Tuning out and maybe solving problems

 

I think to be up in the sky hitching a ride on the Moon isn't a bad place to be as at least the stars are still transmitting radio waves unlike the 3 Mobile network which as I type this is down aka not working for it's millions of users on top of the continuing supply and energy crisis were going through.

The only kind of silver lining to this week is the EU appear prepared to make some major concessions around how the conundrum that is how the avoidance of borders across the Island of Ireland that apparently is set in stone in the Good Friday Agreement can be reconciled to the problem of placing a border between the Island of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that are politically a part of the United Kingdom.

This had been causing huge problems and gaps in the shelves in Northern Ireland's shops so  for instance some Christmas speciality foodstuffs from Marks and Spencers would not be available in Northern Ireland because of all the additional paperwork involved.

If I buy say a blank tape from Northern Ireland I have to have a customs declaration on the invoice to make legal to enter Great Britain where I am even though it's come from the United Kingdom which Northern Ireland is most certainly a part of. 

As I said at the time on here, that whole issue was massive and under appreciated at the time of the Referendum, not that there's any going back to that and really the question of how to make the paperwork that is necessary between the EU and the UK in general the least time consuming and simpler is really the big thing.

It may be true to say "You knew what to expect when you left" but does it do either party any real good to make things harder than they need to be when all our economies are suffering with both the pandemic and this energy crisis?