Hormuz unblocked

Cloudy today, but warmer. I slept fairly well and woke up clear headed but that didn't last after taking my meds. The Prime Minister has announced a ban on social media for children under sixteen, in the light of the established harmful effects of addictive algorithms on young minds. It's about time this happened in my opinion. Every aspect of internet communication is capable of being exploited to hijack attention and make money from information gleaned about our interests and concerns. We're being manipulated by programming technology over which we have little control and even less accountability. 

AI puts us all at even greater risk of unforeseen unintended consequences from erroneous information and deliberate falsehoods. The spread of disinformation via 'fake news' on social media to deliver propaganda and  stir up unrest is already playing a part in cyber warfare. Recently a research team demonstrated the danger, planting fictional medical information with nonsensical citations from fake source material. It was picked up by AI bots and presented as authoritative without question. Painstaking verification of authentic data takes time, and the poison of misinformation spread by the internet can be potentially damaging and even dangerous meanwhile.

Iran and America signed the 'Memorandum of Understanding' agreement in Geneva, the immediate result of which will be the opening of the Straight of Hormuz to maritime traffic and the blockade of Iranian oil exporting ports will end. There will be a sixty day truce during which peace negotiations will take place, but there is little detail about what the talks are intended to achieve.

An estimated 750 ships are still trapped there since the war started with an estimated 20,000 seafarers between them. The agreement is being declared as a win for both sides. Iran has demonstrated its power to resist American might. Trump claims he's delivered a solution to a problem which his foolish ill-judged and very costly aggression caused. Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon continues and Hezbollah targets in Beirut are being bombed despite the the cease-fire. Will this 'Memorandum of Understanding' make it possible for a cease-fire to take hold and stabilise the situation? It remains to be seen.

Clare wanted to turn the big mattress on the double bed this morning and asked for my help. It turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. The weakness of my strained right shoulder and aged muscles made heavy lifting too risky. We had to settle for turning the mattress around on its vertical axis instead of flipping it over horizontally. I hate getting old and losing the ability to do things I once took in my stride! When my brain clouds over with fatigue or the impact of medication, I notice how my cognitive function slows down. I make more typos, and when it's really poor, stop what I'm doing completely out of caution against making mistakes. It slows down anything I'm trying to get done, although my mind seems to continue to work at its usual pace, disconnected from the exterior world.

We had chickpea curry for lunch. I dozed in my armchair after eating, then walked for over an hour to clear my head. Clare had supper early and went out to choir practice. I watched a couple of episodes of 'Panda' and after that got ready for another early night.

Geneva in lockdown

A good night's sleep, waking up clear headed and refreshed to sunshine and warmer weather. After breakfast and taking the meds my head went foggy again. Is it something to do with the combined effect of the different drugs? I went to St Catherine's for the Parish Eucharist, while Clare and Kath went into town to check out a venue to hold our Diamond Wedding anniversary family feast. 

This afternoon, we had a phone call from our dear friend Gill Howie in Geneva to tell us she's moved into a retirement home in Grand Sacconnex. It's the first time we've spoken for a year. She couldn't get through to exchange greetings with us last Christmas because of the mess TalkTalk made of transferring our phone number to British Telecom. She said there'd only been an on-line service at Holy Trinity Geneva today as Geneva is on lock-down due to Trump's visit with the expectation of potentially violent protest against the war. 

Just as the cease fire was due to be signed between America and Iran in Geneva, Israel bombed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon again despite the ceasefire supposed to be in effect there. Inevitably this will delay the conclusion of the negotiations Trump has been touting for months. Trump has openly urged Netanyahu  not to attack Lebanon at this pivotal moment, but is he being listened to? A former Israeli ambassador to the USA expressed the view that Trump's annoyance with Israel reveals his recognition that Netanyahu is trying to undermine him. Whether it's true or not, it suggests he's not taking Trump seriously and misled him into making an alliance against Iran that has not delivered the success anticipated. Iran has emerged from the war stronger and more emboldened, while Israel now faces a less favourable regional balance It sounds to me like a retired diplomat speaking who disapproves of his country's leadership.

Kath left us for Kenilworth after lunch. Clare and I went to the Co-op to buy some coffee and kefir as we'd run out of both this morning. Then I walked in Llandaff Fields until supper time and resisting the temptation to watch telly, I got ready for bed early. 

