United Nations Reform?

 

The United Nations is surely after President Trump's removal of the Venezuelan dictator, ripe for reform?   Dictators are not my cup of tea but sadly the world seems full of them. President Trump's actions not so far apparently approved in the USA by Congress, verges on giving him the appearance of being a dictator or if not, moving in that direction.

For a foreign leader to  depose a dictator may be a fairly straight forward  action for a wealthy country with sizeable and well equipped armed forces but ensuring the country is reasonably well run thereafter is hardly easy, as the case of Iraq illustrates. 

The 2003 removal oft the dictator Saddam Hussein, from running Iraq again by USA led forces, was effected in a  relatively straightforward way but governing the country thereafter was, putting it mildly, difficult.

My Catholic friend from Baghdad   initially welcomed the regime change but fairly soon afterwards condemned it. The USA had few if any plans for running Iraq  with the result that fighting and killings took place between various faction for years afterwards.

The USA now appears to have few real plans for Venezuela beyond seeking the country's extensive oil supply although this may of course be incorrect.

More significantly there are many other nations run by dictators not the least of which is China. Thus reforming the United Nations may be the least worst way forward. 

What reforms to the UN should there be? Setting up a committee to consider this way forward is a possibility especially if the committee is required to report back to the UN general assembly within  say 12 months.

My own view is that reform rendering decisions of  the UN Security Council to be capable of being delayed by a year following a general assembly vote to that effect, would be possible. The House of Lords in the UK can currently use such delaying powers as regards many decisions of the House of Commons through which the government generally operates. The power to delay is limited to one month for tax and spending decisions. Presumably not too dissimilar  provisions could be made to work for the UN.

 

Oliver!

Youngest  sister as Christmas presents, bought tickets for mrs maytrees, maytrees ma, our grand daughter "micro dot" and herself, to see Oliver! at the theatre in London on 27th December 2025.

Unfortunately, mrs maytrees was unable to attend on the day so I  traveled in her stead, We met for a Pizza Express kindly provided by maytrees ma, before attending the nearby Gielgud Theatre for the musical. 

Having seen reports of a decline in the number of  people visiting London over the bank holiday week end, it was surprising to find the streets so crowded as well as and especially, the Piccadilly Line part of the tube journey  home. 

I am not usually a fan of musicals but very much enjoyed this one. The theatre was full despite the ticket pricing. The four of us were in a front row box of which was slightly less pricey than the main stalls seats as  view from those seats was slightly restricted. Nonetheless, we were near the orchestra  and were able to peer down to see members of the orchestra play, as well as the nearby conductor with great enthusiasm, control their music.

The large number of actors as well as the orchestra justified the seat prices. There were many children in the cast  as well as in the auditorium. As I gather that  there are legal limits on the length of time for children who may act, I noticed a small advertisment for budding child actors to apply for auditions.

The show was excellent and many of the songs I recognised. The original story by Charles Dickens is of course well known. 

Most importantly the show, Oliver! was enjoyed by micro dot despite its length.

An excellent afternoon especially as upon returning home we found that  mrs maytrees had begun to make a decent recovery from  her Christmas weariness..

 

Holy and Happy Christmas 2025

 

The above picture is of a tradition of Christians in  Iraq who   burn some dried thorn branches at Christmas. 

The Middle East Eye reports:

A Christmas tradition in Iraq, and sometimes also Syria, involves a bonfire of dried thorned branches. 

The fire is lit after children complete a recitation of the nativity story, which is read by candlelight from the Book of Psalms. The candles are then used to light the thorns.

Tradition says that if the thorns burn completely and turn to ash, the year ahead will be filled with good fortune.

Once the flames have died, each person in the family jumps over the ashes three times and makes a wish.

Date-filled biscuits, called "klecha", are also enjoyed and exchanged over the festive period.

 

Predictions for 2026

Predicting possible events for the oncoming year is never easy. In previous years the decline of certain newspapers such as the broadsheet Independent or tabloid Evening Standard  were quite predictable with both publications now continuing as on-line versions only. 

