Monday/Tuesday am

The guest contributor is leaving later this morning (it's 1am at the moment) so normal blogging has been resumed.

It has been a wonderful few days with Jeremy - he has been wining and dining and driving me round Shawnee, and through the rolling Oklahoma prairies, I've been so happy to spend time with him.  We're both keen movie fans too, I can't remember if he mentioned that we saw two very good films, 'Walk in the Woods' about Bill Bryson attempting to trek the Appalachian Trail, and 'Pawn Sacrifice', about Bobby Fisher, the championship chess player.

Today we paid another visit to Barnes & Noble in Norman, we both love book shops and B&N, with its Starbucks in the middle, is a very big, and particularly good store.   Jeremy bought me a grown up colouring book there and I will make a start on that when he has gone.     Before setting off for Barnes and Noble though we stopped by the hospital and spent time chatting with Chaplain Bill in the cafeteria, which was very pleasant.

So, it's back to bed...

The world is full of fascinating people...

Well, you will be pleased / unconcerned / bitterly disappointed to hear that I have been asked to write again for Mum's blog. Thank you to all the people (both of them) who were kind enough to say that they have been enjoying my stint as guest writer of the blog. I would also like to thank my mother for the opportunity... (crikey, this is turning into an Oscar acceptance speech).

"For Pete's sake Jeremy, tell us what's been happening, show us pictures, and don't use long words!" I hear you roar. Alright then. By public acclamation, I will.

This morning we went to the Emanuel church service, which today was held at St Crispins, a retreat centre owned by the Episcopal Church about 30 miles outside Shawnee, in the rolling Oklahoma countryside. The service took place at 10:30 followed by a picnic lunch and a chance to connect with other members of the community - and what a fascinating, talented and interesting group! I won't go into details about everyone in the church, but today I met a dulcimer player, a former aid worker, environmentalist, professional photographer, teacher, two avid cyclists, the owner of a gun shop, an ex-employee of the space programme, and Father Christmas.

Here I am with the incredibly talented musicians, Cindy and Daryll (Daryll is also a professional Father Christmas, I wonder why), and their Dulcimer:

In case you don't know what a Dulcimer is (and I didn't), it can best be described as a stringed instrument similar to a slide guitar, harp and xylophone. It can be plucked, hit and strummed, preferably not all at the same time. It looked difficult to master but in the hands of Cindy and Daryll it sounded beautiful and distinctive.  

Here is another picture of mum and I taken at St Crispins:

I regard myself as spiritual more than religious, and what today reminded me was, first, that most people are interesting and everyone is unique, something we often forget when we aggregate information and generalise in our information-rich world. And second, take time to find out about people - you never know when you'll meet a Dulcimer-playing Father Christmas.     

We had a long, lazy, relaxing drive home (actually we managed to get lost, the sat-nav packed up, and we needed to stop for a banana split to recover), but it was a fabulous day and great to be spending time with mum. Tomorrow is my last day before heading to Denver. Not too sure what's on the agenda - perhaps relaxing locally in Shawnee - but it's been a brilliant time.

Take care, Jeremy
  

700 (yes, 700!) green bottles, sitting on a wall...

I'm back folks! For possibly my last night of guest blogging while mum is munching chocolates, reclining in her chair and stroking Bubbles, the cat. She now has more than a passing resemblance to a villain from a Bond movie (mum that is, not the cat). "Do you expect me to talk?" I asked, nervously. "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to blog!" Well, alright, I made that bit up...

Tonight I thought I would share a little of what we have been up to over the last few days. It's been brilliant.

So, who wants to see a picture of 700 different varieties of soda pop in a restaurant on route 66? I thought so. We went there at the suggestion of Chaplain Bill, who mum works with at the Shawnee hospital. (It's a brilliant hospital, by the way. Smart, friendly, welcoming; I felt better just walking in, which I suppose is the point of it all.) Anyway, back to those bottles of pop. The place is called 'Pops' and it's located in Arcadia, just outside Oklahoma City.

