This morning we awoke to a gloomy day but we were well prepared for the couple of cheery care workers when they arrived promptly just before 8.00am to get Meg up and dressed. Then it was case of watching some depressing news about the waves of violence and the political dilemmas posed by this. With his background as the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Prime Minister’s most immediate response is to organise a series of special courts sitting 24 hours a day if necessary and to get lawbreakers processed as rapidly as possible. In the face of the violence that has sweeping across the country over the last night or so, I have been reflecting upon the role of social media in helping to distribute fake news around the country. I have to say with a certain degree of sadness that most of my professional life, I have been inducted and reinforced into a belief system which constantly stresses ‘Evidence! Evidence!’ This, of course is the hallmark of the scientific community and I have always been impressed by the work of Karl Popper who stressed the importance of ‘falsifiability’ and we should frame our scientific hypotheses in such a way that they are capable of disproof (to ensure we do not selectively adduce evidence that reinforces our own world view) So the principle of falsifiability is best illustrated by the observation that the existence of one black swan (in Australia) is sufficient to show that the logical proposition ‘All swans are white’ is, indeed, false. Through a career in sociology but with a strong interest in research methods, reinforced by an MSc in the Sociology of Science and later elaborated by an interest in, and some facility with statistics, I have always tried to follow the evidence wherever it might lead. But social media is more concerned with disseminating what are called ‘narratives’ where scientific evidence is just regarded as one ‘account’ to be set alongside other narratives or accounts that propagate a different world view. But to return to the riots sweeping across the country, so many of our citizens are regarding what they are read on social media as ‘the truth’ then fairly ugly rumours which can be proved to be demonstrably false form the backdrop which informs the violence of the mobs across the country. Whilst using the word ‘mob’ I seem to remember from my undergraduate days there was a fairly academic discussion in the 1960’s that whatever happened to ‘the mob’ that seemed to dominate the 18th and 19th centuries and against which the ‘Riot Act’ was framed. The ‘mob’ is populated by what Marx would have called the ‘lumpenproletariat’ but in which today’s language we would classify as those depressed and deprived areas often in inner cities that have felt left behind in the economic history of modern Britain. After we had our weekly visit from our Eucharistic minister from our local church, we journeyed down to Waitrose from where we picked up a copy of our Sunday newspaper and then made our way to the park to meet up with our University of Birmingham friend. With him, I discussed some of the themes mentioned above as we both profess an adherence to the scientific method and are equally interested in how widespread is the scientific ethic in today’s age and times. I recall to mind that there have often debates in our national life about the role to be accorded to science in today’s society. In the nineteenth century, there were massive debates over the primacy of science over religion and one is reminded of the huge debates following the publication of Darwin’s ‘The Origins of Species’ and nearer to our time there was a massive debate popularised by the novelist C. P. Snow on the ‘Two cultures’ Its thesis was that science and the humanities, which represented ‘the intellectual life of the whole of western society’, had become split into ‘two cultures’ and that this division was a major handicap to both in solving the world’s problems.

On our way up the hill, we popped in to see our Irish friends that we had seen on the way down to the park this morning. They had requested that we visit them on the way home but we had not expected a surprise ‘mini party’ which they put on for us (ham sandwiches, cake). Knowing that Meg’s wheelchair was difficult to get over their threshold, our friends had set up a table of chairs and chairs at the entrance to their garage and also invited along a neighbour who we have come to know very well – a French lady who used to teach both French and Spanish in her working life. It is always very refreshing to talk with this lady but then she gave us the sad news that she had taken the decision to sell up her house and then move to Sandbach in Cheshire so as to live much nearer to her daughter. She explained to us as practically nearly 90 years of age and in full possession of her faculties, nonetheless her present house and garden were getting too much for her to maintain so she was going to de-clutter, rationalise her possessions of furniture and then move in the Spring. Meg and I were saddened by this news and, in particular, the thought that a very kindred spirit would be moving away but we could admire that our friend was taking absolutely the right decision and doing the right thing whilst she could instead of being forced into doing things too rapidly which might happen in an emergency. We had to race up the hill to be in time for the carers late morning call which we were. Then they informed us that there had been another large car smash occurring at the other end of Kidderminster Road and this time near to the entrance of the park. We had not noticed this morning but had we glanced left rather than right as we were leaving pour friends, then we might have noticed some more road mayhem around us. Reflecting upon the terrible crash that we saw last Wednesday, I have made some back of the envelope type calculations and now know that we were only 2 seconds away from the point at which the crash occurred. Had the car veered to the right rather than to the left when the driver evidently and ultimately lost control, we may well have lost our lives or been severely injured. So, as one of the carers opined, there must be some being ‘up there’ looking after us.

This morning when we awoke after a good night’s sleep, it was evident that it had rained locally overnight and so the day had quite a nice feel to it. As I was getting washed and dressed, I noticed with some dismay that my watch in which I had just put in a new battery had stopped once again as it did twice yesterday. I must have had this watch for 7-8 years I would imagine so I have to bow to the inevitable and buy another one. I went online and purchased a watch quite similar in design to my now defunct one and it ought to arrive within a day. I am making do with an emergency self winding watch which is a bit chunky but seems mega reliable.This morning, we are looking forward to a nice journey down into town where we can make contact with our Saturday crowd friends, all being well. The journey down was pleasant and we made contact with two of our friends, the third still having problems with her shoulder which stops her from getting out and about.

