The byways pecking order....

As we get deeper into the pandemic that is corona virus I still take my dog for a walk. Normally at 6 in the morning thus avoiding as many people as possible. Living in the country does have some joys as, unlike cities, I have loads of space to work with. With the parks and communal spaces closes the Flitch way.... the old railway line that is on the other side of the road from my house provides a scenic East-West straight walk.

There are the occasional others seen, even at that time of day. There seems to be a higherarchy of Flitch users. First there is the solo walker or dog walker who is wrapped up warm, occasionally with a dog on a lead who are always capable of a smile and/or a knowing brotherhood of walking nod to fellow walkers.

Then there is the runner. These are normally dressed in something bright neon, frequently a “I finished the .....insert venue here...10K” just to let you know that they are professionals and have done this sh!t seriously. Rarely time for a not for these guys. Oh no, there are times to be met and no socialising to be done.

Then there is the cyclist. The off roader with their thick tyres and supercharged suspension with their muddy fox waterproof top and clingy black Lycra leggings. They need no high visibility gear as they do not go on the road and mingle with the polluting cars that are even higher up the food chain.

No smiles behind their Oakley sports sunglasses, even though it’s 6am only an inconvenient grunt should your pooch stray into their path.

Then there is the horseman. Haven’t seen one yet but the trail of u’s and steaming brown heaps let you know where they have once been.

How do path users fit into this sidewalk social groupings. Is it the amount of gear required to complete the task of going from A to B from comfortable shoes through to lightweight trainers to  5 gazillion speed gear bike or horse and horsey paraphernalia?

Or is it speed? The faster you go the more important your sidewalk status?

I don’t know. I think that in these uncertain times that Me and my dog prefer the silence and social distancing that early mornings bring.

A dog owners Christmas tree

I am a dog owner and a proud one at that. If you had told me that having a cute dog was a great way to meet new people I would have got one in my teens. I am never happier then when Lulu and I are out on walks .... we did 55,000 dad steps one day ... about 26.2 miles. Enough to complete a marathon. As a responsible dog owner, yes I do clean up after my pampered pooch. Normally about 300-400 yards into our long walk.

Occasional I will “stick it and flick it” if I am somewhere far from the madding crowd rather than leaving a soiled footpath.

My dog is a tiny dog so doesn’t really leave something you need a wheelbarrow and shovel for. 

It does however never cease to amaze me that the larger the dog, the less likely the owner is to pick it up judging by the large species faeces we have had to navigate round this week.

I forgot my bag......we’ll surely it can still be moved subtley.

The thing that I really don’t get is the dog own who watches their pooch do what comes naturally ... then get out their multicoloured, sweet smelling, designer poo bag, pick up the said poo ......... and then leave it hung on a tree branch or a gate........ why..... is it a warning to other dog owners that dogs business is not welcome here?

I hope that in any fair world that said dog owner gets up on Xmas morning to find their Christmas tree sparkling and bedecked with all the sharny poo bars hey left for unsuspecting others to find throughout the year .

...

Teaching teachers

Thanks to friends who mistakenly think that as teachers, for us, the holidays have started.

They have not.

In strange circumstances, we are in the process of rolling our sleeves up, keeping calm and carrying on.

As  maths teachers, we are ahead of the curve as our weekly homework tasks are set and monitored online via show my homework and Hegarty maths.

In business, you have the experience of group conference calls for meetings straddling continents.

We are adapting / learning /setting up google classrooms and will meet on Monday and Tuesday to set up training and strategies to try and move forward as seamlessly as possible. 

Resources will be prepared and shared as we evolve our online classrooms to support all our students using the technology available.

The next two weeks will probably more strenuous than normal as educators get educated to keep education moving forward.

Spare a thought for teachers who are also parents so will see this from both sides at the same time.

Holidays? Don’t think so! The hard work is just beginning.

My my my my ...corona

Remember how Britain’s exit from Europe (Brexit) divided the nation? In? Out? We still disagree and I am still no better off understanding the reasons why. If someone can explain to me how I/we will be better off then I am sure I could support the idea based on actual facts.

Climate change (whatever happened to global warming which from a UK point of view sounded like a good thing) hard to believe that when we look at typhoons, hurricanes and flooding that there are still people (many in places of power) who could take actions to slow down the effects of this but choose not to. Information and misinformation. Yet it’s hard to deny what you see with your own eyes.

The Corona virus (Covid19). Shorten it (like Brexit) to make it easier to say especially when it’s something we will be saying a lot. 

It has been interesting to watch its rise, development and spread. PotUS refers to it as the Chinese disease. I’m sure that the people of Spain won’t appreciate associations with previous flu epidemics.

It was a disease that was “over there” and we watched as it moved slowly and deadly across the world. 

Then it was in Europe, in Italy  and Spain and finally here.

For politicians to be unsure of what needs to be done is alarming. Unlike a tv program that has been shown in another country first ..... everyone should know what happens before it gets here rather than ignoring all information and waiting to see for ourselves.

Again we live in a nation divided between those who are in “self isolation” or “social distancing” from others versus those who want to go down the pub for a drink or see the coming months as a holiday.

We have seen the best of people who are sharing what food they have and looking after the elderly and infirm, doctors, nurses and medical professionals working excessive hours to support patients.

We have seen the worst of people who have “stockpiled” products and emptied supermarket shelves, possibly forcing ill families out of future self isolation to forage for what is left to support their families.

We have seen kindness of some who have given the use of closed hotels to support exhausted NHS workers.

We have seen others cruelly sack and evict employees with no notice.

Now we are in gradual enforced lockdown. Many could not see the importance of self isolation as the need to “go out for a pint” was their right or that they think that they won’t get the disease or that if they did that it won’t be “that” bad since they are neither old or sick.

A bit like bad drivers. They have never had an accident but have seen loads happen around them. 

Whilst we just don’t know what the outcome will be, what further restrictions will need to be put in place or when life will go back to a new normality. 

There are many who are projecting two weeks, two months, three months , a year. Illness and death tolls are all based on projection , algorithms and opinions.

We have all been shocked by videos and reports from China, a communist state of the forced isolation, but their statistics appear to show that with this first wave of the illness, they are turning a corner.

Recent figures showing mortality rates since the 10th death in countries around the world that the UK has the second highest.

Our leader has talked about “squashing the sombrero” of the virus curve. In order to do that you need to act early and effectively, yet most things have been done retrospectively rather than proactively.

What do the next few months hold? 

I don’t know.

We live in interesting times.

Let’s make sure that we work together to emphasise the “live” part.