Lazin' on a sunny afternoon.

The more people Europe absorbs, the more it attracts. There seem no end of people desperate to get into Europe. Pressure at Calais continues to increase.

Russia may move into Ukraine as well. Very changing and unstable times. My main concern is to get the garden chair set up somewhere nice.

It needs to be out of the direct sun. Away from windy draughts. Surrounded by a mosquito net. Have a waterproof rain-top and a built-in bar serving good French wines. Now that's what I call - positioning -!

Meanwhile -. Historically Russia's Black Sea fleet has always been stationed in the Crimea. When the government of the Ukraine was toppled by 'public' demand it was seen by Russia (Putin) as a neo-fascist take-over which put the Black Sea fleet in danger. Ergo - he decided to regain that which was given away, by Khrushchev to the Ukraine, by 'popular' force. That 'part' of the operation to regain the Ukraine will always be seen by the Russian people as a necessary strategic move for their own international protection and as such we should (as much as we don't see the need) go along with that part of the annexation. As for Eastern Ukraine it has always been pro-Russian and holds a large Russian speaking population - but that is altogether another 'can of worms'. We can only hope that common-sense will ultimately prevail.

As for Europe being a 'Venus fly-trap' to the less fortunate. But of course.
Why 'fly-trap'. Because I foresee many, many problems for immigrants of a different colour and ethnicity in the coming decades unless we (Europeans) grow up rather more quickly.

Garden chair-ing, developing the skillbase to fully enjoy the garden chair is quite demanding, but well worth the effort. Much depends on your starting point in life, do you have a garden for a start. Adaptability and ingenuity can overcome some obstacles to progress, the combination of a lightweight chair and the use of a motor car may be needed.

The mental effort required should not be under estimated either. What use is it to arrive at a near perfect chair position if you are then restless and anxious, with things that need doing preying on the mind?

Background noise and wind are well known irritants, planning is needed to get away from them. Like with many things, experience and focus count. An in-depth understanding of the many important variables becomes instinctive.

It's important to start the garden chair season with the right equipment, mainly a chair that properly suits you, even finding that can take some time, expense and effort. Garden chairs can be dangerous, they do need to be well designed, constructed and maintained, otherwise serious injury can result. Beginners and amateurs should be aware of that.

Historically, some huge tank battles were fought in WW2 between the Russians and invading Nazis on the borders of Ukraine, I don't know much of that history but it looks like a massive effort by Russia to defend themselves at that time.

TV Interviews with refugee migrants arriving into Europe give the impression they expect the problems of the world they are fleeing from to follow them and soon effect Europe, but it will still be better than the hell they leave behind them. Traumatised people fleeing wars may have a pessimistic view, but perhaps realistic as well.

It's certainly a 'challenging' time for Europe, what with Greece looking iffy and so on. Ah, the sun's out, have to go and find my hat, no, it's gone again.

And therein lies the 'rub'. Weather and whether it is conducive to garden-chairing? Location, location, location - always - location? Abusive practices by others - human/animal? Available timing - does it encroach? So many variables as to detract from 'making the effort in the first place'.
Best leave it for now - I have a book to write etc etc etc etc.

The lands of the Ukraine have been problematic (as to ownership) since the Hittites took a gander some three thousand years ago and thought 'bugger that for a tale' and high-tailed it back to Egypt or thereabouts. Historically (as in our times) it has been mainly in the Russian sphere of influence. They are not the best of people to allow 'freedoms' to. Tend to be barbaric and have little regard for niceties. Not worth going to war over - and I say that in the best possible taste with our propensity to allow our perceptions and hearts rule our heads.

For my money - they must sort this one out themselves and come to some accord with their eastern neighbours and stop believing that the 'gun' and 'bloody mayhem' are always the answer.

Time management, planning ahead and being organised are all essential skills that I don't have.

Has anyone invented an electric powered bicycle that folds into a garden lounger yet?

The Hittites seem to be an interesting mystery, where did they go to?

Asia Minor mainly Northern Syria. Present day inhabitants are from the Hittite clans. (Little wonder they still can't stop killing each other).

All attributes I can safely say are mine. But believe me when I tell you it's a curse. Everybody else (when they find out) leave everything of importance to you to do (and arrange). Don't go there.

