Minor Positive Trump News, Brexit Woes for May. Family Christmas and Returning Themes.

Old Trees in Krefeld

Visiting family over Christmas, I kept my eye on the news over the past week but everyone seemed to be quieting down for the Holiday season.

Two positive items that struck me re across the Pond. Both Melania and Donald Trump took a few calls on behalf of NORAD, answering children's calls on the whereabouts of Santa - a small but significant act of kindness. The second was the news that Melania Trump was apparently going to have the Jackson Magnolia, gracing the white House front, removed. A shock headline that actually obscured a hidden more positive truth. The tree, planted more than 200 years ago, by President Andrew Jackson, had become diseased and weakened and is supported by a pole and wires. It is the tree that the press often stand beneath and there was a significant risk of dead branches falling and hitting people.  

Melania reviewed reports from the US National Arboretum and consulted with White House staff. The trees health was not a new problem and White House groundskeepers have prepared healthy offshoots of the tree “an undisclosed greenhouse-like location”. The magnolia will initially be cut back and the aim is to have it replaced by one of its offspring, to shade to the US's presidential families for future centuries.

Since the UK did not feature to a major degree on the Continent, I only caught scraps of minor events. The most hilarious, were it not for the seriousness of Brexit, was Lord Heseltine's pronouncement that electing Labour and Jeremy Corbyn to Government was a less evil than the current path to Brexit. In his opinion, at least the errors created by Labour governments could be undone, whilst Brexit would have consequences for the longer term. 

The New Year's Honours List also provided light relief with Nigel Farage decrying the fact that Brexit had ruined his opportunity of a knighthood, whilst to his  ire, former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, arch remainer, got one.

Prime Minister Theresa May's New Years Speech was somewhat overshadowed by Labour Lord Adonis's resignation as Chair from the Infrastructure Commission because of the 'Nationalist spasm of Brexit', of feeling hamstrung by the government. He also came out attacking the handling of the railway contracts by Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, to the detriment of the UK taxpayer.

Then Brexit Secretary David Davis made some private  comments that immediately went public, that he thought it was possible that the UK might not leave the EU!

All this happened in the background as far as we were concerned. Christmas was a time with family and friends. Feasting started on the day before Christmas even and continued for three days. I thoroughly sympathised with the caller to a German radio station on Boxing day who, when asked what he was doing that day, replied 'Digesting!' (German: 'Verdauen!').

Alas, all too quickly, it was time to come home to the UK, which, in contrast to where we had been in Meerbusch, was still in travel chaos due to snow and freezing weather. Travelling by train had been the sensible choice, with our nearest airport, Stansted, closed for a time and having passengers sleeping overnight at the airport.

The old year ends and the new year begins with family and some familiar themes. A cold. Continuation of the Brexit and Trump excitement. Countries experimenting with universal income - the Finns started at the beginning of this year and the Scots have just started their own trial at certain locations.