Yesterday we would normally have expected our domestic help to have called around but she had texted us to switch her day this week to Friday rather than Wednesday. Last night, I was pleased to say that Meg seemed to get off to sleep relatively quickly and then I spent a little bit of time familiarizing myself with my new iPhone 16 that I had picked up in the store earlier in the day. I had previously consulted the internet and found a useful and up-to-date article on how to maximize battery life in the new phone and I am trying to put its recommendations into effect such as, for example, only to charge up to 80-85% of its capacity rather than 100% as this is supposed to aid its longevity. This morning, we had intended to visit 'The Lemon Tree' cafe in the centre of Bromsgrove but time was rather against us as we have to be back in time for the carers' late morning call. Nonetheless, we did manage to get onto the High Street and bought some bits and bobs including quite an interesting printed cushion with a bear illustrated upon it which goes nicely in the 'Owl Corner' of our Music Lounge. We have had several telephone calls this morning, generally with quite encouraging news. One of these was from the social services department who have been requested by the nurse specialising in Meg's condition to expedite further assessment to ascertain if Meg needs/is qualified for an extra small increment of care. Our care agency tells us that the social services departments are so hollowed out that trying to get them to respond is very difficult but of course they fund the majority of the care costs and we pay the necessary contribution. The second telephone call was from our GP surgery to indicate that a doctor would be calling tomorrow to administer the flu (and perhaps COVID) vaccinations and, of course, this is to be welcomed but the only time slot that could be offered was 'some time between 9.00am-6.00pm)' I was a little surprised that a doctor should be undertaking this task rather than a District Nurse but if it is going to be a doctor then I will be delighted so that we can fine tune some of the medication to help Meg's condition. In particular, if there is anything that can be done to increase the probability of sound sleep and minimise the agitation that Meg sometimes experiences in the early evening that prevents sleep, then this will be a considerable bonus. Finally, we received a phone call from one of Meg's surviving cousins, making a telephone (a day early) to wish Meg a Happy Birthday. Both Meg's cousin and her husband have developed age-related conditions and it was wonderful to hear from her but, of course, we commiserated with each other about our respective conditions. In particular, neither of us were sufficiently well to attend the funeral of a mutual cousin some months ago now about which we were both sad but there was no way that either of the cousins were sufficiently well to be able to attend the funeral of the cousin who had died.
We have got into the habit of perusing the TV schedules each day and noting what may well be worth a viewing at a later date. Very recently,the film of Schindler's List was broadcast, quite late at night but Meg and I thought we would start watching the film this afternoon and probably in two halves as it is quite a long film, The story is a 1993 film by Steven Spielberg about Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved over a thousand Jews from the Holocaust. Schindler was a wealthy industrialist and flattered and bribed the Nazi high command into giving hum a supply of workers ostensibly to aid the German war effort and whether the Germans knew that they were being 'played' or just went along for the sake of the trappings that Schindler supplied is a moot point. The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and is widely regarded as a masterpiece of historical drama. It was shot in monochrome i.e. black and white but the clarity of the black-and-whiteness was superb and in way detracted from the enjoyment of the film. This was a deliberate design choice by Spielberg and the final scenes burst into colour to represent the triumph of hope after the portrayal of the darkness of the Holocaust. There is a modern tendency for a series of wedding photographs to be shot in black and white to give some clear and startling images, particularly in closeup, and one can appreciate why. In fact our own wedding photographs were shot in black and white for the simple reason that on a student budget we could not afford the very expensive colour versions in 1967.
The Middle East conflict proceeds apace with every expectation that Israel will retaliate with a great deal of force to the rocket attacks by Iran over the last day or so. In these days of 'warfare by rocket' it is the side with the best air defences that will prevail and in this case, there is 'no contest' and Israel is bound to come out on top. Ballistic missiles travel at such a speed that they are more difficult to intercept and thus to destroy but Israel has the sophisticated 'Iron Dome' system in place that seems to trap or neutralise most, but not all, of the incoming missiles.In addition. both American and British fighter pilots are on hand to help to defend Israel and the RAF were in action last night. But the Iranian air defences are no match for the firepower that Israel can unleash and I expect a massive attack in the next day or so. How long this 'ping pong' or deadly type of tennis match will continue is hard to say but the Americans are in no position to restrain the Israelis in any way. For their part, they probably sense a never to be repeated opportunity to 'smite' (to use an Old Testament biblical phrase) several of their opponents and there is no doubt to degrade their attack capabilities extensively. But at the same time, the resentment against the Israeli regime will surely increase amongst the traditional enemies of Israel. I learnt that the Israelis had banned the Secretary General of the United Nations from entering the country on the grounds that he was 'biased' (for reflecting world opinion). I think we will have to wait until after the American elections before the USA will dare to restrain their protege and the amount of damage, both physical and diplomatic, that will have been done by then is hard to over-estimate.