As the new week gets underway, I am sure that we are all bracing ourselves for what the Chancellor holds in store for us next Wednesday when she delivers her 'Financial Statement' immediately after Prime Ministers Questions. There is bound to be quite an in-depth examination of how much investment is required to maintain our national infrastructure as the fire at the electricity sub-station that knocked out Heathrow last week revealed. I read this morning that the bosses of the National Grid and Heathrow are in a mutual blame game with the boss of the former claiming that Heathrow could have carried out functioning with the assistance of two other sub stations. Whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular argument is almost immaterial as whatever enemies the UK has must be rubbing their eyes in wonder at how easy it would be to bring the UK to its knees. After all, a well thrown bomb could have started the fire at the sub station with the most enormous consequences. Although we are supposed to have plans to protect our national infrastructure, one does have to wonder whether these have been hollowed out in the past decade or so of first austerity and then post austerity. The omens are not good as I also read the views of an expert that as a society we have not learnt the lessons of COVID and it seems a racing certainty that another pandemic could be on its way within our lifetimes. There is also a lot of speculation this morning that the education budget, once regarded as sacrosanct, may well be the target of future cuts with free school meals in the firing line. The current Labour government seems to be on a kamikaze course at the moment because cuts to the education budget are now being envisaged and this impacts directly, of course, upon both parents and children. With the price rises that are soon to be upon us, I can empathise with the argument that further general rises in taxation may not be capable of being levied upon the population, but I am sure that there must be other imaginative ways to raise money through taxation. Top of my list would be a 'parcels' tax as personally I receive a lot of parcels through the post that are 'free' but actually paid for with a Prime subscription. Yet a quick search shows that approximately 4 billion parcels are delivered in the UK each year so a levy of £1 per parcel would raise £4bn for a start if it could be organised. There is also a lot of public support for extra taxes on betting and gaming. Apparently, over half of Britons (52%) believe the government should increase tax on online gambling. When asked to rank which taxes should be raised by the government, three-quarters of people said that gambling duty was their priority, above income tax, VAT, inheritance tax, and duties on fuel, alcohol, and tobacco. So, doubling the rate of tax from about 21% to 42% would raise another £1bn. And we have not even stated to talk about a 'sugar' tax and taxes on other commodities that kill us. In fact, when asked the population nearly always state they would prefer extra taxation rather than a cut in services but, of course, this brings electoral unpopularity at the same time.
It turned out to be a beautiful and bright spring day, just as the weather forecasters had predicted so I thought when I could seize the moment I would start to mow the lawns at the back of the house which is only half the work of the grassed area in the front. The mower started on its first pull and seemed to be making short work but without much impact on the length of the cut grass. So, I promptly raised the wheel control to position 4 on the 1-5 available and this proved to be a smart move because now the mower seemed to have a lot more impact, but the engine did not 'baulk' which is what happens if the grass is too thick for it. I got the whole of the back lawn done in about 20 minutes and cleaned up the mower and got back inside the house and all before Meg's carers arrived for her mid-day call. As last year's petrol, laced as it is with fuel stabiliser, seems to be behaving itself. I shall wait until the can is near empty before I refill it but I feel the most immediate priority is to buy some grass seed so that I can start to reseed the many flattened molehills that my furry friend has left me for a legacy. I am trying not to get too upset about these molehills but they have made a mess of the front lawn but fortunately it is the time of year when grass grows rapidly.
Bird flu (or avian flu as it is more correctly known) is rearing its ugly head across the country. Strains of the virus have been reported in poultry and wild birds across the country, as well as a confirmed case in a single sheep in Yorkshire, more than a dozen in grey seals in Norfolk, and one in a fox in Scotland. One person working on a farm in the West Midlands also tested positive. Although there has only been one human case, the government has ordered five million doses of a bird flu vaccine to prevent further spread between humans. Human-to-human transmission has not happened in the UK or Europe since bird flu first emerged in 1997, but experts warn each infection increases the risk of the virus adapting to human hosts - and causing a pandemic.
Last night, after Meg was safely in bed and asleep, I started to watch the Mary Beard series of programmes - 'Meet the Romans' The first of the series was fascinating if only to explore the Roman utilisation of slaves. It is true that the Romans subjugated many of the peoples that they conquered and brought them back to Rome as slaves. In fact, the numbers of slaves far exceeded the numbers of citizens, but many eventually did acquire their freedom. There were many different types of slaves, and they could be found in every walk of life in ancient Rome. Domestic slaves were perhaps the most common. Some were educated or highly skilled and, therefore, much sought after. Tutors for children, specialist cooks, and even hairdressers could command high prices. The success of urban life depended on an army of slaves. Many worked in civic positions in public libraries and baths and also in government administration jobs, often alongside freeborn plebeians. At the other end of the spectrum were prostitutes who worked under the watchful eye of violent brothel-keepers. Many slaves were subjected to lives of manual labour. Some helped to run the rural estates of wealthy landowners, while others endured the horrific world of the mines, often digging for precious gold and silver. Here, the incredibly harsh conditions meant that life expectancy could be as low as a few months. But when examines the tombstones that documents the lives of Roman citizens, many had started their lives as slaves and had come from the far-flung parts of the Roman empire. Once they had acquired citizenship, the principal source of social identity, as we know from tombstones, was the occupation that they came to profess.
© Mike Hart [2025]