Remote Controls and Different Political Wavelengths

Egg-heads suffer 2018 Whitehouse budget cuts

Flicking through the channels or using the BBC i-player on TV, taking photographs whilst avoiding camera contact, unlocking the car before reaching it, these are the everyday uses of remote controls. They use light at wavelengths outside our range of vision. The TV and camera remotes use infra-red light. The easiest way to check this is to fire up your smartphone then look at the screen whilst pointing a remote at it and pressing a button. You will see the flashing light bulb sending its infrared signal, visible to the camera sensor but invisible to the human eye.

The other distinguishing feature of these remotes is that, although you can bounce the signal off walls (point the remote at a wall on the opposite side of the room to the TV but without blocking the return signal with your body, and you can change channels), you cannot get the signal to pass through a wall.

Remote car keys can penetrate through walls as long as they are not too thick. This is because they use radio waves - at frequencies of 315 MHz for North American cars and at 433.92 MHz for European, Japanese and Asian cars. Radio waves belong to the same form of energy, electromagnetic waves, as light, but their wavelengths are just much longer.

The new Amazon Echo and our smartphones can also use different kinds of waves - sound waves - to trigger a response. As my mother and I found out when we were trying to set up her new Android tablet and inadvertently had the phrase OK Google in our conversation - and she suddenly found herself online.

We humans too work on different wavelengths, as evidenced by the BBC's electoral debate with 7 different party representatives, who each triggered different responses in parts of the audience sympathetic to them. Whilst we might consider this a more metaphoric interpretation, There are real electrical brainwaves coursing through our brains. Viewers were also on different wavelengths - with the Daily Mail preparing tomorrows headlines, blasting the BBC for its left wing bias. Whilst the BBC used an independent polling organisation find an audience that reflected the voting and other demographics of the UK - they did not select members on the basis of their vocal contribution. Apparently the 'lefties' were louder. Good thing someone told me as I thought it was actually a balanced event with both Amber Rudd and Jeremy Corbyn coming over well, now matter what was thrown at them.

Otherwise it was not a good news day. A major car bomb in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed more than 90 and injured several hundred, just over a week after the past two attacks, in Manchester and Egypt. The lights of the Eifel Tower went black in honour of those killed and sympathy with the survivors this evening.

The AAAS (American Association of American Science) mailed out a warning and call for action as they saw that the Whitehouse budget meant "More than 30% of the EPA’s budget will be slashed. Nearly 20% of NIH’s funds will be taken. 70% of the funding for renewable energy R&D will be cut under this plan."

The UK Visa and Immigration service has found a now and profitable way to distinguish between us Brits and Johnny Foreigner - they have introduced a £5.48 charge for email enquiries - for people from outside of the the UK.

Winnowing and Transparent EU Brexit Stance

A full day to work at home on existing books in progress. I'm lucky in that Jane is here to provide the complementary and often main work on the books we are progressing, especially when I am out being the face of the business to existing and future authors. I'm currently working through a nature lovers manuscript. It is more of a planned winnowing process, to bring out the author's clear personal focus. In-between, there were occasional forays to peer into the pond. Draco the dragonfly larva was following a distinct pattern, if you sat and watched for more than five minutes. It would rise to the surface and use its hind gills to hang from the pond meniscus, wait and catch a mosquito larva. then it would descend into invisibility. If you patiently waited, it would rise again and repeat the cycle. I had some small fry in the pond, one of them looks as if it is definitely growing larger.

Brexit is grumbling underneath the main election campaign, with the release of the very transparent an public negotiating position of the EU 27. Two key points - first,  rights for EU nationals in the UK and UK nationals in the EU to be guranteed right up to the moment of Brexit and beyond (read it here https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/citizens-rights-essential-principles-draft-position-paper_en.pdf.  Second, a list of 84 international bodies and organisations to which the UK had committed itself as part of the EU. No figures mentioned (paper here https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/financial-settlement-essential-principles-draft-position-paper_en.pdf). Surprisingly, this has not hit the headlines in the middle of an election being fought on Brexit!

The current UK governments tactic is not to reveal too much and maintain the Monty Python option of 'Run away! Run away!' Which begs another question, who is the killer rabbit in the Tory cabinet if they do turn?

After Angela Merkel's comments about the EU having to look after itself as it cannot rely on friends (US and UK), both Sean Spicer, US Speaker, and Chancellor Merkel gave more conciliatory words, which were underlined by another Tweet from President Trump saying "We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change". Mollifying words indeed.

Cambridge Open Studios Preparations in Milton

Cambridge Open Studios is now looming on the horizon, with our weekends starting in just five weeks. I picked up boxes of guides for us, Alison and Marie & Richard from Cheryl and had a chance to look at her studio and jewellery.  I was particularly interested in the silver etching method that she used with photos or gifs as subjects - I could see some possibilities there. Delivered Alison's box of guides to her and chatted briefly about her advice on the leaflet with all the Milton Studios that Jane was preparing for all of us artists in Milton.

Jane and I visited Richard and Marie in the afternoon to see their exhibition space and work in progress.

You can find all our Milton Studios at https://www.camopenstudios.co.uk/cos-search/a-to-z-grid, we are studios 97 to 101 (97 - Alison Hullyer; 98 - Chris, Jane and Louise Thomas; 99 - Cheryl Bird, Linda Bartlett and Marnie Bird; 100 - Marie Georghiou and Richard Morgan; 101 - Rhiannon Thomas.

Sky and Channel 4 broadcast the unusual split interviews of Conservative Theresa May and Labour Jeremy Corbyn. Rather than appearing on stage together, Jeremy came on first, taking questions from the audience and then being grilled by Jeremy Paxman, Then Theresa went through the same procedure. Neither gained a knock-out blow against the other. No news yet on the impact on polls, up to last Friday, Labour was gaining steadily at 35% but the Tories still had the lead at 44%.

Angela Merkel's public comments on the fact that it was now impossible to completely rely on others, on issues of security and climate change have been reported internationally. These included intitial remarks at a beer festival that penetrated through to the US and then later comments at a conference on sustainable development in Berlin.

On Pond Spectacles, Home-Made Milk Chocolate Recipe, and some News

Created some pond spectacles today, essential for any pond watchers to cut reflective glare. In the absence of classy polarised glasses, I cannibalised a pair of Cinema 3D specs which use polarisation filters. However these had to be inserted the wrong way round and rotated by 90 degrees, hence the strange appearance. Who cares? They work!

