Ukraine fighting goes on

Why do so many not trust Mr Putin? He is ex-KGB allegedly and he still wants to impose his influence  on the countries that once formed the USSR. I'd like to believe his motives in Ukraine are honorable but I struggle with this.

Although the recent ceasefire is mostly holding, there is heavy fighting in the disputed Debaltseve region.  See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31511926 .

UPDATE 1045z 18.2.15: See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31519000 . It appears Ukraine has admitted defeat in Debaltseve.

Landwade

Today we did our annual walk of about 1.5km around Landwade. This time we had our little "London" grandchildren with us. The walk is always beautiful. The small private church is surrounded by a sea of snowdrops and aconites at this time of year. Although the walk was in bright sunshine, there was plenty of mud.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Other blog updated

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Today we walked from the delightful village of Dalham up to the village church. I have updated our East Anglian Churches blog to include this.

Dalham is a truly beautiful village not too far from Newmarket. It is in Suffolk.

Ukraine's fragile peace

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31463007 .
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31470645 .

The president of Ukraine is worried that the peace deal may not hold. It will require some trust and faith by both sides. Such moves are never easy, but peace is so much better than war.

I have no idea who is the real aggressor in this: clearly the Russian's are acting suspiciously.  At the same time some in the Russian speaking east want closer ties with Russia. A fair peace deal needs to ensure the will of all the people is respected.

Already it is estimated that around 5400 people have died as a result of the conflict.

Sepura shares heavy falls - why?

Shares in Sepura dropped quite a bit today. SEPU shares were at 143.75p today whereas they were 155p not long ago. I wonder if there was a reason?

See http://investors.sepura.com/prices-delayed .

Interesting that on this same day the FTSE 100 share index closed UP 0.67% today.

Polio like disease in the USA?

See http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/28/polio-like-condition-children/22478739/?hootPostID=3c49a40338b64dc035ebf25f06213336 .

Several children have been struck down by a polio like condition in the USA.  At the moment this is a mystery condition.

Hare Park, Chippenham, Cambs

Hare Park, Chippenham, Cambs

Today we took Lis's brother and his wife to the Open Weekend at Hare Park in Chippenham, Cambs. There were lots of snowdrops and aconites in flower.  The gardens were a picture of late winter, early spring. Luckily we missed the rain that came later.