I suspect that the BBC has realised in its programming of the TV schedules that they should provide some alternatives to the wall-to-wall coverage of the Olympics games. So last week, as Meg and discovered at the very last moment, there was a showing of the classic film ‘Dr Zhivago’ which is the all time favourite of meg and myself. This week there was a biopic of ‘The Great Caruso’ made in 1951 and starring the acting and singing of Mario Lanza. The reviewer for ‘The Times‘ was faintly scabby about the picture calling the plot plodding and Mario Lanza’s acting wooden. But Meg and I enjoyed it tremendously if only because in both brooding appearance and in the range of voice, Mario Lanza was a fairly good match for Enrico Caruso himself as it was said of both the opera star and the singer portraying him that their careers first burned bright and then became burned out. The trouble with biopics is that one never knows how much is accurate biography and how much is invented for the sake of artistic license. But the thing that we did learn from the film review was that the Caruso family hated this biopic when it was released but, on the other hand, both Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo (i.e. two of the three of the ‘three tenors’ fame) were inspired to venture into opera as a career having seen the film.

Whilst the country is either on vacation or else glued to the Olympics, there is a surge of Far Right violence sweeping across the country. More than 30 protests – many of them organised by far-right activists – are set to take place this weekend in the wake of the Southport stabbings, according to Sky News analysis.They would follow violent protests earlier this week, which saw more than 100 people arrested outside Downing Street on Wednesday and 10 arrests in Sunderland on Friday night after a building next to a police station was set on fire and objects thrown at officers. The spark that set off these incidents of violence across the country was the stabbing and death of three young girls in Southport and the injury of several more and the adults who were trying to protect them. There was a certain of fake news that spread across the social media and the crimes were said to have committed by an illegal asylum seeker. When the identity of the disturbed 17 year old who perpetrated these acts of violence was allowed by court order to be released to the press, it turned out that much of the social media speculation was completely misplaced. But the fact that the disturbed young man came to these shores from Rwanda was enough for the hundreds of violent young thugs to wreak mayhem upon many British cities. The response of the government is to threaten harsh penalties for those successfully caught and then then successfully prosecuted but one suspects that the face recognition technology deployed by the police will be utilised to the utmost and there is always the possibility of miscarriages of justice if the technology is not 100% reliable.

The reports from the other side of the Atlantic are speculative in the extreme but fascinating nonetheless to those of following the US elections. Donald Trump’s selection of JD Vance as his running mate ‘may be one of the best things he ever did for Democrats,’ according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Seemingly every day, the Republican senator from Ohio has made headlines for resurfaced misogynistic comments, awkward campaign appearances and fringe policy positions on issues that the former president’s campaign has desperately been trying to avoid. Vance stepped off the stage of the Republican National Convention with the worst favourability ratio of any non-incumbent vice presidential candidate in nearly 45 years, while presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris erased Trump’s leads in crucial swing states and saw a surge in donations within just weeks of her candidacy. He later was revealed as a close collaborator with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 authors and a natalist evangelist with a history of supporting extreme ideas about abortion care and IVF. So the speculation is arising by the day that Vance may be such a liability to Trump that it is quite possible that he gets replaced before the election. This is quite a dilemma for Trump because to keep Vance will only hurt his cause whilst to get rid of him shows that he made a very bad judgement call in the first place. I doubt that the Republican’s system will allow Vance to get replaced at this stage but the Democrats must be rubbing their hands in glee as every new day more indiscretions seem to appear. But Trump has finally decided to undergo a TV debate with Harris on Fox TV which, one might imagine, might be slightly kinder to Trump than to Harris but we shall have to wait and see.

Today dawned as a nice bright day with temperatures still warm but just a tad lower than yesterday so a very pleasant day upon which to make our trip into town. Now I am going to talk about the unlikely subject of cushions. Now there are cushions and cushions but that is only the start of the story. I should point out that the venues that Meg and I can now visit are so much more restricted since I cannot get Meg into the car any more – subsequently, our world view is confined to what we can reach by by pushing Meg in her wheelchair either to the park or to our local Waitrose. Consequently, our home environment means a lot more to us that formerly. My cushion story starts with a chance discovery in our local Salvation Army charity shop (not a purveyor of many fine goods as charity shops go, I have to say) where about a year ago I came across an absolutely stunning cushion. This has an owl appliqued onto a midnight sky background but as the owl has a degree of padding there is a slight 3-D effect. The whole cushion has a series of baby owls appliqued on the back and must have taken some hours of dedicated and expert needlework to produce, The extraordinary thing is that I discovered this cushion in the midst of several other quite pedestrian pieces so its true worth stood unappreciated. Now this cushion forms the backdrop to a little surface area which I call ‘owl corner’ as I have several owls to sit here including some pottery owl night light holders, some wooden carved owls and some of the more conventional plaster pieces. Around this collection, I have assembled a series of cushions with a similar feel. The next piece along is a decorated ‘golden goose’ and I have another specimen decorated with what could be canaries or yellow hammers. To complete the collection, I have an Artic fox cushion and finally a red squirrel ‘Squirrel Nutkin’ specimen. Those familiar with the Beatrix Potter story will be aware of the affinity of owls and squirrels in any case. So when Meg is in need of a little diversion other than the TV, I sit her in her wheelchair in front of ‘owl corner’ and she can admire the slight panorama that I have assembled just here. I must admit, I had not realised how popular animal themes are on cushion covers but I still keep a sharp eye out for a good example when I see one of the genre. This is the first part of the cushion story but the second chapter concerns some of the superb quilted cushions which Meg’s very talented cousin, Margot, made for us when she was still alive. These are superb examples of the quilter’s art and Margot became very talented even being part of a demonstration of her craft in, I believe, Westminster Abbey. The two pieces that Margot has bequeathed to us now adorn the one of the captain’s chairs and the monk’s bench which sits in our hall and can be admired by any/all visitors to the house. The third category of cushion covers are the more abstract designs the colours and textures of which just happen to match well some of the wooden furniture pieces we have assembled over the months. Whereas one is used to the nation of ‘scatter cushions’ often in one colour and material, which can go anywhere, the cushion covers I have accumulated are in a different league. Some cushion covers because of their texture, design, colour and materials look absolutely right on a particular piece of furniture but others less so. So one of the minor ‘avenues of pleasure’ that remain to me (to borrow a phrase adapted from John Cleese in Fawlty Towers) is to make a careful judgement as to which of our collection looks best where. for example, I only decided this morning that the red Thai silk cushion cover (all 95p of it) decorated with a procession of elephants looks best on one of our recently acquired ‘good’ chairs but just a little silly elsewhere.