The next important task of the weekend was to make milk chocolate from scratch. First mistake - not grinding the dried milk. I was naively expecting it to dissolve into the chocolate liquor/chocolate butter. It didn't. Hurried further research revealed the important sentence "dried milk will not dissolve into the cacao butter, you need to blend it into a fine powder, so the chocolate feels smooth in the mouth.". Batch two was a marked improvement. Today's recipe:

• 40 g chocolate liquor drops
• 40 g cacao butter
• 25 g VERY FINELY BLENDED LOW FAT DRIED MILK
• 40 g maple syrup

Melt the chocolate liquor and cacao butter at 45+ deg C, stir in the VERY FINELY BLENDED LOW FAT DRIED MILK until mixture is even, then mix in the maple syrup. Stir and cool to about 27 degrees to initiate crystallisation, heat up again to about 31 degC, pour into mold and allow to set. To help setting, I grate some existing chocolate into the cooled chocolate mix before re-warming. 

The one downside so far with the milk chocolate is that the chocolaty flavour is so intense, you cannot eat a whole bar in one go.

The weekend continues with sporting events, concerts and carnivals, albeit with higher security in place, whilst in the background, more uncovering of the possible associates and locations involved in the tragic Manchester bombing. Tattoo parlours overrun with requests for Manchester Busy Bee tattoos in solidarity. The British Airways computer failure reduces terror risk by stopping people from travelling around the world for 2 days.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel admits that Europe has to look out for itself as it cannot rely on friends UK and US after Nato and G7 summits.

News analysis of Trump overseas tour - Success!/Major gaffes avoided/World security improved by massive weapon sales/Some agreement with NATO/ Trump learns more about places that exist outside America/Disappointing/Unbelievable!/Russia must be laughing at disarray in Western policies (delete as appropriate).

Dragonfly Nymph and Loss of Mutual Defence

The dragonfly nymph must have thought it had gone to heaven. I'd always thought that they skulked along the bottom or on plants, conducting stealth attacks on anything that moved with their extendable jaws. The dragonfly nymph in my small pond adopted a different strategy. It appeared to float in the the water with its tail pointing upwards, a loose L shape, adjusting its depth at will with minimal movement. It also floated to the surface and extended its gills from the tail and used surface tension to float there. In the absence of prior predators, many of the abundant mosquito larvae were hanging there too. As soon as one came near enough to the nymph it would snatch its jaw out to catch a mosquito wriggler and begin munching away happily, then discard the emptied husk and go on to the next mosquito larva. I'm hoping that the dragonfly larvae will have enough food to mature and hatch this year and that I'm there when they decide to emerge and metamorphose into an adult dragonfly.

President Trump left the G7 Summit without reaffirming the US commitment to action on climate change, much to the chagrin of the other 6. It was quite clear that there was a different in approach - where Europe sees countries working together as a win-win option, The new US policy is more isolationist and sees negotiations in terms of winners and losers. 

Prime Minister Theresa May had put security on the table as a potential bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations. Today Dominic Grieve, the Tory Chair of Commons intelligence committee, and leading security figures warned that Brexit could deprive UK police of access to key European databases unless the issue was addressed. Grieve said full participation was crucial, even if it meant accepting EU rules and judicial oversight for the European Court of Justice (ECJ), something that would be difficult for some in the Tory party. Sir Hugh Orde, former chief constable of the police service of Northern Ireland, told the Observer that UK membership of EU bodies such as Europol and Eurojust not only allowed access to huge amounts of vital data and meant UK police could set up joint inquiries police from other national forces without delay.

Foodbanks and a Trump-fractured G7

I found the St Ives Foodbank in All Saints. I was inbetween the A14 Networking morning and the Huntingdonshire Business Network Lunch and learn, with 2 hours to kill. In the rising heat, the cool interior of All Saints Church and the Victorian stained glass provided an hour of distraction.

As I wandered around the church, the Foodbank and its occasional visitor were always subliminally in the corner of my eye. Eventually curiosity won and I began chatting to the volunteers manning the Foodbank.

After an initial uproar at the increase in foodbanks in the UK, when changes in the economy and the conservative governments more radical social policy kicked in, they disappeared from mainstream consciousness. But the foodbanks continue to exist and perform a vital role in helping people with what is surely a fundamental human right - not to go hungry.

Contrary to the 'sponger' tag, so easily slapped on those who fall through the increasingly wide-meshed social security net, there is great reluctance and a feeling of personal shame, of loss of self-worth before the gnawing pains of hunger drive you to even acknowledge that you can get this help, freely given. You cannot simply walk in, you need to get a referral from frontline professionals, such as doctors, health visitors, social workers and the Citizens Advice. There are over 400 foodbanks across the UK, set up by the Trussell Trust (https://www.trusselltrust.org/). Last year, they provided 1,109,309 three day emergency food supplies to people in crisis.

What I saw in the church was just the final stage in action, with pre-prepared boxes ready for single individuals, couples, small and large families. Another volunteer kindly took me over to see where the food donated by local stores was received and sorted, literally with (ex)military precision this town! In St Ives, the local charities involved in the foodbank also take a broader view. For example, coordinating with housing charities and providing free advice on debt management.

I could only agree with the volunteer, with his anger at us having a society that makes the foodbanks a necessity.

The increased terrorism alert in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing is still a main element of today's UK news. It percolates through to the G7 summit. It is resulting in more armed police and army personnel in public spaces and on overground trains. It is punctuated by the deaths of 28 people in Egypt and the many wounded in another less publiscised terrorist atrocity today.

The G7 summit itself appears to be 6 against 1, with President Trump and the American delegation not agreeing to or even blocking anticipated decisions on climate change, trade and migration with the other 6. Trump was positive towards Prime Minister May about negotiations with an Anglo-US Trade deal. But when Theresa May tried to persuade French President Macron that Brexit negotiations should have parallel streams on arranging the divorce and future trade deals, she met the common EU position that these would be negotiated separately.

And the elephant in the room is Russia, in terms of continuing sanctions, Ukraine and Syria.

Pocket Microscopes, Strange Handshakes and NATO

We heard different views of the future of pocket diagnostics at the May CETC evening. We were teased by the prospect of a ultrasonic scanner in every GP's surgery, without ever seeing a prototype. Having sequenced DNA and used probes, I just about kept up with the deeply technical talk on the use of nanopores. The key was that as a strand of DNA passed through a nanopore in a charged membrane, the electrical potential changed measurably and in a manner that reflected the charged groups attached. But WaterScope definitely called my attention - modelling and making a pocket microscope using 3D printing, that could be used with a Raspberry Pi and a smartphone to monitor bacterial contamination of water. I later found out that water would be passed through a filter wihich was then placed on agar. the pocket microscope would have a low power objective that could visualise microcolony growth over 2h. The Raspberry Pi and smartphone were required to subtract image noise and make the growing colonies more visible.

