Filler

Spanish cow, September 2018

Yes, I know it's been ages, but I've been on holiday with Lola II and Mr M and J (from Family J,J,L&J). I am expected to provide a full summary of that trip, which will take me a good deal of time, so here's a filler just to keep you going.

It was a really good holiday. We went to Spain. There was Art, Culture, Food, Film and Physical Activity. We were all ill for some of the time. More detail to follow.

Before I went, the LTRP took a step forward with the completion of the Screening Room decoration as well as repairing the parquet floor in the living room, the attic windows and some other small jobs. Then there was a step backward as the new washing machine started leaking water. I thought the problem would be that I simply hadn't tightened the pipes sufficiently, so Ilf helped me get the machine out from under the counter at which point we discovered that some of the polystyrene packaging material had been left underneath, and this is what has probably done the damage. So I've had to become reacquainted with my old friends at the launderette and as soon as I can retrieve the receipt I'll be back on the retailer's help line.

Back to work is always difficult after a holiday, but I had my usual Tuesday off with an enormous list of stuff to do. I'd also ordered a HelloFresh box, so there was cooking, launderette and attempted blood donation. What with the paracetamol taken on holiday, the lingering cold infection, and ongoing gum disease (have I mentioned the dental appointment? Refractory periodontitis. Look it up) they really weren't interested in having my blood at all. Which is fine by me.

I also did some Culture in the evening - I went to a lecture given by journalist and war reporter Max Hastings on the back of his latest book, which is about the Vietnam War (1945-75 - An Epic Tragedy). He wasn't as dynamic as I expected and read the whole thing from his notes in under an hour, although he answered a few questions at the end and then signed books for those who had bought them. He has clearly got enormous insight into the politics and practicality of warfare, and his conclusion was surprisingly similar to my own uninformed position - there's no point getting involved in someone else's war without 'something to join up to', i.e. a practical local link that, when achieved, allows the war to end. If you're bombing the hell out of somebody to stop them doing something you don't like, you need to be able to hand over the reins to someone if they eventually stop doing it. If there's nobody left to hand the reins to (Libya, Afghanistan) or they don't stop doing what you don't like (Vietnam) then your intervention, and its cost in money and lives, has been pointless. He also spoke from first hand knowledge about the attitude of the US government to the Vietnam War, which was utterly focussed on its effects within the US political system and winning the next election rather than the enormous and obscene slaughter of soldiers and Vietnamese civilians.

Quick update on the weight loss programme - having got within a whisker (200g) of my goal, I now hover at 600g over, but consider that to be a great result considering how much cake I ate on holiday. So I am back on the wagon for one last push to the finish.