As we had planned, we were preparing to go for a longer wheelchair walk into town this morning but first our son called around to see us which was a very welcome sight after he had spent some days away. Then we popped into town but as we passed the crash site of a couple of days ago, I was a smidgeon disappointed that my single, now wilting, rose was the only floral tribute left for the casualty and I expected more of the good heartedness of the local residents. We made our way to our new found cafe via the Bromsgrove Cobbler where we left them our two watches both Meg’s and my own having given up the ghost within a day of each other. In the cafe we were joined by our University of Birmingham friend and his new found squeeze and I updated them with the happenings of the past few days. Meg and I had a sort of bacon baguette between us, served with a few croquettes for good measure and a cup of tea. After that we visited our favourite AgeUk store and relieved them of a few more cushions to add to our stock and then made our way home, via Waitrose where we collected our newspaper. We had just about got back in time before the late morning carers were due to call and then immediately consumed some salted caramel ice cream to cool us down as it is still pretty warm and humid. We neither of felt particularly hungry so I prepared a type of Spanish omelette which was onions, peppers, petit pois and a tin of tuna all spiced up nth a little sweet chilli sauce which served the purpose well on a hot day and was all we fancied. Immediately after lunch, Meg and I really enjoyed watching the British team taking the team showjumping gold medal which was all the better for being somewhat unexpected. Thinking about the sports at which we do excel, I do remember how at the time of the last Olympics a rather grumpy Australian commented that the Brits seemed to exceed at any sport in which you sat down (horseriding, rowing, canooing, cycling) and I suppose there is something in that. We also observed some of the sailing races which seem baffling in their complexity and in the race that we watched there was a lot of confusion as to where the actual winning line was meant to be.

Today is our shopping day but after a fairly good night’s sleep, Meg and I were up and breakfasted but there I was a little project I needed to undertake before we start on our trip out. I had been thinking about the events of yesterday where I learned by consulting social media that the motorist whose car had crashed and overturned on top of him was pronounced dead at the scene by the paramedics who attended him. Conscious of this, I went into our garden and picked a single red rose to which I then attached a card expressing condolences to any family or friends who might have sight of it. Then on my way out to do the shopping, I revisited the scene of the accident (easily visible because a lot of glass had just been swept into the gutter and the highways authority had not replaced the street light but just reduced what remained of the upright into a fairly ugly stump). I then left my single flower and message on the site of the accident expecting to see that there had already been a number of contributions. But my solitary flower was the only acknowledgement that the accident had taken place. Before I left to go shopping, I left a message on the dedicated voice mail of the investigating police officer indicating what I had heard (a huge and sudden large bang) and more specifically, when I thought about it, there was no screech of tyres an a hot road, horns of other motorists or other signs apart from the fact that the car had evidently left the road and hit the lamp standard a glancing blow which toppled it over and evidently led to the death of the sole occupant, a male driver in his 50’s. The investigating officer responded to my telephone message and thanked me for it, indicating that the little that I had to say was completely consistent with all of the other accounts of the accident. He did intimate to me, though, that the police were working on the presumption of a sudden medical emergency event (such as a heart attack or a stroke) as the probable cause of the accident which actually made it as to the evening news bulletins.

In the middle of the day, we received a visit from the specialist nurse who is an expert on Meg’s condition. She arrived by appointment with a colleague and whilst her colleague diverted Meg, the nurse and I have a chat over how things are proceeding. We did not have a lot to report on today but nonetheless the nurse thought she would activate the OT (Occupational Therapist) as there are two or three little tweaks we can adopt to manage Meg’s condition. It is always good to see this nurse and I know that either she, or colleagues, are available at the end of a telephone were there to be an emergency or an event which would be too difficult for me to handle without advice or support. After they had left, Meg and I contemplated lunch in the event of another really hot day. We did not fancy a salad as such but finished off with quite a tasty dish which was a quiche freshly purchased this morning, supplemented by some tomato and fresh beetroot. As lunch was a little delayed, we were just about to enjoy a little post prandial repose when two young care workers turned up about an hour and a half early to gave Meg her afternoon comfort call. This did not please us at all because the scheduled visit had been altered without anybody really noticing and this leaves a long gap to manage before Meg has her final bednight call at about 7.00pm. So I had to think how to handle this unexpected situation but decided an a three part strategy. Firstly, I took Meg into the back harden and we both had some ice cream which was very welcome given the hotness of the day. Then I brought Meg indoors and we watched a ‘catch up’ programme on the BBC iPlayer about the construction of the Eiffel tower and the life and work of its famous creator. Meg and I found this really fascinating and as Meg was having a rather anxious spell during the afternoon, I was relieved that she found this programme to be so interesting and diverting. The second part of the strategy will be to take Meg down into our ‘normal’ lounge where we might be able to access a classical concert by virtue of our YouTube subscription. We are generally quite fortunate when we try to do this so this is the second leg of the strategy. Then we will go onto either Sky News of the Olympics. I must say that in the early part of the afternoon I was totally ungrabbed by the vista of (male) beach volleyball which was the contribution from the Olympics or endless discussions of either the Southport stabbings with heavy dollops of the Hugh Edwards scandal all of which is somewhat depressing for us both.

