Day 61 No Clapping!

Notes for new readers - as this is a diary the first entry is the last, so you get to know 'who done it' before the crime is committed! This is a pain but can't be helped. After a week of entries the scrolling will stop and if you want to venture further click on 'OLDER POSTS' and read until you get to the first entry 'The Day Before Day 1

I got up early again this morning and went to Waitrose to get supplies. Man in high viz gave me a cheery welcome - mind you, I had gone the prescribed route this time. Very few people in there so got the shopping done and back home within the hour.

Made another batch of Rose Petal Jelly with more pectin this time, I hope it sets. It is a paler colour than before as I hadn't used any Danse de Feu which is dark red.

Did the alterations on the dress for Sheila's daughter. Not too much trouble but I want it out of the way before the work on the scrubs begins. Julia is cutting the fabric up today.

Nice little surprise in the post this morning - a cheque for £244 as it would seem I had been overpaying for some pet insurance. I banked it promptly in case they change their minds.

My cousin Kate posted a video this morning on FB of her parents wedding in 1966. She commented that her mother said I 'caused a stir' because I turned up in a mini skirt! I do not even recognise the outfit I am wearing. Did I crochet that hat? I shall have to go through Jim's slides to see if I can find some pictures.

The slide viewer is wrecked ordered another off eBay.

Snippet from the News

Iwork for the NHS as a doctor. I don’t work “on the frontline” because there isn’t one; I’m not in the army and we aren’t engaged in military combat. But I do work as a consultant on a ward where we have had Covid-19, and colleagues of mine have been very unwell. The requirement to be constantly vigilant and to manage the infection risk makes work more difficult, more stressful, and at times more tragic.

Obviously I carry on going to work – it is my job, one that I enjoy and am being well paid for. I am pleased to have a reason to leave the house. I have a very decent and secure income so count myself extremely lucky.

It would, however, be nice to have clarity about many things, from testing to isolation to proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). It would also be nice to have worked for the past 10 years in an adequately funded NHS, staffed by people listened to by the government. It would be nice to see appropriate remuneration for the low-paid staff holding the service together, to see that the value of immigrants to the NHS is appreciated, and to have a health service integrated with a functioning social care service.

What I don’t find nice, and I really don’t need, is people clapping. I don’t need rainbows. I don’t care if people clap until their hands bleed with rainbows tattooed on their faces. 

I know many of my colleagues appreciate the clapping, saying that they feel moved and grateful, that the coming together of the community to support the NHS warms the heart. There are others, like me, whose response is that it is a sentimental distraction from the issues facing us.

The NHS is not a charity and it isn’t staffed by heroes. It has been run into the ground by successive governments and now we are reaping the rewards of that neglect, on the background of the public health impact of years of rampant inequality in the UK.

Snippet from Facebook

Snippet from Twitter

Quote

Random Photo

Above are two views of the mantlepiece over the fireplace in our house in Eastgate. It is a cast iron Art Nouveau item and I made covers for the top. The first is an all-the-year-round cover and below dressed for Christmas. I used cotton fabric, braid, beading, tassels and bells. I still have them, but no mantlepiece where I am now.

TOT ZIENS! Stop Clapping! Give Respect! And Decent Wages!