Dry!

Even though we have had some rain today, our garden is very dry. The grass is very dry and starting to turn yellow. In East Anglia it is not unusual for the lawns to be dry in August, but it is only mid-June!  Usually things recover well when cooler weather returns in the early autumn.  I gave everything a good soaking last night, but we need some heavy rain for a few days really.

"The Gondoliers" G&S

Nearly every year we go to a summer theatre held in a barn in a nearby village. They always do a Gilbert and Sullivan production. This year it was "The Gondoliers". As usual, for a totally amateur group, it was excellent. This has become part of our June landscape now. The Gondoliers was first produced in 1889.

FTSE 100 - up a bit?

The FTSE 100 share index is currently showing very modest gains, although a lot can happen in a day. Based on the continuing uncertainly in, and about, Europe, I'd expect volatile markets for a good while longer. Maybe after the situation in Greece becomes clearer and after the new budget, things might become more stable, even if lower?

Visit from old work colleague

This morning I had the pleasure of a visit from an old work colleague who retired a few years ago. It was good to catch up.  He finds plenty to do to fill his days including country dancing and restoring clocks.  Like me (I retired in 2008) he wonders how he found time to go to work!

Grass lawn

We have been fighting a battle with our front lawn. Despite it not being the warmest of springs, the garden is very dry (more so than usual) and we have patches of rough grass as a result of grass seeds blown in from a neighbour's garden which is kept partly wild on purpose. We are watering these patches regularly and they have been especially treated so the grass does not need as much water. We shall see.

FTSE 100 share index

The FTSE 100 share index has fallen back quite a bit from its recent highs. I am not too surprised. Greece is still filled with uncertainty and we, in the UK, have an EU referendum coming up, probably next year, the outcome of which is far from certain.   Personally I think Greece will default and eventually leave the Eurozone.  Greece is not a good place to be currently. The UK referendum is bound to create a climate of uncertainty. Markets like stability.

I hope we, in the UK, vote to stay in the EU, but that some of its ways are changed. It does seem bogged down with rules that work against an open market, which is really what we joined in 1975. Some of our population issues are of our own making due to our relatively good economy, but I still feel we, the UK, should have the last word on who can stay and work here, not the bureaucrats in Brussels.  At the moment, the EU seems to have the last word.

If we do not want a federal Europe that is our decision. We have always been "on the edge" of Europe both politically and geographically and I hope this continues. Yes to a common EU market, but no to the UK in the Euro and a federal Europe. Fine for those that want it.  Actually the whole EU would benefit from some reform. In many countries the pressure is building and the politicians need to listen to the voice of the people.

Ebola - no longer in the news

Certainly here in the UK, and I suspect the USA, Ebola went out of the news late last year.  Although the West African outbreak was the worst on record, it is sad that it soon became not newsworthy. It looks like the outbreak is now under control but it is a sad indictment of our society that when things go "off the radar" we hear little about them. It is a warning that what is considered "news" is filtered.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_epidemic_in_West_Africa .