I was impressed with the sculpture outside Pops:

 

The visit to Pops was on Friday, and afterwards we drove into Oklahoma City (OKC) and had a look around the Bricktown and Stockyard neighbourhoods, which were both very interesting and historic. While in the Stockyard we nipped into a restaurant called the Cattleman's Café for a mid-afternoon piece of apple pie, and as mum and I examined the menu we came across an item called 'Lamb Fries'. I pointed this out to mum, who has always remarked, forlornly, about the lack of lamb in Oklahoma. Sounds great, I said. Mum still looked forlorn. "It's a lamb steak with fries, what could be better than that?" Still a forlorn look. "No it isn't", she said. "OK", I said, getting all cocky and frustrated at my mother's inability to understand a simple item on a menu, "What do you think it is?" Her tentative, uncertain reply was not what I expected at all: "It might be lambs' testicles" she said. "Don't be ridiculous!" I said. "No self-respecting Oklahoman would want that! That sounds offal!" (Sorry, bad pun.) At this point the waitress arrived. Needless to say mum was right, and I was on the receiving end of a lecture from our waitress about how Oklahomans wasted nothing, and how I should always listen to my mama. You think you know someone, and then it turns out that they're an expert on lambs' testicles.

After our trip to OKC we were caught in a little late Friday afternoon traffic heading out of town - in truth it was nothing more than a quiet day on the M25 back home, but unusual for Oklahoma. On the way back we stopped off at a beautiful place called Twin Lakes, not far from Shawnee, and watched the setting sun.

While staying with mum I've been reintroduced to Fox News, and as far as I can see they have now become, quite unexpectedly, the PR office for the Holy See. On Thursday they covered the entire speech given by the Pope to a joint session of Congress. Interesting, I thought. I've not heard Pope Francis deliver a speech before. John Boehner, Speaker of the House, was in tears. Then on Friday they covered the whole of the Pope's address to the UN General Assembly, while also covering the resignation of the Speaker of the House. And he cried, again. Well, to quote the late, great Yogi Berra, it was deja vu all over again. Then in the evening they covered the whole of the Pope's Mass at Madison Square Garden. I knew when I came to Oklahoma to expect religion; I just didn't expect it to be Catholicism delivered courtesy of Fox News.  

Woke up this morning (Saturday) and discovered that overnight I had aged one year, and it was now my 51st birthday. As well as lovely messages from family and friends I had some fabulous presents from mum, and we decided to head out for brunch at the Cracker Barrel. Now, I know what you're thinking: more food, Jeremy? Yep, take a look:

What you have there is bacon, eggs, a side of fried apples, wholewheat toast, two blueberry pancakes, syrup, French toast with cranberries and pecans, tea and coffee. Honestly, after all that I could barely eat my elevenses. By the way, and I address this remark to my family members reading this blog, why did it take until my 51st birthday to discover the joy of fried apples as a side dish? Did none of you think to mention this incredible food sooner? I had to travel halfway round the world to discover it!!

After breakfast we drove to Norman, around 45 miles away, and visited Barnes and Noble where we browsed the shelves, mum got her C Nook fixed, and I bought a couple of books. Then we went to see the movie 'Pawn Sacrifice' about the chess champion Bobby Fischer, starring Tobey Maguire. Mum and I thought it was great. We then finished the day with dinner at the Red Lobster, a favourite of mine.

And not a lamb's testicle in sight.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are heading to a church picnic at St Crispins, as well as a little more local sightseeing. Having a fabulous time in the beautiful state of Oklahoma, and really enjoying the welcome too.

Take care, Jeremy

Friday

The guest contributor and myself have had a happy, but tiring day, which we ended watching the sun go down over the Twin Lakes. 

He will be back tomorrow, re-energised.

Surprise!

I have a guest contributor for the next few days, son Jeremy who is visiting me en route to Denver, Colorado.

Hi Folks! I'm sure you probably logged on looking for Val /Valerie/ Mum, but normal service will be resumed soon. Mum regularly checks the stats on the blog and if her readership falls then that's probably the end of my writing career. So, please, read to the end. Read it again. Then tell your friends.
(By the way, sorry to digress, but can you tell me the most northerly, southerly, easterly and westerly states in the Union? The answers are quite surprising - read to the end and you will find out. Neat trick, eh? Something I learnt from my mama...)

