The Musings of a Dik-dik

...but is it really a good thing? Lockdown is over. Not really, but that is how so many of the population appear to be interpreting the latest relaxing of restrictions due on 4th July. Yet, even though there are businesses that still cannot reopen, even though there are restrictions for the businesses that can, why are so many seeing it as an effective end to the restrictions? I'd argue it's because of the haphazard way in which the government has communicated throughout this crisis. In addition to the poor handling of those in senior positions being found to have gone against the restrictions. While the government has "moved on" from the Cummings affair, a large portion of the population hasn't forgotten. But let's not forget that Jenrick was also found to have taken the proverbial early on in lockdown, used his parents as a get-out clause and got off very lightly - he played on the sympathies of having parents living far away and the fact they were shie...

How will these times define us? Everyone everywhere is using the phrase "the new normal". An oxymoron in itself but we won't dwell on that too much. Due to the global pandemic that we are in the midst of right now, almost everything about the way we go about our lives has changed and more is in the process of changing. What I'm trying to decide is this: are we simply adapting to meet the current needs as a temporary measure or are we evolving in the way we do so many everyday things that we are unlikely to go back to how things were before Covid-19 struck? I'm inclined to argue the former at this point (perhaps with a dash of evolution thrown in for good measure). Society has had innumerable changes imposed upon it as a result of the pandemic. We are twelve weeks into restrictions and we still see complaints that certain aspects of the guidance are not being followed by so many. Add to that the fundamentally unnatural perspective to much of what we are livi...

This past week since the government announced their "road map" to ease restrictions has seen huge debate on its appropriateness and the country's readiness for such changes to take place. First of all, let's address the horrendous soundbite that is the "road map" to come out of lockdown. I refuse to use it without quotation marks because, from the announcement last Sunday evening, it is anything but a guide showing us the way forward. There were so many "side roads" and "T junctions" and "traffic lights" that the term "road map" is highly inappropriate. So, some observations and reflections that I have pondered over this past week. Dates The dates set out at specific "junctions" on the "map" were optimistic at best. How can a predetermined time gap between each step of the plan (albeit with the caveat that these changes would happen "from" not "on") be truly based on scien...

Our government may well try to have us believe this is the case in the not too distant future. An example of an image result from a Google search for "negative NHS headlines". When the NHS became the centre of the British universe due to the effect of ten years of austerity inflicted by the governments and secretary of states in that time, it was reported to be on its knees and on the brink of collapse due to underfunding and understaffing. Anyone who worked within the NHS would openly criticise the way things were being run. There was talk of A&E services being cut down or removed in some areas. There was talk of not enough money to fund the newest medications that had proven to be so successful in trials. Then covid-19 happened. The media forgot about the years of underfunding, the staff retention and recruitment crisis, the alleged plans to privatise the NHS (as was the scaremongering of the election in December 2019). Gone were these negative stories tha...

Find out what it means to me. Today marks the 75th anniversary of VE day. A hugely significant point in British history, nay, in European history. Having a bank holiday is meant to have significance. This is certainly one of those days. However, I find myself asking "did the British public deserve to have their usual May Day bank holiday effectively cancelled in place of a bank holiday to mark VE day?" In short, my answer is "no". Any examples of international comparison here will draw on French customs, because I've experienced it and I also teach about it, so have a bit more awareness than I do of other countries across the globe. I've found this website to be quite useful in refreshing my memory of the history of some events on the annual calendar, particularly the traditional May Day festivities in the UK, and also showing at a glance which other countries also observe each holiday. Having lived in France and experienced the month of bank h...

Will the doom and gloom prevail? This whole period of time where we have been living with coronavirus in our communities has been difficult for the majority of us. More than difficult. It's been unbearable at times. But there are glimmers of hope for the future, however dim they can seem some days. The doom and gloom is being massively exacerbated by the media. They questioned the seeming delay of implementing lockdown. Then wanted to know immediately when and how it would end. They weren't getting the answers from the government (which is nothing new) and so proceeded to speculate and then use their own speculation as the basis for questions to the government. All the while, doing a huge disservice to the general public that they are there to serve in the capacity of being a "voice for the masses". I've commented before on the lacklustre questioning at the daily press briefings, and they get no better. I must say that yesterday's briefing was a littl...

It's so much tougher than expected. I would have said that in spite of certain eccentricities, my household is a pretty happy one. Yet, there are so many days where one of us (usually me) is griping at the other. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and has much to do with what our respective employers want from us. Mine is expecting me to get on with things at home in preparation for September. All fine with me, it's my preference in terms of what I do to earn my money. I won't go into the fact I'm being asked to do things for my new role that starts in September already. That is a little annoying, but I've dealt with worse in the past. The husband, on the other hand, seems to not need to do much at all. The occasional checking of emails, the odd response here and there and his work is done. Ever since I've known him, he's made it look like he gets away with doing next to nothing. Almost seven years later I'm still trying to work out how he does...

...Let's hope so... I can't help feeling that any day now we will have people jumping out from behind the scenes, telling us it's all been one big wind up. This morning, I woke up to notifications that Trump has decided that the USA will stop funding the World Health Organization. Simply for the reason that Trump has once again changed his rhetoric on his administration's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is doing all he can to convince the world that he is the only person who knows what he's doing. The medical experts, the epidemiologists and the research scientists know absolutely nothing about this virus. But Donald Trump does. And suddenly Covid-19 is a conspiracy theory dreamt up by the WHO, not by China (who had designed the disease a couple of weeks ago...). You really can't make this stuff up. The man just has too much power and wants to use it to the detriment of the world's population while he is able. With any luck this farce of a pre...