Electric bikes - not my forte.  

The Hittites left some remarkably well constructed ruins, built about the same time as Stonehenge? Building standards have sadly declined over the last few thousand years.

Double-edged blade.  Some remarkable structures indeed. However - as usual they were only for the rich and built by poorly-paid labourers or slaves. The use of all the stone left nothing for the rest of the country's inhabitants and indeed much had top be imported at great expense to finish some of the monuments. Not much changes does it!

It remains something of a mystery how (and why) some of the huge stones in ancient monuments were moved and put into place.

Efforts involving large numbers of people is the usual theory, the social circumstances around that are mainly lost to history. Were Stonehenge, Avebury and Carnac built by slave or forced labour, or by societies working co-operatively?

More recently, was the British industrial revolution, mining of coal, building of mills, digging of canals done by essentially forced labour, that could be classed as slavery, or was that a 'community effort'?

The theme of slavery seems to run through many societies at different times, but it's sometimes a bit subtle. Are we slaves or are we free, or is it all in the mind?

We are neither. We are driven by need or want. The builders of Stonehenge were without doubt community driven by faith and to hopefully appease the Gods. The same goes for many ancient monuments coupled with 'laws' that stated 'the individual was duty bound to give of himself a certain amount of his life to and for the good of the whole community.
If they were a slave to anything it was to the 'times' in which they lived.
We are all subject to that 'law'.

When the 'country' needed extra labour - it imported it. Irish for the canals and railways par example. But they were paid (albeit a pittance). They weren't slaves.

It has been happening since man first came down from the trees - and still proliferates today in many countries across the globe. Its called 'migrant labour'.

As for the mass exodus from Libya to Italy/ Burma to Malaysia/ Indonesia to Australia - that's economic survival tactics (and in some cases ' bodily survival' tactics as with the Rohingya -Myanmar). It's not about to stop. If anything it will get greater. Too many people. Not enough resources. The desperate will be first followed by the destitute and then the poor - by the millions.
It's only a beginning.

Only a beginning! Well, you do get used to stuff I suppose.

When peoples pockets 'really' start to suffer (and we are not there yet) then will we see just how rabid our society can become and will become if a 'hold' isn't put on 'over-population'. I can assure you that the people will NOT get used to it. Then the fun will start. But it won't be 'haha'.

Why is 'over-population' in inverted commas ?

Populations adapt to circumstances surprising well, or 'get used to things' over time, mainly because, for the young, they have never known anything else.

The not-ha-ha fun sounds a bit ominous.

I think world wide, to be on the safe side, we have already passed the optimum population figures. 'Over population' meaning raising the population by means other than 'births'.
It's all very well having more and more always providing we can safely and comfortably absorb them. I think the UK population is almost at that figure now - without 'falsely' adding yet more. When the figures rise continuously and more rapidly world wide we are either going to lose millions to natural or man-made causes. We are then left with the fall-out. Massive aid will be asked for but won't be forthcoming in the face of individual countries principal needs. That's when the situation will become untenable  and very, very nasty.

Thanks for the clarification, Atlas.

Although humans have been to the moon and sent robots through the solar system, for all practical purposes we are earthbound, and so a part of and existing within that thin layer the biosphere, in other words we are part of nature.

There are so many of us now that we are destroying much of nature, much of what we are part of. So yes, the general opinion is that we have reached overpopulation worldwide, and this being a small and overcrowded set of islands, overpopulated in the UK.

There is a lot of resistance to that fact or idea, we quite reasonably wish it wasn't so. It would be much better ( very difficult) to agree a way to stabilise the world population than to face the sort of untenable and very nasty sort of result you predict.

The problem is even more complicated by the claims from some eminent scientists that the earth is capable of providing quite adequately for any number - wait for it - IF we would share out those resources we do have on an equitable basis.  (Yes - But we wont.) And by others that technology will find the answer to feeding and watering the trillions yet to come. (Oh yes! At what cost?)

As long as economies are led by the reliance on 'growth' (and that means by population and output) we will never get down to the real problems of over-population because such only promotes and exacerbates the problems itself.

