RICHARD ORD Arraz Bob! The celebs that can ease us out of pandemic
As the time for my Covid-19 vaccine nears, so my fear of needles looms large. ‘Wimp,’ I hear you say. Maybe, but I always think it’s healthy to be wary of being run through with metal spikes.
It’s an innate fear that would have stood me in good stead in medieval times. The oldest knights of the time were those who were most adept at sidestepping pointy metal things. These days, commando-rolling for cover at the sight of pointy metal only annoys the nurse.
It’s why I welcomed the Government’s plan to encourage people to get the jab by having it endorsed by celebrities. Sometimes the promise of immunity from a killer disease just doesn’t cut it. You need the reassuring smile of Sir Tom Jones as the needle is inserted.
Personally, I think the NHS should have gone a step further. Dame Joan Collins or former
Countdown presenter Nick Hewer being jabbed may get you running to the vaccination centre, but scaredy cats like me need more of an incentive. Celebrities administering the vaccination would certainly pique my interest. Lionel Blair wielding a loaded syringe would be one way to get me to come out from behind the settee. Throw in one of his old soft shoe shuffles and I’d be rolling up my own sleeves.
There are also naturals for the job. Actors who have played doctors and nurses are an easy win, anyone from Casualty or Holby City, for example. I’d even accept Christopher Timothy, not for his
EastEnders appearances, but his role as James Herriott in All Creatures Great and Small. Obviously!
The clincher would be the vaccine being delivered by celebrities forever associated with pointy things. Darts players.
The ‘King of Bling’ Bobby George would be perfect. What’s more, he could deliver the jab from the other side of the room. Hey, why not get javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread out of retirement to vaccinate the masses. The former world record holder could be taking anyone out within a 70 metre radius!
She may, of course, need a slightly bigger target, but then the dose does not have to administered in the arm. The backside is a larger target and a perfectly acceptable area for vaccination.
It would of course mean a slight alteration to the name of our ‘A Shot in the Arm’ vaccination campaign. It would now be ‘A Shot in the ...’ well, you can work the rest out for yourselves.
As part of British Science Week, from March 5 and 14, Big Science UK will be running free online sessions for schools and home-schooling families.
Neil Harrison and wife Helen launched Big Science UK in 2015 after they were inspired by their own children’s delightedreactionstotheeducational science experiments they carried out at home.
Neil, of Sunderland, will be live every day of the week at 2pm on the firm’s Youtube channel with fun experiments that can be done either at home or in school.
The firm says the sessions will be like a ‘PE with Joe Wicks’ format but instead theywillbe‘SciencewithNeil’.
“We announced the live sessions on our social media, and the response has been amazing,withteachersandlocal community groups across the UK confirming their participation,” said Neil, who worked as a Science Technician at Harton Academy in South Shields when the firm launched.
"We are so happy for the amazing response to our Science with Neil live online sessions for British Science Week.”
Each day Neil will cover a new science topic including – forces, the Solar System and flight – which will include an experiment every child can do,whetherathomeorschool.
The equipment or materials used will be non-specific everyday items.
There will also be a follow uptasksetwhichNeilsayswill
befunandsuitableforallages.
In the build up to the first session on Friday, March 5, the firm will confirm what sessions will be on what date and any equipment or materials which are needed for the sessions.
Neil added: “We understand that the Government have set a provisional date for children to potentially return to school on Monday, March 8, this coincides with British Science Week.
"We also understand the amazing work teachers and school staff are doing across the country.
"These live online sessions are mainly planned for children to have fun and engage with science, but also give teachers, support staff, parents and carers some science fun to enjoy.
"They are also planned to helpchildrenacrossthecountry with there educational needs, and to help teachers withtheirplanningandhopefully workload.”