President Donald Trump touched down in Brussels for a NATO meeting to display unity. Standing close to the new statue made from fragments of the 9/11 World Centre attack, with the principle of "One for All and All for One", Headmaster Trump berated the assembled leaders for not paying enough to NATO's upkeep. He had to placate Prime Minister Theresa May, who had temporarily blocked intelligence sharing with the US after they leaked sensitive information given to them by the UK after the Manchester bombing. Der Spiegel also commented on POTUS calling the Germans "Bad, very bad" in talks with EU Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council president Donald Tusk for being so successful at selling cars to the US. Ah, the art of making friends and influencing people.

There were two small cameos giving an insight into the intellectual depth of Trump politics. 

The first was the handshake with French President Macron. Donald likes his handshakes. This time, Marcron would not let go, though Trump was apparently seen trying to retract several times. 

The second was a viral tweet of a typical bully's action. In a blatant move, President Trump at the back of a gaggle  of NATO politicians reaches out and rudely pushes Milo Đukanović, the Prime Minister of Montenegro aside with a grin, to move forward, straighten his jacket  and assume centre stage. As my South African friends would say, "Unbelievable!". Check it out here: https://twitter.com/i/moments/867766580779913217.

It's OK to grieve in the UK

Drove down to St Neots today to meet up with S whilst our partners were in London. Conversation, a meal out and a great ice-cream as we walked to the river matched the warm sunshine.

Today was the third day of mourning and media reports of the evolving aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing.

As a child in the sixties, I grew up in a period where mass public expressions of grief were not the norm in the UK. Stoic bearing of tragedy, and dignity were. Overt expressions of grief were frowned upon. Churchill's death and state funeral did allow millions to take part, but in what was seen as a solemn formal event.

Looking back over a longer period of time, to the Victorian and earlier periods, public grieving for well known personalities or national treasures was expressed and shared in newspapers. Perhaps the immense, unprecedented loss of life in the two world wars suppressed this trend.

This all changed with the death of Princess Diana, when open expression of grief returned, with a dramatic, different element, separate from the formal funeral preparations. The very public sea of flowers, candles and teddy bears with personal messages began a trend that has continued to the present with each new tragedy. Another significant feature is that it is increasingly acceptable for both men and women to cry publicly as part of the mass grieving process. 

Now there are also the personal stories and expression in social media, with likes and comments being used to demonstrate sympathy with the dead and share with the people they leave behind.

The flip side of this is the power of expectation in how one should behave in these situations, or what is deemed right and what wrong in public sentiment. Lord Nelson's lover Lady Hamilton had to flee Britain as sentiment turned against someone who did not conform with the immortalised nature of a dead hero, where his illicit liaison was an inconvenient truth. Others have commented on the capricious nature of the effusive grief response.  It exists for a short while and the quickly disappears until the next event eliciting a reaction comes along. Woe betide those who come to the attention of the respective 'Grief Police' for a particular event. And yes, there will be a minority of self seeking individuals with crocodile tears. Sometimes you also wonder whether a few media and reporters are perhaps too assiduous in finding ever more obscure links, people stories and speculation to feed the inevitable feeding frenzy of a major national tragedy.

A good example of the latter is the leaking of additional secret images of the suicide backpack after the Manchester bombing by US media today, as well as the leakking fo the bomber's name in the US before the information was released in the UK. This was done without consultation with the UK about the use of material from a UK investigation

Overall, I think the new behaviours in the UK are a good thing. Rather than bottling up grief, they allow people to come to terms with the inevitability of death and the loss of loved ones, whether family or public icons, and to know that they are not alone in their grieving. They make us all more human.

Manchester's Acts of Kindness and Bond Memories

Detail Traherne window Hereford Cathedral

Manchester, 22 dead, 59 injured in terrorist attack by suicide bomber. UK threat level raised to 'Critical'. There has been a flood of news on Manchester. so I will not dwell on it here.

The advice on CBBC to children affected by the tragedy includes talking about worries with friends and trusted adults. It also advised looking for positive things, watching  good movie or listening to music, so you can go to sleep on positive memories.

So I would like to concentrate on the multiple small acts of human kindness that shone through:

• Strangers coming to scene and offering help.
• Nurses returning to hospitals wanting to lend a had.
• Blood donors queuing
• People bringing food and drink for helpers at scene during day
• Residents sharing their homes for those with nowhere to go
• Parents sending on their children to safety whilst staying with a wounded girl till her father arrived
• Taxidriver AJ was one of many offering help and lifts to anyone who needed it
• Red Cross staff & volunteers providing practical and emotional support to people at the Etihad stadium
• Hotels took in Ariana Grande fans who had nowhere to stay last night
• Businesses giving people food and support today
• A couple on the streets offering hugs to anyone who needed it
• 60 ambulance crews working through the night
• One minute silences from Derby to Peterborough, by the Royal family and people on the street
• Sikh temples in the northern city offered shelter and food to those affected by the bombing
• Newspaper starts a Just giving page and has quarter of a million pounds
• Shops offered free phone charging so people could stay in touch

Roger Moore passed away today. One of my favourite memories is watching him in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' in a packed cinema in Krefeld, Germany. In the opening scene, he escapes his pursuers by skiing off a cliff. The moment his parachute opened as a large Union Jack, A roar of laughter rose from the crowd, which then burst out in spontaneous applause!

Good day ends badly with Manchester Arena Explosion

The day had started so positively with the opening of Cambridge North Station featuring at regular intervals on the radio and TV. Jane and I took the car over to Cowley road and parked near Taylor Vinters, then walked down to see the new station as we are hoping to travel from there in the future.

As I write, however, all other news has been swept away by live reports of an explosion  at the Manchester Arena, the largest arena in Europe with a capacity of 21,000. Apparently, a very large bang and shock wave was experienced by some present at around 10:35pm. There are reports of casualties and confirmed fatalities. Rail services have been suspended as the Victoria Station rail lines run nearby.

A picture is gradually emerging that the incident occurred near one of the entrance halls and one witness reported the smell of burning. After the explosion, one eye-witness account said that a few people called out that it was a bomb and panic ensued as people tried to get out of the building as soon as possible. It is not clear whether the fatalities were due to the explosion or due to the panic afterwards.

The concert was by Ariana Grande and the audience had a high proportion of children and young adults present at the concert.

By 12:45am the event was being considered as a potential but not confirmed terror incident, which occurred in the foyer area of the theatre and resulted in casualties that could run into double figures.

