The news gets worse every day. I can't help thinking that Putin is trying to provoke war with the west. It's hard to know what we can do as individuals. I hate giving to charities because I know that much of what I might give is sucked up by "administrative costs," but I don't know what else to do apart from sticking a Ukraine flag car sticker on my bumper. I know there are collection points round here for blankets, clothing, that sort of thing. Our DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) is an amalgam of fifteen charities which currently has an appeal directed at giving aid to Ukrainian people. That'll have to do for me. The government is going to match the first £20 million raised pound for pound, and you can gift aid your donation. For example, £100 turns into £125.

Annoyingly, paying online has been made as bureaucratic as possible. Name, address, full card details, declarations, etc, all have to be filled in. Generally, before making online payments for anything I look for the good ol' PayPal button. Not this time. I suppose there are alternative ways of giving.