Knotty Problems

We visit a walled garden - a beautiful, peaceful place, used as a healing environment for people recovering their mental health. We spend liberally on an entry donation and tea and plants and wine (they have a vineyard). There are huge water snails and darters and damsel flies; fruit, vegetables and flowers - evidence of many hours of care. It is a restful place or should be, but signs of drought stress are easy to see in wilting leaves and shortened stems. These days, unusual weather extremes lead the mind inevitably to carbon dioxide and melting ice; not so restful as we hoped

Over a barbecue lunch, we engage in small-talk with family: what are our immediate plans? More generally, how do we structure our week? MrsM mentions her regular commitment to preparing supplies for Ukraine. Briefly we divert into geo-politics; cease-fires; bluff and double bluff; the great game; artillery and drones; trench warfare in the 21st century; grim imaginings

Back home, I treat myself to a fresh date after supper. The box lid says 'Israel' - a mistaken purchase, we didn't see it until we got home. But the money is spent - should I eat them or throw them away? Does 'Israel' mean 'occupied Palestine'? Does that make a difference? If I eat a date from "Israel" as a child in Gaza starves, am I a bad person?

Some people - even some people who work in current affairs journalism - have stopped paying close attention to the news. You can see why. The matter is treated thoughtfully in this article (we are also watching the TV series it discussed, which does not help) - "tuning out the noise" 

One other question. At a time when both box blight and box tree caterpillar are destroying ancient box in gardens across England, how does the walled garden have such a pristine knot-garden, drought stress or not?