13:35am: 19 confirmed dead, around 50 injured. Manchester police just conducted a controlled explosion of a suspected device in Cathedral Gardens. Event now being treated as terrorist incident. Seems incident was timed for during the exit from the arena at an exit close to the station, where crowds often gathered. As transport away from Manchester difficult, hotels are putting up people and taxi drivers offering free rides.

A Spring walk, Trump's Saudi Sermon, and Brexit speculation

A great day to go out for a walk. The sun broke through the clouds and both jumper and coat came off as Jane and I walked to Horningsea for lunch at the garden centre there. The rape fields were losing their gold colour as the seed pods began to form, whilst there was a strange but pleasant scent from the black and white flowers on a densely planted broadleaf field. We were bemused by the slightly different cow parsley umbels along the way, differing slightly in petal shape and colour. Back home, I noticed a large black and white chequered flesh fly being quite territorial and chasing off the more abundant green-bottles. The stage was an unfortunate small chick that had drowned int he recent rains and ended up on our lawn. I videod the behaviour and wrote a short blog article on the observations here http://www.miltoncontact-blog.com/2017/05/dont-push-me-flesh-fly-chases-off.html. The pond water has cleared even more and this could well be due to the wriggling pond larvae, most likely mosquito, scavening the organic debris and algae. Hopefully these will attract more colonising predators - Jane has already seen a dragonfly in the garden.

President Trump gave a measured speech on Good and Evil to assembled middle eastern leaders. They will heartily agree and continue their fights against whosoever they deem to be terrorists in their own countries.

Brexit news was surfacing again. First with two reports on the potential damage to the UK economy, of which one was the food sector.  Nearly half a million overseas and EU workers produce the food and undertake the fruit and vegetable picking that employers cannot find UK workers enthusiastic enough to do. I had not realised that 85% of vets at abattoirs are non UK, because we prefer visiting farms and treating small pets. The memorable quote in the Guardian article was by Ian Wright, Head of the Food and Drink Federation:
“Food is at the heart of national security. If you can’t feed a country you haven’t got a country.”
(https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/brexit-coming-food-crisis-seasonal-migrant-labour-eu).

The other warning came from  the Centre of Economic Business Research (CEBR), which claims that leaving the single market in services could lead to a loss of between 1.4 and 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) – or £25bn to £36bn a year (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-single-market-services-uk-economy-report-36bn-a7747841.html).

Prime Minister Theresa May promises to begin talks on Brexit just eleven days after the results of the election. This might leave EU negotiator Michel Barnier twiddling his thumbs as he waits for her to catch up as he insisted in the Evening Standard several days ago, that Brexit talks will begin hours after General Election result. Mind you, it could be a short initial meeting as our EU negotiator David Davis said today that Britain will walk out of Brexit talks unless Brussels drops its demand to charge €100bn (£86bn) to leave the EU.

French lawyer Julien Fouchet is perhaps a bit too late:Whether he is right or wrong, he is planning to file a legal call for the cancellation of the Brexit negotiations (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brexit-talks-illegal-uk-expats-british-abroad-not-vote-french-lawyer-julien-fouchet-european-a7745216.html). The argument is based on the fact that certain groups of expats were excluded from voting at the referendum, therefore undermining fundamental rights. Judging by the current trends in the UK, this is now more likely to raise hackles in the UK than garner support, unless there is a cataclysmic event that changes public opinion.

Yorkshire puddings v Nuclear Armageddon

Once tha pain is subdued to a dull ache, there is nothing much you can do but relatively simple distraction. In the absence of biscuits, I made some shortbread following an easy Paul Holloway recipe. Jane had stewed some plums and, as the fridge harboured only eggs, we decided to have pancakes for tea. As I was mixing the batter, I thought, 'I can't face another hour making a stack of pancakes',and used the batter to make the mist successful Yorkshire puddings yet. They went together well with the plums.

Its a weapons and restraint sort of day in the news. President Trump arrived to a big welcome in Saudi Arabia, one dynastic family meeting another, and successfully garnered a $55 billion trade deal. This was surpassed by the $110 billion defence deal, arranged with the help of the President's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It included in tanks, fighter jets, combat ships and the THAAD missile defense system. President Obama had been a less enthusiastic supporter, withholding some more advanced military items from Saudi Arabia. Will this help or hinder resolution of the war in Yemen, in which Saudi Arabia is taking an active role.

Whist Saudi Arabia sees itself under threat from increasing regional involvement by Iran, elections in the latter country resulted in a surprise re-election of the modernising President Hassan Rouhani, who said it was a vote against extemism. For the time, the US has maintained the nuclear deal, which President Trump had previously called very bad.

Talking about nuclear, questions about Labour's support for Trident arose again, due to a slip by one of the Shadow Cabinet (not the Shadow Defence Secretary). However expensive maintenance of nuclear defence is for the UK, it is unlikely to give it up in the near future. Whilst touted as a key defence against nuclear attack, the main reason is probably that voiced by The Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Churchill ministry:

"If we did not develop megaton weapons we would sacrifice immediately and in perpetuity our position as a first-class power. We would have to rely on the whim of the United States for the effectiveness of the whole basis of our strategy."

Ever since the UK was the third country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon, It has been one of the five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Even with a 100 atomic bomb war, say between Pakistan and India, the consequences would be sever global cooling and approximately  two billion people dying of starvation. For a nuclear war with the UK as a target, see the likely targets and effective wiping Britain off the face of the earth here http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2013/02/08/nukemap-at-one-year-and-10-million-blasts/. Quite frankly, I find Jeremy Corbyn's moral personal stand against the use of nuclear weapons prefereable.

The current global stocks of atomic weapons stands at 17,000.

Elm trees suffer from invaders, UK benefits from immigrants

ONS most recent map of non-UK born UK Residents as %, selection most of England & Wales

Looking for old Hunt's Post articles at the Norris Museum, I came across a reference from 1970 to the Huntingdon Elm, mentioning its resistance to Dutch Elm disease. The Huntingdon Elm is an old English hybrid cultivar isolated by nurserymen Wood & Ingram in 1746 from seed collected from an Ulmus × hollandica hybrid in Hinchingbrooke Park. It was resistant to the first strain of Dutch Elm disease which had begun to decimate Britain's Elms. The pest was a mild form that petered out in the UK. Unfortunately, a more aggressive strain came in on an import of Rock Elm from America in 1967 - and decimated the Elm population. The Huntingdon Elm was also affected this time. Currently there seem to be three strategies to grow healthy elms:

1. Hedging elms - as infection occurs when the trees grow taller 5m. This has kept many trees healthy over more than 40 years.
2. Inoculation with a mild strain to induce a resistance - used in the Netherlands
3. Finding resistant native cultivars. There is a current UK project looking at propagating saplings from large elms that survived the last Dutch Elm disease attack - see http://www.conservationfoundation.co.uk/elm

Today saw a brief news spike in the BBC, looking at how attitudes to immigration might have changed since the Referendum. From a morning report on Radio 4 and a TV news report in the afternoon, the indication seemed to be that it was still seen as a big issue. The conservative manifesto restates the desire to reduce net immigration to 100,000 per annum.

