Bitter Orange Tart

Three weeks into the new year and 2021 is already weird. Coronavirus continues its rampage around the world, the UK is in another national lockdown and has essentially closed its borders to the whole of South America, Portugal and South Africa because of new strains of the virus. Not that there are many people flying at the moment anyway. 

At the same time the amazing news is that we are now working with three vaccines in the UK and more than four million people have had their first injection. Vaccination centres are popping up everywhere and at the speedy rate we’re going it looks like everyone will have been inoculated much sooner than predicted. Mid-July keeps being bandied about as a possible date, though there is also talk of people having to be vaccinated again in the autumn. I wonder if it might become an annual thing like the flu vaccine – time will no doubt tell.

Alongside these headlines are those of the number of deaths happening every day which reporters bark at us, albeit with a sympathetic tone, every time the news comes on the television. Something that I’d like to look at though is how many people died of covid rather than with covid. Given that hospitals fill up in the winter anyway, and the headlines every year include stories of bed shortages and the struggling NHS, I wonder why the difference in winter deaths this year compared to previous years isn’t being highlighted. That to me would be a better indication of what Covid is doing. But then the headline: 1,600 people die with a Covid diagnosis in the worst day yet of the pandemic, doesn’t have quite the ring to it as: 300 more people died this year to last.

I’ve been tracking Covid 19 rates in the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester since the beginning of October and this second wave, as it stands, hasn’t reached the levels of November, and what's more, rates are dropping again now. The increase could be attributed to mixing at Christmas, though I think the majority of people followed the guidelines closely, and the downward turn of the graph could be attributed to the national lockdown. It’s difficult to say, especially when you consider that the November restrictions were heralded as a success in Greater Manchester despite the fact that rates were already decreasing when they were imposed. 

What I have noted however is that Greater Manchester rates, whilst following national trends, have been significantly below London rates and also well below England rates. Make of that what you will.

So whilst all this rumbles on, as it has for almost a year now, we look across the pond to the United States where today – 20th January 2021 – Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th President and Donald Trump will leave Washington. This wouldn’t usually be of much concern to me, I’m not especially interested in American politics, but this is going to go down in history as a notable transition of power. Firstly because (of course) Covid 19 is having an impact and the crowds of hundreds of thousands that normally attend the event are being asked to attend virtually instead. Deaths from the virus in the United States have surpassed 400,000 as of today so it’s simply not safe to have people gather in large numbers. A field of flags will represent the people that would usually be there and this will be one of many changes to the ceremony.

In addition to the crowds another notable absentee will be the outgoing President. Trump has said he will not be attending in a snub to Biden and a continuation of his belief that the election was fixed and he should have won. The Vice President, Pence, will be there in his own capacity and not a representative of Trump.

There are concerns over safety in Washington DC today so security has been massively boosted, beyond, it seems, the levels normally seen at an inauguration. This in the most part is a reaction to the events of 6th January when, in scenes you’d expect from a developing democracy, a tyranny or a totalitarian system, the American Capitol building was stormed by protesters. Congress were gathered to confirm the electoral college vote and confirm, once and for all, Biden’s success when, egged on by Trump at a rally, hundreds of people forced their way into the building in an attempt to disrupt the process.

It was truly shocking to see politicians and staff fleeing to escape, and rioters marauding through the building. Tear gas was fired by the police as they tried to regain control and workers barricaded themselves into offices to avoid the protestors. Five people died including one police officer who was hit over the head with a fire extinguisher.

I won’t labour the story as news of it was reported around the globe, however I will say that it revealed the passion, disillusionment and dare I say it, hatred felt by one side of what is essentially a split country.

So back to the UK and Nigella Lawson has chosen today to tweet her recipe for Bitter Orange Tart as recipe of the day. Coincidence? Who knows but if you fancy giving it a go here it is: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/bitter-orange-tart 

Bananadrama

It is lockdown law that you must make banana bread and so, four days into 'Lockdown 2: The Revenge' as I'm calling it, I've made a banana loaf. I've had two slices so far and they've landed heavily on my stomach. I used four massive bananas in the mix which I think was too many. The recipe says four bananas but it didn't specify what size and it's very heavy. Don't worry though, I'll be eating more before I go to bed tonight.

In other news, the United States has finally got itself a new president. I say finally because it seemed to take such a long time from voting day to the announcement but I suppose when you have 140 million votes to count it's going to take a longer time than it does here with a mere 32 million ballots cast.

