Scatterbrain

I've got a few things done today... a batch of cranberry and orange marmalade (comfort-cooking); some Greek practice; a failed attempt to digitise some black and white negatives.  I didn't have the concentration needed for that last one and will try again another day.

Day-to-day life runs in parallel with the surreal experience of hearing people on the radio debate the chances of a nuclear strike, within Ukraine or further afield.  There are references to 1980s fears of nuclear war (which I remember well), and to the Ken Loach film of that period -  'Threads'  - set here in Sheffield, my adopted home town.   Other radio discussions and news reports talk of billionaire Roman Abramovich being asked (by Ukraine) to see if he can facilitate peace negotiations in any way. Many media/social media commentators point out that President Zelenskyy - in a previous, happier life - voiced the part of Paddington Bear when Paddington was released in Ukraine.   I learn a whole set of new vocabulary from Twitter: will an 'off-ramp' be found for Putin, down which he might retreat from apocalypse?  What are the characteristics of successful urban guerrilla warfare?

Don't worry; I do have an 'off' switch.  So do my phone and laptop. I keep these notes partly as reminders of a strange and deeply frightening time. In an odd way, the notes are a statement of faith: there will be a time when people will look back on this period, having got through it. Most importantly, in Ukraine.

Meeanwhile, the shot of my desk, with its clutter, is the best image I can find for a disturbed and disjointed day.