Predictions for next year however seem far from straightforward. My top six predictions are:

1. The UK Prime Minister will be replaced

2. Share prices around the world will collapse. 

3. PoTUS will become unable to enact much in the way of new laws as the Democrats in USA will win more power. 

4. AFC Wimbledon will not be demoted back to EFL Division 2 

5. Wold Cup football in the American continent will be too expensive for ordinary  football supporters.

6. The Russian  war in Ukraine will not be ended anytime soon. 

Predictions 1. and 4. would seem the most rewarding though predictions 3 and 6.. are probably the most important. 

Festive Panettoni

Mrs maytrees and maytrees min do not usually enjoy panettoni whereas I do or at least used to until  I appreciated that many of ingredients in the usual supermarket versions were, putting it politely, verging on the artificial.

My recent  reading a newspaper summary  of supermarket panettonis tended to support this view of the poor quality of supermarket versions. However the same newspaper, The Daily Telegraph I believe, gave 5* to a version from Sainsbury's. As we have a Sainsbury's locally within walking distance I decided to try the same.

The cost was comparatively high but as  there was only one of the comparatively pricey (£18) versions left on  the shelf I decided to go ahead with the purchase.

Upon bringing the panettone home we all tried samples. Delicious in my view, which view was shared by mrs maytrees and maytrees min, who was home with us accompanied by her new baby whilst her husband was working.

 Wimbledon Village Bayley & Sage has a decent panettone also which it describes helpfully as:

 Panettone is the most famous Italian treat for Christmas and New Year. Originally from Milan, this product has become a festive favourite in so many countries around the world.

The traditional recipe for this cake includes flour, butter, sugar, eggs, raisins and glazed orange peels. Many other variations are available such as plain, with chocolate, pistachio, limoncello and so on.

This version of Brera Milano Panettone is the traditional one with sweet raisins and delicate orange peels.

In 1930, two well-known confectionary masters, Mr. Agostino Panigada and Mr. Giovanni Cova came together to create their first workshop in Milan. That was how BreraMilano 1930 was born. Their Panettone, Pandoro and most recently Colomba are known as the undoubted symbols of Milanese confectionery art all over the world. For this company, remembering and respecting the past means keeping alive the ancient confectionary art traditions, respecting old recipes and checking every single ingredient for quality. Their aim is to keep alive the flavours of the past as time goes by.

I have not tasted the Bayley & Sage panettoni which I am sure is delicious  but at  £28.95 is  more expensive than that from Sainsbury's

 

HCPT Group 35 Leaders' Christmas Mass and Reunion

                                                 

Bernie Paul and I attended a packed low mass at Westminster Cathedral  this week followed by lunch together at the nearby Duke of York public house.

I wondered if the Duke of York is to be renamed given the ignominious re-titling of the human Duke of York following his affair with the then 17 year old American girl. The former Duke of York is not a man I actually like or even respect,  but given the girl was over the British age of consent and has been been paid  handsomely I am not sure why the Prince has been so vilified; perhaps her suicide years later?

The lunch together at the Duke of York public house was fun. The pub was surprisingly crowded though we were found a convenient window table on the 1st floor.

Despite the sadness of Bernie having  difficult news about her close friend who is very ill our  lunch was most enjoyable. Of course my family's news of the birth of baby atomic dot was very happy which to an extent counter-balanced Bernie's upsetting information about her friend.

                                            

Paul I believe attended HCPT pilgrimages to Lourdes for some 40 years with Bernie traveling with  Groups 35 and  729 for over 30 years - HCPT Group

Our lunch together finished all too soon. 

 

 

A Baby is Born

                                                                        Atomic Dot

First baby for youngest child and her husband;  new grandchild for mrs maytrees and myself. She is nick-named atomic dot  with her 12 year old cousin, well established as micro dot.

Mrs maytrees was called as dot years ago simply because I found her Irish Christian name difficult to recall.