The events on the other side of the Atlantic still raise an eyebrow. Donald Trump had decided to address a conference of black journalists and chose to abuse Karmala Harris’s racial origins by casting doubt whether she was ‘black’ or not to the gasps of the assembled journalists. There are indications that Donald Trump is really flipping his lid to coin a phrase and is in a blind panic how to react to the Harris phenomenon. One analyst has asserted that ‘I think lately, Donald Trump has been trying to do his best impression of someone who actually respects women and likes black people. Now that Kamala Harris is the front runner and there is so much energy and momentum behind that campaign and really excitement about someone who represents the future of the United States, a multiracial democracy, biracial people are the fastest growing segment of America, I think now Donald Trump is afraid.’ Evidently Donald Trump has a real problem how to cope with intelligent, black female journalists and one does sense a real turning of the tide that has flowed for so long in Trump’s direction. It is of no surprise that he has refused a live TV debate with Harris and this very act alone speaks volumes. Also, the dollars and the social media campaigns seem to be behind Harris so we are seeing a real fight on our hands. Some recent polls have Harris ahead in all of the key swing states but we will have to see if this trend is both real and sustainable until November, the date of the election.

Today has turned out to be quite an eventful day. But I am pleased to say that last night, Meg seemed to fall soundly asleep which is a relief all round. The weather is so warm these days that Meg’s carers and I have to judge that Meg does not have too many bedclothes on so as to feel uncomfortable in the heatwave that we are experiencing which is reaching the stage of being quite humid. The weather forecasters are telling us that the spell of really hot weather will break down in about 24 hours leading to some thunderstorms across the country. Personally, I cannot wait until we get a really good thunderstorm which will clear the air for us as well as watering the gardens. When Meg was soundly asleep, I took the opportunity to finally fill the nice cushion covers which I purchased from the AgeUk shop earlier in the week. I am pleased with the results as I happened to have some material in which one of my recently purchased chairs had been wrapped. I assumed that this was a type of carpet underlay but our domestic help who is knowledgable about such things looked at one of the little offcuts that I had left over and announced it was probably furniture padding foam which is exactly what I needed. After a little experimentation, I now have locations sorted out for where all of these newly filled chair pads are going to go.

Wednesday is the day when our domestic help calls around and so this is always very welcome to us. Today, I took the opportunity to pop down into town in order to pick our newspaper and then after my return home, Meg and I viewed the women’s high diving competition where the Chinese and the North Koreans took an outstanding gold and silver. But the British pair managed to cling on to secure a bronze medal fighting off strong challenges from Mexico and the Ukraine. When this competition had been completed, Meg and I got ready for a trip down the road to the park. On our journey down the hill we had just accessed a little service road down which we regularly walk when we heard behind us the most tremendous bang. We turned round to see a large car that had collided with a lamp standard and had completely overturned at a distance about 80 metres away from us. What exactly had happened we cannot say as the accident had happened behind us. The car was at the entrance to a small gated estate on the other side of the road and whether it had reversed at speed into the lamp standard or gone into it forwards we could not tell. All the traffic stopped and people seemed to run from all over the place – we could see a man’s legs pocking out from under the car who we suppose was the driver. The emergency services were on the scene within about three minutes and we counted five ambulances, 2-3 police cars and a fire appliance that had turned up which would have been necessary to either jack up the car or to cut into it to free the occupants. We did not stay to stand and gawp but let the emergency services get on and do their job and we carried onto the park which was a haven of peace and tranquillity after the scene we had just witnessed. So we only decided to stay for about 15 minutes because we needed to get back in time for the carers and, in any case, we suspected that there would be absolute chaos in the road as the emergency services had to cope with the consequences of the crash. No other vehicle was involved and the lamp standard had been bent over to a most crazy angle and we would only speculate as to how the accident could possibly have happened. But as we were passing the scene, we got a call on our mobile from our niece was returning form a camping vacation in Somerset and was coming us quite close to us as she had to journey along the M5. Of course we were delighted to able to see her so unexpectedly and at such short notice – the minute she had put our post code into her SatNav, the system had taken account of the crash and immediately made a new route for her which was a little circuitous but meant she was not unduly delayed before she got to us at about 1.00pm. Immediately, I had got Meg home and told both our domestic help and the (delayed) carers the news about the traffic accident, I raided the fridge to get a quiche warmed up and put got some soup put into a saucepan, gently warming. So when our niece arrived, I managed to give her a little bit of sustenance and we all spent a very happy hour and a half in each other’s company. Then it was the time for our niece to leave to get back home and we took a tearful farewell of each other, wondering how we could possibly organise some logistics so that Meg and I could meet up with other members of the family for the first time in months.

After the terrible stabbings that have taken place in Southport, the far right have organised a huge riot in the vicinity of the mosque in Southport. The police have been attacked by stones larger than bricks and the latest count is that some fifty police officers and three police dogs have been injured by the rioters. The motivation seems unclear at the moment but one can only assume that the Far Right have in their heads that there is an ethnic dimension to the stabbings and have reacted accordingly. Of course it is not the first time that fake news has dominated the social media and the nation is holding up its hands in horror at the further suffering inflicted upon the inhabitants of Southport.