An alternative view is presented by Global Future, an independent UK think tank, in their report 'The Case for Immigration'  http://ourglobalfuture.com/2017/05/the-case-for-immigration/. It argues that that the UK is effectively in a state of full employment (recognised as unemployment figures below 5% of working population). It states that simply to meet the requirements of retirement and pension costs, a net migration figure of 225,000 would be required every year for 50 years to increase the working population from 32 to 38 million, according to the Office of Budget Responsibility . Global Future points to the stagnatory effect of the very low immigration levels on the Japanese economy as a possible undesireable similar outcome for the UK.

I was trying to find a good visualisation of the degree of immigration across the UK, and fortunately, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides a lot of data on non-UK born UK residents - and a map at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/ukpopulationbycountryofbirthandnationality/august2016,
The overall average is about 13% of the population, with only some areas reaching just over 50%. The map distribution also reflects the observation made last year during the Referendum; those most likely to vote for Brexit were those experiencing the lowest levels of immigration (http://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-areas-with-low-immigration-voted-mainly-for-brexit-62138).

Even Tories have apparently been trying to get the Prime Minister to move away from an unrealistic or even unachievable net immigration target of 100,000. However, this being a general election, there seems to be no incentive to do so.

Skippy Gone and Emperor Stuffed with Gold

Tragedy! The torrential rain has driven Skippy, the pond skater away. Was the water too bouncy? Was he/she flushed over the side of the pond? Did he/she just fly away? Hopefully other colonisers will come with time.

Spent the afternoon editing and putting together another edition from the Hunts Post for the Norris from last Friday's photos. Finally got the 700MB PDF's uploaded into the cloud. Digression in searching whether one legged ducks do swim in circles and finding, no, they can adapt and swim quite competently (see http://www.miltoncontact-blog.com/2017/05/one-legged-ducks-dont-swim-in-circles.html).

Main UK news is on the Tory manifesto, or should we say, Theresa May's manifesto. She obviously feels confident enough to claw back money from the grey affluent voters, suggesting means testing the winter heating allowance and ensuring that assets greater than one hundred thousand pounds are used for social care in care homes and care in the own home. The manifesto also suggests an innovative solution to growing childhood obesity by proposing they would cut free school lunches and replace them with free (and calorifically smaller) breakfasts.

Brexit ran as a main feature in the Leader's debate on ITV this evening, which Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn boycotted. However, this is hearsay for me as I didn't watch it and the online feedback is still pretty sparse. There is however 'reassuring' news from the EU chief negotiator on the likelihood of success in negotations: Brexit talks could collapse over UK divorce bill because of the potential refusal of member states to soften their demands over the size of Britain’s “divorce bill”.

President Trump has had a bad day. "This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!" was his tweeted response to the installation of special counsel Mueller, and "No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly," in his commencement address at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Perhaps the best response to this comes from a tweet by historian Dan Snow:

"Dan Snow‏

Verified account @thehistoryguy  May 17

Dan Snow Retweeted BBC Breaking News

Well, the Emperor Valerian was captured in battle, enslaved, used as a foot-stool, forced to drink molten gold and then skinned and stuffed."

Books, Photoediting and US Immigration Control

Read through a lovely series of children's stories after Jane had set the book and added illustrations from an engraved print. PDF'd the proof and mailed off to the author for editing. This was followed by a stimulating afternoon of conversation with author Brenda-Gillian who had authored two children's books with her grandchildren and is full of ideas for more.

Brilliant talk in the evening at the Milton Photographic Club by invited speaker Ian Wilson of Cambridge Camera Club. Ian gave us a practical on editing RAW images where, within the first five minutes I'd picked up two very useful tips. The real eye-opener was the ability to correct for chromatic aberration, which is highly relevant to microscopy too. I will have to practice the info learnt on one or two images in the near future.

Media are working themselves up into an even higher fever pitch over President Trump. According to CNN,

"The Justice Department on Wednesday appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including potential collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign associates and Russian officials."

The current debacle has led to the largest one day Wall Street fall for more than 7 months. Reuters attributes this to the investor's hopes that tax cuts and  the implementation of pro-business policies fade with the current furore in the White House. Fortunately, the President will be able to escape Washington for a foreign trip to the near east soon. President Trump has complained that no other President has been treated so badly (apart from Lincoln, Nixon, Clinton, amongst others).

All this news has buried what is going on with the key attitudes and actions against illegal immigration in the US. Apparently immigration arrests have risen by 38%. There are over half a million cases in the immigration court system and the system is in danger of being overloaded. Meanwhile, whilst funding has not been granted, planning for the wall with Mexico goes ahead. Of the 1900 mile border, 650 miles already have fencing, so just two thirds still to go to try to stem the tide of 400,000 illegal immigrants per year.

Trump tales and other evolving stories

UK Pound coin with micro-writing and £ sign in certain light

Migraine in morning took till lunch time to kill. However, awoke feeling much better than yesterday.

It is interesting how stories mature over the days after they break. For example, the Wanncry ransomware turns out to have been originally developed by the US NSA to help the latter spy on its targets by exploiting a weakness in older Microscoft software (e.g. Windows XP). It was stolen and then released back in April, reaching it's peak in the massive attack over the weekend (https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/13/wannacrypt_ransomware_worm/). It did include a kill switch, which one individual found and activated. Monday did not bring on the dreaded second wave of attacks as had been feared.

With President Trump, we have a veritable feast of stories. First the firing of FBI chief Comey, Then the not so subtle threat of secretly recorded conversations that might be used against Comey. And just breaking, news that Comey  wrote memos out of concerns of impropriety, about President Trump asking him to shut down the investigation into disgraced Flynn's connection with Russia (to 'let it go'). In an overlay of separate revelations came the possible disclosure of confidential information by the President to Russian visitors. Today we learn from the New York times that the information on ISIS came from Israel and that it was not for sharing and at the highest level of security. Fortunately, as President Trump himself tweets, he has the absolute right to declassify secret information, so that should settle the matter. Shame the news overshadows the visit of another developing despot, Erdogan, to the US.

