Meg’s life with the accompaniment of the Handel aria ‘Waft her, Angels, through the skies’ which was played at her funeral and seems to me to be an appropriate soundtrack whilst the photos are displaying.

There is some  breaking news as I write that Trump has sacked his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, for way she handled/mis-handled the release of the Epstein  files by the Department of Justice. Her appearance before Congressional Committees has been disgraceful with a refusal to answer questions directly and instead engaging in the personal abuse of her interrogators. No doubt, the liberal American podcasts that I follow with be replete with details so I shall avidly see what they say later on in the evening. I think that even staunch Republicans were beginning to feel that Bondi was bringing the whole administration into disrepute and there are always those that felt that her days were numbered. The full story of her sacking will no doubt soon be revealed but she is to be replaced by her deputy who is scarcely any better. Meanwhile we have had a sacking on this side of the Atlantic as Reform’s new housing chief has been sacked over his comments about Grenfell Tower fire victims, which survivors and families called ‘deeply dehumanising’ Sir Keir Starmer and opposition parties had called for Simon Dudley to be sacked as Reform’s new housing spokesman after he said the 72 deaths were a ‘tragedy and a failure’ but ‘everyone dies in the end’. This shows political callousness and indifference to the plight of those who lost their lives in the extreme and  am sure that his sacking will be welcomed all round.

The evening before last, there was a very good Simon Scharma programme on the TV from 9.00pm-10.0pm so I watched most of it (until I fell asleep towards the end). It was on the well-worn theme of the consequences of the Black Death which in many ways spelled the end of the old feudal order in that workers on the land were now scarce, could demand a higher price for their scarce labour and thus moved to where the work was – which we now regard as a very modern trend. There is not much to smile at these days but I came across one news item which brought a temporary smile to my lips. Donald Trump had disgracefully demolished much, if not all, of the East Wing of the White House to be replaced by a grotesque and hideous huge ballroom. Donald Trump has voiced outrage after a judge ordered a halt to the construction of his $400m ballroom at the White House. US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts the construction project on the site where the East Wing of the White House was demolished. The legal action was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to obtain an order to pause construction until the plan has undergone independent reviews and obtained congressional approval. Whether this judgement is subject to appeal or not is not known but it seems to be one blow for sanity. Donald Trump himself is due to give a ‘major’ speech on the Iran conflict and it looks as though the ground is being prepared for an end to the conflict in Iran within 2-3 weeks. Trump will claim total victory but already it looks as though some key elements of his wish-list will not be fulfilled. It seems quite probable that Iran will retain control of the Straits of Hormuz and, for their part, will be able to claim this as a victory but the situation is confused and changes by the day, if not the hour. Incidentally, it as emerged  that Pete Hegseth, the American ‘Defense’ secretary ordered his financial broker to invest heavily in the stock of arms and munitions manufacturers knowing that as the ‘war’ was announced, the prices of these would soar so this is as plainly corrupt as it is possible to be. I expect that we shall see a pause in war reporting and activities  as the Easter vacation approaches but Israel is itself rampaging through Lebanon. The Israeli Knesset (parliament) recently passed a law indicating that any Palestinian who killed an Israeli would themselves be immediately subject to the death penalty but this would not apply if one Israeli killed another. This is discrimination ‘baked’ into Israeli law and is plainly an assault on democratic values but I doubt whether the legislation will ever be repealed. On the domestic front, I am now keeping up-to-date my U3A (University of the 3rd Age) calendar as I now have three forthcoming events scheduled and I have put these onto a special ‘strip’ style calendar in my living room where it will not get forgotten.

In the morning, I knew that I had a lot to fit in so I ensured that I was ready to leave the house just a tad after 9.00am in the morning to get my weekly shopping done. Then I just dropped the filled bags inside the house and then went off to have my weekly toasted tea cake and coffee in the Methodist Centre. Here I had a pleasant chat with one or two that I have got to know but knew that I needed to get back before my son and daughter-in-law turned up. When I got home, I unpacked the shopping and after my family turned up we had a meal of quiche and some fried leeks. Whilst my family were with me, I consulted with them about the most appropriate iPad to replace my aged model which is now almost nine years old but whose operating system is failing to update. I had already done some preliminary investigations and ascertained for myself that the M4 chip was more than adequate for my needs so I could afford to ignore the later M5 chip used in gaming and heavy computational work. Now the only remaining question is to whether to settle for the 11″ model which is the most popular model size or spent an extra £200 and go for the 13″ model. We conducted some experiments whilst I had my existing 11″ model and my son and his 13″ model and we played the same YouTube clips on each. I was pleasantly surprised  that because of the lower resolution in which YouTube video clips are made available, the display actually looked better on my 11″ model as the images had to be ‘stretched’ a little to fit the 13″ model. So this all makes buying decisions so much the easier when I get round to replacing my iPad but in the meantime there is some rather more urgent plumbing work  to demand my attention. My son and daughter-in-law ten turned their attention  to questions of my diet and whether the meals I was preparing for myself were nutritionally adequate. It is true that over the years I have tried cut back on unnecessary  carbohydrates. At the same time I have been attempting to cut back radically on my consumption of red meat but my family are getting worried that I might not be getting sufficient protein in my diet. I must admit that I had not realised that protein needs go up one the aging process starts in earnest so it probably quite likely that I have been falling quite a long way short of the 80+ grams of protein I need to ingest each day. So my researches  now indicate that eating sufficient protein is  probably very important to me nowadays and there are some of the reasons why. Protein needs generally change as you get older, particularly to address age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia. While a general recommendation for adults exists, many researchers and health organisations suggest that older adults, particularly those over 65, may benefit from higher protein intake per kilogram of body weight compared to younger adults to maintain muscle, strength, and mobility.  Protein Needs Change with age in the following three areas. Preventing Muscle Loss: starting around age 40-50, people begin to lose muscle mass. Adequate protein intake helps preserve muscle, strength, and functional capacity. Second, we have Immune System and Healing: as you age, your body may require more protein to support immune function and improve recovery from illness or injury. Finally we have Bone Health in which adequate protein intake is essential for maintaining bone density and strength. So now I have a series of good practical advice to which I will attempt to adhere a constantly  as I can.

