It’s 33C outside in London. You can’t tell whether people are crying or sweating. We can’t do anything until we get a say – which, this time, we did not. So we beat on, against the sun, borne back ceaselessly into hell.

This is a quote from The Guardian, a British newspaper to which I have a subscription.  I like it because it gets me away from news solely focused on Donald Trump, with whom I admit I am a bit obsessed (in a very negative way).  I like the quote because it refers to a favourite quote of mine from The Great Gatsby, which everyone should read and then reread a few years later.  (There are so many great things to read and I am afraid I waste a lot of time reading mystery novels instead of stuff that's more worthwhile.)

Britain has just chosen a new prime minister, after Theresa May resigned last month.  They are trying to deal with Brexit and can't seem to make any progress either to leave the European Union or to have another election or another referendum to see if they should remain a member.  Boris Johnson is their "sort of" choice for prime minister (they didn't have an actual election, because Theresa May resigned without calling one and so the party chooses a new leader and because the party {in this case, the conservatives} is in power, the leader they choose is also the Prime Minister).  Boris Johnson has said that Britain will leave the European Union on October 31 (a rather inauspicious date) with or without a deal.  But of course, it's like a marriage and not so easy just to part ways without getting lawyers involved and organizing how you're going to share the wealth and who will take care of the children and things like that.  I don't know how most British people feel but certainly the Guardian (which has leftist leanings) is not optimistic about how Boris will manage things.  He has a very colourful past -- he was originally a journalist, but was embroiled in scandal for making up a quote and then attributing the quote to his godfather (he is very well connected and his godfather is a well known historian named Colin Lucas) and then was elected mayor of London (for two terms) and then entered national politics, serving in the Conservative cabinet and then resigning in protest against Theresa May's inability to get Brexit done.  He has very blond hair, and it is interesting to me that it is reminiscent of  Donald Trump's hair -- neither coif appears to me to be very attractive.  Anyway, as you can see by the quote, Hannah Jane Parkinson (the writer of the article which is topped off by this great quotation) is not hopeful.

Here in my safe corner of the world, I am sitting looking out at my view of the North Shore and watching the birds and squirrels eat the seeds and nuts I have put out for them.  The squirrels are so funny -- the way they leap from the balcony to the tree next to the house - they throw themselves into the void with their little feet curled up under them and then grab onto a branch and nimbly run into the leaves and disappear, only to return shortly for more nuts.  Daisy and I saw a lovely pileated woodpecker on our walk this morning.  I am reading another dystopian novel (recommended by my sister) called Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.  It's not as amazing as Ice Cream Star but it certainly makes you appreciate the infrastructure that we depend on -- electricity and running water and transit systems and grocery stores - which do not exist for the people in the Symphony (which is a group of travelling musicians and actors, who have survived the pandemic that has decimated the world in this book).  Last night, after aquafit, I had a delicious double chocolate raspberry ice cream cone and I don't suppose the people in Station Eleven would ever get to eat such a wonderful confection with no way to refrigerate anything.  Be grateful for the wonders that we have at our fingertips.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.