...and all the politicians merely players. The Covid-19 pandemic is fast becoming a political hotbed for future point scoring. The mundane questioning by some journalists at the daily press briefings and the inane and deflecting responses from the minister of the day are all pointing one way: we will never be certain that the right decisions were made. Why would a journalist ask such a pointed question as "based on what you know now, should the levels of personal protective equipment have been higher sooner?". Of course things will change as the scientists learn more about the virus. Surely that's a given? But to say "we should have done this before we knew about it" is rather akin to locking the stable after the horse has bolted. is it not? Equally, when faced with questions regarding the capacity of the NHS, how well-prepared it was for this crisis (and would be for another crisis that may happen again in the future), the minister of the day doesn't w...

Don't you think? I had to take a while to process my thoughts on the announcements from Whitehall yesterday. Two of the top five government officials leading the fight against Covid-19 revealed that they have tested positive for the virus, and a third is self-isolating as they are exhibiting symptoms. The irony isn't lost on anybody. For the past month or more, we have been receiving advice from these people on the best ways to limit our chances of contracting the virus ourselves. We have listened to their advice and their instructions to stay home and save lives. We have not been in close contact with family and friends to protect them and us. And so it begs the question (which undoubtedly shall remain unanswered):  WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE THEY HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THEIR OWN ADVICE? It has to be asked. We are all also aware that while they had taken precautions, those they have worked most closely with haven't necessarily done the same. But, let's not forget that...

What does/should it entail? Depending on which school you work in, or which school your child attends, the expectations of working from home and home learning differ enormously. In my house, we both work at different secondary schools and we both have different things expected of us while we are not at school. One of us has to just check emails regularly and be ready to reply to any queries from students or parents as soon as is feasibly possible. No expectation to set further work beyond what was hastily prepared in anticipation of the school closures. The other of us is still expected to go into school for one day every three weeks to supervise the children who have been sent to school, whilst also checking emails, sending further resources and learning suggestions to teaching groups and trying to And that's just two schools, about 6 miles apart. I'm trying not to look at it that one of us has a rougher deal than the other, especially when I see posts in teacher forums...

Money makes the world go round In spite of the speed at which the situation with Covid-19 has developed and the way in which the difficulties are being reported through the media, I have been particularly reassured by the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcements regarding support for businesses and employees, and hope that further announcements can be made for the self employed and sole traders that make up a significant chunk of our trading economy. His clarity in response to questions is quite refreshing (compared to my perception of the way in which some of his cabinet colleagues are coping with journalistic interrogation) and he speaks with a conviction unparalleled by other senior ministers in this crisis so far.  I am, however, somewhat pessimistic about any future financial aid the government may provide to the transport and/or tourism industries. Currently, their pricing strategies are indicative of daylight robbery at worst, and are discriminatory at best. As a ...

… the UK is on lockdown. We all sat last night at 8.30pm to hear the ministerial address from the prime minister. We all knew what he was going to announce, especially after the daily press briefing had been ominously cancelled. We knew it was coming after the pictures over the weekend of people flocking to open spaces and not using their sense to turn around and go back home because there were already too many people there. So many now are in shock at the sudden removal of our general freedom. So many are now wondering how their marriage will survive. So many are wondering if they will survive. It's easy enough for us to blame those who flocked to the countryside and the seaside at the weekend but I've come to realise there's more to it than that. This time last week, there were screams for schools to be closed because they were breeding grounds for the virus and contradicted the advice surrounding mass gatherings. And people flocked to the parks and beaches at the w...

First up: my tuppence on school closures. As a member of the community with elderly relatives in the vulnerable groups, I've felt that keeping schools open was a potential danger to spreading the virus more quickly. As a teacher, I've actually found myself on the fence as to what was best in the face of growing calls to close schools. This doesn't happen often - usually I am vehemently for or against and no additional perspective will change my mind. This time it's a very different scenario, though. My indecision was a result of feeling ill informed as to the actual risks posed to me by the "less affected" young people and my colleagues whilst also being concerned over the seeming hypocrisy that mass gatherings were to be avoided in general but having 1000 students plus approximately 100 staff convening five days a week was fine. In discussions in the staff room (yes, I am fortunate to work in a school that still has one), the general feeling was that sch...

Any and all posts here are not designed to be well-researched opinion pieces. They are more a stream of consciousness on the theme of the day. As I set up this blog, the UK is well in the midst of trying to slow the spread of the Covid-19. The mainstream media, social media and my own experiences as a secondary school teacher dealing with closure, distance learning and working from home will form the basis of the posts, particularly to begin with. There will be criticism of individuals/groups of people who will not be able to defend themselves to my thoughts (largely because they are unaware that my thoughts are "out there"); there will be hypothetical solutions laid out that will not be heard by those that could consider them; there will sometimes be a sense of I know better when in reality I don't, I'm just angry/deflated by the situation that has evolved. I want to receive comments that invite discussion of what I've chosen to ramble about, as opposed to ...