The latest YouGov poll reveals that of the 48% who voted to remain during the referendum, 23 % of them now think that Britain should follow the will of the people and thus become re-leavers, leaving only 22% of hard remainers. Inflation is currently rising at 2.7%, outstripping salary rises, but the Bank of England says that this is likely to slow down again as the inflation hike is mainly due to the drop in the value of the pound on the referendum. This created the consequent rise in costs on food and fuel imports.

The release of the Labour manifesto for the current election now gives a clear, bold difference between the two main parties, with the call for renationalisation of key industries, the removal of student fees, increased taxation for high earners and businesses with larger profits. Will it eat into the Tory lead? Is this actually planning for the election after this one?

Stereo-images and Trump telling tales

stereo-image for 'cross-eyed' viewing

Monday 15th May. Went back to 2010 to look at some stereo images that I had generated at the time, like the one above. The thought had been triggered by Friday's visit to the Chiropractic clinic in Bramptom and a throwaway comment by one of the owners in the X-ray room on ultimately wanting images to be visible in 3D. Stereo-images using e-rays had already appeared in just a couple of years after Roentgens first picture in 1895. In fact they reached a peak in the 1930's. High dosage radiation risks cut the use of the treatment. However, with modern equipment, radiation dosages are much lower, with one x-ray being equivalent to the natural exposure to radiation over a couple of days. In fact taking 2 x-rays to get a stereograph is much lower radiation exposure than a CT scan.

I went for my first consultation at the clinic (see http://www.miltoncontact-blog.com/2017/05/skeleton-investigated-in-brampton.html). I took some of my stereographs along, both for cross viewing and also for viewing with a tablet and goggles.

Back home, Louise visiting to talk weddings. I was still feeling washed out after yesterday's migraine, so Jane took her home.

The breaking news in the evening was the revelation by 'The Washington Post'. President Donald Trum had bragged to his Russian visitors last week about information on ISIS. Unfortunately, this was provided by another security agency from another country. OOPS.

Personal, IT and political headaches in brief

A bright sunny day buggered by a persistent headache, not bad enough to incapacitate, but enough to preclude anything exciting. Distractions included cooking lunch, mindless image editing, reading light fantasy fiction.

Macron inaugurated as the new shiny Emperor of France; Merkel rejoices as NRW, Germany, changes from red to blue; Ransomware attack provides distraction from election (it's not affecting most of the NHS so we are OK but it will get worse globally tomorrow). Trump-Comey rumbliings rumbling on.

Eurovision unaffected by Ransomware

A slow day ending with the event of the year, the Eurovision Song Contest. Much derided, it actually had a good selection of quality music this year, with my favourite being Armenia, Jane liking the yodelling Romania. Tried making chocolate coated  popcorn; it was a partial success. The song contest winner was Portugal, for the first time ever in over 50 years, and it was a sweet ballad.

The extent of the Ransomware attack that started yesterday had been further defined. 75,000 computers in 99 countries were affected. Companies suffering from the attack included 48 National Health Trusts, the Federal Rail company in Germany, Telefonica in Spain, Schools in China, and hospitals in Indonesia and South Korea, according to the BBC. The Ransomware was a worm that infected and spread through a computer then encrypted files on it, making them inaccessible unless the Ransom, a couple of hundred dollars, was paid. The Program would also jump from one machine to another. It was PCs running older Windows Versions such as XP, that were vulnerable, as well as newer ones which had not updated their security patches. Whilst the virus probably started around Easter and was now being tackled, fresh mutations were now arising. It has made me rethink my security strategy.

From a Brexit perspective, the disturbing news is that private money by a major backer, multimillionaire Jeremy Hosking will be poured into trying to unseat 140 seats which are not pro-Brexit - according to pre-released headlines for tomorrow's Observer. Theresa May visited Northern Ireland as part of the conservative campaign trail where politicians and people both sides of the border re-iterate the importance of not having a hard border re-instated. May herself said, "We have got to make sure we do resolve the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I’m very clear that we want to see no return to the borders of the past, no hard border, but I’m clear that we need to see as seamless and friction-less a border as possible."

Photographic day and Ransomware Night

Friday 12th May. Was able to take the car today and experience the delays and traffic on the A14, only arriving 20 minutes late at the A14 Coffee Morning. Caught up with breakfast there before going on to the Norris Museum in exile in the Town Hall. The task for today was to photograph an issue of the Hunts Post from five different decades. Fortunately, fellow volunteer Rodney was there to help. We decided that he should have the title of Chief Newspaper Caresser. Joking aside, this was actually a crucial role. As the pages of the bound newspapers were turned, they could be caressed flat for a second or two to photograph, before springing up again.

We finished out task in time for me to set of for the HBN 'Out and About' to the new Wellness Chiropracters in Brampton. It is situated in a beautiful newbuild, with lots of light. After the talk and during the tour, I found myself speculating which walls would be best lit for photography. Volunteers for a portrait practice were found and the picture I particularly liked after editing back at home was that of Richard and his wife as shown above.

The day was not yet finished - Jane and I went along to the Cambridge Open Studios event for new members in the Library of Girton College. A lovely location with a large space for canapes, drinks, and conversation after some of the admin. I was asked to repeat the mime of 'Waiting for Visitors to Your Studio'.

Both Brexit and the continuing  confusion re the FBI sacking by Trump were pushed into the background by an international Ransomware attack which affected a number of NHS Hospitals and major companies in the UK as well as other countries around the world.

Unwanted Irish Border, Trump's Naughty Russian Photographer

A constructive meeting. A loaf baked. Numerous letters written. Some images stacked. An evening with friends.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier given honour of addressing Joint  Irish Parliament and warns of border consequences of Brexit and aim to avoid issues that threaten peace. (PM Theresa May declined historic invitation to talk to Dial back in January). Irish Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney notes that weaker pound pushing up prices and that if Brexit not smooth but hard, inflation will rise above wage rises.

Across the Pond, the waves of President Trump's firing of FBI James Comey continue to rage through the White House, Congress and the Senate as contradictory versions emerge. BBC Correspondents theory - Comey was getting more publicity than Trump. White House has embargo on photographs with Russian delegation visiting President Trump at time of firing. Russians have photographer take pictures that are spread through social media. To paraphrase Trump. Not Good! Bad!

Pond Skater and Trump send ripples through media

With the sun shining strongly today into the 'office', the door to the garden was open and I would break occasionally to wander over to the new mini-pond. A flash of movement on the surface and I saw our first coloniser, a pond skater.

Their apparently miraculous ability to skate on the water is due to a combination of two factors. The first is the incredible strength of water's surface tension at the water air interface. The second factor is the way the body weight is distributed via the long legs on the water surface, aided by fine hairs along the limbs. More important than this combination of straight physics, is the body covering in very fine hair, around a million hairs per square millimetre. These make the pond-skater's body water repellent, so if a raindrop falls directly on it or even pushes it into the water, it can emerge totally dry.