It looked like a very close call for a long time but then Biden pulled ahead in a number of areas and, despite what Trump had to say about it, he won.

Traditional and social media were alight with opinions and protestations and even now, the glee is palpable in many quarters. In the UK (at least in my experience) there don't seem to be many – if any – people mourning the loss of 45. The 'be kind' folk on the left would happily see him hunted down, killed in cold blood, and left rotting in a ditch, and even those of us right-of-centre feel a sense of relief at his dethroning. I think the main difference being that the former can't bring themselves to see a single thing he has done in the past four years as positive whereas the latter, recognise that he's a dangerous live-wire with a lot of power.

These opinions (of which I'm massively generalising) are not particularly surprising when you consider that Trump's approval rating in the UK dropped to around 15%. I think it's important however to recognise that he's still incredibly popular on his home turf, the United States, and to try to understand why. 

Like many people around the world I've read a lot about the President, his challenger, and the American 2020 election during the campaigning period. I'm aware of course that I can't possibly have read everything and there will be holes in my understanding and appreciation and I'm also aware that much of what I've read is opinion (but then what isn't?) and point of view. 

That being said, I'd like to note down here some of my observations for posterity and because I have a shocking memory and I'd like to remind myself in the future, when we can see how the world has panned out. I think it's worth noting that these observations, whether they're true or not, robust or flimsy, will no doubt have influenced millions of eligible voters across the pond one way or another.

Before Covid 19 swept across the planet and turned everything on its head the United States was doing very well, economically speaking. Unemployment was at a fifty year low and wages were increasing, Trump had imposed tariffs and brokered trade deals which protected American businesses and jobs, and he was practically the only authority to have stood up to China in terms of their aggressive manner of trading. I can understand why people would vote for someone who was, to all intents and purposes, responsible for increased prosperity and more money in their back pocket.   

I read somewhere that the Latino vote was not necessarily influenced by the appointment of another conservative, Catholic into the Supreme Court but more so by the outcry from the left of centre media about it and her views on abortion and same sex marriage. If important teachings in your religion are under attack in the press and from incredibly vocal liberals, then how does that make you feel? I'd imagine it would make you feel personally attacked on some level, I know when I hear folk banging on about how same sex marriage is an abomination to the church and God it gets my back up and I'm neither religious nor married. I suspect we miss the importance of this in the UK because our abortion laws and same sex marriage are so wildly different here and well protected, and as a country, religion is far more discreet. Of course I read somewhere else that there's no such thing as the Latino vote so who the hell knows?

The Black Lives Matters protests – which in America particularly erupted into riots across the country – would, I'd say, have played into Trump's hands too when it came to the election. Ordinary people don't want to live in a place where riots happen, where they might not feel safe on the streets because of them, or where their businesses and even homes might be under threat from looters and arsonists. The left (I'm generalising again), seems to me, to have metaphorically shrugged its shoulders and said 'yeah I can understand that,' whereas Trump said enough is enough, we can't allow it. Granted he was heavy handed but ultimately he protected a lot of people's livelihoods and safety in the process.

There are just three things I picked out that helped me understand why, despite losing, Trump did so well this time around. And that doesn't even cover the international accomplishments he made such as standing up to China about its treatment of Hong Kong, stamping down on chemical attacks of civilians in Syria with targeted bombing (alongside the UK and France), brokering peace in the Middle East and meeting Kim Jong-un in North Korea.

Now it's practically all over I can already hear assumed reasons floating around as to why people voted for Trump in such large numbers again. They are a lot of the same reasons I still hear about those here who voted to leave the European Union in 2016 – they're stupid, they're uneducated, they're racist, they were duped and lied to, they're gullible or they're simply xenophobic. I think they're lazy assumptions used to sweep things under the carpet and they miss the crux of what's going on in the lives of millions upon millions of ordinary people in what is a strangely divided country. Divided not necessarily by class or wealth or race or even political ideals, but divided by those who are caught up in the momentum of a country and a world undergoing immense shifts and changes, and those that feel they've been left behind and forgotten. Sounds familiar, eh? 

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have voted for Trump had I the option, and I don't think he'll go down as a good president, but I think it's worth trying to get another point of view on these things and understand why he was so popular. You don't need me to bring to mind all the outrageous things he's done and on balance I think it's a good thing he's gone – if he ever concedes and buggers off that is.