Brilliant to see Mum looking so good, sprawncey in fact. And I think I know why: a diet of clean wholesome living, good friends, and Fox News (they're not evil, just not very good). My theory is that the elevated heart rate that results from seeing Bill O'Reilly, Shepard Smith and Megyn Kelly in full flow is actually quite a good way to get a cardiovascular workout. A friend once remarked to me that the entire spectrum of European politics would fit inside the US Democratic party, which is why it's so hard for Europeans to understand the Republicans. I'm inclined to agree.

Recently I have been reflecting on the possibility that I may, perhaps in May 2020, be living in a world ruled by Donald Trump (ultra right wing Republican as US President), and Jeremy Corbyn (ultra left wing Socialist as UK Prime Minister). In this scenario it would surely be only a matter of time before the Donald fell out with Britain, if he hasn't already. America might even invade the UK, and because Jeremy Corbyn can't conceive of a situation in which he would deploy the British army good old Blighty becomes the 51st state of the Union.
And that would not necessarily be a bad thing.

On the downside, we lose 1000 years of history, the Royal Family, and Fox News becomes prime time viewing, but there would be some pretty significant pluses. Today, after only 24 hours in the most exciting country on Earth, I discovered a few reasons why it would be great to be American.
First and foremost is the place where mum and I had lunch: Americans know it as IHOP, and to me it is the International House of Pancakes. It was incredible. As Jeremy Clarkson would say, it was the second nicest thing I've ever put in my mouth. Needless to say there was an incredible amount of pancakes, some of which now reside in a handy box in mum's fridge (another thing that we Brits could learn from Americans). It did remind me, though, a little of the Holy Roman Empire (bear with me on this) which, as any good historian knows, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. So it is with IHOP. It's not International, it's not a House, and it's not made of Pancakes.

Second, and to be serious for a moment, is the fact that the wealthiest country on earth is actually an immigrant country. Millions of people, some of whom were, like my father, refugees, while most were economic migrants, came to the USA. The fact that they made the arduous, hazardous journey at all suggests that the majority were self-starters, not feckless scroungers as migrants are often portrayed. And within a few short centuries they built an incredibly successful, advanced nation, so they weren't really trouble makers either. Granted the US has its problems, including with its current approach to the issue of immigration, but there is surely a lesson for Europe when we see the self-confidence, energy and vitality which built the USA. In Europe we have many fewer people of working age to support our economic growth, as the bulge of baby boomers in our population grows older and retires. It is obvious to me that hard-working immigrants provide at least some of the answer to this challenge (I think perhaps Angela Merkel agrees with me on this point). I particularly like the stirring words of Emma Lazarus inscribed on the statue of liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
That sounds like a friendly, confident, welcoming place to be. So, great welcomes and stirring poetry can be added to the list of reasons we should value Americans.
Of course, for every Emma Lazarus there's a Donald Trump, but on balance I think things work out just fine.
Time to sign off -  hope you've managed to read this far!
Here is the answer to that tricky question posed earlier. The most southerly state in the union is Hawaii, and the most northerly is Alaska, the most westerly is Alaska. And the most easterly is... Alaska. Apparently they have one small island on the other side of the international date line. Tricky.

Thanks for reading, see y'all soon.
Jeremy

Last Day of Summer.....

Tomorrow - Wednesday - is the autumnal equinox.   And the temperature driving through town was 91, so it is nothing like my understanding of autumn, with lovely cool damp weather, and trees changing colour.

 

Went to the hospital this morning, - sadly, for me anyway as I miss my lunchtime companion and his conversation - Bill is going to be away on Tuesdays for the next few months as he is doing something academic.   So I am going to get there about 9, have breakfast, and make an early start.

 

The rest of the day I actually spent doing some housework, a fairly rare occurrence I have to admit, before getting back to my knitting and television.   It is hardly surprising I have got square eyes.

