samedi 30 avril 2016

This And That

This And That
I realise that I haven't written anything for a while but there has been little to write about, although much to enjoy. Late spring/early summer is here and with it the asparagus and strawberry season, coronilla, lilac, irises and Judas and tamarisk trees blooming everywhere and a decent number of hot afternoons and balmy evenings; all very much as usual for the time of year but nonetheless hugely enjoyable. This year the season is undoubtedly a few weeks ahead of itself and I have already planted my hanging baskets with petunia surfina (blue, of course).

Next week my daughter Natalie and her husband Andy will be visiting for a week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will feel inclined to celebrate too, keep the sun shining as it has been and shut down the Mistral wind. I'm sure we will enjoy the week together anyway.

I've been playing boules regularly in Buis and received a gratifying number of comments to the effect that the English should all go home (meaning I'm winning too often). On that note, the EU referendum in the UK has been of some concern to me and I've been following the results of polls with interest. Living here, I very much hope the result will be to stay in the EU simply from a personal point of view. However, I also think that would be the best result for the UK. Economically that is definitely the case. Even ignoring comments to that effect from the IMF, World Bank, OECD and other global economic entities it seems obvious to me that the UK outside the EU would need a trade agreement with the EU, given that the EU accounts for something like 50% of the UK economy, which it is difficult to believe could be replaced from elsewhere. And given the experience of Switzerland, Norway and others outside the EU, such an agreement would cost just about as much as the admittedly high cost of membership. So any presumed saving from the cost of membership would be an illusion.

And I have little sympathy with those who cry freedom, the freedom to run the UK as Britons want, because I regard that as an illusion too. Nobody likes the idea that external powers can impose unwelcome measures but the fact is that the major influences on the world are and will continue to be the major powers, the USA, China, Russia and the asiatic bloc (and the EU); and the UK will have to live within the bounds of what they impose with probably less influence as a lone voice voice outside the EU than as an important voice within it. Of course the EU needs urgent and serious reforms but Angela Merkel has expressed the hope that the UK will remain within the EU to help implement those, an admission that reform would have Germany's powerful backing. And immigration is really irrelevant as an issue. Schengen is dead. The EU may seek to deny it but individual EU member countries have already dismantled it and are not about to resurrect it, whatever treaties state: RIP. Simply taking power from the Commission and devolving it to the European parliament would be an important step, at a blow removing accusations of being undemocratic and forcing realism on all future measures. Elected politicians don't vote for measures that make them unpopular.

So I'm looking forward to meeting and greeting more summer visitors and enjoying the coming months.