Today being a Tuesday, it is the day when our ‘granny gang’ meets up in Waitrose and Tuesday mornings always hold a particular significance for us. But our numbers were a little depleted this morning because we knew that one of our number had a social worker appointment and one of the others has injured her shoulder somewhat in a fall she sustained last Friday. I don’t think the injury is a serious one but one to keep her out of the normal swing of social events for the next few days which I know she is going to find annoying. But today for the benefit of one the long term partners in Waitrose who is responsible for the plants and flowers section of the store, we brought along our little mechanical toy bear which sings ‘When I am 64’ (Yes – the Beetles song) and sways in time to the music. I had threatened to bring the toy doll along loaned to us by our domestic help so today was the second time the toy has been inflicted upon the store. So this all good fun and on our way home, we were happy to bump into two sets of our friends. The first was our Irish friend who was proceeding down the road with her daughter and two grandchildren and the second was our Italian friend. We had brief conversations with each of them and it always gladdens the heart when we have a chance of chat. Today the journey back was threatening to be particularly hot and humid so we were quite pleased to have two little mini-breaks on the way back. Practically as soon as we got back and inside the house (quite a procedure as the wheelchair wheels have to be cleared of the gritty particles they acquire whilst on the public roads and pavements) it was time for the midday carers to arrive which they did promptly. After Meg had been made comfortable and as they had about ten minutes in hand before they had to dash off to their next job, we all made a sojourn into our back garden where I treated all of us (five of us – Meg and myself, the two carers and the ‘sitter’ who arrived early) to a treat of some vanilla ice cream. This was very much appreciated and not the kind of treat which carers typically enjoy but I like to do my little bit to make them welcome whenever they do come. But the weather was so warm and humid today that I was driven to put on a more cotton-rich shirt which I only do in the most extreme of temperatures. A good thunderstorm may help and one may be on the way in a day or so. As is was so hot today, we could not fancy another hot dinner so threw together a salad like we did yesterday but added some hardboiled eggs for a little variety in place of potatoes.

The British media is obsessed with two huge current stories. The first is a horrid stabbing in Southport where a 17-year old male youth has run amok killing (at the last count) three young chidden and with another five still on the critical list together with two adults who were trying desperately to defend them. One really does wonder what extreme of mental illness or a drug-fuelled addictions which is the animus behind trying to stab so many people to death – and children at that. The other huge story is that yesterday the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £22 billion of budget cuts to fill the so-called Tory ‘back hole’ I say ‘so-called’ because the Tories are saying the whole thing is a Labour party invention to justify the tax cuts they had planned all along. The Tory government had announced a policy of ensuring that people in long term residential care (such as Meg might be) would not have to sell their houses once they had contributed a total of £86,000 towards their own care costs. They then postponed the implementation of this for two years from 2023 until 2025 (i.e. October next year) but Labour have gone one better by abandoning the policy of an £86,000 cap altogether. The Labour argument, no doubt, is that the policy, if implemented, would disproportionately benefit middle class home owners but I feel this misses the point. In my own extended family, my mother and Meg’s mother and my sister’s mother-in-law all funded their own care by the sale of their own houses leaving nothing for their children to inherit, surviving just long enough in each case for the entirety of their capital to be exhausted before they met their Maker.

Meanwhile I learn from my internet browser, Microsoft Edge which is tuned to give ‘American’ news prominence that the internet has been set alight by a Fox News (i.e. extreme right wing and hitherto Trump supporting media channel) that according to the latest polls Harris is leading Trump in each of five key swing states. There is another, altogether more academic analysis, which is pointing in the same direction. After predicting decades of presidential elections with near-perfect accuracy, historian Allan Lichtman revealed that Democrats have the edge using his time-tested formula. Lichtman told Fox News that he used 13 true-false questions — which he calls ‘keys’ — to determine who will win the presidency. A candidate receives a ‘key’ if a question is true. Lichtman has a checklist of items on which each candidate holds the key and these include such as the short and long term prospects for the economy, foreign military success/failure and incumbent/challenger charismas (from a list of 13 items) So far, Vice President Kamala Harris has held the lead over former President Donald Trump. The historian said that Democrats held six ‘keys,’ including the primary contest, the short-term and long-term economy, policy change, no scandal, and no challenger charisma. Meanwhile, Republicans held three ‘keys,’ according to Lichtman. The keys included the Republican 2022 primary win, the current incumbent’s not seeking re-election, and the current incumbent’s lack of charisma. Lichtman’s analysis has been highly accurate in its predictive ability in the past so this is a very significant pointer for the future. But I do see a case where Trump ‘blows up’ i.e. makes more and more outlandish claims and more and more extreme statements as he feels more threatened which might further alienate the moderate centre. Last time the so-called ‘double haters’ who disliked both of the main candidates tended to fall for Trump in the last analysis but in this election it is said that the balance is much more even – if some of the ‘double haters’ are republicans. And of course, those who actually turn out and are not disbarred from voting is a critical factor in this election as well.

Last night whilst Meg was fortunately asleep in her bed, together with many other millions of viewers I tuned in to the Olympics broadcast to follow the progress of Adam Peaty who has gained gold for two successive Olympics and is now in a quest for a third gold medal. I was fearful about this young man’s prospects as there had been an enormous amount of pre-match buildup with emotional interviews with his family members and the like which could only have added to the pressure he was already under to perform. When the final did take place, he was beaten by an Italian who came from seemingly nowhere by 0.02 second which is about the equivalent of a fingernail. Peaty himself seemed philosophical about his silver medal under the circumstances but one wonders whether to be beaten by so narrow a margin will prey on one’s mind for evermore. One theme is emerging from the Olympics on this occasion and it is the mental health of the elite athletes. The issue has been highlighted this year by the return to the Olympic arena of Simone Biles regarded as one of the most superb gymnasts the world has ever seen. Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, is back for her third Games after withdrawing from most of her events at the Tokyo Games in 2021 with mental health issues. Apparently Peaty had his battles also and it seems to be that once has achieved the pinnacle, it puts the most intolerable pressure upon athletes to stay at the top. I think this issue is being taking more seriously in the sporting world but in the case of Olympic athletes and even more so in the case of the gymnasts the pressures put upon their young charges can be immense and sometimes goes ‘over the line’ It was said that the outstanding Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comenci was slapped and starved (and worse) by her own coach which story only came to light well after the event and Comenci fled to the USA from her native Romania.

