Yesterday was our hottest day yet -- about 90º F or 32º C. It was too hot to do much. I know many of you in North America are experiencing temperatures hotter than that, but here in England most people (including us) don't have air conditioning. So when it's 90º F, we're feeling it all day. It's draining. My only escape is taking a shower, which I happily did last evening once things began to cool off.
I kept reading "All the President's Men," which I am still enjoying a lot. The parallels between Nixon's time and now are so stark. Like the current president of the USA, Nixon was considered a somewhat coarse individual, and he was full of resentment against a power structure he felt had long mistreated him. He and his administration spent a lot of time sowing seeds of doubt about the media. They depicted reporters as representatives of a coastal elite who didn't understand "real Americans." It's exactly the messaging we hear from Trump now.
And despite all the evidence about the dirty tricks being employed by the Nixon White House against its adversaries, voters overwhelmingly re-elected Nixon in 1972. Again, parallels with Trump and our last election -- Nixon ran against a weak Democratic candidate and voters went with what they knew. Somehow it makes me feel better about Trump's re-election. We've done this before and survived, though admittedly not without a huge governmental crisis.
Anyway, I read about Watergate until I couldn't anymore, and then in the evening I watched the movie version again. It was very interesting to see how the movie condensed all of the detail in the book into a coherent script that was by and large very accurate. As far as I can tell, the only scene in the movie that's not in the book is the one in which Woodward and Bernstein knock on the door of a woman who supposedly works at the Committee to Reelect the President, and she welcomes them in (unlike all the other people they've approached), only for them to find that she doesn't work at CRP at all but at the Garfinkel's department store. I don't know whether the script writers made that up, or it really happened and "Woodstein" left it out of the book.
Oh, and Deep Throat's famous advice to "follow the money" is never uttered in the book, either. Not in those words, anyway.
I made a tomato sandwich for lunch with an heirloom tomato I bought at our local produce market. It was good but not as good as I thought it might be. I love a tomato sandwich in summer but tomatoes in England are just not like tomatoes in Florida. Dave would say it doesn't get hot enough here (except yesterday!), and maybe he's right.
Through all of this, I was hearing the sounds of packing tape being ripped upstairs, as the Russians prepare for their move. It filled my heart with joy.
(Re. the graffiti above: Funny, because I have the exact opposite reaction.)
Although it's cooler this morning, I'm seeing that we're not going to have any rain for the next few weeks, which includes our week away in Pevensey Bay. I feel like we're going to have to figure out some way to get the plants watered during that time. If only we had reasonable neighbors I could ask!
Our hottest day so far is supposed to be today, at around 33C in the afternoon where I live, and up to 37C in the hottest parts of Germany. As long as it cools off below 20 over night, I am fine, but when the nights aren't much cooler than the days and I can't seem to get fresh air into my flat (no air conditioning here, either) and don't sleep well, that's when the heat gets to me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there is nothing worse than trying to sleep when it's too hot.
DeleteWe recently watched a documentary about NIxon. What a complicated, tense man he was.
ReplyDeleteCooler here today, thank goodness.
Psychologically scarred, I would say!
DeleteYour smaller plants pop onto a towel in your shower cubical, give it a good soak, should last for the week, bigger plants get a few plastic bottles, one for each big pot, cut the bottom off and pop into the soil water the plant and fill the bottle, you can remove the lid or make hole in them to decide the flow of water.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hadn't thought of the towel solution. I have thought of bottles but I think for just a week we probably can survive without them.
DeleteWe’re planning a 2- or 3-week trip in September and, for that reason, haven’t purchased any plants for the new place. One less thing to worry about, although we do need a cat sitter. But your house is a different matter. If I were your neighbor, I’d gladly visit the plants. The comparisons between Nixon and the Orange Menace are astounding, although Nixon looks good in comparison.
ReplyDeleteSince you have cats you may as well get plants! Unless the cats are going somewhere else while you're on your trip.
DeleteJust one more thing for someone to take care of, unless I give instructions to the cats.
DeleteGive your plants a good soaking just before you go to Pevensey and they will surely be okay. This blogpost was somewhat disappointing as you did not refer to the American bombing of Iran. Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, describes the attack as "brave" and "historic". What a proud morning for Americans everywhere but didn't King McDonald say that he would give Iran two weeks?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the Iran bombing when I wrote the post early this morning, before looking at the news. I'm not sure what I would have said except that it's a disastrous mistake.
