My last post (“Musings“) seems to have been posted twice. I switched on, added some final touches and posted. It then occurred to me that people had already commented on it. I think the “Senior Moment” count just rose another notch. I have an appointment for a Covid booster this afternoon and have set my alarm to remind me. In a world of forgetfulness It’s a good idea to set alarms. I used to write it on the back of my hand but ink seems much less washable these days and the words seem longer.
Last time I went for a booster it was amazingly convenient. Since then, times have changed. Everywhere I was offered had some inconvenience attached. Having said that, it doesn’t compare in the slightest with the inconvenience of life in Ukraine or Sudan, so I won’t complain. Same with blueberries. It’s not as easy as it was to find cheap blueberries. When I do my on-line shopping this irks me. However, I can still have them if I pay more. Or I can substitute other fruit. They had an air raid in Ukraine recently. My feelings on cheap blueberries hardly compare to those of a man who gets up in the morning to find that his kitchen has been blown out of existence in the night.
The UK, is, according to an Amnesty International a cesspit of repression. We are also, according to a world survey of freedom, the 14th ranked country for Human Freedom. It’s not as good as being 1st, but out of 164 countries it isn’t too bad.
Switzerland, which is Number One, is, of course, a country known for freedom, fresh air, neutrality and for being the home of a banking system which profited greatly from the Nazis and the Holocaust, and still does.
The USA and UK are also implicated in hanging on to gold from the Holocaust if you read far enough down the article in the link) , but we are always in the wrong so that’s no surprise. As the UK was still paying for the war until 2006 I’m happy for someone else to chip in. Same for the US – someone has to help pay for the war.
So there you go – a strange tale of how freedom is defined.
Allowing old people to use their bus passes as photo ID to vote, but not allowing young people to use their bus passes as photo ID to vote just goes to show how closely our freedoms need to be watched if we are not to slip further down that table.
I would protest about it but I might end up in prison. It was remarkable how quickly the eco protester found himself in court and in jail compared with how long it takes to process the ordinary run of the mill criminal.
I am not quite so optimistic as you are but still very pleased not to be subject to overnight rocket attacks and attempted coups.
I didn’t realise that about the bus passes. The whole ID go vote thing is a step back. Looking at the regulations I presume the difference between the bus passes is that the old person gets one via a government scheme and the young person via a company discount scheme. I suppose that’s why bus passes count and railcards don’t. I see provisional driving licenses are OK as voter ID, but I couldn’t use one (if I had one) in my recent solicitor troubles. It is all very confusing.
The price of everything here has gone sky high, but as you say, it is all relative, and I am happy to be where I am, and not in a war zone.
Yes, we are lucky. I remember when we only had two TV Channels and it only ran for part of the day, and you had to read maps instead of push buttons on a satnav and, with phones attached to wires, were often out of phone contact. How did we manage? 🙂
I hope you are given a good boost
It certainly made me sit up and take notice. 🙂