Friday, July 31, 2009
More news from the Grauniad
Yesterday it carried a tear jerking piece about the dreadful fate of a fairly small number of refugees from Eritrea holed up in some frightful squat in Calais. It seems that Eritrea has got itself into a bit of a state and is now a very unpleasant country, on a par with Burma or the Sudan. I forget how it came to be that way, no doubt in some large part a legacy of the filthy colonial oppression from the filthy oppressors from western Europe. So, to that extent, we owe. However, what the Grauniad does not do, is make any positive suggestions about what we might do about the situation. It seems clear to me that no one country can afford to have an open door policy these days, even for refugees here for more complicated reasons than a simple desire to have a better life, perhaps including cookers, ice-cream and televisions, than that available at their natal homes. The technical term for those that are not, being, I believe, economic migrants. As opposed to political refugees and other dissidents who have fallen out with their powers that be. There are just too many of them and we are not going to be able to cope. So where is the discussion about what it is reasonable for us to do? Is our record comparable with that of our neighbours? How far is our charity going to reach? As far as interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state we do not much care for?
But to re-position myself away from what might sound a bit BNP, I should say again (vide supra) that my belief is that the world will become an increasingly troublesome place unless we do something about the gross inequality that presently pervades it. If we with the money do not pour a good chunk of that money into sorting that inequality out, we might find ourself in a bit of a pickle. Quite apart from any considerations of morality and decency. Which is all well and good, but apart from not wanting to part with the dosh, we have not yet learnt how to apply it very effectively. An awful lot of the aid money there is seems to disappear down some drain or other.
Nearer home, finally gotten around to striking the shuttering from the buttress to the right hand wall of the compost bin at the bottom of the back garden, having dutifully watered the curing concrete over the past week or so, a process which is supposed to increase its final compressive strength by up to 32%. Started off by learning that taking out a cross head screw from an awkward place is a lot less awkward than taking out an ordinary screw from the same place. The tip of the screwdriver stays in its hole in the top of the screw. Then learnt that there are at least two sorts of cross head screws as the screwdriver I was using did not work on taking out the last screw, despite being the screwdriver which put it in in the first place, and despite all the screws looking the same. But came out as sweet as pie when I changed screwdriver. Screws out, three of the six peices of chipboard making up the shutter fell off without bother. That left the three large peices - back, front and right hand side - firmly embedded in the soil at the base of the buttress. A bit of waggling and the front came out. Rather more serious waggling and the side came out. But the back, the most awkward, was not playing the game. Out with the cold chisel and club hammer and starting smashing it up. At which point it gave in gracefully and I was able to pull it out, more or less in one peice.
I then find that the second lift has come out a pale grey while the first lift has come out a pale brown. So we have a two tone buttress. But the good news is that the bond between first and second lift looks good. I shall be very surprised if it comes adrift by natural causes. So now, I can relax, the buttress project can be closed and I can fill up the compost bin to my heart's content, not having to worry about whether the right hand retaining wall is about to keel over on me. Post implementation review scheduled for 31st July next, a day which, as it happens, will be the 38th anniversary of my wedding, God willing as they say in the wee frees.
Yesterday was also the day of the lamb cutlets, for the second time in the recent past. Mushroom soup as an appetiser, made by simply simmering a few mushrooms - more or less entire but with the stalks chopped - in a little butter, water and black pepper (pestle and mortar variety). Followed by the cutlets grilled, summer cabbage boiled and mashed potato. Important to grill the chops rather than bake them. The latter tends to result in a rather dry product; with a grill one can monitor operations and tweak heat, position and so forth. More bother but more result. The bit I was not too sure about was adding the remains of the mushroom soup to the potato before mashing. It did impart a bit of flavour, but also a rather grey tinge colour-wise. Not too attractive, so not next time.
# posted by Jim @ 12:45 AM 
