Yesterday we awoke to freezing temperatures yet again and predictions that the day might prove to be the coldest of the present cold snap. The Meteorological Office is predicting that in the North, the temperatures could fall as low as -15° or even -20° tonight but there may be some amelioration by Monday or Tuesday. The news media is dominated with a fascinated horror by the wildfires that are sweeping California, not sparing the homes of the rich and famous. I suppose we are quite used to seeing scenes of devastation involving earthquakes, floods and fire afflicting poor communities but what is so unusual about the current troubles is that it is occurring in the middle of a Northern hemisphere winter and not summer and afflicting affluent communities who must rank amongst some of the more affluent on this planet. In an extraordinary, 'non interview' with Sky News, the mayor of Los Angeles had returned from a holiday trip to Ghana and the following interrogation ensued. A Sky News team was on the same plane as the Los Angeles mayor as she landed back in the city yesterday. Karen Bass was returning from a trip to Ghana when our correspondent asked if she felt she owed an apology to LA citizens for being absent. The mayor was speechless and stone-faced and refused to answer the questions regarding an apology for being absent at such a crucial time.
We have a real domestic emergency on our hands with a major leak of water in the house affecting the dining room where water was dripping through the ceiling and the lower part of the hall. Our son has organised an emergency plumber who is due to call between the hours of 8.00 and 10.00 so we just have to sit in the house (without water, central heating) until then. Actually, the whole of the day has been rather dominated by this domestic emergency. My son came and turned off the water and the central heating and arranged for the emergency plumber who skillfully diagnosed the source of a leak in a split pipe which was under pressure. He arrived at about 9.00am and was with us for an hour and a half - we finished up with a hole cut into our dining room ceiling about a metre squared and then my son and domestic help busied themselves with a certain amount of tidying up whilst I looked after Meg. The carpet had to be dried as far as we could and one of the curtains taken down. Once the emergency plumber had departed I had a series of phone calls with our Insurance company. This always seemed to be long and protracted but eventually I got through to the right department after a certain amount of redirection. The upshot of all of this is that a building surveyor should be making contact with us on about Monday to come and assess the damage to the ceiling and, hopefully, to start to effect a repair. This will no doubt be in two stages as first there is the repair and then there is the inevitable redecoration. I can see this going on for about a month altogether and, I must admit, adds to the not very good start to the New Year. Halfway through the morning, I had a phone call from one of Meg's distant cousins. She had phoned the day before but these days people always seem to put the phone down the minute I get to it.
On the other side of the Atlantic, as well as the terrible news about the forest fires in California, we have witnessed one of the final dramas in the legal case surrounding Donald Trump. He has been handed a no-penalty sentence following his conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. The incoming US president has received an unconditional discharge - meaning he will not face jail time, probation or a fine. Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan could have jailed him for up to four years. The sentencing in Manhattan comes just 10 days before the 78-year-old is due to be inaugurated as US president for a second time on 20 January. Trump appeared at the hearing by videolink and addressed the court before he was sentenced, telling the judge the case had been a 'very terrible experience' for him. He claimed it was handled inappropriately and by someone connected with his political opponents. This means that Trump will be inaugurated as a convicted felon - the first time I believe in US history. But to be declared guilty and then to receive no penalty - not even a nominal fine - points to the way in which the rich and powerful can break the law with impunity. I once read a terrible story about how a British architect did some work for the Trump organisation who were satisfied with the work done but refused to pay him the agreed rate for the job. I think he was paid about a third and then told to sue the Trump corporation for the remainder who knew that the architect did not have the resources to go to court and would have to wait for years for the correct payment.
When I last did a weekly shop, I purchased a copy of 'What's on TV' which is a guide I have just recently discovered and which I think is actually streets ahead the 'Radio Times' these days whilst being about a third of the price. In particular, these have a feature detailing forthcoming films and I was delighted to see that two particular offerings will be available to us over the weekend. Firstly, there is going to be the story of Anne Frank at midday on Saturday. Late in the afternoon, there is one of the classic versions of 'Pride and Prejudice' and this we can delay until the following day and get it on the BBC iPlayer. When Meg and I spent our honeymoon in Amsterdam in 1967, we went round the Anne Frank's museum but it has been considerably improved since then. But on the two or three occasions we have tried to get in when we have been in Amsterdam, the queues have been enormous. But nowadays the Dutch will have got timed tickets organised as they have for most of their museums nowadays.
© Mike Hart [2025]