Tea with Ian and a few words about President Zelensky

 

It's been a hard week with few things to smile about.  The bitter cold  has given us wind chills that peaked to -41 F (-40.6 C).  Further, my new scanner isn't working properly.   However, it's Friday, which means it's hopefully time to join Friday Smiles which is hosted by Annie (at A Stitch in Time). I'm not completely sure we will even have a Friday Smiles this week.  Let's suppose we will and visit Annie and the other wonderful ladies who also share their smiles each Friday.    

 I want to begin by talking about President Volodymyr Zelensky.  If you live in the states, you may have seen he visited Washington D.C. on Wednesday.  

He first met with President Joe Biden, then addressed Congress in the evening.  

Although he had his own security detail and there was a secret service detail attached to his visit, I still worried.  Some of the crazies who think Putin should be the hero of the war wouldn't hesitate to grab their assault rifles and attempt to take him out.

I didn't get to see his speech until about 2 a.m. Thursday morning when it was rebroadcast on a cable talk show.  I made a few notes as I watched his speech which he insisted had to be in English, even though English is not his first or second language, but his third. 

One of the phrases he used really struck me.  When he was thanking and praising the U.S., he mentioned the phrase bicameral and and bipartisan.   We are certainly bicameral, but we haven't been bipartisan for several years.

The other tidbit was probably discussed on every channel and that was the aid we are providing isn't charity, but an investment in both our countries' future.

  I suspect this photo of Zelensky giving a Ukrainian flag that had been signed by soldiers currently fighting on the battle field to Congress made every news outlet too.  Finally, I was impressed that Zelensky said they would not lose the war.  I believe him and here's why.

Although the aid dates back to 2014, in 2019 Congress approved an aid package to the Ukrainians and the newly elected President of Ukraine (Zelensky) asked why the aid had not been sent.  Trump, president at the time said aid was on its way BUT, there was a quid pro quo, where Zelensky had to agree to investigating Joe Biden or the aid would be slow in coming, if at all.  Zelensky stood up to Trump, resulting in Trump's first impeachment.  Now Zelensky is standing up to another bully, Putin.  Zelensky might be small, but he has stood up to two of the biggest bullies in the world since he has taken office.  This is why I believe that the Ukrainians will NOT lose their war on freedom.  All images above were from Yahoo! News.

The other great thing that happened this week is I was one of a select group who had tea with Ian McNeice last Saturday.

Those of you who were here for T stands for Tuesday saw that my foodie friend Sally posed with Ian McNeice of Doc Martin fame.  McNeice plays the scheming plumber turned restaurant owner turned whiskey maker on the show.  Although he has been in numerous films and television shows, he was at PBS Kansas to help raise money for the station.

Per the PBS Kansas newsletter:

PBS Kansas Channel 8 hosted an afternoon with Ian McNeice, the English actor who plays Bert Large on Doc Martin. President & CEO Victor Hogstrom lead off the questions, then Mr. McNeice took questions from the audience. Our guests enjoyed light refreshments and were treated to hot tea from The Spice Merchant. Finally, Mr. McNeice took photos and autographed everyone’s tea cups!

 A few shots from the day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 That's enough for this week.  Please join Bleubeard and me at Annie's  and because I want to share Ian's iconic face and hat, I'm also joining Nicole's Friday Face Off a second time this week.

Have a very Merry Christmas, if you celebrate it.