This morning, being a Monday and with no particular routine in mind, I decided that we should try something a little different. Since Meg cannot go anywhere in our car, her journeys out have been confined to Waitrose on the one hand and the park on the other. Today, I thought it would be a good idea to access the High Street in Bromsgrove and to do this I wheeled Meg along a road which leads to a large cemetery attached to St. Johns which sits atop a little hillside and overlooks the town. A footpath used by lots of the local residents (including myself almost every day in the not so distant past) cuts across the cemetery and I know that the principal path needed to be accessed via two large steps which made this route inaccessible to Meg in her wheelchair. But there was another curving path which had no steps to negotiate but was incredibly steep for a short distance. Nonetheless we braved this and evidently once atop the hilltop, the journey down into the actual town was quite easy. We popped into the local AgeUk furniture store which also sells other charity items and acquired five cushion covers of which two are an antique gold design, one a tiled design, one a design with a heart motif and the final one decorated by some elephants motif. On the High Street, I knew that the local Greggs had been extended but I did not particularly want to patronise them. There is another newly opened coffee bar of which I have received good reports but I actually diverted down into a little square off the High Street and popped into a folksy little cafe called ‘The Lemon Tree’ This cafe has actually been there for several years now but the two new owners told us that they had only taken it over three weeks ago and had given it a ‘refurb’ Their menu was not just coffees but light lunches as well which might prove an attraction for us. When we got there, we were only the patrons of the cafe and we ordered a toasted teacake (dripping with butter) and a pot of tea served in some beautiful little china cups for which we were only charged £5.00. We chatted with the sisters running the establishment, both of Italian extraction, and started talking about some Italian cities that we had visited. All in all we had the most delightful little sojourn and chat and I am wondering whether to introduce our University of Birmingham friend to it when we coffee with him next Friday morning. So we have determined to make this into a regular little Monday morning ‘slot’ in our weekly timetable because it means that with a walk along the High Street we can occasionally dive into stores to buy toiletries and the like.

It was a beautiful and indeed hot afternoon. I thought I would seize the opportunity to get the front lawned area cut and although this was a real dash, I had in mind to get it all done (which I did) so that I could sit down and listen to the Rachel Reeves announcement of how the £22 billion black hole she reckons has been left by the outgoing Tory government can be filled. But when we turned on the TV in time for the announcement in the Commons at 3.00pm, the news was dominated by an horrific mass stabbings in Southport so I wonder whether this delayed the Commons announcement. Anyway, we will catch up with all of the relevant details which no doubt will be analysed to death in the days ahead. The pay rise for public sector staff of 5.5% looks as though it is going to be accepted in full following the recommendations of the independent Pay Review bodies. No one seems to be making the point, though, that this pay increase for many public sector workers only serves to reduce a little the impact of the pay cuts that have been inflicted upon public sector workers in the past ten years or more under the regime of ‘Austerity’ by the outgoing Tory administration. When pay is squeezed for year upon year like this, a point always comes at which that in order to attract and retain staff and to remain competitive with the private sector, a period of ‘catching up’ becomes almost inevitable.

Our Sunday routines started off a little earlier than normal this morning as our care workers were allocated to come to us 20 minutes earlier. Nonetheless, it was a pair of care workers both of whom have families (i.e. not adolescents) and with whom we get on well. We were not sure whether the Olympics games coverage would push out the normal politics programmes but there was a judicious mixture which suited us. After breakfast, we watched some archery (in which the women were well ‘outshot’ by the Germans) and then some women’s athletics. I must admit that I watched this with my heart in my mouth because whilst we wanted the fairly young GBR team to do well but the margins between success and failure are so incredibly fine. It might have been that one of the young GBR athletes may have received a slight points reduction because they are about a quarter of a second late in transitioning from one leap to another. The GBR team have not performed as well as they might but I think they have a 50:50 chance of reaching the last finals which I think is the last 8 in the team competition. After breakfast we had a visit from our Eucharistic minister after which we had to make Waitrose at full speed to pick up our copy of our Sunday newspaper and then onwards to the park where we were due to meet up with our University of Birmingham friend in the park at 11.00am. At about this time on a Sunday morning there seems to be quite a congregation of park acquaintances so we have a bit of a laugh and joke with each other before going our separate ways. So we came home and Meg watched ‘Mountain Biking’ in the Olympics whilst I prepared the Sunday lunch of chicken, baked potato and some string beans (brought to us from Morocco but I am sure that in our gardening days we would have had a crop of them adorning our bamboo frames by now).