Kath for the weekend

It seems I need to be in bed and ready for sleep before ten, just after sunset at the moment, to be sure of a good night's sleep.  First light is just before five at the moment, and the sky is often bright so I've taken to wearing a blindfold early morning in an attempt to prolong sleep time. Clare was up before me cooking breakfast pancakes. It takes me an hour or so for my head to clear, wake up properly and get on with the day. Sometimes it takes much longer. The morning just ebbs away with little achieved.

Details of the peace deal between America and Iran are being revealed, but Israel continues bombing Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, America again exchanges fire with Iran in the blockaded Straight of Hormuz. Trump keeps promoting promised progress. Is there any substance to his assertions? Trump claims there will be a signing tomorrow, but the Iranians are reluctant to commit, resisting Trump's efforts to control the narrative, which he's been trying to do from the outset. Damage to the American economy due to paralysis of trade through the Straight of Hormuz is resulting in American opposition to the war increasing and unpopularity for Trump whose cheerleader tactics further undermine his credibility.

Kath arrived at lunchtime, having spent last night catching up with her friend Emma. We had lunch in the sunshine under the garden umbrella. Then Clare and Kath went to see a dance performance at Chapter Arts, while I walked in Llandaff and Pontcanna Fields in a vain effort to clear my foggy head with fresh air. We had delicious swordfish steaks for supper. I risked drinking a glass of red Bordeaux wine to go with it, the first wine I've drunk since Christmas. I enjoyed the taste, and am crossing my fingers that it won't mess with my digestion tonight. I walked for half an hour after the meal, then we spent the rest of the evening chatting and planning the celebration of our diamond wedding when the family gathers for our sixtieth anniversary on the sixth of August. It's hard to grasp that we've been together that long - actually it's sixty three years since we met. Am I really that old? The answer is yes. These days I need to go to bed so much earlier, even before sunset, and suffer if I don't.

Truce talks announcement

Another dull overcast day. I woke up at first light and heard the garden blackbird singing. I benefited from getting to bed earlier somehow, but was awake for three hours  out of nearly eleven in bed. Bladder and bowel irritation in the night is inescapable and daunting. The impact of medication after I get up makes it hard to get started. Even if I don't feel tired, my senses are dulled, reactions slow, I'm not fully alert. I find it unnerving.

Artist David Hockney has died. His varied body of creative work embracing photography, stained glass, theatre design and painting invites people to notice things and see them in a new light. It's one the most important contributions any creative person can make. It's no wonder he has enjoyed popular acclaim.

Trump has called off strikes on Iran, claiming yet again that a peace deal to extend the cease fire and open the Straight of Hormuz is imminent. During the day, Pakistani mediators confirmed an agreement has been reached. Possibly this will be signed in Geneva while the G7 summit takes place in nearby Evian. That would be a suitably theatrical occasion for Trump to claim success. Israel's assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon continues unabated. If Netanyahu ignored Trump's calls for restraint, Iran would persist with retaliatory strikes against Israel, halting peace talks again. Netanyahu is facing criticism at home for doing Trump's bidding, as well as open criticism of his unilateral actions from Trump himself. It remains to be seen whether a 'memorandum of understanding' setting the agenda for future talks, will help de-escalate the situation or do anything to bring Israeli occupation of Lebanon to an end.

This evening we went to Chapter Arts centre for the launch of Diana Morgan's new book 'Sojourn with Ice Cream, the second in a trilogy she's writing about an elderly widow who is an intuitive listener to others in need of quiet understanding and support. She spoke about her main character and read passages to her audience. Several people were present whom we have as mutual friends.

Thankfully my head was fairly clear. We were home again by nine, and aiming for another early night.

Xenophobia

Overcast with light rain all morning after a cold damp night. It's quite unlike summer. I had a poor night's sleep in which it took longer to settle back into sleep due to the chill in the air after getting up hourly to empty my bladder. After breakfast I took my morning medications, returned to bed with my senses dulled, and slept until midday. Clare went out shopping and when she returned just before one, we made lunch together with frozen veg, couscous and cod.

Following a violent knife attack in North Belfast made by a Sudanese refugee, there have been two nights of racially motivated riots with the homes of ethnic minority people set alight and police officers injured. Behind the mob of angry masked men terrifying citizens, social media exchanges have turned complaints and protest toxic. People wind each other up into rage, due to media algorithms that highlight and spread negative views amplifying anxiety felt when violence occurs in their neighbourhood. Vigilante groups set themselves up to 'take action'. Trust and good will between those in authority, responsible for maintaining public security, stability and community health, and the majority of citizens, is being eroded by anxious often angry criticism from those who think they know better, but only know what social media feeds them. Mixed communities of Republicans and Unionists in Northern Ireland learned to organise themselves in self defence against each other during the Troubles. Now innocent black people and Ukrainian refugees are persecuted as if they were all foreigners, due to the ability of social media to track people.

