Spare a thought for those who care for others

Whatever happened to the PC loonies this Christmas? I hear that a number of schools actually presented Nativity stage performances this year. Shop assistants and checkout personnel are wishing customers ‘Happy Christmas’ and I have not once heard the PC approved ‘Happy winter holiday’. The news that the number of homeless and rough sleepers in Ashford has increased this year is not the cheeriest; fortunately there are a number of charitable organisations doing what the governments both national and local should be doing. Perhaps our MP will eventually be able to do something to alleviate the problem. Perhaps the council will make available – at least temporarily – some of the buildings they have been acquiring and which stand empty. Have you bought your Big Issue this week – or any other week for that matter? Marcella, the lady who stands so patiently outside Marks & Spencer, quietly offering her magazines to passers-by does so to support her two young children. She is a lady who braves all weathers with cheerful stoicism. Sadly, I suspect that people assume she is begging. She is not; she buys her stock in the same way that any other trader does. Strangely, I believe that some people are more likely to give money to the town’s beggars, who do nothing to help themselves, than to spend it with Marcella. This year, the Christmas edition was a particularly good read, with articles by Stephen Fry and Mo Farrah amongst others. We should all spare a thought for those dedicated people in the care industry, many of whom were working over the holiday tending to, in many cases, end-of-life patients. As you would expect in this society of ours, such people, who do the toughest and emotionally draining jobs, receive the lowest wages and work zero-hours contracts. One major reason for this is lack of social funding for the people in their care. But, Heigh Ho, this is the holiday season when most of us will be having fun. Toy shops, particularly, seemed predictably busy so it would seem that Santa will have had his work cut out and the recycling bins are likely to be brimming over. You may have noticed, too, the number of men buying themselves Christmas presents in the form of sexy lingerie for their wives and girlfriends. Happy New Year!

‘She is a lady who braves all weathers with cheerful stoicism’