This feathered god from Hawai’i was collected from the island during Captain Cook’s third voyage (1776-80) and is documented as being on display at the British Museum from 1803. It is one of the museum’s best-known treasures and is currently on show in a beautiful exhibition about Hawai’i. I think the expression sums up the majority world’s response to the illegal wars being waged by American, Israeli and Russian leaders. Simon Tisdall summed up the position very well in the Guardian last Sunday:
Mobster Trump’s latest crimes follow close on the heels of his kidnapping of Venezuela’s president; his threats to invade Greenland, sovereign territory of a loyal Nato ally; his hypocritical upgrading of the US nuclear arsenal while prating about Iran’s hypothetical nukes; his sabotage of UN action on climate; his punitive global trade tariffs; his intrusive support for Europe’s far-right parties and Reform UK; and perhaps most bitter of all, his unforgivable betrayal of Ukraine and appeasement of Russia. All these actions adversely affect the British people and the British state. It would be a positive boon, for example, if the UK’s unaffordable, undesirable Trident nuclear missile submarines, which rely on US technology, were scrapped. Dependencies such as these give unstable, war-addicted Trump dangerous leverage over the UK. Best be rid of them before he uses it. The existential threat to democratic values, laws and freedoms posed by Trump, Netanyahu and authoritarian bedfellows such as Vladimir Putin is ubiquitous – and growing. For Britain’s Keir Starmer, an honourable man undeservedly mocked by a sleazebag, this is the biggest, most important lesson of the war: know your enemy – and act accordingly.
Photo: Brian Garman
Vigil 121. The genocide continues with bombings, starvation and the witholding of medical supplies and personnel. The West Bank and Lebanon are also the victims of Israeli cruelty. The BBC continues to fail abjectly in holding the perpetrators to account. This morning (Saturday 14 March) US General Petraeus was chatted with (rather than rigorously interviewed) on the Today programme. He presented himself as unaware that there is clear video evidence that a US Tomahawk missile killed 175 or more schoolgirls and teachers in Iran at the start of their illegal war. How odd that only those who could be held accountable for this barbaric act - like Secretary of War Hegseth - are apparently unaware that they caused it. Our media need to do much better than this.
We had a photocall last Sunday morning to help one of our new members - Jules ‘Credge’ Credgington (centre) - campaign in a by-election for a district cllr to represent Fremington. With him are, L to R, Neil Basil (Ilfracombe town cllr), Ricky Knight (Heanton Punchardon district cllr), Sara Wilson (Ilfracombe county and district cllr) and me. My wife and I were out this sunny Saturday morning delivering leaflets in Fremington as part of our first Action Day in the ward. Zack Polanski’s extraordinary impact on the political landscape has naturally prompted a backlash. He’ll probably be accused of swelling the Green Party membership by hypnotherapy.
Last night (Friday 13 March) I attended the second year of Northern Devon’s Flourishing Culture Awards, held this time at the Barnstaple Hotel. I help with the awards as our council’s representative on the Cultural Partnership Board with Torridge. Among the sponsors of the awards are Dartington Crystal. Each winner received one of the very handsome goblets on the table at the left. An even more handsome rose bowl was presented to the recipient of this year’s Special Award for contributions to culture, Frances Bell of Barnstaple in Bloom. Frances is a very popular recipient for her tireless and imaginative work in making the town beautiful and her splendid work with choirs. I shall always think of Frances as the leader of the team who fished shopping trollies out of the River Taw by the Long Bridge a few years ago. Another highlight of the evening was a performance by Amena El-Kindy, a local girl who has become a singer of national renown. She performed a song from her role as Éponine in Les Misérables. Her second song was even better - ‘What a Wonderful World’. There were very good individuals and enterprises that did not win last night but I hope they will benefit from the spotlight shone on them and be nominated again next year.
This is a Golden Willow, now in its new leaves. We bought it from the garden centre at Ashford as a sapling fifteen years ago and brought it home in the back of our car. It looks wonderful beside our pond. Other very welcome new arrivals include Wood Anemones and Marsh Marigolds. Thank you for reading.