Photo: Brian Garman
Do you keep a journal? One of my favourite writers, Geoff Dyer, remarked that he regretted not starting one early in his life. So do I. I do write one now, on my phone. I looked back at it this week. I noticed that one of our Vigils for a Gaza Ceasefire in Barnstaple High Street in early January was attended by 15 people. The one we held on Wednesday was attended by 47. Israeli violence continues unabated in Gaza and the West Bank. Malnutrition continues to take a toll among Gaza’s young despite a ceasefire declared two months ago, with more than 9,000 children hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October alone, according to the latest UN figures. The US continues to act like a rogue nation. On Thursday this was reported in Haaretz: ‘Trump administration officials have held advanced discussions on declaring the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a “foreign terrorist organization,” two sources told Reuters’. Meanwhile, Denmark classifies the US, understandably, as a security risk and the UK fails to support other countries boycotting the Eurovision Sing Contest. We shall hold a vigil in Barnstaple Square at 6pm on Sunday 21 December and our usual Vigil in the High Street at 5pm on Christmas Eve.
On Wednesday morning I took part in a site visit to Woolacombe by the Planning Committee of North Devon Council. We looked at the site of a proposed new house on the hillside north of the Esplanade. This is in a Conservation Area and the density of the houses is critical. We looked at the site from several different viewpoints and then visited the plot itself. This was extremely useful and will inform our discussion when the application is considered again by the committee in February. I also took part in the deliberations of the Licensing and Community Safety Committee last week. We discussed revised taxi hire charges, which need to balance the interests of both the drivers and their customers. We also discussed Anti-Social Behaviour in North Devon. The expertise and professionalism of the council’s officers are most impressive. These must be retained in any new reorganisation of local government: public service is a real calling and must be cherished.
A few news stories caught my eye this week:
This year is ‘virtually certain’ to end as the second- or third-hottest year on record. Global temperatures from January to November were on average 1.48C higher than preindustrial levels, according to Copernicus, the EU’s earth observation programme.
UK households have thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other ‘fast-tech’ gifts over the past year, a study suggests. The research found about £1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights.
Fewer than 60,000 people control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to the latest World Inequality Report. Worth quoting the conclusion: Inequality is a political choice. It is the result of our policies, institutions, and governance structures. The costs of escalating inequality are clear: widening divides, fragile democracies, and a climate crisis borne most heavily by those least responsible. But the possibilities of reform are equally clear. Where redistribution is strong, taxation is fair, and social investment is prioritised, inequality narrows... global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential.
A fragmented financial system will reduce US leverage, while also making the global economy more complex and, possibly, more crisis-prone. The dollar is not dead. But the world is slowly preparing for life beyond dollar hegemony, and the second Trump administration may be the catalyst that turns long-running dissatisfaction into systemic change.
More than 50 groups connected to transport and public health have urged the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, to set specific targets for levels of walking and cycling in England, warning that plans as they stand are too vague. I continue to campaign with fellow cllrs for a footpath / cycleway on Landkey Road: the design work is underway so that when new money becomes available Highways can apply at once.
This is the view towards Exmoor we see when we drive or cycle home from Barnstaple. As well as the Peahen by the gate, this is where we see charms of goldfinches - fifty or more - flying together with what seems like exuberance. They roost in great numbers in evergreen tree in our garden. I’m putting out food for our songbirds. Thank you for reading.