Other fascinating features of pond skaters are: The longer middle legs are used for propulsion, the hind legs for steering and the shorter front legs can spear and puncture prey via claws along the leg. To move forward, the middle legs push down and back on the water surface, creating a circular wave behind - the pond skater then pushes against the crest of this wave and shoots forward at up to a meter per second. Pond skaters communicate with each other through vibrations on the water surface. 25 Hz signals 'Go Away!', 10 Hz signals a threat and a sexy slow 3 Hz is used in courtship.

President Trump defended his decision to 'Terminate' FBI Director James Comey, stating that he was not doing a good job. Republicans think its OK, Democrats have deep concerns, the visiting Russian foreign Minister expresses surprise, and the press in the US, the UK and Germany have this as their main news item and speculation today.

We have not really had any major brexit news, but there has been a steady drip drip of banking companies letting it be known that they are setting up offices in Europe and getting ready to relocate staff out of the UK. Other news has been excitement about the domesticity of the Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband in an appearance on the BBC 'ONE Show', followed by an impending feeding frenzy after Labour's draft manifesto for the upcoming election was leaked, with lots of nationalisation mentioned.

A Presidential Address and A Presidential Termination

Spent this morning at Heidi Lichterman's, textile artist, where Jane got to choose a beautiful, soft silk scarf and I got to change a light-bulb. There was cake, chickens were admired and a book planned.

I took an afternoon train to London for Carel Sartory's presidential address to the Quekett Microscopical Club as he had handed on the post. He dedicated his talk to his father Peter Sartory, who was a respected past president and member of the QMC for 50 years. Peter Sartory combined his interest in scientific instruments, microscopy and astronomy, ran a successful instrument company, bought a racing yacht and used it to trawl plankton nets.

Surprise news of the day, President Trump 'Terminated' FBI Director James Comey on advice of his Attorney General, though I presume that he is still walking around somewhere. The White  House rationale given was that the former FBI director had misled the White House about the extent of email issues in the Clinton Campaign, though it is not clear whether it was giving misleading facts in his testimony, or because the FBI went public close to the election, or because Clinton was not prosecuted. The other cynical view is that this is very convenient as the Trump campaign-Russia investigation is still ongoing. Placing a pro-Trump replacement into the FBI directorship role would immediately raise concerns of partisanship. The situation is still evolving.

Innocent stories contrasted with fake news and big data's misuse

The starlings have definitely got into the loft to nest - their clattering chirping and rustling woke me at 6:30 am and kept me awake for a couple of hours before I got off to sleep to tumble out of bed at 10:30 unrested. The pleasureable side of the day came when I wrote about and promoted the most recent Milton Contact Ltd book 'Alfie Bear goes to work' by self-styled 'Crazy Grandma' Brenda-Gillian in collaboration with her grandson, the eponymous Alfie Bear. Check out my Miltoncontact blog article here: http://www.miltoncontact-blog.com/2017/05/alfie-bear-goes-to-work.html.

Came across an interesting article dealing with both Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump to President, online in yesterday's Guardian. Eye-catchingly titled 'The Great British Brexit Robbery: How our democracy was hijacked' by Carole Cadwalladr,  it implicates influential and affluent owners of companies specialising in big data in the deliberate gathering of selective data on potential voters and then targeting them prior to the elections in both the US and the referendum in the UK. This was done with messages and 'news', on the basis that a swing of a mere 1% in favour of their alt-right views could tip the balance in their favour. You can read the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy.

A similar message was presented in today's 'Panorama' on BBC1, with Facebook being involved on both sides of the US presidential campaign. Again, it was the use of big data collected from Facebook users that was apparently used to generate targeted campaign messages.

This on the same day that Facebook published their guide to identifying fake news posts. Oh, the irony.

One has to applaud the French government which blocked media from using the leaked and allegedly spiked Macron emails dumped on the web just before the actual vote in the presidential election.

Lichens and liking Macron

Lichen at about 20x magnification

Picked up some fallen sticks on a walk today to try some lichen photography under the stereomicroscope. Preliminary results were promising but needs another attempt.

A shining light on the horizon - or rather across the Channel, as Emmanuel Macron decisively wins the presidential election in France. Whilst the darkness that is the far-right might fester and re-vitalise itself in the future, this is at least the second vote of more rational common sense and unity, rather than divisiveness in European elections.

Being Schlap as Money Talks to PM

'Kalorienbombe' 

Two words defined today. The first one is a German word that absolutely described how Jane and I felt, Schlapp! Translated as shattered, listless, exhausted, knackered, worn-out, weasly it is almost onomatopoeic for really summarising how you feel. Please share the word, to be used in response to the question "how are you feeling today" - "Schlapp!"

The second word is one that I originally knew in German but does exist in direct translation in English, it is - calorie bomb. Though I still prefer the original in German - Kalorienbombe (pronounced KA-LOR-REE-EN-BOM-BA), as it just gives more weight to an immensely rich food item. Today, we witnessed such a 'Kalorienbombe' in the Cafe at the larger Scotsdales, a full 6 inch/15cm high Blackforest Gateau, though to be fair, this was more a white forest gateau of inch-thick cream deposits with thin strata of chocolate sponge. It was so big, we shared the slice and still had problems finishing it.

Coming home with the strimmer we had gone out to buy was almost an anti-climax.

Since today's news was still dominated by the Tory surge and possible Labour decline, interspersed by the major email hack of the Macron election campaign, I had to dig a bit for Brexit news. The Guardian reported on a number of Tory donors who were attempting to encourage Prime Minister Theresa May to soften her strict Brexit strategy. Peter Hargreaves, who donated £3.2m to the Leave.EU campaign, said that the three million EU nationals already in the UK should be reassured that their current rights would be maintained. Tory peer and Next boss Simon Wolfson, donor of £50,000 to Vote Leave, warned against sending the signal that Britain would “pull up the drawbridge” after Brexit. Hedge fund manager and donor Paul Marshall, asked that foreign students be removed from official immigration figures. May refused to back the idea.

The EU hardened it's stance today with  the notice that "We will not discuss our future relationship with the UK until the 27 member states are reassured that all citizens will be treated properly and humanely" (note that this includes the status of UK citizens in other EU countries).

Killer Bunnies and the UK's Blue Rinse Local Elections

There are days when you have a migraine without pain, but just feel a bit out of the world and weary. Luckily, I was still able to enjoy an unusual and stimulating conversation with customer and staff in Milton's Bangladeshi take-away, Milton Spice.

