EU Legal Draft and John Major Cast Cat Amongst Brexit Pigeons. Robins in the Snow

Busy Brexit Day with the EU releasing the draft of their draft of a withdrawal agreement. This still needs to get past the remaining 27 EU member countries but does spell out in more legal terms what EU negotiators through had been agreed with UK in December. Where there was absence of definition from the UK, they helpfully put in some suggestions. The major one being about the establishment of a common regulatory area between the EU, the UK and Northern Ireland. This went down like a bomb at Westminster with the Prime minister refuting the option. It also contains an item on restricted rights of movement for UK citizens living abroad. The punishment clause - just in case the UK misbehaves during the transition, is back. The BBC's reality check is a good reference for the document - see here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43228161. Presumably these are all negotiating positions ready for the Prime Minister meeting with the European Council President Donald Tusk tomorrow and before her keynote speech planned on Friday.

In the meantime, Former Prime Minister gave a scathing speech on the current situation and handling of the Brexit negotiation with frequent references to a radical minority gunning for Brexit by all means. He spoke so eloquently at the Creative Industries Federation, Somerset House, that Jacob Rees-Mogg had to immediately rebut with a character assassination in a BBC interview afterwards. I'd never seen John Major so animated and obviously angry at the idiocy of current Brexit negotiations - full copy of his speech here, as media only showing clips. http://www.johnmajor.co.uk/page4412.html.

Minor ructions across the pond as the usual White House turmoil continues. Trump offends his Attorney General Jeff Sessions re a new investigation, who counters "As long as I am the attorney general, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution." White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, (who I had not heard of before but apparently was a key Trump ally) resigns.

Again we have been spared the snow which is causing havoc, especially up North in Scotland. The bit we had led to more activity on our bird feeder and I tried to get some decent pictures with the one of two Robins on the feeder at the same time being one of the best. Also did some more microscope work on a particular on-going project for our Cambridge Open Studios in July.

Corbyn's Custom Union and the Tory Dilemma of an Irish Border. Singular Lack of Snow in Milton

Monday, the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, gave a very lucid explanation of why the UK should be in a customs union with the EU. He gave a very practical example of the way a BMW mini was built, with components traversing the channel to and from the EU as the car was gradually assembled. Sadly, this was followed by the more unrealistic expectation that his negotiations for a new customs union after Brexit would result in still having a say in trade negotiations conducted by the EU.

The current reality is still that at the moment, whilst in the EU, the UK actually has the best customs union and a say in EU trade negotiations.

Best description of the hazards of brexit was by Sir Martin Donnelly, former Permanent Secretary, who said that a future outside the EU’s single market was like swapping a three-course meal for a packet of crisps!

There was a flurry of activity from the government as first the Trade Secretary Liam Fox was excluding the possibility of a customs union; Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hinted that a hard border between Northern Ireland and Eire could be managed technologically as between two London boroughs (much to the incredulity of the interviewer); Followed by 10 Downing Street stating that there would be no hard border in Ireland.

A concerned Michel Barnier,  The EU’s chief negotiator, summoned the UK’s Brexit secretary, David Davis, to Brussels for crisis talks over his concern over the major differences that remain over the transition period. The EU will be finalising its document on the agreement reached on the transition period with the UK in the coming days.

Britain continues to be enthralled with the morbid fascination for the late winter that is 'The Beast from the East'. Chatting to someone via Skype based in Kent, they had at least five inches of snow today. Further East from us, in Norfolk, there too heavy snow had fallen in places. Here in Milton - a tentative snow flurry which disappeared into a returning blue sky. We did have some more spectacular snow flurries yesterday but the road and paths were soon clear again with just a hint of white remaining on the lawn.

The temperature today did stay around zero and threatens to plummet tonight. However, the bright sun meant that we had a good attendance at the Community Cafe today.

Labour to Favour Customs Union with the EU. Last Sun Before UK in the Freezer.

Labour is gradually shifting course re Brexit. Not quite yet supporting staying within the existing EU agreement, Shadow Brexit Secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, announced on that being in a customs union was "the only way realistically to get tariff free access", "really important for our manufacturing base" - and the only way to avoid the return of a "hard border" in Northern Ireland. He is still talking about being in a new customs union AFTER Brexit, the half-way house that would give us all the benefits of the EU - apart from an ability to join in the decision making as we do now, and without the ability to do our own trade deals.

However, it is still a welcome change from the pipe-dream of the hardline Brexiteers of cutting all ties with the EU and somehow still having our cake and eating it.

Apparently this is the last sunny day before we are struck by the Siberian, ice cold winds, snow and possibly even Blizzards. Some commentators have warned that it will be colder than the Arctic in the UK without mentioning that this is because the Arctic is currently exceptionally warm with temperatures just below freezing. However the forecast for the North Pole is a return to -20 degC temperatures in the coming days.

The wind did feel icy on a short walk as far as the Fen Road Railway crossing, so we scurried back home and made an upside down sponge pudding with hot custard for tea. This evening, I began a looking at plant fibres in a common household item and too photo stacks and panorama pictures of one sample.

Youngsters put NRA on Back Foot. Cabinet Agrees Brexit Strategy. MacroPhotography, GDPR and Managing Archives. Mune.

