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Last post on this was 22 October. We are having a cold spell, but the fires in California may also be related to the drier than normal weather. Expect higher than normal rainfall and floods in NW USA and Great Lakes region. La Nina explained. Australia largely wetter and Japan colder.
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A map of the Milky Way has been produced by scientists at Cambridge using data from the ESA Gaia satellite over the last 7 years. It maps nearly 2 billion stars. Read article
Interesting times. Debenhams and Arcadia are the latest to go. So High Streets will be changing. Weston-super-Mare High Street has nothing to offer me, and parking is a nightmare, difficult and costly. And has nothing to offer – chain stores, phone shops, charity shops, betting shops, tattoo parlours, etc. Apart from Boots, Waterstones and Smith’s there are no shops worth a look.
My ideal High Street would have craft shops and individual outlets, some cafes with own baked produce. But being realistic – the town centre is, as the name says, the centre of the urban development. So it needs great communication networks. I personally think we will move from large buses to smaller people carriers powered by batteries (8-10 people), which are very frequent, or summoned on demand?
So let me think – getting to the town centre; I can park outside the city and get a quick regular service into it. Why should I go there? Hmmmmn. I have not been to a town centre this year so I am probably not the right person to ask. But I would go to Wells or Glastonbury type centre for bespoke presents. Maybe town centres need to be seen as centres for young people?
With Trump hopefully about to leave the White House, the Israelis seem to have used the opportunity for yet another assassination in Iran. Wonder whether Putin will see this as a shortening window to push into the Baltic states or strengthen his hand in the ‘stans. Erdogan is more difficult to call. Boisonaro in Brazil must be concerned that the carte blanche he had under Trump might disappear.
Brexit – negotiations heading for final denouement – both sides will blame the other regardless of outcome. I think there may be some agreement, but suspect it will not be good for either side. And to be honest it is us who have most to lose. The rest of Europe will carry on as normal. The bullshit we were told about leaving Europe will come home in a bad way.
So Penrose and Fox think it illogical that North Somerset is in tier 3. And it is only because North Somerset is in the ‘travel to work’ zone for Bristol. So neither of them look at the statistics which shows NS to be well above the national average (BANES is below it). I guess Penrose avoids statistics as his missus is in charge of test and don’t bother tracking fiasco. Fox is just an idiot.
So North Somerset is in Tier 3 along with Bristol, whilst Cornwall is in Tier 1. When I mentioned this to a local businessman – very ~Tory, his immediate reaction was bloody Somalian immigrants. This is so far from the truth that I am pleased my stats gave me factual ammunition to put him right. Stats on P2.
Along with many other developed countries the birth rate is falling. Italy’s population is at its lowest for 90 years. Villages are becoming deserted, especially those in hill top positions in remote parts of southern Italy. Test areas are already the poorest in Italy with few job prospects. They are also extremely vulnerable to Covid with many hospitals having been closed.
There are. some parallels with Cornwall where the number of intensive care beds very low. Cornwall is one of the poorest regions in pre-Brexit EU.
We should avoid becoming to insular. Russian influences will pervade here, but Lukashenko’s time might be limited. Belarus may not have the right wing element that exists in other Eastern European countries. Although I doubt that Russia will allow any liberal government.