 

In the Presidential campaign there are 15 or 16 candidates, it's hard to keep up now they have started dropping out, and I am not sure how this debate came about but it has been raging - raging, I tell you - because the question was asked if a Muslim President would be acceptable.    Ye gods!!!!!!!!!  was my reaction.  Radical Islam has vowed - and is bound and determined - to establish a world wide Caliphate, and Americans are actually considering whether this is ok with them.  Thank goodness I say, for our 1000 year old monarchy, where the worst that could happen would be the heir to the throne marrying a Roman Catholic.

 

 

Sunday

There is a definite change in the weather.   Woke up this morning to rain and  a thunderstorm of Biblical proportions crashing around me.   I sometimes wonder how much more of it the poor roof is going to take.   I have mentioned its parlous state to Mark but he is obviously not going to do anything about it, not while I am here anyway.

 

Last night Bruce and Rosalyn invited me to the local theatre to see 'South Pacific'.   The songs and music were all so familiar, I had grown up with them, but I don't think I realised they were all from South Pacific.

 

It is a wonderful little theatre. It is in the round, and being such a small town everyone knows everybody else anyway, so when the performance is over there is a lot of milling about as the audience pours on to the stage to chat to the cast.   Even though I don't know anyone I like to sit and watch them all, it has a very 'party' atmosphere.

 

Apart from this I have really done little else.  I've been a bit preoccupied - more than is good for me, my critics would say - watching the Presidential debates on the evil Fox News.   Or evil CNN.

Wednesday 16th September

Yesterday morning I thought the weather had changed, it was raining and chilly, and a lovely refreshing change.   But now it is back to hot.

Have not done a lot lately.  

Everybody here is all geared up for the Republicans Presidential Debate this evening.  Trump is still grabbing all the attention with his promises that he is "Going To Make This Country Great Again".   I didn't realise that Americans ever thought it wasn't.

It has been said of Trump that he has had more bankruptcies than Chris Christie (a portly guy) has had salads, but no one seems to be worrying about him managing the economy.  His answer - if anyone asked him - is sure to be that he will employ all the smartest people to do that.  That's his standard answer, he knows all the smartest people in the world and they are all going to sort it out.

This evening..........I saw the Debate one and a half times.  I was at Emmanuel when it started, so saw the second half live, then watched the repeat of it.   I must be really getting into American politics.  I don't think it is so much the politics as the fact that it is interesting to see the front runners emerging.  I think they all did very well, they all had facts and figures at their fingertips.

In the news..........

Ben Carson is catching up with Trump.   I think Bush and Huckabee might drop back, and Carly Fiorina will move up.  She came across very well this evening.

Her campaign team obviously told her she needed to be warm and funny and outgoing.   Her performance was so inauthentic it was absolutely cringe making.

And this scandal shows no sign of going away anytime soon.  She is appearing before a Select Committee (whatever that is) in October, about the four Americans killed in Benghazi.  I think that is when it will all be over for her.  That's why there is talk of Biden running.  He doesn't really want to, I think the Democrats are getting desperate.

And Hillary's rival is doing well.

 

I can't get my head round this at all.  Obama has just done a deal with Iran, giving them billions of dollars and lifting sanctions, and all the time they are hurling insults at the US.

Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year

I had what I thought was chronic back pain, I put it down to my advancing years, then it occurred to me that it might be the fault of the computer chair - which I've had since the Civil War - so I wheeled it out to the front porch, and have since felt fine.   10 years younger in fact.

 

 I think I've mentioned that the Presbyterian Church, which was crumbling to the ground, is now temporarily holding its services in what used to be a coffee shop on Main Street, and I was rather intrigued as to how that was working out, and thought I'd go and see because it still looks exactly like the coffee shop it was.   I found that the most off putting factor was that the choir - with the congregation behind them - are all facing the front door., and the Minister is in front of them, but to the side.  I thought the service was at 11, but it was 10.45, so I was late.  I tentatively pulled at the glass door, thinking I might be able to surreptitiously skirt round the choir, but someone -  I think the Minister at the side - grabbed it and tried to open it for me, at which point I totally lost it and scurried off down the street.

I went to Emmanuel and was in time for the Communion half of the Service.   I looked round at all the faithful souls who turn up there Sunday after Sunday, and decided I should  stop all this poncing about and just go to the church I belong to.  