Liverpool Street Station Arrival

Impact of Florida shooting continues, with young generation grabbing the initiative and generating interest in change in gun laws, the NRA reacting vocally and President Trump promotng arming teachers in school. Apparently they would have been able to kill the shooter who had a semi-automatic rifle, with a concealed handgun. The likelihood of success perhaps placed in doubt by the the fact that trained armed deputies arrived on scene but did not go into building. The other risk being that a child brings in a toy gun, or just really really annoys the teacher on a later Friday afternoon and provokes a shooting by the teacher.

Theresa May dragged her Cabinet to a work-day out to hammer a consensus on the approach to Brexit, which will not be revealed until a speech by the Prime Minister next Friday. The policy is likely to include a 'three baskets' approach to regulations

1. Regulations to keep unchanged to the EU
2. Regulations to modify
3. Regulations not to follow

The EU Commission has since reiterated that the three basket approach is cherry picking, and that the EU would not permit it.

AS well as work, had four different activities over the past three days.

Thursday evening was the CETC event on Risk and Risk perception, with four industry and academic speakers covering anything from the spread and impact of a pandemic to safety in Aviation. 

Friday morning, I gave the talk/demonstration on macro-photography to the U3A, which was well received and may result in future speaking engagements. 

Friday afternoon, attended the HBN presentation on the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) which all companies will have to register for and comply with  from May onwards. For small companies it appeared to be a matter of common sense:

• Identifying personal data held by the company/business. This includes names and contact details, held on company PC's, paper files, and contacts in Smartphones or other devices.
• Creating and keeping a record of a GDPR strategy to ensure that the data is held securely.
• Having a named individual in a smaller company as a contact for GDPR related issues, or a designated Data Protection Officer for larger companies.

The big change is that ALL personal data is covered, including simply names and addresses of business contacts, which had previously been excluded from the current DPA.

Today, traveled to London from by train to Liverpool Street Station and then on to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. The Circle Line was out of action for that stretch and the route taken was first to Holborn via the Central Line and then taking the Piccadilly line. The Morning was taken up with a Quekett Committee meeting. Lunch in discussions about actions arising from the meeting. The afternoon was a presentation on the digitisation and recording of the clubs extensive collection of historically and scientifically important slides.

Returned tired after a 12h day.

Watched the french fantasy animation film Mune again and found it to be still as good as the first time. Very original story and visualisation of a different fantasy world where The sun is stolen, the moon lost and three unlikely heroes have to recover them.

Listening Trump and Arming Teachers. Scotch Producers See Brexit Clearly. Boxing for a Move.

A Listening Trump at a listening session at the White House today. The President  and Vice Presideent took time to listen to the survivors of school shootings, recent and from the past. Parents and fellow students who spoke with anger, or deep grief, or with a determination to not sleep until some action is taken.

As an outsider looking in, the free reign of the gun culture seems as incomprehensible to me as to the 18 year old Florida student who had lost his friend. But is there this time a glimmer of hope? Will President Trump actually be able to set actions in motion that defeated his predecessor, Barak Obama?

The proposed solutions, of more stringent mental checks and arming and training teachers to use guns in schools so that they can kill shooters who attack, seems a perverse logic. Especially when you look at the dramatic positive effect of Australian assault weapon ban after a horrific massacre in 1996, which caused such attacks to cease. However, even the defenders of the gun lobby, some gun shop and gun owners themselves are beginning to question whether automatic rifles really have a place in society.

Perhaps this time, there will be more action after a school shooting.

Scotch whisky accounts for 20% of the UK's food and drink exports with more than 30% going to the EU! So it is interesting to see that the producers have a remarkably clear eye of where they stand on Brexit. They are broadly against it and for staying in the EU. However, if Brexit does happen, they want a clean break and implementation of WTO rules on trade. This is because:

1. There are no tarifs on the import of scotch into the EU under WTO rules.
2. If and when we enter the transition period and follow this with a customs union, the UK will no longer have any say in regulations that affect the scotch industry!

With this crystal insight, it is particularly interesting to see HM Government's 'Draft Text For Discussion: Implementation Period' published today. It seems that there is significant agreement between the EU and the UK, though Northern Ireland, the rights of EU citizens during the transition period, and UK fisheries are still sticking points. Oh, and the UK will have little say in the EU during this time and will not be able to complete any trade deals during this time

I fully agree with the BBC's Norman Smith assessment that this document, that this makes Tory brexiteers uncomfortable. In fact, I'm surprised that so far the strongest action from hardline brexiteers has been a stiff letter from 62 MPs. 

Just as we find the US attitude on gun control seems incomprehensible to an outsider looking in, so is Brexit, where we are leaving the EU, to negotiate a trade deal with as good a relationship with the EU as at present BUT without any say in the EU's regulations and tarifs?

The UK cabinet will be meeting tomorrow to finally try and work out a consensus on Brexit. 

Family dominated the afternoon as we headed over to St Neots to help daughter and son-in-law pack up for their imminent move to a new home and job. To be honest, Jane worked helped harder than me as I was finalising the structure of my Friday talk and the accompanying slides for half the time.

