What's going on?

                          

We all know that the 'black community' are more susceptible to COVID-19 than most others, yet they are allowed to demonstrate en masse on the streets of New York, London, and elsewhere. No social distancing, no masks, no concern for their own or others' safety.

Why is this not outlawed, for their own good, and everyone else's? One thing you can guarantee, is that if a spike does occur as a result of ignoring the rules about mass demonstrations, the blame will be placed at Trump or Boris's door; regardless of their very firm advice.

Do continue to be cautious; a second virus wave will certainly now happen. Too many people are becoming stir-crazy, and are taking terrible risks; not necessarily only for themselves, but for their extended families and friends.

People seem to be saying "what the hell, I've had enough"; a death wish if ever there was one. Of course economies need to be rekindled, but at the risk of more lives being lost, it does sound rather callous.

I don't know of a single person who doesn't support the sentiment of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, or even 'All Lives Matter', but there are better ways of making our voices heard than by irresponsible mass demonstrations and rioting.

10 policemen were seriously injured in London yesterday.

Compost fry-up, 2020.

This is a bit of a cheat, but Lady Magnon insisted that we ate a 'Compost Fry-up'.

We still tentatively stick to our 'Veggie Wednesdays', and Lady M just couldn't wait for Haddock's to provide all we needed for our traditional Summer Compost Fry-ups. Most of the above had been bought, or was either lingering in the fridge, or the freezer. 

This really is one of our favourite summer meals. A simple mix of whatever vegs are available, fried in Olive oil, garlic, and butter, and flavoured at the final minute with lots of ground cumin.

If I remember correctly, this particular Fry-up contained Potatoes, French Beans, Red Pepper, Courgettes, and Broad Beans. Delicious.

If you don't believe me; try it.

Dolphin Asks Diver For Help.

Occasionally a small bit of film can renew one's faith not only in humanity, but also in our relationship with wildlife.

Bay, Grapes, Oleander, Daylilies.

I like the garden at the moment. There are quite a few flowers around, and all the foliage is looking very lush and healthy.

The local wildlife seems happy. The birds sing, the Deer bring their newborns up towards the house, and our lone Hen Harrier has been visiting.

My Mock Orange bush, by Haddock's gate, is in full flower and smelling wonderful, and all the Chestnut trees are also in flower giving-off their distinctive powerful earthy aroma.

We have recently had some decent rain (more to come soon) so my vegetable plants, and seedlings, have revived and are growing again. My fingers are permanently crossed for my Tomato crop; after three years of disease and failure, I'm hoping for a change this year. So far they're looking good.

Our 2020 fruit crops will be very hit-n-miss. Very few Apples, hardly any Pears, a few Plums, no Black Hamburg eating grapes, plenty of Figs, a few Cherries, and of course a tree overflowing with Quinces.

Great Expectations? No; more like, be patient, wait, and see! What larks.

New glasses.

I'm not good at 'selfies'. I'm no good at pouting, or excessive make-up, nor am I much to look at either.

Anyway this isn't about Narcissism, it's about glasses. My new glasses.

I seem to have been having a lot of new glasses recently; the result of both a boisterous young dog, and my penchant for cheap easily-broken off-the-shelf reading glasses. 

About a month or so ago, I was in my local pharmacy when I noticed an area devoted to reading glasses, and I spotted a pair that looked not only very solid, but also to my taste. They also happened to be of the strength I require; +3.

Anyway, I bought them, and they work well, so I looked for more. I couldn't find any. Eventually I found them online, on the maker's (Loubsol) web site, and tried to order another couple of pairs. I came a cropper right at the final stage of ordering, something wasn't right; so I gave-up.

I then thought I would ask my lovely son in London to order them for me, I've done this before and it always works. I sent him a cheque, and the glasses arrived a few days later. He's much better at ordering stuff online, and has all the required numbers, etc. I can order things through Amazon, but smaller Co's make life difficult for me.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with my new spex. I now have three pairs of them. They are chunky and solid, and look as if they'll last a while.

Amazingly, they were advertised as being for WOMEN. I cannot think of anything less feminine.

No-one's given me a funny look so far! I like them.

Bloody Pentecost.

Having been property-bound for the past two weeks (other than a short trip to buy bread), I'd been looking forward to getting out and about and seeing people other than the dear Lady Magnon.

Off I trot, then find that my bloody supermarket was closed on account of 'Pentecost' (whatever that is).

I do know that it's some religious festival, but it's hardly Christmas or Easter, and why they think it's necessary to close the shops; I really don't know.

This is the THIRD year running that I've gone shopping on the day of Pentecost, and the THIRD time I've found everything closed. I do wish that someone would say "Cro, it's Pentecost on Monday, and everything will be closed", but they wouldn't dream of it.

It's about 25 Kms to my local Leclerc (not the one above), which means a 50 km round trip of wasted time and petrol. I was not happy.

I shall return this morning.

Time (and lives) wasted on hatred.

After yesterday's posting (which I've now deleted on account of the amount of venom) This subject seems to be apt.

Hatred of others is such a debilitating waste of time. There have been several notable cases recently of 'celebs' wishing that Boris had died from his COVID-19 illness. I can think of no nastier desires from those on the left than to wish someone dead, simply because they see things differently, and are usually more successful.

I've known people myself whose whole lives are dedicated to hatred and conflict; they are simply not happy unless they have someone to hate, and people to annoy (usually their neighbours). It's a strange trait, because it ends with them, themselves, being disliked by everyone around them. Hatred breeds hatred.

Such hatred is usually accompanied by invented stories. I suppose in recent times Mrs Thatcher must have been the recipient of more lies and hatred than almost any other person. Mrs T was a very determined woman, and would stand no nonsense. Her sole aim was to bring the UK back from the financial ruin of the previous Labour government; which she did. Along the way she encountered Luddites of the worst sort, and as the economy soon returned to 'boom', she became the perfect target for the left, and they didn't hold back. They still don't!

Boris is now receiving similar venom over his handling of COVID. Every armchair scientist has an opinion, and 'opposition parties' in particular all demand the opposite of whatever's being recommended; simply to be contrary. They have been fighting on the streets of Spain, Germany, and even Hong Kong, and their ilk have been holding demonstrations on the streets of London; including Corbyn's own darling brother, Piers. It's almost as if they are desperate to spread the virus.

Why can't people simply be nice to each other. It costs nothing, it creates calm, and, I'm certain, improves one's mental health. A certain blog Troll comes to mind.