As the government continues to shift the blame and prepare its defence of their disastrous handling of the pandemic by abolishing Public Health England, Boris Johnson can't even bother to try and look smart for the VJ75 commemoration service and justice still hasn't caught up with Dominic Cummings, I find some comfort and solace in learning yet more about the remarkable Captain Tom Moore.
History sometimes has a habit of throwing up exactly the right person at the right time and esteemed historian Dominic Sandbrook absolutely nailed it in my view by describing Tom Moore as 'the perfect avatar' in the brilliant ITV documentary of his life screened on Thursday. It's the sort of story absolutely made for TV and social history of this kind has never been done better whether it be BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5 or 'Yesterday'.
As Sandbrook put it, sometimes only a veteran 'time traveller' such as Tom is able to put momentous changes into some kind of context and bring some calm, reflective perspective to things. His extraordinary fund-raising success in aid of NHS charities clearly struck a chord with hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, but it's taken me some time to understand exactly why? It didn't seem to be fully explained by the timing or simply media exposure.
It's only by watching both ITV programmes, the second aired yesterday on his wartime exploits as part of the famously 'forgotten army' that his character and fascinating life story becomes clear. The glint in his eye; the wicked smile; the subtle hint at pleasures enjoyed in the midst of terror and 'unpleasantness' are just magical - it's precisely this that engaged the nation and beyond in the midst of these very challenging times I think. Tom, the 'perfect avatar' so reminds me of why just talking to people and learning about them is such a magical part of being a probation officer!
https://youtu.be/_VKbiH1gS8g
ReplyDeleteIt's just a Shame that Captain Tom with millions of others that have served the nation so well will have to pay for his TV license now.
ReplyDelete"so reminds me of why just talking to people and learning about them is such a magical part of being a probation officer!"
Magical it may be, but to my mind it's the essential part of being a probation officer.
Unfortunately, magical or essential it's being ironed out by a service now fixated on algorithms and tic box assessments.
Quantative data and information that 'barcode' people without offering any solutions.
Quality? That's just looney left stuff, and so yesterday!
'Getafix
BBC 2006.
Deletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4762424.stm
Thanks for that reminder from 2006 - I can't believe we haven't used it before, but several searches have drawn a blank - so unless something better turns up, I think that's tomorrow's offering.
DeleteIt's a long old read, and I'm guessing you've probably read it Jim, but I was reminded of it by 14:13s post.
DeleteIt may be of some use to Mr. Murphy for his dissertation perhaps as it covers Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practice in probation.
It's from 2008, and I'm not sure how to post a pdf, but I hope you can access it with this,
U584329.pdf
'Getafix
Maybe try here?
Deletehttps://orca.cf.ac.uk/55801/1/U584329.pdf
Heroic and inspiring as Captain Tom is I'm afraid that he has been exploited bynthe right wing media and Tories as a means to illustrate how some sort of widespread Dunkirk Spirit still exists when in fact it doesn't. If the social construct that exists today was around in 1940 we'd all be speaking German. Thatcher told us that there was no such thing as society in the eighties and nearly 40 years later her pernicious view has well and truly taken hold evidenced by the brawls on beaches, overcrowded pubs and widespread ignorance on show every day. The other thing that gets my goat about fundraising for the NHS or medical charities is that we pay for it already. The treasury has more than enough money to properly fund the NHS but successive governments choose to spend it elsewhere and get away with it. Maybe if the efforts to support Captain Tom had been directed at the politics of healthcare instead we'd all be better off?
ReplyDeleteBut PM Johnson says we must trust in the people to do the right thing:
Deletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-53798298
Volunteers carrying out a Lake District litter pick have described the mounds of rubbish as heartbreaking.
Discarded camping equipment, cans of nitrous oxide, cutlery and leftover food have been collected, while some areas have had trees cut down.
The lakes have proved popular with visitors following the recent easing of coronavirus lockdown measures.
Charity Friends of the Lake District had appealed for people to take part in the two-day clean-up across Cumbria.
Engagement officer Ruth Kirk, who paddled out to an island at Thirlmere on a kayak, said: "It just breaks my heart. It makes me want to cry.
"It's been replicated right across the Lake District, particularly around the lake shores."
The organisation is urging visitors not to camp at lakesides or on nearby islands and to "enjoy the landscape responsibly" by taking all rubbish home.
Some of the larger items found as part of the pick will need to be collected by rangers in boats, Ms Kirk added.
During the months in lockdown, police and park authority rangers sent home hundreds of people found illegally camping and holding parties.
Two teens assaulted at Borehamwood rave attended by 600 people
Delete___________________
Manchester police condemn large gatherings in lockdown - Police were pelted with missiles when they tried to stop a party in Gorton. Officers were forced to call for back up after arriving at the gathering in Harlow Drive last night.
It was the second big gathering Greater Manchester Police had to deal with this weekend, after large crowds congregated on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme on Friday night.
In a statement Lancashire Police said: "Disappointing incident in Blackburn this evening.
Delete"Officers have attended a report of a significant breach of Covid restrictions, and found over 100 guests at a wedding reception.
"This is a clear breach of both local and national restrictions that puts everyone attending at risk.
... while in Greater Manchester a fixed penalty notice was issued to the organiser of a wedding with more than 50 guests and a marquee.
DeleteThe wedding in Whalley Range, Manchester, was one of 54 reported coronavirus breaches between 15:00 BST and 23:00 on Sunday in Greater Manchester, police said.
And it aint just the UK:
DeleteCountries across the continent are reporting a surge in infections. Spain, which recently recorded its highest daily case figures in months, imposed tighter restrictions nationwide on Sunday. France also recorded a sharp rise in infections over the weekend, a trend the health ministry said was "worrying"
Italy, which is facing its own spike in infections, said it was closing all nightclubs for at least three weeks from Monday. Masks will also be compulsory in some areas between 18:00 and 06:00. It follows concern that the rate of infection is rising among young people
uk govt daily covid-19 stuff - no deaths data available
ReplyDeletesun 16/8/20 - new reported cases - 1,040
8,657 new cases in the last 7 days
14,798 new cases in the last 14 days.
No surprises here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/16/serco-given-contact-tracing-job-despite-asylum-seekers-fine
The junior health minister, Edward Argar, is a former Serco lobbyist. The chief executive of Serco is Rupert Soames, the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill.
Cat Hobbs, the director of We Own It, said: “It’s time for the government to face reality. Serco should be absolutely nowhere near any of our public services. And it certainly shouldn’t be allowed to continue running our vital test, track and trace system, a system it has catastrophically failed to deliver... To make matters even worse, as Serco continues to scoop up multimillion pound contracts right now, their own former head of public affairs, Edward Argar, is sitting at the heart of government, in the very department most responsible for our coronavirus response.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Contracts have been awarded completely in line with procurement regulations for exceptional circumstances”