Coffee Break

A day of domestic chores, both inside the house and in the garden. Lots done.

The news from the outside world, and particularly Israel, this week has been unremittingly bad. Rather than ignore it I decided to incorporate it into today’s blip. There are no good guys in this, just shades of bad, one set of atrocities leading to another, and currently with things set to get a lot worse. Any solution is going to involve a lot of compromise on both sides, but that’s inconceivable at present on the back of the atrocities committed by Hamas and the anticipated response by the Israelis. Awful.

It’s often the work of photo-journalists that brings home what is happening in the wider world. The most shocking image I’ve seen all week is not from the Middle East, but from the USA. Two children, agreed 10 and 5, being taught firearms safety in rural Maryland as part of an initiative set up by African Americans, presumably so they can be prepared to defend themselves from attack. Children should be able to look at the future with hope, but that’s in short supply for these two.

It’s a cliché, but everywhere peace needs to be given a chance.