Rant: With Jamie and family in New York for the New Year it seems appropriate that I comment on the US debacle allowing the anti-democratic Donald Trump to stand again for the presidency. Despite Trump repeatedly making attacks on the legitimacy of democratic institutions, such as the judiciary, the media, and the electoral process, he undoubtedly pressured state officials to overturn the results of the 2020 election. His admiration for dictators, his attacks on the free press, and his attempts to concentrate power in his own hands scream authoritarianism in the ilk of Vladimir Putin and Kin Jon Ung, what price free will and speech in a country led by him? His rhetoric is abusive, divisive and inflammatory, and he has been accused of inciting violence. He is a threat to democracy in the US. The 14th Amendment, Section 3: bars anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution from holding office if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion.” Like myself, many in the world watched his speech on January 6th, 2021, at the US Capitol where he encouraged the crowd to storm the building and disrupt a legal process enshrined in the constitution, surely this is a direct contravention of that constitution and is therefore insurrection? So, why are only two states making moves to bar this despot from ever holding office and why is he not in jail? The man was a fraud before he took office, a criminal when he was in office and a traitor to the constitution and country since leaving office.

On the penultimate day of December, I had another injection of Luscentis into my left eye. It had been 16 weeks since the last one and during the eye test and retina scan I was pleased to note that my vision was not only stable but had improved slightly. My appointment was at 8.30 a.m. and we were driving away from the Royal Hospital in Leicester by 9.30 a.m., though the hospital seemed very quiet, the waiting room for eye injections was quite full and I was surprised to have been processed so quickly and well done NHS.

Weather-wise the end of 2023 and the start of the New Year was a miserable affair, rain every day added to the already water-logged ground bringing floods throughout the country. The river Welland flowing past the bouse has regularly overtopped its lower bank and inundated the small field up on the far side to the base of the willow trees next to the estate road. On several occasions, the badgers have failed to come and eat the fatballs and dog food we leave out for them each night and then we worry that their sett located in the field on the other side of Welland Park Road may have been flooded and the poor creatures perished. Poor Rocky and Nala always start their daily walks with unbridled enthusiasm but this quickly dissipates as the cold and wet take a grip and as soon as they gauge that they are on the return leg they quicken their pace and drag me home.

New Year’s Eve was cold and damp, discouraging those members of the clan still in the UK from celebrating the arrival of 2024, preferring the comfort of a duvet and sleep to  ‘Auld Lang Syne‘.  Not so, Jamie, Ruth and Joey who had flown to New York to experience a Yankee New Year in Times Square.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On yet another sodden day Sue, myself and the Rothwells travelled to New Bold Verdon for New Year’s Day lunch, hosted by Sarah and Lee. While the guests were amused playing with Alice and Archie our hosts prepared a superb meal for the ten of us, plus a greyhound and beagle. Stomachs well satisfied it was decided to take the dogs for a  much-needed walk around the village, as we had left our two doggy guests back at Willow Bank, Sue and I returned to Harborough to take the canines for yet another soggy doggy walk.

On Wednesday (3rd) Jamie, Ruth and Joey returned from New York. They arrived at Willow Bank just as Sue was leaving on her way to the cinema in Harborough and I had returned from walking them. They stopped long enough to pack the cars with dog and rabbit paraphernalia then set off home.

The following morning I met Sean and Jim for breakfast at the Sugar Loaf. I had passed the pub several times during the week whilst taking the dogs for their morning walk and was astounded to see that they did a full English breakfast with free coffee refills for £4.95. At that price, I just had to check it out and see what the quality was like. It was good news, after 4 cups of cappuccino and a very acceptable breakfast we left with full stomachs declaring that we wouldn’t need to eat again until the evening.