DeleteYour reflections weave history, politics, and daily life so vividly. It's striking how the echoes of the past feel so present, and I hope the coming cooler days (and maybe some good tomatoes) bring you some well-earned relief.
ReplyDeleteThe Nixon years are not something anyone wants to repeat, and yet here we are!
DeletePerhaps you could grow your own tomatoes? You would only need a couple of plants and they will taste way better than the horrible supermarket stuff.
ReplyDeleteWe actually have one that Dave's co-worker gave him, but we've had mixed results with tomatoes in the past. I think that's where Dave developed his theory about England's lack of heat!
DeleteI thought the exact same thing you did at the sight of that graffiti.
ReplyDeletePopped into my head right away!
DeleteThe Russians are going as opposed to 'coming' - hooray!
ReplyDeleteWendy (Wales)
Yes, thank goodness.
DeleteWell, Trump is sure topping Nixon as worst president ever. I can't imagine what the future history books are going to say about him. If the world survives, that is...
ReplyDeleteAt least Nixon's corruption only involved domestic politics, and he didn't endanger us on an international level!
DeleteReally hot here as well and humid but at least we have air conditioning. Fingers crossed you get a nice quiet reasonable new tenant above you. The problem with the concept of god imo is that it is a being (for lack of a better word) that is outside of creation. How does a being exist outside creation that existed how/in what space before it made the universe, and presumably still does. If science is proving anything it's that the universe itself is conscious, the cosmic consciousness. Have you ever read Microscopic God by Theodore Sturgeon? I recently read an anthology of Sturgeon's work and commented that A Boy And His Dog was a glaring omission. So was Microscopic God.
ReplyDeleteI've never read that book, no. There are many reasons why the concept of a God doesn't make rational sense, and who made God is one of them!
DeleteI think it all boils down to this for me- if there is a god, it doesn't give a damn about the suffering of it's so-called creation in the least, OR it's not powerful enough to prevent the suffering.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine that it won't be long before there will be far more businesses to install AC in homes. People will only suffer so much and the climate is not going back to what it was.
Honestly- I think that even if your plants look a bit rough when you get back, they won't be anywhere near dead.
To me, God is transparently an explanation for existence developed by people who didn't understand very basic facts about the universe.
DeleteI leave the wonderings of God to those who believe in him. My faith has completely gone. The best that I can do is to realize that I am not comfortable dismissing the existence of God. I think where people go off the tracks a bit is when they try to define who God is. If there is a God at all, I don't think he's a who at all. In the end, I think, 'To each his own.' As long as they don't expect their beliefs to define my life, I'm okay. The sad thing? In America, that's exactly what is happening. Christian Nationalists are expecting their beliefs to be the law of the land. Which makes me not okay with any of this.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Debby.
DeleteI agree -- to each his or her own. I certainly don't begrudge people who have religious belief. In fact in some ways I envy them! And like you, I chafe when people expect me to abide by the tenets of a religion I don't follow myself.
DeleteHow long are you going to Pevensey? Some people put a bottle of wine, full of water, in their plants to water while they're gone (the bottle is upside down). Not sure if it works.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/x-JTuH9G5kA
We'll be there a week. I think the plants should be fine for that short a time. I'll put them in the shade and make sure they're well-watered the morning we go.
DeleteI lean more toward being agnostic. That said, I also have a tough time relating to the supernatural and many forms of science fiction. A real mixed bag!
ReplyDeleteMy greatest pleasure is family, friends, gardening and creative interests.
Regarding tomatoes, you might consider growing cherry tomatoes in a large pot. After several failed attempts (blight and deer), the cherry tomatoes are thriving.
We did try cherry tomatoes when we lived in Notting Hill. A neighbor gave us a plant. We ate the tomatoes, which I thought were OK, but when we gave some to the neighbor she said, "These are horrible"! LOL
DeleteI do not understand the last graffiti- what the hell sense does that possibly make- The more I study teeth the more faith I have in the tooth fairy. London in the heat is just miserable- no relief, that will possibly change in the future , it will have to. warming is not going away and the humidity increases the heat index to many degrees hotter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Susan about growing tomatoes in pots- we have had some measure of success doing that, as well as squash. Pots are very little trouble!
Your tooth fairy analogy made me laugh! It will be interesting to see if A/C gets more widely adopted here. Not really a step toward being more green!
Delete90s here and no air-con either. I hear you! You're inspiring me to get ATPM book now! And yes, the parallels are amazing. Love that you are hearing the sound of packing tape! And what does the UK think of the Iran bombing?
