For me the images of Vladimir Putin on the Kremlin steps with Xi Jinping served as a powerful reminder of the Chuckle Brothers.
I imagined the world leaders discussing military deals and gas exports as they passed the blini with quail and mushrooms, uttering the catchphrases: “To me, to you,” and “Oh dear, oh dear.”
I saw the brothers in panto once and their entire premise was the threat of chaos, that anything could happen and they would go off-script if it suited them, so maybe that’s why I sense a similarity.
I hope this thing between the presidents fizzles out after a few dates because this must be the most depressing sight of two people trying to make a relationship happen since Ben Affleck got back together with Jennifer Lopez.
The feeling is that Xi has the upper hand – the J-Lo figure if you will – while Putin is the guy shelling out for 8 carat green diamonds and getting told off for whispering in the other’s ear at the Grammys.
The words between the leaders have been analysed and fretted over but the gist is that the biggest misfits in the school are now playground pals and aim to run things from here.
It’s an unsettling thought, but like Ben and Jen, Russia and China have a history of break-ups and one side appears more needy than the other.
No escape from roadworks
I’ve been trying to find time to watch Oscar-winning documentary Navalny, but I’ve spent much of the week trying to escape The Matrix – previously known as Aberdeen City Centre.
Why do all the work on all the bridges all at the same time? It took me so long to cross the River Dee that I considered renting a flat in Ferryhill because I felt sure I’d never be able to leave.
At the very least I think I could fit in a piano lesson or get my nails done while the car sits in a traffic jam for an hour.
Another stupid idea in Aberdeen has been the decision to close six libraries and so the discovery of a letter from the original benefactor of Woodside Library is intriguing.
In 1883 Sir John Anderson wrote to the Library Trust about the need to protect it from “ruthless hands which do not care for any of the things that have been or will be referred to in this memorandum may be prevented from some day trying to upset all our good intentions”.
Demonstration against closures
Whether the letter will have any clout remains to be seen, but how ironic that such interesting material should be uncovered in… a library.
It’s estimated the closures would save £280,000 but the loss to the cultural landscape? Unfathomable.
A demonstration is planned for 2.30pm today outside Marischal College and online petitions are calling for all six facilities to be saved.
In Stonehaven, residents have been vocal, not about libraries, but lobsters.
Some have written poems, posted videos of giant claws and even dressed up as crustaceans after the council rejected plans to turn a shed into a branch of the Seafood Bothy.
The proposal was refused after concerns that children would be so spooked by the sight of live lobsters in a tank they might run out on to the road.
Grant handed back
Businesswoman Maria Lewis has now handed back a £20,000 grant for the hut revamp and real lobsters were spotted high-fiving each other in the bay.
From amazing seaside sights to the wonders of the night sky, the Northern Lights again put on a spectacular display from Stonehaven to Shetland.
Passengers onboard NorthLink ferry the MV Hjaltland had a fantastic view en route to Lerwick.
Tonight another celestial spectacle is expected, when “city killer” asteroid DZ2 will pass within 100,000 miles of our planet.
Despite the alarming description, it will pass harmlessly between Earth and the moon, coming closest at 7.15pm and will look like a slow-moving star.
At about the same time, Anneka Rice might be flying over in a helicopter as Challenge Anneka has returned to our television screens after a 30-year break.
If you hear the word “gosh” and see the flash of a neon jumpsuit, you’ll know you’ve got your binoculars pointed in the wrong direction.
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