Davis Suggests EU Regulations to be replaced by Equivalent UK regulations? Meetings at SJIC

David Davis's speech in Vienna outlined his view on the future relationship with the EU. Aiming to allay concerns about a potential race o the bottom in terms of regulations and prices, Davis presented a surprising revelation. EU Regulations will be replaced by bigger and better UK regulations. This should allow continued free trade with the EU. (see the full text of the speech here: http://brexitcentral.com/full-text-david-daviss-road-brexit-speech-delivering-future-economic-partnership/)

This is apparently entirely consistent with Boris Johnson's statement when answering a question in Parliament

“There is no reason whatsoever why we should not be able to exit both the customs union and the single market, whilst maintaining frictionless trade not only north-south in Northern Ireland, but with the rest of continental Europe as well.”

Davis's views might be optimistically regarded as meeting the requirement for "full regulatory autonomy" for the UK after March 2019, demanded in a letter by more than 60 MPs to Theresa May. More likely is however that this will actually anger the hard brexit supporters in the Conservative Party, who do indeed want the freedom to cut regulations and red tape.

This has been the third aspirational Europe speech (Johnson, May, Davis). The EU is still waiting for the fine print that firms up the sentiments expressed.

I walked over to the St John's Innovations Centre Bistro today for a manuscript review meeting with an author. We made good progress. As i attempted to leave, I was struck by the familiar phenomenon at SJIC of meeting others that I knew and having short catch up conversations.After a more admin related afternoon, I began fleshing out the planned presentation to the U3A on Friday.

The Tragedy of no Scientific Advisor for POTUS. UK Cities Visit Barnier. Books and Pollen

Lily Pollen 400x, inverted stack

President Trump experienced a renewed protest on US gun laws outside the White House, by students and parents affected by the most recent Florida shool shooting. Will anything real come of this or will business revert to normal once the issue is overtaken by the next headline.

Another worrying long term issue where there has been inaction - The empty post of Scientific Advisor to the president. The president has not filled the post after 390 plus days of his inauguration and the Office of Science and Technology Policy is running on one third of its original staff. The fact has been repeatedly been raised at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  There is no scientific voice to give the president impartial advice on the the consequences of nuclear action by or on North Korea. 

But I personally think that we shouldn't be surprised. The White House and politics in general are focused on short term issues, debates and actions that can maintain their power, influence and popularity. It is currently an adrenaline pumping roller-coaster along the corridors of power, where reputations can rise or crash in the space of a day. Facts have a low priority compared to emotions and deal-making.

Science is also a playground of power, influence and popularity - but these are all subservient to facts and ideas that match the observations of the world around us. However, science is for the long term and works at a much slower pace than politics. 

In the long run, reality and science catch up with you. The most obvious is when medical issues like illness and disease affect you personally and you hope that someone has already researched and developed a solution for you. Climate change is a slow burner that will come back to haunt us if unaddressed.

If President Trump really intends to stay for the longer term, the post of  Scientific Advisor to the President needs to be filled. It provides practical and impartial advice to scope out the real environmental, medical or technological challenges that can appear anywhere on the horizon. Forewarned is forearmed.

A delegation of 10 council leaders and city mayors of the UK's major cities met today with the chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier, the group contained both brexiteers and remainers. Their objective was to raise the issues and interests of their cities in the Brexit negotiations. The group was willing to talk to both EU and UK Brexit negotiators but so far only the EU had shown interest in meeting them. The invitation to talk is still open for the David Davis and the Department for Exiting the EU.

Major news today. Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the UK closed - due to a lack of chicken deliveries. Could this be a subversive government plot to push the populace towards healthier eating?

Back to serious work today - one book off to the printer and awaiting a print proof, two books currently going through final edits and a number still waiting in the pipeline. 

I'd had a session taking photograph stacks of lily pollen under the microscope last night. This was in preparation for the talk on macro-photography on Friday. this evening I combined the 400 plus pictures into 6 focus stacks of varying success.

Trump Shooter Tweets. EU Citizen Rights in Transition. Winter Crop. Lighter Wholemeal Bread. Faux Sous-Vide Lamb in Slow-Cooker

A winter cabbage?

President Trump tweeted vociferously today. Among other things, he pointed the finger at the FBI, who missed signals about the Florida school shooter, stating that too much time was given to the Mueller Russia inquiry. He also asked why the Democrats didn't pass gun control legislation and then returned to accusations of Democrat collusion with Russia.

According to an interview on the Andrew Marr Show, the EU's negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said that it was not possible for the UK to restrict the rights of EU citizens coming to the UK whilst the UK had access to all the other benefits of the EU during the transition period. Currently the difference in EU citizen status during transition is a red line for both the EU and the UK, so if there is no movement, it could lead to a hard Brexit. Again, Verhofstadt emphasised that there would be no cherry picking in what the UK would like from the EU and that in particular, the UK financial sector could not be allowed to have a financial advantage.

The neatest description of the UK's situation with Brexit versus trande agreements with other countries was that for example Canada and Japan aimed to CONVERGE on trade and trade conditions, whilst the UK wanted to DIVERGE from the EU.