ReplyDeleteStarmer says he supports it, but the UK was not asked to participate, which is fine by me.
DeleteIt was 96 F here yesterday and supposed to get that hot again today. Having grown up without air conditioning, I sympathize with you. It is draining and I hope never to be without it again, at least living here.
ReplyDeleteWith Trump’s actions last night, even I am becoming concerned about surviving another term of him. Last thing I desire is to get involved in another war.
I think in some parts of the world, a/c is really more of a necessity than a luxury, and the midwest is one of those areas -- at least in the depths of summer.
DeleteIt was cool enough this morning here in AZ to take a walk at the garden. We got a break from the excessive heat of last week. I went at 6:00 AM and it was 73 degrees. It was only 78 when I left at 7:30 but the sun was much higher and the shade was dwindling so it was time to go.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison between Nixon and Trump is very striking. They are cut from the same cloth and with the same evil friends.
They really are cut from the same cloth -- or share similar insecurities, I would say. It's great you can get into the gardens at 6 a.m.!
DeleteGive the plants a good soaking before you leave and again when you get back.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's probably what we'll do. Everything else seems like overkill.
DeleteThe administration has started a tiny backtracking of "we destroyed Fordow". There should be more leaking radiation than there is. I guess from here on out, anybody that pisses of the orange one will get bombed just because.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've seen "heavily damaged" is now the operative term.
DeleteSlightly hotter here but we are not living in a city like you. Lucky for you, it will be gorgeous in Pevensey Bay if the high pressure stays on.
ReplyDeleteI just read in the NYT about the mediocrity of Florida tomatoes and that as a result of the tariffs on Mexican food produce, people will be left with these "tasteless, hideous and repulsive" local ones. Care to explain?
Wow! Well, Florida was the center of tomato-growing before NAFTA and I remember getting really good ones when I was a kid, especially at self-pick farms where you could get them right off the plants. I guess supermarket tomatoes are going to be inferior regardless of where they come from, since they're picked more for shipping and display than for taste.
DeleteWe're having comfortable temps right now but will probably get hotter weather eventually. I'm happy that I invested in a heat pump which makes my upstairs bedroom livable. Tomatoes need sun to ripen and sweeten and water to get bigger. I think? I have the opposite reaction to that quote too. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a tomato-growing expert, but yes, that's my impression too!
DeleteInteresting similarities among Nixon and Trump...The temp here is 90 at the moment and yes, local tomatoes have been getting bad press. Picked too soon and shipped too far. Like you I have the opposite reaction to that sign statement.
ReplyDeleteYeah, when they pick them green and grow them for packing and shipping, they're bound to be bad.
DeleteThe similarities between Nixon and Trump? ....the same advisors?
ReplyDeleteSome of the same people, but also the same insecurities about being disparaged by the "elites" whose acceptance they secretly crave.
DeleteI used to say that it's because of science that I believe in God (meaning that science "beautifully & wonderfully made") but I don't know that I believe in God at this point in my life. Which is freeing AND sad at the same time seeing as how I'm a Church Lady.
ReplyDeleteIt's 94 degrees here, but our air is running nonstop. I would probably perish in England right now.
Now that's an interesting statement, coming from you! I think anyone could be forgiven for being skeptical at this point in time. I feel closer to God in nature than anywhere else.
Delete(Or closer to what most people seem to conceive of as God, I should say.)
DeleteI think most non-believers would react to that graffiti like you, but I totally get it and agree with it. One of my favorite websites is BioLogos.org which promotes science and faith being compatible. Non believers make too many generalized assumptions about those who do believe. We're not all alike in our beliefs anymore than all non-believers are.
ReplyDeleteI had a tomato and guacamole sandwich for supper the past two nights and they were delicious!
I am sure there's a tendency on both sides to overgeneralize, just as there is with almost any group of people.
DeleteThe only thing I remember about Nixon is his statement "I'm not a crook" and he was one of the biggest crooks around.
ReplyDeleteI just read that he made that statement while on a visit to Disney World! I don't think I ever knew that.
DeleteAbout god, I'm agnostic. I don't want to be bullied into other people's beliefs! It's hard for me, who grew up in the Yorkshire of the fifties, when summers rarely got above 60°f, and you wore your coat all July and August, to hear about being too hot! What we wouldn't have given to even be warm enough..
ReplyDeleteWell, a hot day like that one is still unusual -- enough to make headlines, in fact. We're still usually much cooler. In fact I'm sitting in the garden in a t-shirt at the moment and I'm cold!
Delete