£12 billion is a small amount. Banning petrol/diesel cars is good, and by 2030 is good. Off shore wind ok, on-shore wind needs to be allowed where appropriate. Hydrogen is interesting. Small nuclear plants is fraught with problems. Insulation of housing, why has it taken so long? Carbon capture is not proven. Planting trees is greenwash! It would be better to have a more holistic approach to land use.
VACCINE
BREXIT
Time is running out. If a deal is reached there will inevitably be more red tape for trade, whether with Europe or anywhere. Unfortunately business’s do not know what this will entail. Chaos at the ports is likely. Even with a deal there will be new red tape, health checks, etc. I am sure the Daily Mail has already written the headlines blaming the EU for any and all problems. The problem is with those who voted to leave!
Why have deals not been done regarding crime and policing? And the same for education and science?
Brexiteers will be happy with new immigration controls – or will they? Universities will have fewer foreign students paying high fees, farms suffer labour shortages, NHS is still desperate for doctors and nurses (and care homes).
Food prices and possible shortages? Fresh food of which 40% comes from the EU may become subject to price rises (red tape costs) and shortages due to delays in ports.
Cars, planes and chemical industries are all expecting problems.
So am I being pessimistic? I don’t think so. We have left the EU. There will be more red tape. Deals with other countries are far and few between (and further away thinking about climate change). Any deal with the EU needs to be ratified by each country, and as we live in a democracy, by our parliament which has a limited number of sitting days before the Xmas break. Perhaps Johnson should move Dildo Harding to be in charge of the transition in January due to the world beating success of track and trace!
GARDEN JOBS
Empty and clean greenhouse. Prune roses – be harsh?
Cut back apricot tree – I will cut it back loads (just enough for bird feeders to hang) – and see if it can revive? Move gooseberry bush. And prune wisteria and basically everything else!
Well, rubbish weather forecast from BBC, MetO, Meteo – all said dry this morning -so what is the damp stuff falling from above? Still I did manage a quick hack at the red rose by the bedroom window before it not-rained.
Sunday 15 November 2020
COVID-19
Vaccine may become available in a few weeks. Government estimates it could deliver 1 million per week. So about 3 months just to do the over 70’s (probably longer as others are important too!). I think the 1 million figure is determined by the logistics rather than availability – as more vaccines will become available.
And then to get to 70/80% ‘herd immunity’ is doubtful due to conspiracy theorists, covid deniers and general ignoramuses!
So we will need to live with our current way of life for the next 6 months at least.
CHRISTMAS 2020
The latest lockdown ends on 2 December. It will be another 2 weeks before full impact is known. The evidence of the figures from Wales is that the circuit breaker has had an impact, but not enough to relax.It does not really matter what the improvement has been, what is important is the R number, and the rate per100000. The numbers I have seen for Swansea and Cardiff are still much too high.
YOU CAN PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG, BUT IT IS STILL A PIG.
Cummings and Cain resign/sacked. Both were advisors – the decision maker is the same.
COOKING – APOLOGY -TAGLIATELLE
Maz. Mart and Tams. Sorry! I tried to cook with fresh veg. etc. but basically has one recipe! Mince with onions and tomatoes as spaghetti bol or shepherds pie. I did get pizza sussed eventually, but not much else. Many crappy meals since Banwell have been spoilt because I did not understand that the oven needed to be hot before putting stuff in!
But today I am writing my own recipes! My first. But these ones are ace –
First up – Tagliatelle – I have a pasta making machine, and basil and parsley on the window cill looking like they might want to give winter a miss! I am also not good at amounts as it depends who you are cooking for?
I think most of my recipes have always started the same way with chopped onion cooked slowly to caramelise. I am still unsure when to add garlic? I will look up and amend this.
Add chopped tomatoes, chopped red peppers (or green or yellow ones – make a rainbow!), and sweat a bit. Here I add a few sun dried tomatoes for their flavour, and maybe some sun dried peppers. I like to add dried mushrooms for extra depth of flavour, and a tad of salt. In this vegetarian version I also add a tbsp of marmite or vegemite (Aussie mates). So that is a basic full flavour sauce. Add chopped basil, parsley and some parmesan cheese to taste. Can be zapped up a bit with chilli. I like pepper on most dishes too. nd personally would probably add some cheddar as I am a cheese addict.
Oh, I missed the tagliatelle – make it yourself, 100g to 1 egg and a splash of olive oil. Delicious! I have yet to experiment with this – herbs, spinach, spices? Has anyone tried hot spaghetti?
10 Downing Street – CHAOS
Someone said they thought that Johnson was at least very clever! How wrong they are. A clever person keeps their friends close, but their enemies closer! The trouble for Johnson is that he cannot discriminate between the two factions. Surrounding himself with yes men was a particularly dumb move, as it deprived him of the superior intellect which would allow his “Duracell Bunny’ impersonations to, if not succeed, avoid the catastrophic failure they are having now.