What does seem to currently be on the cards is that the situation of UK citizens abroad and EU citizens in the UK remains up in the air. This point is relevant with a view to the NHS which is having difficulty retaining and recruiting staff from abroad, whether from within the UK or outside. Non-EU immigration is a particular issue for the NHS as there is an immigration cap whose monthly ceiling has been reached in the past three months. The effect of the cap being reached is to push up the salaries that the Home Office sets as a minimum to qualify for consideration for skilled worker immigration. This makes it even more difficult for the NHS to attract people on cost and salary grounds within its budget.

We took a walk across to Scotsdales Garden Centre in Horningsea and were surprised to see what at first glance looked like a repeat of the bean crop planted in a field the previous year. Looking more closely at the flowers, we realised that it was a different winter crop, with cruciform flowers. We are not sure what it is, the closest we could get was a type of winter cabbage, e.g. Kale. See photo above.

I was also determined to find a solution on the lack of 'bounce' (rising upon baking) of my wholemeal or wholemeal-white flour breads. Googling around, I came across an important article by 'Ask Smithsonian' "What Makes Whole-Grain Bread So Hard to Bake?". It turns out that to bake a lighter wholemeal loaf, you need to use a greater proportion of water, anything from a bakers percentage of 90 to 120% (e.g.90 ml water per 100 g flour to 120 g water per 100 g flour). You also must reduce the kneading as the bran in the wholemeal cuts up the gluten.

I had a go at making a wholemeal loaf with the 90 bakers percentage of water, and with a lower amount of yeast to give a slow rise over the afternoon. The mixture was almost runny, having the consistency of wet cement. It took about 5h to rise in the bread tin and when baked gave more of a rise than usual, though still not spectacular. When cut, the loaf was lighter and moister inside but it also had a larger amount of large cavities as shown in the photo. I will have to have another go sometime, with less kneading.

I also tried another way to cook some lamb steaks. This has always been a bit haphazard as Jane does not like her meat on the rare side, and I didn't want a shriveled cutlet. I'd heard of cooking meat in a sealed plastic bag in a water-bath and googled the method. The term is Sous-vide, where the meat is vacuum sealed in a plastic bag and placed in a water-bath at any temperature between about 56 degC and 75 degC for rare to fully cooked meat for an hour to a number of hours. The meat is then removed and seared briefly before serving.

Lacking a controlled water bath and sealable plastic bags, I improvised and used the slow cooker on max heat, with just a few milliliters depth of water around the lamb cutlets. After 90 minutes, they were definitely cooked, with the meat temperature being above 60 degC. I pan seared them and they tasted delicious and tender. I will have to get some sealable plastic bags for cooking.

Security and Banned Foods Post Brexit. Macro-Photography. Successful Carrot Cake.

Photography trial with Huwei P10

Mixed messages on Brexit plans today. First, Prime Minister Theresa May gave her vision of Security and the way that the UK and EU should cooperate after Brexit at the Security Conference in Munich. Covering highly relevant aspects, from the benefits of the European Arrest Warrant in rapidly apprehending criminals and extraditing them to other countries in the EU to presenting a united front on potential military threats from outside of the EU and dealing with cyber attacks. She used a carrot and stick approach, for example pointing ut that the UK apparently spends 40% of the EU's total on defence, The desire seems to be to negotiating as close a relationship with the EU on security after Brexit as we currently already have in the remaining year within the EU.

The Observer features the revelation that right wing groups are proposing an 'ideal' UK-US trade deal. The interpretation of two linked articles by the 'Initiative for Free Trade' and the 'CATO Institute' is that the regulation of agriculture and food would be less stringent than the EU requirements and allow agreement on US standards "which are widely seen as weaker than those adopted by the EU". This could allow the import of meat from hormone treated cattle and the import of drugs and chemicals currently banned in the UK.

The articles mentioned are:
An “Ideal” US-UK Free Trade Agreement
Shadow Trade Talks

In the US, no decision was reached between the White House, Democrats and Republicans on the fate of children covered by DACA, the 'Dreamers'. The fear is now that unless there is a legal counter, there is the possibility that tens of thousands of children who have lived and grown up in the US will be deported to their supposed  countries of origin. There seems to be a growing outrage among US students that the gun culture in the US is not being addressed. Numerous ironic and sarcastic memes on the inability to tackle gun control were circulating on Facebook.

Spent some time this afternoon taking macro pictures of some of the flowers that Jane received at the wedding. I tried a range of lenses and spacers, as well as comparing smartphone pictures v those taken with an SLR. Also created image stacks. This is all in preparation for a talk to the University of the 3rd Age (U3A) this coming Friday.

During the day's food shop, suddenly had an urge for carrot cake and bought the missing ingredients to suit a recipe quickly found online. Back home I used half the ingredients of the recipe given by 'Woman & Home' for a "Carrot Cake With Orange Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe" and successfully baked a tasty cake, to be iced tomorrow.

US Election Tampering. Merkel and May. Mad Hat Outing

Thirteen individuals and three Russian companies have been charged with interfering in the US presidential elections by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in a detailed document. They were part of "Project Lakhta", which included the Internet Research Agency, an organisation based in Russia, and which had a budget of over $1 million per month.