Therefore where do we go. Population control would level down if everyone (Family unit) on the planet was allowed two point four children and each (Family unit) funded sufficiently by the State to nurture and rear the same until adulthood. On that guaranteed basis, whereby there should not be social 'need', some control over the optimum population level could be attained. The figures would have to be reviewed each decade in order to raise or reduce the 'progeny output' to fall into line with natural disasters, wars, pandemics, etc etc etc. - - - Go on. I dare you? Whose brave enough to suggest that - . Yea.

There is theory and then there is reality. Theoretically, it may be possible to feed house, educate and generally provide a reasonable life for the entire population of the world, but it doesn't happen. If the powers that be could get that sorted out to cope with the numbers we have today, the population would just increase massively again.

Sooner or later some arrangement to limit the population of the earth will be a practical necessity. Seems a bit over relaxed to just leave it to war, famine and disease. What was the point of civilisation?

Civilisation is just a by-product of a natural evolution. The 'great' experiment that results from the singularity of one universe colliding with another - ergo - the so called 'Big Bang'.
Natural experiments (in other words - those without parameters or calculated interferences) will go the way that the natural elements dictate. The end product is what it is and will be. That's why the planet has regular 'extinctions' either through 'natural' emergencies (such as Ice Ages) or by way of external interferences (such as comet strikes etc). To infer man as some omnipotent species by way of 'intelligent design' is to warp the logical progression of the product itself. If man was meant to command his progress and ultimate destiny then it is highly unlikely he would have created the present situation from the onset - a Utopia of sorts would surely have been put in its place.
We command nothing of great consequence nor will we ever.Any effort to 'control' will be met with dissatisfaction and revolt by those who demand survival at any cost. The 'Water Wars' will be next as that controls everything we want, need and do. That combined with disease on a global scale will ultimately reduce the populations - for a short while - before the next combination of upheavals. Man will only survive by a few managing to find other worlds and beginning the process all over again. But I won't be around to see it.

Ah, civilisation is just a by-product. That explains it. I had it in mind that it was something important, but it's essentially just evolutionary 'junk' like male nipples and the appendix, mind you, the appendix apparently has some clever functions we only have a vague understanding of. Male nipples and civilisation might be different then, just useless really.

But of course. You surely didn't think it was something important and necessary did you? Oh - therein lies the arrogance (don't take that personally it isn't meant to be). We are a 'parasite'. As is most of our planets inhabitants and ground-feeders. A chemical experiment by 'chaos' and 'result'. We are coming from 'nowhere - chaos' and we are going 'nowhere - chaos'). As I said - a by-product of the universe's crazy, lunatic parade. If science is right (and I believe they are to a greater extent) then the whole thing is meaningless from 'our' POV. Extinction is inevitable no matter how far we go into the universe or for how long we strive to survive therein. It doesn't even matter if we survive long enough to shape-change (evolve) into super-beings the end result will be the same. Universes come and universes go. Time has no meaning (as we perceive it). Homo-sapien is but a flea bite on the arse of creation.

Male nipples - eventually it may become necessary for one of the genders to reproduce without the other (we hear of lowering sperm counts etc etc). Both genders must carry some of each genders reproductive capabilities for one or the other to evolve towards and ultimately into hermaphrodite state if the process is to continue. It will most likely be the female who eventually takes on such a role - - but it is not absolutely certain by any means.

Not very sunny for a summer solstice is it, is this summer going to improve?

Well now. What are the winning numbers for the National Lottery this week? If you know that then you know the answer to your own question.

The jet-stream is slightly lower that it should be at this juncture which means high temperatures are not on the cards - as yet -. However the 'stream' has the ability to change almost overnight and that can change everything in a few hours. Therefore - I don't know -. Oh - and neither does anybody else - regardless of throbbing big toes or birds doing cartwheels.

Global weather patterns, el nino current in the pacific and something colder going on in the north atlantic, probably melting ice bringing down sea temperatures? Does it work that way, it's all a bit complicated, but cold westerly winds seem to be a feature for the UK. Should get a bit warmer in July.

The chances are that it will. Bon chance mon ami.

Merci. The combination of changeable weather and ever present temptation of things that need doing hasn't been good for my gardenchairing, hopefully I will be able to restore focus and concentrate on it better.