There are always difficulties when people of different cultures and ethnicity live alongside each other, but resentment against immigrants and refugees is being politicised in Britain by those wanting to blame anyone but themselves for society's failings. Learning to live together with our differences is a moral and spiritual challenge of the highest order, especially if we don't have faith or culture in common.  Resistance to making an effort to be compassionate and hospitable neighbours to strangers leads to people to avoid each other under the pretence of  'live and let live'. The feeling that differences are threatening can easily be distorted into xenophobia with evil consequences. 

Social division for whatever reason, undermines the unity of Britain at a time when threats to security from Russia and Iran are of increasing concern. Trump's contempt for NATO allies  adds to European vulnerability. Government prevarication over defence spending is a bone of political contention in the context of rising costs of health and social care. Britain is failing to generate adequate wealth to match expenditure needs. It's a phenomenally complex situation during a period of radical change when there's a debilitating war going on in the Middle East. No wonder it's taking time to make sustainable decisions in the national interest. The Prime Minister's leadership is under challenge, but would a new leader really make that much of a difference? For the moment, the restoration of law and order at home must be a top priority, along with finding remedies that counter the toxicity of social media, and nurture good will. I just wish that Trump and his acolytes would keep their ill informed comments to themselves instead of making things worse for all who are victimised by the opinion of others.

Mid-afternoon I walked for an hour in the drizzle, choosing a route that would minimise gusts of wind driving rain from west to avoid getting completely soaked. Much needed fresh air and exercise didn't clear my head or sharpen my senses altogether so I went out and walked again after supper and ended up getting ready for bed early.

Forgotten pole

Despite rain in the night, a bright sunny start to today.  I posted today's Morning Prayer YouTube link to WhatsApp just after eight, before getting up for breakfast. There were a dozen of us at St Catherine's for the Eucharist celebrating St Ephrem. This prompted me to remember my brief sojourn and encounter with Syriac Orthodoxy in the Metropolitan Cathedral of St George in Aleppo thirty two years ago. 

Ephrem was a deacon and hymnodist ministering to refugees driven west by the Persians from Edessa in the fourth century. His lyrics meditated on the mysteries of the incarnation and redemption expounding poetically on the teachings of the Nicene Creed. 

When Syriac Christians were persecuted and driven out of Turkey in the early twentieth century, the community exiled from Edessa settled in Aleppo, one of Syria's oldest and largest cities. It's tragic that resistance to the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war resulted in extensive destruction and thirty one thousand deaths. There was an earthquake in 2023 but reconstruction was under way already. Due to persecution, diaspora communities of Syriac Christians thrive in America, Sweden and Germany. The Indian state of Kerala has had an indigenous Syriac Christian church community since the fourth century, arising from trading links between Mesapotamia and the western coast of India. It's a remarkable history of resilience and vitality stretching back fifteen centuries.

We had lunch at midday today as Clare had an early acupuncture appointment. Falafel balls, sweet corn and spinach, an unusual lightweight combination. I followed up with a stodgy custard doughnut left over  from yesterday to fill the gap. Then I did a circuit of Thompson's Park to see how the juvenile moorhens are getting on. Several motor driven lawn mowers were busy filling the air with the scent of cut grass. The noise of the machines was inescapable, robbing the park of its usual peace. Then I went down to Tesco's to buy chamomile tea bags. At the junction of Romilly and Llandaff Roads is a corner house with a hedge of beautifully scented white lilac bushes, thanks to the recent warm and wet weather, now overgrown. Again more noise as a couple of guys with motor driven hedge trimmers cut back the luxuriant growth robbing them of their beauty and most of their scent - until they re-grow. Clare was having a flute lesson when I got home, and being complemented for making progress in producing a good consistent sound.

After her lesson, Clare went out shopping. When she returned, she was in a panic, as she left the house with her walking pole and returned without it, having visited two local branches of the Co-op in search of frozen food items. She parked her pole next to the freezer while extracting what she wanted to buy and left the pole behind, but in which store, she couldn't remember. Walking back without the pole was painful and exhausting, so I went to both, a circuit of about a mile, and retrieved it from the second one. What a relief!