Key points identified by media analysis of the document included the following allegations: With the start of the presidential campaign, even before Trump joined in, the individuals and organsiations initially researched hot and divisive topics and possible swing areas. This information was then used to promote misinformation and themed groups on social media. Whilst there was a trend to denigrate the Clinton campaign, the general trend was to foment arguments and disrupt the electoral process. They purchased US server space and set up faux American identities which acted as nuclei to fire up others to amplify the disruptive and divisive effects.

Significantly, the document did not suggest collusion by US individuals with the process.

Prime Minister Theresa May met with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel with no clear new information revealed. Merkel expressed polite curiosity about what the UK's position would be, but it required a deeper internet search to find German reports on the meeting.

The next topic on the speech agenda is on security tomorrow. Leaving the EU could mean the loss of the close cooperation on security and information sharing currently in place. The aim is to have a new system in place in time for Brexit which mirrors the current status as closely as possible.

Cambridgeshire was bathed in sunshine again and the wind had died down too. I donned the Mad Hatter's hat I made for L & S's wedding as part of my speech and set off for the Friday Networking at the A14 and at Huntingdon. Five people started conversations due to the hat, three cars hooted or shouted out comments, a number of passers by smiled whilst the majority took the British approach of pretending nothing unusual was happening. Photojournal of the day here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156372713468689.1073741833.664098688&type=1&l=ec304c891f

Spent some time at the Norris Museum trying out macrophotography of one or two items in cabinets. This was in preparation for my talk to the University of the Third Age U3A on macrophotography next week.

A Sunny Spring Day

Soul searching after US school shooting whilst leaders skirt around the elephant around the room, the US, a country making up 5% (one twentieth) of the worlds population, is also the country that hold nearly half (48%) of civilian owned guns.

EU legislators have removed the penalty clause that had slipped into their position paper for the transition period.

After nearly a week of rain, the sun came out on the last day of my mother & son's stay. The wind had also died down, making it a pleasant last walk along the River Cam before a lunch and then driving to Stansted Airport.

Sad Shooting. Boris's Brexit Vision. Valentine Crumpets

Don't really want to comment on the US today due to the tragedy of a school shooting, with currently 17 dead.

The highlight of Brexit today was supposed to be Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's position talk. It was hoped to shed a light on what the UK's position and aspirations were with Brexit. It was an uplifting speech on the possible glories of a post-brexit future. It did not provide any details of how it hoped to get there, the route to exiting the EU or how the glowing future could actually be achieved within the next decade. You can read his speech here: https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/02/full-text-boris-johnsons-brexit-speech/. The speech rapidly slipped down the news agenda.

St Valentine's Day was a wet affair! The day rapidly drowned in rain, whipped across the street outside by the strong winds. We had a brisk walk outside to at least take some fresh air, before rushing back to the warmth and security of home. My mother had bought some muffin/egg poaching/crumpet rings (8 cm diameter, 3 cm tall) and we tried them out for making our own crumpets after the walk. We made 6 crumpets and three mini pikelets, learning that you only had to half fill the rings and that the crumpets cooked best on a medium to low heat. They were so filling when eaten with butter and jam or marmalade, that we skipped our cooked evening meal and had a grated carrot, apple and raisins salad.

White House Plans Diplomacy Cuts - And Why Even Everyday Life Suggests This Is a Bad Idea

President Trump's White House budget suggestions include a dramatic increase in military spending - and a 29% cut in funding for diplomacy, compared to 2017.

This is a truly worrying development as it undervalues the necessity of having people working to ensure that there is an effective understanding of other cultures, partners, enemies and allies. You need these to not only ensure success in your own countries endeavors, but also to avert potential misunderstandings that can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Living in the modern world, where there are fluidly interacting groups from diverse ages, cultures, perceptions of class, occupation and local workplace or region, personal diplomacy is a constant undercurrent in our lives. The difficulty each individual has is in deciding what and when is appropriate in any given location or social environment.

We had a rather heated exchange today within the family as both differences in perception and belief in what were good manners or not varied considerable across three different generations and close but still different cultural backgrounds. The one thing that it revealed is that we are all carrying within us, a set of beliefs on what we think is acceptable and what not. This can be so ingrained into our psyche from our own personal path through life, that we are firmly convinced that we are in part right and the other party definitely in the wrong! I am sure others reading this can relate to situations where Jim said something to Aunty Ethel twenty years ago and they now have to be seated at opposite ends of the room in any family gathering because the relationship has turned positively glacial and remained so over the decades.

Numerous books have been written through the ages and in different cultures, from Ptahhotep in the 3rd millennium BC,  who wrote The Maxims of Ptahhotep, via  Confucious in China, to the Knigge begun in 1922 in Germany and Debrett's in the UK, the latter two still adding to their modern advice in the internet age to their respective demographics of aspirants. They are products of their culture, era and class. All are regarded as essential guides for their particular audiences.

Which comes to the interesting question of why we have good manners and etiquette in most cultures? Anthropologists, sociologists and philosophers all have their unique perspectives - see Wikipedia article on etiquette. Manners and etiquette seem to be a natural development in any society where people have to get on with each other, avoid being exploited, and also mark out their identity compared to other social groups. Human ingenuity simply means that even a meal can be a nightmare: Eating all the food given on your plate can be considered polite in one location as it shows you appreciated it; whilst in others, you should actually leave something on your plate as otherwise you offend the host by indicating that there was not enough food.