I have started to think about the forthcoming presidential elections in the US, not least because the veteran Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, gave us the immortal dictum that ‘a week is a long time in politics’ It is now just about a week since Jo Biden withdraw his ambitions to serve for a second term, leaving the way open for Kamala Harris, his Vice President, to press her own case. Although Kamala Harris is not the best candidate on paper, the Democratic party have rallied round her cause dramatically within the last week and we are now in a situation where having drawn level with Donald Trump in the opinion polls, the very latest polls do indicate that she may be in the lead. The reasons are not hard to find. The kind of rhetoric deployed by Donald Trump cement him even more firmly in the 25%-30% of the section of the electorate to whom his populism has a particular appeal, largely the economically disadvantaged and largely ‘left behind’ sections of the electorate. Meanwhile the Democratic party was not particularly enamoured with some of the Biden policies and, in particular Gaza. These sections of the Democratic voters are pleased at last to have a much credible candidate behind whom they can rally and there is even a section of the Republican party who have never liked Trump who might be persuaded to lend their votes to the Democrats to get rid of Trump and thereby to get their own party back again. I have also started to think that Trump is a particularly poor politician. For example, he has now chosen Vance as a Vice Presidential running mate who is even more to the right than he is and who have argued that women who do not bear children are an abomination. Many Republicans are starting to doubt the wisdom of Vance as a running mate if only because to ‘balance the ticket’ one chooses a Vice Presidential running mate who can attract support (from the centre) that is less accessible to the main presidential candidate. Trump, it is being said, is running scared of entering a debate with Kamala Harris who, after all, as a state prosecutor was well versed in the art of asking questions in a court of law that those before the court did not want to answer. Already a slogan is being suggested for the forthcoming election that the contest between Harris and Trump might be a case ‘The prosector vs. the convicted felon’. One does get the feeling that Harris could eviscerate Trump were there to be a public debate and Trump has evidently seen the danger of this. Also, we now have the situation where Trump’s age and some of his ‘mis-speaks’ could prove to be a hindrance. Some of the things that Trump is saying are horrendous – one of his latest claims is that he actually won in every single state in the last election.

Meg and I have been watching (again) some of the ‘Pilgrims’ programme shown on BBC TV and available via BBC catchup. Today was focusing on the climb up Snowdon which Meg and have done on several occasions and from most directions as well. The programme also featured the mountain railway which reminded me that the last time Meg ascended Snowdon it was to take Meg’s aged aunt and uncle up to the top on the mountain railway which I think is the only time we have ever used it. On one occasion when we were descending Snowdon with a couple of young German girls as walking companions we all decided to go for a swim in the ice-cold lake called, I think, the Glaslyn as it was a boiling hot day. Needless to say, the two German girls stripped and swam ‘au natural’ and our son and I joined them for as long as we could stand the cold water. We explained to our travelling companions that we had no swimming costumes with us but they exclaimed that there was no need to bother with that, stripped off and dived straight in.

Last night was the formal opening of the Olympic Games held in Paris and we were promised quite a spectacular event. The French had decided to be both bold and innovative and chose to hold the opening ceremony not in the Olympic arena which is customary but to host a succession of craft, usually barges and the French bateaux rouge, which sailed down the Seine with the athletes celebrating aloft. This way, the French reckoned that the craft could go on a six kilometre route and be seen by many more people but at the same time some of the iconic buildings and beatiful bridges of Paris could be highlighted. This was an amazing concept but the weather was very much against them and the ceremonies were held in teeming rain. All countries use the opportunity of the opening ceremony to display some of the cultural and historical event that make a nation what it is but I have the feeling that a lot of what would be displayed might be lost on the wider world viewing audience. For example the way in which the French have a revolutionary tradition and disposed of the heads of many of their aristocratic elites might be lost on many people. I personally was not over impressed by the singing, dancing and gymnastics that took place but I was mightily impressed by the mechanical horse apparently ridden along the surface of the Seine depicting the way in which the Seine might have got its name. But there were quite a lot of technical hitches in such an ambitious project and the howling rain drowned out some of the spectacle so some people who come to watch went home to watch it all on TV. The UK ‘Daily Mail’ was scathing and labelled it all as a ‘farce’ but most of the British press were full of praise for French innovation and quirkiness. I personally would have liked a special programme edited for British TV in which some of the boring bits were cut out but a good explanation was made of all of the cultural references that the French were trying to convey (such as headless Marie Antoinettes lining the banks of the Seine from the prison she was once held whilst figures dressed in red hold severed heads peering out from the windows of the Conciergerie.) The ‘Daily Mail‘ was also delighted to point out amongst several technical hitches in the rain the spotting performer’s testicle hanging out during the ceremony as a dancer suffered an x-rated wardrobe malfunction. Today is filled with all kinds of competition and Meg and I have enjoyed some of the sculling and cycling competitions we have seen so far but the rainy conditions are making things nightmarish for the cyclists performing on the roads of Paris where obstacles such as wet pedestrian crossings have to be negotiated. Whilst on the subject of the Olympics, something was reported in the columns of The Times and then picked up by some of the other media. The French have equipped the Olympic village with some 3,000 beds made of an enhanced cardboard like substance. This has led some to complain that the French have provided athletes with ‘anti-sex’ beds as once athletes have completed their competition they are in the company of thousands of other athletes equally divided between the sexes and feeling free to party to their heart’s content once they have gone as far as they can in their own competition. After all, a sprinter could fail in their heat which means that their Olympics might be over in 10-12 seconds. One American athlete has claimed that some 70%-80% of athletics engage in amorous liaisons whilst at the Olympic games and therefore the question arises whether the beds provided are fit for purpose. As the sportsmen and women began arriving at their accommodation in the ‘city of love’, they were being directed to a ‘mattress fitting’ zone. They are measured for size and weight and an AI computer tool personalises their mattress’s density – to provide what the Japanese inventor claims will give them the comfiest night’s sleep an Olympian has ever had. Motokuni Takaoka, founder of the Airweave mattress company, told the Mail: ‘I was a marathon runner so I appreciate how important it is to have a good sleep before an event.’ The cardboard beds provided in Paris’ Olympic village are sturdy enough to hold up to three, according its inventor. A former marathon runner, Motokuni Takaoka said the beds were ‘very robust’ and ‘tough’ so athletes could do whatever they wanted on them. Yesterday Team GB diver Tom Daley, 30, was among those eager to debunk the myth, as he leapt about on his cardboard bed in a TikTok video while saying: ‘As you can see, they are pretty sturdy.’