This evening, being the Jewish New Year, a group of us went on the church bus to the service at the Hebrew Congregation in Seminole, as we usually do, and we had dinner first at a local restaurant, which was very pleasant.

It is such a small congregation they don't have a regular rabbi, a rabbinical student usually comes from Ohio to take the services on the High Holy Days.

The wife of the leader of the congregation is English, and is very, very nice.  Once we start talking I usually have to be dragged away because everyone is getting back on the bus, and I did this evening.   She is very elderly, and told me this evening she has lived here 62 years; she was a dancer on the West End stage when she met her American husband in London during WWII.   She said this evening that dancing, particularly ballet, affected her toes and she recently had to have four of them amputated.  But she has tremendous warmth and spirit.

I haven't seen much news today, but Donald Trump has said of Ben Carson "I don't know Ben Carson, he is a doctor, perhaps an ok doctor".     He is not an ok doctor, he is a brilliant paediatric neurosurgeon and the first doctor in the world to separate Siamese Twins, and if Donald Trump didn't know that he should have done.   But he is so full of himself, he is oblivious to anyone else's accomplishments.
 

9/11 - fourteen years on.

Don't we all remember where we were on 9/11 when the US was attacked.  I remember Roy and I standing in our lounge, rooted to the floor, looking at the television in horror as it was all unfolding.

Every year the names of the victims, nearly 3000 of them, are read out loud.  Those reading them are family members of the victims.

There was a change in the weather when I woke up this morning, chillier and heavy rain coming down, but it didn't last long and it was hot again.   I was at the hospital at usual and had lunch with Bill, which was very pleasant.   

 

In the Presidential campaign the candidates are hurling insults, or more precisely, Donald Trump is.  He made some  disparaging remarks about Carly Fiorina's appearance, saying "look at that face, who would vote for that".

I think she is actually quite attractive.   She didn't deign to respond but Bobby Jindall said  it was outrageous Trump was criticising someone's appearance when he has a squirrel on his head.

Hillary Clinton continues to sink in the polls, and whereas thousands are crowding to hear Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton's followers aren't quite filling the room.   I don't think she was very pleased at pictures being taken of the room.

 

Joe Biden hasn't even said he wants to run, but they still include him as if he is.   I think it is fairly obvious that he doesn't want to, he is still grieving the loss of his son, and he said the only reason he is even thinking about it is because his son wanted him to, and was quite insistent about it before he died.

 

The irritating Rick Perry has dropped out.  I would put a smiley face here if there was one on the toolbar.

 

And John McAfee, of the anti virus company, has jumped in.   He is calling his Party the 'Cyber Party', and he is not going out shaking hands and kissing babies, he is going to reach out to his followers over the Internet.     He will have cosy chats with them from an armchair in his living room.

I'm interested to see how that is going to work.   I suppose when you are a billionaire you can have these little hobbies, or pastimes.

 

And for Bubbles little fan club.................

She seems to know she can't clamber all over whatever it is I am working on, just so far and no further, and even here she is a bit too far.

 

 

Thursday 10th

Still intensely hot.   It was 93 when I had to go out to pick up a few things.  Donald Trump seemed to be having a day off, or Fox News was having a day off covering him, there wasn't much else in the news though.

She's dropping in the polls, sinking in the mire.  There are those who would say though that they are all vicious rumours put out by the evil Fox News, we shall see.   There is talk of Joe Biden running, so there is obviously desperation behind the scenes, but he has said  he feels too emotionally exhausted.

Good luck with cultivating the spontaneity.

Amazingly this has had major television coverage.   This stupid woman, a county clerk, refused to issue a marriage licence to a gay couple, in spite of the fact that it is now legal in all states.   I don't know what the judge was thinking, making a martyr of her by putting her in jail.  She has been backed up by Mike Huckabee, Presidential candidate, former governor of Arkansas, tv personality, Baptist pastor, and as bigoted as she is.   You'd think, wouldn't you, she should just be fired and have done with it, but apparently it is an elected office, so she can't be.

So that is the alternative news.   Alternative to Trump.  I woke up early this morning, and am now headed back to bed.