And what is the difference between good manners and etiquette? That is another can of worms  because of the unspoken underlying assumptions made by those aiming to give solutions.

In our complex interconnected world, perhaps this is all a complicated dance where the objective is to offend the smallest number of people the least amount of the time. But whatever you do, the only certainty is that you will put your foot in it big time sooner or later. You just have to hope that Jim and Aunty Ethel don't hold nuclear weapons when it happens.

A Joyful Wedding

Wedding roses, photo Jane Thomas

This weekend's wedding of our daughter and her fiance eclipses politics here and across the pond.

A cold rainy February day was outshone by the event, as the ceremony took place before a packed room of invited family and friends at the Cambridge Registry Office on Castle Hill. Both sets of parents were proud to see a couple that loved each other deeply take their vows in a solemn yet relaxed ceremony that included  laughter.

Temporary insanity afflicted half the guests and the newlyweds as they set off for a chauffeured bridal punt along the Cam. The more sane half forswore the promises of hot water bottles, blankets and umbrellas on the Cam for the warmth of the wedding reception venue, the Red Lion Pub in Grantchester, to warm up by a fire with a hot drink and conversation.

Shining red cheeked faces with frozen feet and bubbling laughter heralded the return of the water-bound to join the party for the actual reception over a rich wedding breakfast. For me, this was personally crowned by the desserts of Eton Mess, Fruit Salad or Apple Crumble and Custard.

We parents got to relax and at last enjoy the occasion, now that the months of planning and subliminal anxiety had been successfully realised. The three bridesmaids were beautifully radiant, the Best Sam proud of her success in supporting the groom. There were speeches featuring a mad hat, soft cuddly toys, reminders to act normal and 50 tinder dates that in turns flattered and embarrassed the Bride and Groom.

At the event, my brother in law and his wife gave me the advice that if I ever did a parachute jump, I should do it with a friend or partner, because you would have someone to share and remember the amazing and unique experience with afterwards. We found out that this also applies to the wedding of your son or daughter. Meeting up the day afterwards with the happy but tired couple, we relived and shared our different memories and perspectives of the previous day's happenings, the people and atmosphere, the things that went well, the unexpected, the new people met and and conversations.

Thousands of couples may get married everyday but the marriage of  our daughter was unique and very special to us parents and outshone anything else that may have happened in the world for a day or two!

Trumps Approved Spending Increase. Barnier Puts Transition in Doubt. Wedding plans and FlyBy Asteroid 2018 CB

Night Sky over Milton before Wedding

After a delay and shutdown of the US government again for a few hours, this time due to Republican House Speaker Senator Rand Paul objecting to the republicans not addressing the budget deficit, President Trump signed a major bill to allow government funding again for the next two years. The House voted 240 votes to 186 for the bill, the Senate by 71 to 28. There is a planned increase of $300 billion in military and domestic spending. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones index plunge appeared to have leveled out today.

By contrast, in the UK's FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both responded negatively to Michel Barniers comments at midday at the end of this weeks Brexit negotiations. the pound also dropped again to €1.13 after having peaked at around €1.15.

The UK and EU perspectives on the issue were very different. Michel Barnier had stated that the transition period was not a given as there were still substantial disagreements and he still did not have a clear understanding of what the UK wanted.

David Davis for the UK expressed surprise as he thought the UK position was clear.

Germany's Spiegel was more interested in the coalition chaos occurring in their government but did have an article which pointed out that the UK had failed to present its expected plan for the preferred relationship with the EU after Brexit.

Apart from irritation and amazement at the UK position on EU citizen's rights during the transition and the issues of the irish border, there is amusement at thee fact that the UK is now attempting to change its tack on negotiating new trade deals with other countries. Apparently there are 650 contracts and 65 trade agreements that currently fall under the EU. London is now arguing that upon Brexit, the UK should become a third partner in the bilateral agreements between the EU and non-EU countries. Something not popular wither with the EU, or with countries such as Canada who have agreements in place with the EU.

It is said that what this has revealed to diplomats how weak the UK's position is on the global playing field.

This is all rendered insignificant by the crescendo of preparations for Sean and Louise's wedding tomorrow, which has left many of us frazzled, anxious, and in my case sleepless. My relaxation exercise this evening was to go out along Fen Road, towards the River Cam, to get some pictures of the brilliant nighttime sky before the next rainy front rolled in.

This on the night where an asteroid the size of a housing block (15 m to 40 m in diameter)  buzzed Earth at the astronomically very close distance of 39,000 miles. Asteroid 2018 CB was only observed 5 days beforehand, the problem being that whilst it could have a devastating effect if hitting the earth directly, the relatively small rock ball is difficult to spot until almost upon us.

Brexit Could Invalidate UK Driving Licence for Hauliers. Building up to Weekend Wedding

Flying into UK

Our UK driving licenses not valid in EU after Brexit? The Guardian posted an article this week claiming that, in an EU notice issued last month, the European commission said: “A driving licence issued by the United Kingdom will no longer be recognised by the member states.” This was in relation to haulage firms and the Government  is introducing a Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill to address this issue with two main elements:

• arrangements to enable a permit scheme if required as part of a deal with the EU – ensuring UK hauliers can obtain the necessary paperwork to provide services to and from EU countries.
• the establishment of a trailer registration scheme in line with the 1968 Vienna Convention - this will ensure UK operators driving on the continent can comply with the requirements of those EU countries which require the registration of all trailers travelling on their roads.

