Maundy Thursday

Yesterday was a day that started badly and carried on worse. I need to be more patient with Mum. I contacted Bro who told me she had phoned him in the early hours terrified that he wanted to move to the US, New York, somewhere like that. I don't see why that prospect would terrify anyone, but this is Mum. His sleep is so terrible that to be woken out of it for such stuff did not best please him, and he gave her very short shrift, as well as baffled reassurances that he wasn't thinking of any such thing.

But contact with her throughout the day was very frustrating. I found myself headache-riddled.

Today is Maundy Thursday, the Passion. I always feel for this day. Whatever one thinks of Christianity or religion etc, the human moment of knowing that they're coming for you is so terrifying. I've seen glimpses of it in dreams and stories, and I recall Mr T telling us about his father being warned re the Khmer Rouge approaching his village, family members frantically digging out old pots and pans so as to look poor, quick coaching in new identities and illiterate behaviour and then out, out, on to the road in the night.

What do you do if running's not an option? Pray in a garden? You who have been inspired by a spirit of divine truth, you who know yourself to have been chosen. Well, you've been chosen all right. You're about to learn all about humanity, yours and theirs.

It's such a horrible story, the things people do to each other. So I must move on before it pulls me too far down. Here's something absolutely exquisite, gorgeousness for Future Earth, or maybe for ocean living if we all end up moving to K2-18b. It reminds me that there's much more to people than the worst. We create beauty too. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1003629794678443

Dubai Chocolate

Who knew that social influencers might actually be good for something?

This stuff's viral and worthy of it.

Chocolate stuffed with pistachio and kunafa, the latter being filo pastry soaked in sugar syrup and, er, some kind of cheese? I don't think so, whatever the internet claims. Recipes differ as do spellings.

Anyway, it's rich, so rich that a little goes a long way according to R. Such a fibber! This didn't go very far at all. I could have eaten it all afternoon, beating him off with a big stick. And I'm going to buy more (chocolate, not sticks) worth it at £15 a pop. I need to not lose my mind though or my waistline will follow.

Absolutely glorious as an after dinner coffee coffee accompaniment.

Of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court in the UK has decided that with regard to the Equality Act 2010, the term 'woman' is based on biological classification. Cue kerfuffle and, got to be said, some pretty irresponsible reportage. At least the Law Gazette was clear and to the point:

Lord Hodge, Lady Rose and Lady Simler, with whom Lord Reed and Lord Lloyd-Jones agreed, said the language of the EA in its ‘context and purpose, demonstrate that the words “sex”, “woman” and “man”…mean (and were always intended to mean) biological sex, biological woman and biological man’. *

In the UK, sex and gender reassignment are two separate characteristics, both have protections by law. But the argument has been that the words 'woman' and 'man' in the EA2010 also applies to trans people who have Gender Recognition Certificates. This has been unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court judges, who hold that within the context of the law, 'sex' means a biological classification, not a certification. A transwoman should be treated without prejudice and she has the right to be protected against discrimination based on her identity. However, even with a GRC, her gender-based rights do not make her automatically eligible to sex-based rights, i.e. single sex spaces designated for women, women being represented on public boards, womens'sports etc. I think. There may be some exceptions to this though. I have to go through it more carefully.

So because I know that I don't know, for my own rereading and understanding, I place these links here.

Here's Sky covering the announcement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRhc0JR9rLU

This is pithy compared to the actual judgement: 88 pages! Jaysus!

https://supremecourt.uk/cases/judgments/uksc-2024-0042

* https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/what-is-a-woman-supreme-court-rules-on-equality-act-2010/5123025.article