Caring
Turned out H's Exercise For Your Heart class yesterday was, it sounded, a bit like line dancing with added dumbells. For one and a quarter hours, non-stop. He'd walked up there first, 2 miles. They suggested he get the bus back but when he wanted to catch one it had just gone and another wasn't due for at least half an hour. As it's a 45 minute walk and he desperately needed a coffee he headed half-way home to a local Subway, where he had one of the lowest fat Subs, then walked back home. He looked kinda shattered on arrival but didn't spend the entire afternoon on the settee!
H said the exercises were dead simple, step to the side, step back, point your toes, point your heel (if you see what I mean). It's just that they went on, relentlessly. Apparently he now has to walk half an hour per day plus do the level of exercises he did yesterday. Next week they up both and continue upping til gone Christmas. Where H is supposed to find the time to do the washing up, let alone go to work as well . . .
Paris should be in the news again this weekend - as the site of the UN Climate Summit where, it is hoped, member countries will sign an accord to end the use of coal. Plus, preferably, a few more things to halt the rise in global warming. Apparently 2015 is set to be the warmest year so far, which is not a Good Thing. Considering the Polar Vortex winter had by the North Americas and the fact that the long-term forecast is for a cold winter here, it must have been Really Hot elsewhere.
All this heating has been affecting the climate, particularly in 'central latitudes' - ie: where most of the world's poor people live. Heck, they have enough to cope with just being poor. They don't need more extremes of weather - drought or extra and heavier rainstorms and cyclones/typhoons/tornadoes as well. If we give to alleviate poverty then more of that giving is being used in Disaster Relief rather than Development - 'maintenance' rather than 'moving on'.
Come to think of it, it's affecting those of us at higher (or lower) lattitudes too. Very cold winters, very wet periods, more and heavier rain, El Nino events, etc. Look at the various weather events over the last few years.
There are protest marches being held in various cities around the world this weekend to draw attention to the problem and to help concentrate the minds of attending politicians. There's one in London, you can sign up for it here. I shan't be going but I shall be backing them.
The other event is George Osborne's Autumn Statement - the main worry being quite what he's planning to cut and by how much. As he's already pledged more money for the NHS (having cut it severely over the past five years) cuts will be deeper elsewhere to 'balance'. So more children, more unemployed, more of those on low wages, more of those in care will be suffering.
What is it with the Chancellor? What is it with the UK that we believe him when he says this is 'the only way' to do things?
The UK is a rich country, yet the Chancellor says that we 'cannot afford' to care for the weakest, the poorest, the most vulnerable.
Give over, George. Back in 1947 the country was recovering from six years of war. There was a huge debt owed to the USA, large parts of the country needed rebuilding after the Blitz, foodstuffs were still on ration and the rations got smaller over the next six or so years BUT the then Labour Government somehow found the money to rebuild.
They built council houses on a large scale, so that there were publicly owned properties to rent. They set up the NHS - healthcare for all, free at the point of need. That's just two things, done by a country one might have thought would be on its knees and out of funds, but they rebuilt.
So what's so different now? We haven't been at war, not here anyhow. We paid off the last of the War Debt to the USA a few years back. Food is more plentiful, more available and in more variety than ever before BUT there are people reliant on Food Banks. There are people who regularly go hungry, missing meals because they can't afford to buy food, or because they can afford to feed their children, just, but not themselves as well.
There are growing numbers of 'homeless' people - either those 'sofa surfing' or sleeping in their cars or people actually living on the streets. There are children living on the streets too. There are elderly people - 'heroes' who fought in World War II, who cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and eat come winter.
But the Chancellor says we, one of the richest countries in the world, can't afford to look after them. We just don't have the money, he says. Surely, George, we can't afford to not look after them? And what are you doing with all the money you say we don't have?
Y'all have a good, and thoughtful, day now!
H said the exercises were dead simple, step to the side, step back, point your toes, point your heel (if you see what I mean). It's just that they went on, relentlessly. Apparently he now has to walk half an hour per day plus do the level of exercises he did yesterday. Next week they up both and continue upping til gone Christmas. Where H is supposed to find the time to do the washing up, let alone go to work as well . . .
Paris should be in the news again this weekend - as the site of the UN Climate Summit where, it is hoped, member countries will sign an accord to end the use of coal. Plus, preferably, a few more things to halt the rise in global warming. Apparently 2015 is set to be the warmest year so far, which is not a Good Thing. Considering the Polar Vortex winter had by the North Americas and the fact that the long-term forecast is for a cold winter here, it must have been Really Hot elsewhere.
All this heating has been affecting the climate, particularly in 'central latitudes' - ie: where most of the world's poor people live. Heck, they have enough to cope with just being poor. They don't need more extremes of weather - drought or extra and heavier rainstorms and cyclones/typhoons/tornadoes as well. If we give to alleviate poverty then more of that giving is being used in Disaster Relief rather than Development - 'maintenance' rather than 'moving on'.
Come to think of it, it's affecting those of us at higher (or lower) lattitudes too. Very cold winters, very wet periods, more and heavier rain, El Nino events, etc. Look at the various weather events over the last few years.
There are protest marches being held in various cities around the world this weekend to draw attention to the problem and to help concentrate the minds of attending politicians. There's one in London, you can sign up for it here. I shan't be going but I shall be backing them.
The other event is George Osborne's Autumn Statement - the main worry being quite what he's planning to cut and by how much. As he's already pledged more money for the NHS (having cut it severely over the past five years) cuts will be deeper elsewhere to 'balance'. So more children, more unemployed, more of those on low wages, more of those in care will be suffering.
What is it with the Chancellor? What is it with the UK that we believe him when he says this is 'the only way' to do things?
The UK is a rich country, yet the Chancellor says that we 'cannot afford' to care for the weakest, the poorest, the most vulnerable.
Give over, George. Back in 1947 the country was recovering from six years of war. There was a huge debt owed to the USA, large parts of the country needed rebuilding after the Blitz, foodstuffs were still on ration and the rations got smaller over the next six or so years BUT the then Labour Government somehow found the money to rebuild.
They built council houses on a large scale, so that there were publicly owned properties to rent. They set up the NHS - healthcare for all, free at the point of need. That's just two things, done by a country one might have thought would be on its knees and out of funds, but they rebuilt.
So what's so different now? We haven't been at war, not here anyhow. We paid off the last of the War Debt to the USA a few years back. Food is more plentiful, more available and in more variety than ever before BUT there are people reliant on Food Banks. There are people who regularly go hungry, missing meals because they can't afford to buy food, or because they can afford to feed their children, just, but not themselves as well.
There are growing numbers of 'homeless' people - either those 'sofa surfing' or sleeping in their cars or people actually living on the streets. There are children living on the streets too. There are elderly people - 'heroes' who fought in World War II, who cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and eat come winter.
But the Chancellor says we, one of the richest countries in the world, can't afford to look after them. We just don't have the money, he says. Surely, George, we can't afford to not look after them? And what are you doing with all the money you say we don't have?
Y'all have a good, and thoughtful, day now!