Flaming June

The weather has done everything except snow this month.  Strong winds, torrential rain, hail, thunderstorms and now, very sunny, hot and humid.  Before I opened the doors yesterday, the temperature in the sitooterie was 59. Nevertheless, we’ve had quite a busy month: lunch with sister Sandra and another with former neighbours, and a trip to the coast to meet a visiting friend from Switzerland.  The garden becomes rather demanding at this time of year: grass cutting, dead-heading, potting up tomatoes and of course more weeding than I can cope with. 

Though it was sad that we had to cancel our Mediterranean cruise, at least the insurance has now coughed up - and the renewal premium is a bit less inflated than we expected.  

The world of politics is pretty mixed up at the moment.  Sir K Starmer’s tenure has been fragile for some time, particularly since the drubbing his party took from the far right in May’s local elections.  And yet the same far right didn’t get close to Mr Burnham last week.  (It’s a great shame that he lost to Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership contest some years ago.)  At local level, the Lib Dems have strengthened their position, which is the best we can hope for hereabouts: their track record is strong.  

Stark contrasts on the other side of the pond.  Canada has the smartest and most credible Prime Minister I can remember.  Mexico is pretty well served too.  The bit in the middle is rudderless, and at the mercy of a malignant, self-serving head of state, bankrupting itself on an unnecessary war and countless vanity projects - as well as wrecking the world economy.  At a societal level, the deprivation of the poorest, particularly in the context of health care, seems like deliberate cruelty heavily tinged with xenophobia and racism.  Meanwhile, fiscal policy seems designed to make the obscenely rich even richer.  In constitutional terms, valuable institutions are being starved of resources, and the ‘justice’ department seems to exist mainly to bully and harm those who dare to criticise the regime.  In a way, it’s tempting to say qu’ils se débrouillent, but that ignores (a) the interests of millions of decent, responsible Americans, and (b) the fact that if America sneezes, the rest of the world catches pneumonia.

Back in the garden, the roses are doing really well this year, and are repaying the pretty ruthless pruning and Ben’s administration of large volumes of muck.  After last year’s glut of apples, we shall have next to none this year.  Par contre, the blueberry has a lot of fruit coming along.  My sowings of parsley, rocket and spinach have been very successful if you happen to be a slug or snail.  I shall have one more try, using slug pellets, and just try to live with the guilt.