I made fetteh makdous for dinner tonight. My first attempt was back in 2020 and, while it was very tasty, it needed a few tweaks. Fortunately, I make notes in recipe books, jotting things down that should help me improve the way I do things. And, naturally, I made a few notes in the Syrian recipe book, and followed them, making tonight’s effort delicious. I was so excited, I forgot to take a photo.
Really, it was almost the highlight of the day. I say almost because, today saw the first day of the second Ashes test from Lords and, as well as some great cricket, there was an extraordinary incident when two Just Stop Oil protesters invaded the ground.
Armed with orange dust, they were headed for the pitch, determined to make themselves more hated than they already are. Jonny Bairstow, however, had other ideas.
Single-handed, the England wicket keeper picked up one of them and carried him all the way back to the fence and deposited him on the other side. The boos of the crowd quickly shifted to cheers as Bairstow ran off the ground to change his gloves which were covered with the orange dust.
As Sky News said, it was the catch of the Ashes.
Fortunately, the protesters didn’t harm the pitch and ground staff quickly blew away the orange dust from the ground using leaf blowers and vacuum cleaners. However, while they didn’t wreck anything, the Just Stop Oil people did disrupt things enough to highlight the fact that one of the sponsors of the cricket, JP Morgan, funds fossil fuel companies and is an expert at greenwashing.
While I understand how the commentators and spectators were upset and outraged over the short disruption, I can only feel they are missing the point. The disruption caused by climate change is going to be a lot longer term and will mean the end of cricket completely.
But that’s humans for you. They have to keep watching the entertainment regardless of the burning world around them.