Tuesday 8th September

I didn't know until it was pointed out to me today by an American that tomorrow the Queen becomes the longest reigning monarch, surpassing Queen Victoria's reign.   I remember - 63 years and 218 days ago - when she became Queen, don't we all of my generation remember where we were on that day......I was in my classroom and Mr. Lewis, the headmaster, came round the school and informed us all.  It was such a shock.   George V1 was not in particularly good health, but he wasn't dying either.   Well, obviously he was, but we weren't aware of it.

I  wondered how Mr Lewis knew.  He wasn't in the habit of watching tv, or listening to the radio in his office during his working day. 

I do also remember when she surpassed George IIIs 59 year reign, and everyone wondered if she would beat Queen Victoria's record.

I have been so taken aback today by the news of Bishop Peter Ball, who after all these decades has finally admitted today at the Old Bailey that he did in fact abuse all those young men and boys at his home in Litlington, when he was Bishop of Lewes.

The evidence at the time was pretty damning, but I liked him so much - everyone did - he was so kindly and popular, his sermons were always delivered with warmth and humour, he could hold the attention of any congregation.    At the time I tried to cling to the belief  that the allegations might not be true,  I saw a letter he wrote to a clergy friend of mine saying that he accepted the caution because he didn't want to drag the church through a scandal, but round the edges of my mind I just couldn't understand  why he didn't rigorously try to prove his innocence of an allegation that was so serious.

When he left Lewes he became Bishop of Gloucester, which is one of the most prestigious dioceses in the country, and to some extent that allayed some of my doubts.

I've been looking at everything about it on the Internet today, it has all come back to me like it was yesterday, and I can only say "how COULD you, how COULD you".   What has this done to the Church of England.      If ever there was a wolf in sheeps clothing......................

Labour Day Holiday Weekend

And the unofficial last day of summer......not that you'd notice, it is still way up in the 90s outside.

I went to Emmanuel this morning, and that was good, but otherwise have felt a bit down, I don't really like holiday weekends, I will be glad to be back at the hospital on Tuesday morning.

However I did go and see 'A Walk in the Woods' this afternoon, and that was very good.   I think I mentioned yesterday it was about the writer, Bill Bryson, walking the Appalachian Trail.  The Trail is  2200 miles from Georgia to Maine, but he didn't do it all.  He gave it a good shot though.   I don't think I have ever heard so much laughter in the auditorium, so everyone was obviously enjoying it. 

Labour Day became a national holiday for workers in 1894.   Most European countries celebrate it on the 1st May.

Saturday 5th September

It is hot.   Went out for some necessary shopping and it was 95 degrees.   Got back home as quickly as I could.

So, just been crocheting and watching television.  I live a quiet life here.   Some time over the weekend though I am going to the movie 'Walk in the Woods'.   It is based on Bill Bryson's walk along the Appalachian Trail, and I am a big fan of Bill Bryson.   He is an American writer who spent many years in Britain, where he married an English woman and had his family.  He talked once of walking with his children along the long driveway to Windsor Castle, and became aware suddenly of a car driving slowly behind them, when he stepped aside he saw it was Princess Diana.

So what is in the news.................

This is said to be the worse humanitarian crisis since WW11.

I think the US is probably in a better position than an European nation to help them out.

ha ha ha.

That may be true enough, but surely someone aspiring to be President of the US should have a thorough knowledge of the current political landscape.  Not wait until he is sworn in to be informed by his advisors, as to who is who on the world stage.



She's sorry for the confusion, for the fact that she hasn't been understood.   Not for keeping everyone in the dark about her blessed e-mails and server, which continue to be shrouded in mystery.   But she is appearing before a Committee in October where she will have to 'tell all'.

This guy was in charge of her highly secret e-mail server, and has been subpoenaed to 'tell all', but he is pleading the 5th Amendment, which is a handy get-out-of-jail-free card, meaning basically that he is not going to say anything except "I plead the 5th Amendment" so he can't be forced to say anything, and the American public, and stray foreigners, will not be any the wiser.



I like all those people except the insufferable Trump.  I can't wait for him to crash and burn.

Rick Perry is irritating, I like the others.   It has been said of Rand Paul, and I think they are right, that he lacks 'charisma'.   And charisma is what you've got to have here.