The evening before yesterday, I received one of those really heart-warming emails upon the following lines. My ex-University of Winchester colleague, who has invited me to her 65th birthday celebrations in a few weeks time, had visited the pub which is to host her event and they knew that I was one of the gusts and had booked in for the night of the celebrations, the following day happening to be my own birthday. Anyway, at the initiative of the pub, they want to put on a special celebratory birthday menu breakfast for myself and other guests from the day before – they have a Michelin star trained chef who would like to provide the special food (things like ‘Eggs Benedict’ for example) as well as some specially prepared titbits. So, this is something to which to look forward and will help to make the day a little special for me which will be marvellous as on the day before we will collectively take a little time out to celebrate the first anniversary of Meg’s passing. The night before, before I came to bed, I had a quick burst on providing both the Italian and English translations of the Mozart arias which form the substance of my little presentation. Altogether I have five of these to prepare and am not quite half way through the task having prepared the first two and now in the throes of doing quite a long third, being the seduction aria from ‘Don Giovanni’ (included only for the amusing ‘patter’ of the Don himself which I am including in advance of the main aria) This is one of those tasks that I need to do in little chunks when I have a spare half hour or so. Perhaps because I had an early night last night, I actually woke up wide awake at about 3.30 in the morning and was disinclined to get up. So as this is the week before  Easter, I asked the ‘Alexa’ smart speaker I have beside my bed to play a version of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ and the version which came to the fore was Harry Christopher and ‘The Sixteen’ which provided a wonderful rendition whilst I  dozed for the remainder of the night. As the week wears on, I shall look out for a performance of either of the Bach ‘Passions’ (Mathew or John) to which I always think it is appropriate to listen on Good Friday. One of the very vivid memories that I have as a schoolboy was preparing to leave my boarding school just before Easter when I was aged about 13 and I heard in our Music Room the closing chorale of Mathew Passion ‘In tears of grief’ in which  the genius of Bach is manifest in the way in which our sobs are incorporated into the closing cadences of the chorale. I think this is a case of once heard, never forgotten. The day is promising to be quite a busy one socially as my son is calling around after his swim, it is the day that our domestic help performs her weekly miracles and I am meeting a U3A friend for a coffee later in the afternoon.

In the late morning, I went down into town for my weekly Pilates class, picking up a copy of my daily newspaper (the last on!) en route. When the class was finished, I came home and made myself a quick lunch of grated cheese and beetroot on a slice of toasted sourdough bread. Actually, I had precious little time because I needed to back in town by 3.30pm in the afternoon for my coffee appointment. We are both going on the coach trip in about 10 days time and are therefore each wondering whether we need to buy for each of us a really lightweight shower jacket because although the weather forecast is set fair when we visit Scotland, it is probable that we will encounter a light shower even if alighting from the coach and starting a sightseeing tour. We may visit a camping and outdoor clothing specialist shop in the area but it may be that we can purchase what we need online which might both be cheaper and save us the petrol money. I have already seen a light and waterproof jacket which I think will suit my purposes but I need to have a further think about this before I press ahead. The UK is entering a tricky diplomatic period in the few weeks ahead because it has been decided that the King and Queen should visit the USA, despite current difficulties,  in order to help to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. I can quite understand the calls from various quarters including he Liberal Democrats that this visit should be cancelled in view of the insulting remarks hurled towards Britain by Donald Trump. But I think more long term damage would be done if the visit were to be cancelled- after all 250 year anniversaries do not come along very often. The visit to the USA is timetabled for late April which gives time for the Trump regime to extricate itself from the Iranian mess. The point I am sure that will be made by the British government is that the visit to the USA is to assist the American peoples, of all political persuasions, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American War of Independence and there are  elements of the ‘special relationship’ (for example, co-operation between the security services) that is still strong and effective and the Trump regime cannot last for ever. When I got home and consulted my emails, I was pleased to see that my application to join the next excursion of the U3A local days out had been accepted and, in late May, we are due to visit Bakewell and Kedleston Hall. Once an event has been advertised than those who have expressed interest are invited to make their payment into a special account and this is assurance that one is well and truly ‘booked’ upon the trip. This seems to be a well tried and trusted system and all one has to do is to turn up in a local car park to be picked up by the coach and transported onwards. So now I have two events to which  to look forward in May, the first being a celebration of a friend’s birthday (and my own the following day) and the second te U3A trip.