The way ahead?

15 April

Every year at this time I have to have photos taken of the back of my eyes. This is because diabetes can cause bleeding on the retina. Treatment is by laser surgery performed in hospital as an outpatient. So far I haven’t needed it, which is a great relief to me. Part of the reason for not needing it is that my diabetes is well controlled, with my continued weight loss helping a lot with that. Having said that, we are having fish fingers and chips for dinner today, but seeing as it’s been probably three weeks since we last had chips, I’m not all that worried.

One thing I am getting more worried about as time goes on, is that bloody lump in my back. I don’t think it’s getting any bigger but it is getting more painful. Yesterday I nearly fell over in the kitchen when I lost all feeling from the waist down, again. As I got up this morning my legs were so painful that it was a really hard to get going. I think it’s time I began to shout at the doctors a wee bit. The only problem with that is that you never know whether or not they take any notice of you. Whatever, I need to get something done.

At long last the bright sparks across the channel have decided that if they can get from Turkey to Greece by sea, why not try it to get in to Britain the same way. Two guys got here that way by using a mobile phone to call 999. They were finally picked up a mile of the Kent coast. OK, they will be sent back, but they did get here, and that will not be lost on all those others who are waiting for their chance. How long will it be before a lot more of them try it, and don’t forget we have long stretches of coast where there is little if any housing or industry. If they come ashore in such places, we wouldn’t know about it until the boats and life vests and so on are found. Time will tell I suppose.

These people will continue to come here simply because we are a more prosperous than their own country. The reasons for that are many and varied, but corruption and violence are major ones. No-one knows how to prevent them so the flood will continue washing up on the shores of Europe and Britain. If anyone did manage to stop it, would it make any difference I wonder? I doubt it, the old saying about greener grass everywhere but your own garden will still be there.

Another thread of that is the violence, and the news now on are saying that five people have been arrested in Brum in connection with the attacks in Paris and Brussels. This issue in usually linked with religion, Islam being the main culprit these days. Sadly, groups like ISIS claim to be Islamic and think excuses their thuggish violence, while in reality, there is no excuse for it. Equally though, the religious fundamentalists will never be happy with whatever they may gain from their violence. Sorting that out can never be done and victims of it will continue to march on Europe.

Today’s photo …

A display in the Eagle pub in Cambridge.

Today’s funny …

This woman and her husband came out of the supermarket. She said, 'I'll put the shopping in the car and you get the baby.'
The husband said, 'Alright.' And off he went. A few minutes later he was back at the car.
The woman said, 'Hey, that's not our baby.'
The man said, 'Shut up, it's a better pram.'