This posting in Facebook from Robin on the visit of Tom Jones to Northern Ireland I thought was hilarious:
“I remember a band member being interviewed on the Candy Devine show years back. The band member said that NI would be a waste land if it wasn’t for the Jim Akens of this world. Candy asked what the Jamaicans had to do with it.”
This response from Candy in Brisbane: “Urban myth…. Downtown hadn’t even been launched when Jones appeared in Belfast and we were still living in Belfast! Everybody in the business called Jim ‘The Jamacian’! Who makes up this stuff? We are expecting another scorcher today…..31c. I’ll think of you when I bask in the sunshine.”
Lucky lady, enjoy Candy, think of us in the cold rain today.
And talking of Singers who have rocked the world, what about Barry Manilow? He is being used in New Zealand as a deterrent, hope he’s getting royalties! It’s all happening in Wellington where protesters are camped outside the parliament building. First the authorities used water sprinklers to deter hundreds but they coped with that by digging trenches to re-route the water; so then the big hitters were employed, a 15 minute loop of Manilow’s music mixed with the Macarena – sounds like a NZ Woodstock. With these Convoy for Freedom protests gathering pace, France and Canada will probably be next to put the whole thing to music.
Apparently it worked in Wellington as the numbers dwindled during the week but have increased again at the weekend. It must be very hard to deal with these protests but if Barry Manilow can break the gridlock then he does deserve his royalties.
Making Up Time
Half term with news that in the future school holidays could be cut so pupils will have the chance to catch up on their education! Fewer long lazy days of summer to look forward to just more book learning, projects and homework. Not a pleasant thought but still only being talked about in England.
Despite vaccinations, thousands of children have had their young lives turned upside down over the last months. Charlie Is only 13 and he had just started secondary school when disruption began, no one really anticipated what lay ahead, children being sent home when one of them or a teacher was diagnosed with Covid 19, parents having to rearrange their lives to look after them, schools having to design programmes for home tuition and the dedication required by pupils to take advantage of these.
As if this wasn’t enough Charlie and many of his friends suddenly had to cope with a Covid diagnosis. “One of my friends got it and before I was going to a party I had a test and that’s how we knew.” This led to linking into on-line streaming lessons which required self discipline and that isn’t easy at any age. Many found their iPads essential, Google helping with research, sometimes to be corrected by the teacher when face to face learning was possible.
Some boys and girls have confessed to telling their teacher that the laptop camera was broken in order to skive off and do other things! We called it ‘mitching’ in my day.
Charlie was vigilant because he’s interested in the subjects he’s studying but he did admit he lost out on one thing, his love of sport and all the camaraderie that goes with it.
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For 17 year old Dan it was preparing for exams with mixed results because of the disruption and the difficulty of focusing on home study. “Having not done very well now I realise the importance of studying. Being in school was better because there are too many distractions at home with the X Box sitting looking at me!” Others loved lockdown because they developed friendships over social media and made new friends, meeting them for the first time now that rules have been relaxed. Girls have been very conscious of keeping in shape with exercises, weights, walking and cycling.
Common is the disruption of a school schedule, getting up at a certain time to get to class on time, breaks for lunch, home again, homework and then the rest of the evening to do whatever. This lack of shape to the day has lead to a chaotic sleep pattern, one boy I talked to actually fell asleep during lessons and woke up just as the class was dismissed: “I failed that exam but geography wasn’t of interest to me anyway!’
Dan was unfortunate, he contacted a bad case of Covid. “It was terrible, I was so tired and ill, I isolated for 10 days, just lying in bed and Mum leaving food at the door. I couldn’t do anything, I even thought it might be the end of the world, the Zombi Apocalypse. In a way I still wonder, I am so aware I could get it again and pass it on especially to my grandparents, scary.”
And what of students in universities and colleges. Interesting that one I talked to had the mix of university and IT placement. This should be a stimulating time getting out into the world of business, experiencing the work place and interaction with staff and clients, an essential experience in normal times. For 23 year old Jonny most of his year out during a four year degree, was spent sitting in student accommodation at a laptop only talking to his supervisor by zoom. “Never met anyone from the office, everything was conducted on screen 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. It affected my sleep badly, I had no sleep pattern, it just didn’t work. I think my mental health was affected too, I felt time was slipping through my fingers through no fault of my own.”
Like so many others he turned to indoor sport and favoured weight lifting to expend his energies. On the plus side he felt remote working developed his independence. “But as a young person I wanted the office experience, I thought it would make me feel like an adult.”
Going back to University he says was a culture shock, a good feeling but always the looming threat of another lockdown.
“I relish meeting up with a bunch of friends and partying again and face to face learning, lectures and tutorials, with class mates and a tutor. I’ve had my jabs and I’m young so I don’t think there is a danger to me. You have to stay optimistic at times like this although sometime it’s difficult with the great weight of the news. Any sensational news seems to be negative so you need to stay on top of it, you need to detox!”
Any minute the news could come through of an invasion, already those who live or work there and are from other countries have been told to get home as quickly as possible.
And what about those who do live there. Can you imagine what fear they are going through, they have towns and cities, shops to visit, theatres and cinemas to enjoy, schools for children to learn – just like us they have a lifestyle to enjoy which is now hanging by a thread. It’s never been an easy or relaxed existence with Russia looming but this time that threat could well materialise into the most horrifying events. Look up the map, explain to your children if they are old enough, say a prayer.
I’m also thinking of a dear friend who was scheduled to have a major operation last week, got to the hospital, en route to theatre when it transpired there were no beds available in intensive care. He was turned round, gathered his belongings and off home with the prospect of having his operation this week. He is only one of many so thoughts go out to all those suffering illness and disappointment, may your situation be resolved safely and successfully as soon as possible.