There is obviously an issue to be addressed. Interestingly, a search for the EU commission statement drew a blank, with the links in other locations pointing to it suddenly coming up blank (given as https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/legislation/2017-12-11-notice-to-stakeholders-road-transport.pdf. Was the original statement withdrawn by the European Commission?

Activity in our household building up to the wedding this weekend, with lots of trips to reception venue and bridal dress steaming experts. Today picked up relatives from Stansted. Yesterday, tried out my draft of the Father of the Bride speech at the Huntingdonshire Speakers. It was far too long and also got lost of positive and constructive feedback to make it better. Now just need to find that quiet moment to make the changes.

Planned Brexit Punishment. Centenary of Women's Suffrage. Books and Commemorating a WWI Death

Finds from Lance Sergeant Charles William Stevens from Colin Fakes Talk

Hot topic leaked by EU commission sources is that the first negotiating position on the transition period contains a clause to allow the EU to impose a punishment or counter-reaction if the UK does not comply with rules during the transition. Is this simply posturing? Or is it a reaction to the position by Theresa May that EU citizens will be treated differently after the start of the transition.

With the Prime Minister's position in constant debate, Ann Soubry has threatened to resign from the party if Jacob Rees-Mogg or Boris Johnson take over.

Centenary of Emancipation for women (over thirty and owning property) celebrated widely in the press and online. I was intrigued by an interview on local radio with Cambridge author Patricia Fara, on her most recent book "A Lab of One's Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War". The intro looked interesting but I will hold off buying a copy until the Kindle price comes down a bit. Anyway, I still have to finish reading "Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds" by Cordelia Fine. If that sounds a bit highbrow, well, I've also been reading my way through the "Last Dragonslayer" trilogy by Jasper Fforde and am now in the unsatisfactory position of having to wait till volume four is published, sometime this year.

Poster for Finding Grandfather Stevens

This evenings Milton Local History Group Talk was by Colin Fakes on finding his WWI "Grandfather Stevens". Lance Sergeant Charles William Stevens he died during an unsuccessful assault on a heavily defended chemical works near Arouex, France, in April 1917. His remains were discovered during a new development and led to Colin Fakes and the French residents of the village creating a memorial to him and the other 81 combatants believed to still lie buried in the mud of war in a nearby field.

What was particularly striking was that engagement and commitment of the local community in the whole exercise. A stark contrast to the narrow minded Brexit we are going through.

Colin also brought along the items recovered from the site, including coins, a trench pick and shovel, metal belt loops, buttons, flask and wire cutters. it was quite fascinating and humbling to see these reminders of a devastating conflict that ended a century ago.

Trump NHS Comment Riles UK. Dow Plummets. Brexit Negotiations Resume.

Old silver penny

An unusual day in the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted probably the best reply out of the many from prominent UK politicians, NHS staff and other Illuminati, in response to President Trump's tweet which stated:

"The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!"

Jeremy's reply:

"I may disagree with claims made on that march but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover. NHS may have challenges but I’m proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage - where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance."

The Dow Jones index continued its dramatic fall today, ending up 1,175.21 point lower than its peak. The FTSE 100 also took a minor hit today and the pound dropped to €1.128. The latter probably a reaction to the press conference with David Davis and Michel Barnier, the UK and EU chief negotiators for Brexit. We had Prime Minister Theresa May emphasising that Brexit meant the UK would leave the EU customs union; David Davis restating that we were going to get the best deal with the EU, gaining unparalleled access to the EU market, whilst being able to negotiate our own trade deals. Poor Michel had to inject a negative note that, in the event of the UK leaving the customs union, there would be trade barriers and, oh, as well as time being short, could the UK please actually present it's plans so that negotiations could actually take place? It was also made clear from the EU side, that during the transition period, with the UK still having all the benefits of the EU, it could not suddenly impose a separate arrangement for EU citizens coming to the UK.

The Irish border has been raising its head above the horizon. The UK government is committed to having a soft border between Northern Ireland and Eire. Yet if we leave the customs union, trade barriers would arise and custom checks would have to be reinstated after a long period of peace.

I came down today to find that the wheat/rye sourdough loaf had risen in the baking tin after almost 16h and could be baked.

Hot air on Memos and Brexit. Mint Sauce Crisis at Home Averted.

Mainly hot air about the Nunes Memo and Brexit on either side of the pond.

In the US, the Democrats plan to release their own memo.

In the UK, the Prime Minister emphasised that we would be leaving the customs union. Home Secretary Amber Rudd claims that the government ministers were more united than the Brexiteers suggested. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve comments that if people want to change their mines on Brexit, they have to do so by Autumn. Minister for Housing, and brexiteer,  Dominic Raab insists that everyone needs to get together now (presumably for Brexit).

A day indoors with a lamb roast. Major crisis to find no mint sauce in fridge for the lamb but saved by neighbour's last stock of mint jelly! Set up a sourdough mixed wheat-rye loaf which looks like it is a slow overnight rise.