I got this far then suddenly lost the page.....have been going round in circles for the past hour with Google trying to sign back in.....I will hit Publish and hope for the best.

Thursday

Did an extra stint at the hospital this morning, filling in for someone away.

I finished off a crochet project for Kate at the Senior Centre.....

a little lap size afghan for a senior, and I delivered it this afternoon.

I am feeling a bit crocheted out, I've started a knitting project while watching television.

And on television Trump and Jeb continue to slug it out.

 In Trump's America everyone will speak English, Spanish will not be allowed (when I fill up the car, or go to an ATM, I have the option of the transaction in English or Spanish, so presumably that will

no longer be allowed).   

I can't understand why no one is questioning how divisive all this is.

Spanish is not even going to be allowed in the home!!!!!!!!!!    I kid you not - that is what Trump said.    Obviously it is rubbish,  Trump is taking  pot shots at Jeb and his Mexican wife and kids.   And I don't blame you if you don't believe me, if I hadn't heard him say I wouldn't believe it either.

In one campaign rally Trump is railing against Mexicans and Chinese for 'ripping them off', taking jobs that Americans should be doing, and he is going to change all that.   He is incensed because Nabisco - a biscuit making company - have announced they are relocating to Mexico where sugar is cheaper.

But a day later, in another rally, he LOVES Mexicans and Latinos and they all love him, he employs thousands of them (in the lowest paid, menial jobs).

This evening all the Republican candidates had to sign a Pledge that they would support the candidate nominated, which they all quietly did, except for Trump, who called a Press Conference, waved his Pledge about and made a great drama of the fact that he will support the nominated candidate if it is not himself.   But I can't see it.    If he isn't nominated his Pledge will be torn up while he rants and raves that he wasn't treated fairly.   He has set his heart on 'Making America Great Again'.   'Taking Our Country Back'.

I would like to know who all the young people are behind him, looking uncomfortable.

I think this belief that America should be top dog in the world is called 'American Exceptionalism', and we haven't heard much about it under Obama's Presidency.  But that is Trump's number one objective - after  he has thrown out the 18 million illegal immigrants and allowed the 'good' ones back in again, when they have gone through the proper channels. 

Someone commented this evening that no one could attack Ben Carson.  He is gentle, softly spoken, and came from a background of extreme poverty to become a highly respected neurosurgeon who can separate Siamese twins.   Of course he is more likeable than the bombastic Donald Trump. 

Tuesday 1st September/Wednesday am

Still intensely hot.  There was a time during the day, when the sun was beating through the car window, that I didn't think it had ever been so hot, I didn't pass a roadside thermometer,  but it felt like a 100 degrees and  was definitely up in the 90s.   Even now, in the late evening it is 81.

 

I'd knocked up some cakes last night and took them to the Senior Centre early for the Kiwanis bake sale - the first one without Louise, so there was a little air of sadness about, everyone was missing her.  One of the members volunteers in the hospital gift shop, and told me at lunchtime in the cafeteria that they had done well, and everything was sold.

 

Had a problem with my computer, I couldn't get Internet Explorer, so went on to take it to my best friend James, in Staples.   I didn't see him when I picked it up in the afternoon, but I wasn't charged anything, so I guess it was quite a minor thing he fixed.   Seriously, I am blessed with some good friends in this country.

In the news.....

In the Presidential Campaign Trump and Bush are slugging it out.

Hilary Clinton is still lying through her teeth. Says she never sent or received classified e-mails.

Even after pages of e-mails have been released...............

And excerpts of said e-mails are being splashed across the evil Fox News...........(everything mentioning a foreign leader is, by definition, classified)

And everyone is thinking of all the technical experts in Russia and China having a field day, going through them all - and panicking over this major lapse of national security.

Even then..................Hilary Clinton is still in denial.  She "never sent or received classified information".    And somewhat to my amusement, her supporters still hotly support her, saying it is all a right wing plot, it's not true, it is all fabricated by said evil Fox News.   Never mind all the evidence to the contrary.

It came to me just now........I think I missed my calling......I should have been an investigative journalist.  Not that I'd do a better job than those already on the case.