Day two in Spain

It has been warmer in the UK than it has been here today! This meant that none of us wanted to visit the pool, so instead we went to a local supermarket for supplies. This included things that we had forgotten and for me this was nail cutters and a hat.

The children and I went for a walk after breakfast where the local dog accompanied us and caught one rabbit which it promptly ate (it missed out on another). He is a friendly dog but has loads of burrs in his fur.  Later in the day, I want for a walk before dinner and he kept me company for that as well.  We also have played a game called Photo Roulette. I did not do too well at that one! 

Tomorrow the children and I are to visit Alhambra before it gets too hot next week. Should be fun! 

Day one in Spain

We have arrived! Our hotel is rural, relaxing and quiet. We left early in the day and I have spent the time trying to nap when I can. Our drive here was interesting because my wife and I have not driven a manual car in a while and I have to remember to keep my left foot on the clutch.

My daughter and I have visited the pool, but the weather is not as hot as it was in Colchester yesterday. Apparently a heatwave is to come next week though. Anyway, it will soon be time for food.  And then sleep.

Education and soft power

This is a quick post about two matters.  

The first is university education.  The current government plans to make university education in the UK less attractive by making it harder for them to work in the UK after graduation.  I think that this is silly as our universities rely on income from foreign students to allow those who are here to study at reduced fees.  Sure, it is not like the grant that I had when I was a student (I was at the beginning of the student loans system), but education would be far more expensive if it was not for those from abroad.  As it is, may get reduced offers.  Make it harder, and a lower quality of student will come which means our educational institutions will not be as good as they otherwise would be.  University education in the UK is respected abroad.  Let us keep it so and therefore increase the soft power of the UK.

The next are private schools.  I do not consider them to be charities.  Before the last election, while I agreed with Corbyn that they should be abolished, I did not think that it was the right time to do so as the nation had other priorities.  My view on this has changed and I think that they should exist, because, again, it is a form of soft power.  I think that it is insane that they are considered to be charities.  I think that they should be able to claim money back on tax for the charitable work that they do, but Eton is not a charity, it is a business.  The extra tax receipts from ending the charitable status of these businesses will help state education which has been underfunded too much since 2010.

Basically, I think that Britain is Great.  We need to work to keep it that way and education is one of those ways.  

A Rainy Day in New York

First of all, family. My daughter has one exam left, my son has finished his and feels liberated now he is free.

So we trapped him. By this, I mean my wife and I trapped him on a trip to see my mother and my parents-in-law. A short day out was made a much longer one with lots of traffic on the way to see my mother. Normally we travel down early to avoid traffic, but my daughter wanted to be dropped off at the university library to revise for her last exam. We also had work being done at home, our boiler requiring replacement, my wife sorting this out with some interesting electrical issues.  Which meant that we needed to wait for this to be completed as well.

It was not just the traffic, the weather made things interesting, rain coming down in huge amounts interspersed by sunshine. We were to meet up with friends but have had to cancel due to exhaustion.

In fact, my wife and I have decided to watch A Rainy Day in New York.  While many have noted that Timothée Chalamet appears to be channeling Woody Allen, I think that other male characters are as well.  I am not sure if we have the strength to watch this though.

The Idea of You

I watched this with my daughter. I think that I liked it more than she did. She is right in that it is a predictable film, though she said very, which I disagree with as the plot is slightly unusual compared to most films like this. It is about time that an older woman and younger man was featured. I can see why this went straight to streaming as I doubt I would have watched it in the cinema. 

It has decent dialogue, directing, plot and acting as well as lovely scenery. It is a film I would say is worth watching, but not necessarily one I would go out of your way to watch. I have no idea how faithful it was to the book and I doubt I will ever find out if it was.. 

Is freedom of speech less important than the right to protest?

Yesterday, in the rain, Rishi Sunak announced that there would be an election in July. I honestly thought it was going to be in January 2025, but it is to be on July the 4th. 

While he was making his announcement, someone played Things Will Only Get Better, the anthem for the Labour victory of 1997. While I thought it was hilarious, I also thought it should have been stopped.

I want our politicians to be able to say what they think. I do not think that the right to protest, as important as it is, should interfere with freedom of expression. 

My daughter disagrees with me on this, but with both kids revising for their exams, I cannot debate this point with them properly. But she had fun watching me dance to the tune when it was drowning Rishi Sunak out.  She has a point when she calls me a hypocrite for finding it funny, and dancing, yet saying that using the music to drown out the Prime Minister was wrong.  

 

The police, prisons and the party of Law and Order

Today, the police, who the Conservative Party defunded, apparently have been told not to lock as many people up. The solution to our overcrowded prisons is not to ensure that we reduce reoffending rates, or put in decent community sentences, but rather to let crime go unpunished.