Rees-Mogg Mimics Trump Attack on Government Institutions. COS AGM. Successful Light Cheesecake Recipe

Light lemon cheesecake, recipe below

Across the Pond, the president's rhetorik continued to rail at the Russia enquiry and the FBI, following the release of the Nunes Memo, claiming the latter totally vindicated him. The Republican Senator John McCain expressed his disapproval of the partisan attacks on the US institutions, saying, "Our nation's elected officials, including the President, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin's job for him."

The temptation to criticise governmental institutions has also carried over to the UK, with Jacob Rees-Mogg stated in a radio interview on the BBC Today program that “With the referendum and with the EU, the Treasury has gone back to making forecasts. It was politically advantageous for them in the past. It is the same for them now. So yes, I do think they are fiddling the figures.” He was referring to the economic forecasts leaked in the past few days that suggest that economic growth will be reduced with any Brexit option.

Representatives for the Civil Service are up in arms at the continued attacks on their professional credibility and integrity in providing reports to the government. The UK Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of the UK and civil servants are employees of the Crown and not of the British Parliament. Comedy programs such as 'Yes Minister' have lampooned the service as a third force of government that aims to preserve its own status quo. However, it is there to support the government's actions whilst adhering to its code of Honesty, Integrity, Impartiality and Objectivity. Governments from different political directions come and go, the Civil Service remains.

The main event of the day was the Cambridge Open Studios (COS)AGM, where 400+ artists hear from the last years committee about its organisation and promotion of the successful Open Studios last year and elect the committee to do the same or better for the current year. We also had the nitty gritty of key dates where those participating in Open Studios this year had to complete their website entries. I had a short spot under Any Other Business as I've been contracted by the COS committee to research and write the history of the organisation and needed to call for member contributions.

I'd given artist and print maker Alison Hullyer a lift to the AGM at Griton College and out of curiosity, we took a diversion on the way back to have a look at the new Eddington estate being developed between Huntingdon Road and Madingley Road. The primary school and a new Safeways had already been built with the latter open.

Following on from last night's very rich cheese-cake, i was inspired to try and make the lighter cheese cake that I was more familiar with, made by my Freinds Mother Frau Lingnau when we were children. she has sadly long passed away but I found two recipes in different books to adapt. I decided on using a yeast baked base from 'The Best of Baking' and the quark (curd cheese) topping from 'Dr Oetker Backen macht Freude'.

I prepared the yeast dough from 175g plain flour, 1 egg, 6g dried yeast, 3 tablespoons warm milk, 25 g melted butter, 25 g castor sugar and a pinch of salt. I spread this on the base of a deep cake tin with a removable base and biult up a bit of a rim at the edge. I should have greased the tin base and sides beforehand but got distracted!

Leaving te base to rise, I then prepared the topping with the following adapted recipe. I separated 3 eggs into egg yolks and egg white. To 500 g Quark, I added about 120 g castor sugar, 150 ml double cream, 50 ml milk, three egg yolks, grated rind from one lemon, a small teaspoon of vanilla extract and about 15 g cornflour and mixed them all together to form a thick smooth sauce. The three egg whites were whipped into a stiff peaked foam and then spooned into the quark based mix and then gently mixed in with a spoon till evenly distributed.

The final mixture was then poured over the base, filling the deep cake tin to within about a cm of the top rim. the tin was placed into the oven and baked at 180 deg C for 70 minutes in a fan assisted oven. 

Checking progress after half an hour the mixture had risen about a centimeter above the cake rim. When I returned after 70 minutes, there was a faint whiff of charring in the air and the filling had risen to more than 5 cm  above the cake tin rim and almost touching the top of the oven, close to the heating element! I tested the cake with a skewer to ensure that the topping had set, took it out and then carefully separated the mix from the tin sides with a knife. The cake was removed and placed on a cake plate to cool.

Two hours later, the cake had evenly reduced in height to give a filling of about 5 cm height that cut smoothly revealing a beautiful creamy golden interior. It tasted light and divine!

Aunty May to Restrict Transition EU Worker's rights. Nunes Memo. Portrait to Dinner.

Prime Minister 'Aunty May' makes an impact in China, as part of push to increase UK trade. In 2016 we exported £16.8 bn goods and services to China whilst importing £40 bn worth. Germany has about £60 bn worth of trade to China, whilst still being in the EU.

Brexit never far away for the Prime Minister. To counter brexiteer's concerns, Theresa May announced that EU citizens coming into the UK during the planned transition period would not have the same rights of residence as currently.

Meanwhile, the Dow plummets after a two year period of almost exponential growth. President Trump approves the release of the Nunes Memo, which claims that there was bias in the FBI investigation into Trump - Russia connections. From fact-checking sites and mainstream media, the general consensus seems to be that the memo cherry picks it's statements to the detriment of the FBI.

Took a trip out to the author of a current work in progress to take some portrait pictures that would do her justice yesterday. Also spent a couple of hours taking a series of 700+ photos for a future panorama of a microscopic subject before spending the evening at the quieter than usual Artists and Craftists meeting. today, began planning the Father of the Bride speech in earnest, whilst also beginning panorama construction using Hugin. This evening went to the annual January Dinner with the German language group. The Shed in Lode proved a good venue with great food.