After supper I finished editing the Morning Prayer audio for the Office of St John the Baptist's Day, and made the video slide show, then uploaded it to YouTube. 

There have been more exchanges of fire between America and Iran today. An American helicopter was shot down in the Straight of Hormuz and there have been more Iranian strikes on US Middle Eastern bases, breaching the ceasefire and halting negotiations. Trump has returned to threatening more strikes on Iran, to pressurise Iran into resuming talks. The Iranians and their allies are bound to retaliate. Trump's bullying tactics and lack of strategic clarity have resulted in his inability to gain control of the situation. He really is the 'elephant in the room' trashing relationships between Middle Eastern states and the West. How much longer can he retain authority by making a mess of everything he turns his hand to? And why do so many Americans trust their fortunes to him and his false promises?

My Madeleine moment

I had a good night's sleep, although I woke up for no reason I can think of at first light, and was awake for an hour before dozing off again. Sunshine with clouds driven by wind from the west. My head was clear when I got up but after breakfast and medication, it was as if my brain clouded over. Clare went off to her study group and I stayed in as we expected a lunchtime delivery of a convertible chair bed. It didn't turn up until gone three. I occupied myself with recording and editing a reflection for St John the Baptist's Day, I  cooked lunch with a foggy brain and mis-timed the baked potatoes and the frozen beans. It wasn't my best effort, but not quite a disaster either.

Two men arrived in a large white delivery van and carried several large cardboard boxes in, containing the components of the chair bed. They unpacked it and then had to work out how to assemble it from a sheet of instructions. Then it was a matter of working out the best place to put it in the front room that already contains a smallish three piece suite. The bay window seemed the best place. Book cases and telly needed repositioning. The chair's furnishing fabric is the same as the three piece suite. The shape is different, but the most important thing is that it's comfortable, and there's no problem about converting the chair into a bed that fits in the length of the room. The delivery men worked quietly and did a good job, having driven from Swindon, but they were finished by four with an hour's return drive ahead of them. They even took the cardboard boxes away with them. Tomorrow is our rubbish and recycling collection day. I was relieved not to have to deal with them.

Putting the bins out was my chore for the day. Then I walked to the Coop to buy almond milk. I spotted a discounted pack of doughnuts stuffed with custard and bought them for sentimental reasons. Sixty years ago, the year we graduated and got married, I was a night shift worker in a bakery at the bottom of Ashley Hill in St Paul's Bristol, putting trays of bread into a conveyor belt oven and removing scalding hot at the other end. I didn't get to fry the doughnuts, but injected jam into them when freshly cooked, dip them in sugar and put them in rows on a tray, ready for packaging. When I looked at the custard filled version I ate with a cup of tea, there was a hole in the side of the bun where the injection nozzle had been inserted, only this time to deliver custard not jam, probably in an automated process these days. Such a vivid memory, my equivalent to Proust's 'Madeleine moment'. I also remembered how tired I was at four in the morning, tired enough to fall asleep at the injection machine for long enough to cover the outside of the doughnut with jam, not the inside, and being teased by Italian migrant shift workers from whom I learned a few of their swear words, well before I learned any Italian.

I went out and walked again in Llandaff Fields after supper remembering the night bakery. I recall on one occasion removing a freshly baked loaf from the conveyor belt. It was scalding hot. I couldn't hold it and dashed it to the floor in a fit of temper. One of the Italians reproached me in a half mocking way and said in broken English. "Eeet's no way to treat the body of Christ." I think I may have told him that when I finished University I was going to train to be a priest. The fresh air cleared my head somewhat, though not entirely. It's so frustrating.

Israel launched deadly attacks on the ancient city of Tyre this morning. The UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez insists that cease-fires in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza must be respected. Netanyahu's actions are in contempt of cease-fire agreements. nine hundred have been killed in Gaza during the cease-fire. He clearly isn't listening to anyone but the extremists in his own government. Border crossings into Gaza have been closed, no humanitarian aid can be delivered. This makes it even more difficult for America and Iran to complete a peace deal. Retaliation by Iran against Israeli attacks on Lebanon boosts the determination of Iranian hard line military leaders to take more risks and escalate the conflict. Iran still controls the Straight of Hormuz, Bab al Mandeb and the flow of maritime traffic, determined to make users pay for it.