R's rue

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is almost home as I write! She was detained in Iran six years ago as she prepared to fly back to England following a trip to see her parents in Tehran. She was accused of spying and later of plotting to bring down the Iranian government - typically trumped up charges. When Nazanin was  detained, her  daughter Gabriella was two years old; now she is almost eight. Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, campaigned tirelessly and admirably for Nazanin's release. There's a sense that she was like a pawn in a diplomatic cat and mouse game. Behind the scenes, there was the question of a large debt owed by the British government in relation to military tanks not delivered just prior to the Iranian revolution. Her case was made more problematic by the thoughtless remarks of Boris Johnson when he was Foreign Secretary back in the autumn of 2017. Typically, he had not done his homework. Earlier today, as the prospect of Nazanin's release suddenly grew more ...

  Albert is not a cuddly cat He has never sat on my knee. He has never slept curled up next to me in bed. He is aloof and remains very much a supporting actor in the everyday life of the cottage but just occasionally he will have a sudden rush of the affections and will rub heads energetically, like he did this afternoon as I was reading a book. He’s fourteen years old  A good age for a cat  I didn’t realise that he was quite so old. He purred as we head butted each other and for the very first time in fourteen years he let me kiss him gently on the cheek. from Going Gently https://ift.tt/qQugi6a

 Be strong  Be brave Take the chance The risk To be full Of joy Without regret  from R's rue https://ift.tt/89wCq3t