We began with the introduction of chickens to the UK (they originated in Thailand from a species of pheasant). I mistakenly thought was through the Romans, some have suggested was actually by the Phonecians, when they traded for tin on our shores, but most likely, they were brought in by iron age tribes as they came to Britain.

The conversation migrated onto dangerous foods. Trying to live on rabbit is apparently fatal, as they are just sheer protein with very few other nutrients. An excess of spinach was also not to be recommended. We moved on to the North-West Passage and Sir John Franklin's 1845 doomed exhibition, where the crew were likely driven to madness and cannibalism by acute lead poisoning from the recently invented tin cans they were using.

Ships. Ships now triggered the controversial comment that the Cutty Sark probably legally carried opium/heroin from India to China as cargo before returning with her more conventional cargo as the fastest tea-clipper to Britain. My order arrived just as we were in the middle of discussions on the British-China Opium Wars where Britain vigorously defended our right to sell addictive drugs to another nation.

The news was dominated by the inexorable spread of Tory blue across the UK in council elections. This extended even on the the Scottish heartlands. They gained 563 seats across the country. Labour was experiencing a dramatic decline, losing 382 seats and the only shining light was the total inability of UKIP to retain or gain any seats, being reduced by 145 seats to only one. Yes, ONE! Fortunately, Our local LibDem councillor Anna Bradnam was re-elected to South Cambs, though overall, the LibDems lost about 10% of their seats (down 42 to 441).

We also had our Mayoral election results. Sadly neither of our HBN hustings attendees won. The Conservative James Palmer is now our Mayor.

The overall political analysis is that the national politics of Brexit had an effect on these local elections. Will these results now feedback into reinforcing opinions about the different parties in the run-up to the major parliamentary elections?

Across the Pond, President Trump signed  an executive order to 'vigorously promote religious liberty' which many thought would enable the politicisation of religious groups in the US, permitting them to lobby politically on issues. The American Civil Liberties Union was going to submit a lawsuit, but when details of the executive order emerged, the group rescinded its threat, saying:

"It turned out the order signing was an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome. Trump's assertion that he wished to 'totally destroy' the Johnson amendment with this order has proven to be a textbook case of 'fake news.'"

But what we have seen, even with orders that have been blocked, such as immigration, the wall, and tackling illegal immigrants, is that the attitude of authorities to people coming into the country and the vigour with which illegal immigrants are now being deported has hardened. So attitudes re religion and politics may similarly change as the interpretation of existing law changes.

Alien road circles and Tusk pours oil on troubled waters

Walking to the post-office, I noticed these strange circular marks on our newly paved road, concentrated at our dead end, that had not been there a couple of days ago. The neighbour cleaning his car looked up and said "They're caused by cars turning!"

This called for an experiment. I drove my car onto the road, stopped and turned the steering wheel left and right, then reversed the car a bit more to look at the road. There was indeed a very faint circular mark left by the rotation of the tyre, but not as pronounced as the others. I replicated the experiment, with the same result. Checking with the separation of now obviously paired strongly visible circles in the road, they were further apart than my car's tyres.

My curiosity was satisfied  - yes, these are the marks of vehicles turning at the end of our close. These vehicles were larger and heavier than a domestic car, such as furniture and other large delivery lorries  - or the road sweeper that appeared yesterday.

The results also do not bode well for the lifetime of our new road surface.

After the aggressive rhetoric from Westminster on 'EU interference in UK elections', a more emollient set of statements came back from the EU. The European council president, Donald Tusk, has called on Theresa May to show “moderation and respect” in the increasingly heated Brexit negotiations. He also said:

“These negotiations are difficult enough as they are. If we start arguing before they even begin, they will become impossible. The stakes are too high to let our emotions get out of hand because at stake are the daily lives and interests of millions of people on both sides of the Channel. We must keep in mind that, in order to succeed, we need today discretion, moderation, mutual respect and a maximum of goodwill.”

Which was taken as a rebuke to Jean Claude Juncker by the UK press.

President Trump finally has a something he can cheer about, as the Republicans narrowly win the vote for the American Health Care Act, to repeal 'Obamacare'. The story is not over yet, as apparently, the act has to pass through the Senate, where the Republican majority is less secure. The costings of the new care act, after the amendments that have been made to get it to pass, still need to be established by the Congressional Budget Office.

Irritation at dental costs, May gets on EU (and UK) nerves

Two foggy situations - Dental treatment and anti  EU electioneering rhetoric

The first was initiated by today's trip to town to visit the dental hygienist, recommended by my dentist. Apparently, this has to be paid for privately because treatment by the hygienist is not on the NHS. I did overcome my British hesitancy to argue against this at the reception but eventually caved in, because it either meant paying for a missed appointment or perhaps missing a treatment that was actually essential. I was told that yes the dentist could do a basic scaling and polish (which might go into Band 2 and therefore cost about the same) but that the hygienist would provide a more thorough service with more time devoted to me. 

Well, the teeth are cleaner, my wallet lighter and I still feel rankled. 

The NHS UK website states:

The NHS will provide any clinically necessary treatment needed to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy and free of pain. Decisions about which treatment is appropriate will be based on a clinical assessment and clinical judgement. 

It also states that:

Band 1 course of treatment – £20.60:

This covers an examination, diagnosis (including X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, a scale and polish if clinically needed, and preventative care such as the application of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant if appropriate.

and

If your dentist says scaling is clinically required, this is available on the NHS. This can be provided by a hygienist, dental therapist or trained nurse. A simple scaling is included in a Band 1 course of treatment, but more complex treatment for gum problems may be charged within a Band 2 course of treatment.

So, what did I have? 

• An essential clinical treatment provided by a professional Hygienist (presumably eligible for NHS treatment as above at Band 1 or even 2).
• A treatment in excess of the essential clinical treatment provided by a dentist, so beyond NHS treatment.
• A recommended but not essential treatment.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Fog number 2 is the Prime Minister Theresa May's rhetoric today in response to the furore following the FAZ article in Germany with its claims of her delusion. After returning to No. 10  from visiting the Queen to tell her of the dissolution of Parliament, she attacked the EU, blaming certain elements of interfering in the UK election:

“In the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be, Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press."

“The European commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials. All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election which will take place on 8 June.”

“We continue to believe that no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal. But we want a deal. We want a deep and special partnership with the European Union, and we want the EU to succeed."

“But the events of the last few days have shown that whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of the Europe’s other leaders, there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed, who do not want Britain to prosper.”

There is also speculation that the proposed EU Brexit bill to the EU will be Euro 100bn

With the heightened rhetoric, the UK is being pushed into it's default EU-bashing mode to aid local national electioneering. Many of the UK papers are rushing to join in.