Free Speech or totalitarianism?

 We took no interest in the royal events a couple of weekends but I was appalled at the actions of the Metropolitan Police and their high-handed actions with people who wished to protest at the proceedings. It matters not whether the protesters were republicans or “Just Stop Oil” extremists - they have a right to protest about things they do not agree with. Other people may disagree with their actions and have the right, within reason, to disagree with the protesters. That is democracy in action. The new Policing Act, parts of which were rushed through Parliament, is at complete divergence with the British belief in democracy and the right to free speech.

It does seem from afar that the UK is drifting (quite quickly) into a right wing position, where parliamentary scrutiny is bypassed by ministerial edicts (and you only need to see the way in which catch-all  legislation is only reluctantly surrendered by ministers). Altogether it leaves a rather sour taste in my mouth.

Sad news yesterday - we made friends with an English couple about ten years ago and became quite close. Meals out, meals in, and a shared interest in cricket (for the men) and a shared interest in many other things (for the women). And then, about three years ago, she changed at first subtly and then demonstrably. Rudeness and breaking of confidence became the norm, and reluctantly we dropped them. About two years ago we met them by chance at a bar, and she told us in no uncertain terms that her husband was suffering from Parkinson’s, and was telling everybody. Sad for him, and should have been sad for her. Yesterday we were in the same bar and he came in for lunch with a carer. He was a hollowed-out individual shuffling in with a stick. He walked past us with no recognition, and we decided it was better not to add to his confusion by going over to speak. It turned out that (Ann spoke to the carer as she was paying their bill) that he now had a live-in Asian carer, and that his wife had developed Alzheimer’s and died shortly afterwards. How tragic - a lively couple only a few years older than us - and her life ending suddenly (perhaps a blessing) and he existing as a shell of the man we knew.

I know it is an inevitable byproduct of getting older that other people age and die. I suspect, in that situation … I wouldn’t have a clue as to how to proceed. Let’s hope it never comes to that.

It is a sign of summer that, suddenly, out of nowhere, The Ashes are about to dominate the television screens of cricket lovers. The only problem is that we hate to be inside watching television when the weather is as beautiful as a typical Cyprus summer. A conundrum if ever there was one … a typical first world problem.