Reflective

This morning R and I did some work on the family finances, which was deeply tedious and irritating, but luckily took so long that by the time we eventually made it into Stratford to do our shopping, the morning's drizzle and murk had given way to a warm and sunny afternoon. Way too warm, I have to say - I was uncomfortable in jeans, shirt and a gilet, and felt slightly envious of the woman I saw wandering around in leggings and a sleeveless t-shirt.

That this is not normal for the last weekend in October hardly needs saying; what does need saying is that it's completely outrageous that this month's Prime Minister has downgraded the Government's Climate Minister role to being outside the Cabinet, and is not only not attending COP27 himself, but is also declining to reverse his predecessor's refusal to let the King attend. Whatever you might think about the monarchy in general and Charles in particular, he's been a keen environmentalist since before Sunak was even thought of, and he knows how to use to soft power of the monarchy to instigate change in areas that engage him.

Yeah, but.... Tufton Street, though. Sunak is one of its creatures, and denying human accountability for climate change is one of its main campaigns. In my opinion it's time we booted this shower of self-servers into the sea.

Anyway. This is a black-headed gull on the Bancroft Basin. Stratford is a winter territory for these birds, so it's probably wondering why the water's so warm.

Edit: in late news, someone from the British establishment is apparently going to attend COP27 after all. And that person is... Boris Johnson. Which is, for all that I loathe the man, absolutely first class trolling of this month's Prime Minister. Well played, Johnson. Well played.