As we went out this morning and I was wheeling Meg towards the main Kidderminster Road, we were intercepted by one of neighbours who lives around the corner but we have not seen for several months now. She was explaining to us how her daughter-in-law had lost a baby in the middle of the COVID crisis but now she is expecting twins shortly and is due to give birth in a couple of months. I explained the situation with myself and Meg and she told us to call around on a Wednesday when she is not at work. This we will almost certainly do because even though our domestic help calls around on a Wednesday, I often take Meg for a little walk somewhere so tea with a neighbour sounds pleasant. Our son and daughter-in-law are off on a break for the next ten days or so Meg will and I will certainly seize the opportunity to chat with people as and when we can.

In the American presidential campaign, I came across an interesting quote from ex-adviser to Donald Trump. According to this source ‘If I were on the Harris campaign, I would attack Donald Trump on his record with immigration. It was a total failure. Barack Obama deported more people than Trump. Trump said he was going to have Mexico pay for a wall. I would go in and say he has the greatest failure that we have had. And that is what the Biden administration handled’

I generally look forward to Fridays but today was a little unusual in the way it started off. I was expecting one of our regular care workers, who was going to be accompanied by a manager who often puts himself ‘on shift’ when they are short staffed. Today, though, the young care worker had been in a car crash which was not her fault. The offending driver was drunk and refused to undertake a breathalyser test and I wondered what the consequences of this could be. In short, it probably means the suspension of a licence for a year and the possibility of increased fines and/or a prison sentence if convicted. Our young care worker was OK but somewhat shaken and I feel for her. So I acted as the ‘assistant care worker’ for the manager, not for the first time and I suspect not the last either. But when we were all done, I could get Meg her breakfast and we could prepare ourselves for a trip down the road to the Waitrose cafeteria, as we often do on a Friday, where we meet up with our University of Birmingham friend. Our trip down appeared a little different to me today for the following reason. In the last few days, I ordered a couple of Hi-Vis (high visibility) vests that were on sale for less than £6 the pair. I wore one over my normal outdoor apparel this morning and it may be my imagination but I got the distinct impression that the traffic was much more inclined to stop (one even stepping on his brakes) when I was observed standing at the kerbside. Whether this is or is not the case, when the mornings get darker and gloomier in the autumn, these vests will come into their own. We had to have rather a hurried coffee with our friend this morning and would have liked to have tarried a little longer but the care workers late morning call was scheduled about 30-40 minutes earlier than is usual so we had to make full speed up the hill. After I had got Meg home and the care workers had paid their morning call, as it was a fine morning and we had some time in hand, I decided to give the back lawn a much needed cut. This opportunity was well taken because it did not delay our lunch hour at all and the cut was badly needed, having been missed for a week or so.

This afternoon, the Olympic games will have their very original opening ceremony starting at 6.30. The opening ceremony is going to be very different from the norm, not to be held in the arena itself but rather on a succession of craft which will process down the Seine for about 6km in total. The advantage of this is that many more people can see the athletes from a variety of vantage points most of which will be free. I get the impression that the French are not quite as enthusiastic about their own Olympic games as we were about our own games held in London. What amazed the world on that occasion was the way in which Danny Boyle highlighted and celebrated our own NHS which we used to think of as being the envy of the world. Of course we could not say that nowadays and I did not fully appreciate that the last Olympic games held in Tokyo may have had an opening ceremony but it was at the height of COVID (or was it postponed for a year?) and consequently the number of people allowed to attend was minimal. The French have been promising a spectacular and innovative opening ceremony showcasing the best of France – what aspects of their history will they choose to celebrate on wonders. But there has been some rather devastating news overnight. So many police and military have been detailed to police Paris particularly for the opening ceremonies when all of the athletes process so the rest of the country might be lightly policed. Anarchist groups (one assumes) have chosen this moment to sabotage practically all of the major high speed (TGV) lines running out of Paris. Lines to the North, East and West have been subject to arson attacks but the one running south to the Mediterranean might have been spotted just in time. As the celebrations start at 6.30pm this evening and Meg is put to bed shortly afterwards, I am going to bring into commission our little portable TV so that we can watch the opening ceremony together from Meg’s bedside. So I am especially glad that I have equipped myself with a nice comfortable bedside chair from which to view the TV.

This morning, a report into the Care Quality Commission commissioned by the Tories but now received by Labour has been received. The new Labour Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has declared the CQC not fit for purpose and some of the findings are shocking. Some hospitals have not been visited in 10 years and one of the care inspectors had never been in a hospital in his life. About 10-20% establishments had never been visited and so on. So the Health Secretary had labelled the CQC as ‘not fit for purpose’ because it is quite possible that members of the public were relying upon reports that were superficial or based upon the most inadequate data sets. I asked the Care Agency manager what he thought of the setup and he said that when he was last inspected, it was six years ago and just relied upon a telephone call. For this his organisation had to pay several thousands of pounds a year. Listening to a debate on Radio 4 this morning, it was said that the CQC could not afford to conduct in-depth inspections and therefore relied upon more artificial reports to which my retort is that if you are going to rely upon an inspection routine, it either gets done properly or not at all. Much as I am interested in issues of Quality Management, I abhor the tick box culture which pervades quality measurement these days wherever one looks.