Skip to main content

I Am Back... In A Very Different World

 I've been 'away'... although not very far.  And I've decided to return... even though it's a very very different world now from the world in my last post.

Don't ask me about 2018... but Life started to skew sideways at the end of 2019 when news started to trickle out regarding a strange new virus.  Then clips of people walking down streets and suddenly collapsing started appearing in chat groups.  At first I thought it was one of those fake clips.  Or maybe cut from a film about  zombie pandemics or insidious alien attacks.  Alas, I was wrong.  Then by March 2020, for the first time ever, I experienced a pandemic lockdown.  Schools were shut, shops closed.  Roadblocks sprouted up like mushrooms to deal with those who still didn't believe the reality of what was happening.  The government floated an app that looked like some sort of controlling mechanism.  Well, fast forward to October 2021... that app is now required for entry to most public spaces.  It holds information about vaccination status.  It is no longer an affront for a security guard to ask to see my phone screen so that he can verify my vaccination status.  I held out for as long as I could ... delaying the injection of an untested cocktail of drugs and weird things.  Well, I consider as 'untested' any vaccine that hasn't gone through at least two decades of trials.

My new world also includes double masks, antibacterial hand sanitisers, bottles of essential oils and avoidance of people.  Weddings are restricted to small numbers.. visits to elderly parents require health checks (as far as I'm concerned).  I haven't had a good coffee chat with buddies since 2020 and I haven't met many (MOST!) since 2020.  I actually lived 2020 in a sort-of fugue state... asking myself at intervals 'Is this real?'.  2021 is slightly better but not by much because the virus kept coming back in increasingly-virulent waves.

Well, one step at a time, onward I go.


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition 2009

Another great opportunity for our young people to show what they can do! The Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition has four different age bands, 'Classes'. Each Class offers five topics, plus the Commonwealth Question and the Charlton Athletic Community Trust Question. As we hope to reach a diverse student body across the Commonwealth, there are options for both academic and creative minds.  The Competition deadline is 1st March 2009   CLASS A - Born 1990-1992  1400-1750 words  All questions can be answered by writing an essay or a story which explores the topic in an interesting and relevant way.   Can I help you?  Bullying is an issue which concerns young people throughout the Commonwealth. Why does it matter and what can be done about it?   It is 200 years since Charles Darwin was born and 150 years since the publication of "On the origin of Species". In your view, what evolutionary developments are neede...
24 comments
Read more

Why It Is Frightening To Be A Teacher

Frightening to be a teacher?  Sounds laughable, right?  But I do feel fear when I am in school as a teacher or an administrator.  Some people would call me paranoid but I think it is better to be paranoid than to be in a dock in some courtroom or at a hospital bedside some place. Let me twist a Robbie Burns poem How do I fear thee (O' burden of a teacher)? Let me count the ways... 1. In Loco Parentis In English, that means 'in the place of a parent'.  In legal terms, that means a teacher is expected to be as responsible as a parent for the safety of his or her students while they are within the school grounds or under his or her care.  And they may be liable in the same way a parent would be, where the law is concerned. I attended a course by an IAB lecturer way back in 2000 and listened in horror as she detailed the many different ways I could've been in trouble with regard to the way I dealt with students.  If a rock falls on a student within ...
5 comments
Read more

Only Two Days And I'm Beat!

It's my second day in the new job and I'm dog-tired. First day : Meeting with KPM and JPN officers from 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening.  I only left around 5.45 because I was getting info about my scope of duties.  Spent the night preparing 22 files and burning 22 CDs for Tuesday meeting. Second day : Meeting with secondary school senior assistants and data officers (8.30 to 10.30 am).  Internal meeting to plan the year's projects from 3 pm to 4.30 pm.  Spent one hour in my room preparing files for Wednesday's meeting.  EO asked if I was informed that I was involved in the function on Thursday night (big VIP's welcome).  I just smiled weakly at her over my armful of files, CDs, LCD projector, laptop and purse. Am sitting at the PC right now wrangling two CD burners. Third Day Plan : 8.30 - 10.30 am : meeting with primary school senior assistants and data officers (location : Inanam) 8.30 am            : meeting to plan Thursday night's function (locati...
2 comments
Read more