Birthdays

Neil Sedaka, singersongwriter, 82 (pictured); JJoe Bugner, former boxer, 71; William H Macy, actor, 71; Linda Robson, actress, 63; Adam Clayton, rock musician (U2), 61; Annabeth Gish, actress, 50; Stephen Maguire, snooker player, 40; Noel Fisher, actor, 37.

OF all the remarkable things about THAT interview, and you really don’t want to get me going on that, was that it completely overshadowed the far more important news of the day which was the return of children to school. Back to school day was always a bit of a glum one when I was still in shorts because the brothers and I all trooped off to boarding school, with our big shiny trunks and awkward looking school macs.

But this week’s return to school was greeted almost as enthusiastically as a World Cup win by every single parent of small children that I know - without exception. The early lockdown novelty of getting to spend more time with the kids and taking more of an active part in their education had definitely worn off. I know of several mums and dads who were splitting the schooling in order to try and maintain full time jobs, often working well into the early hours in order to get everything done. It was only in the last few weeks that I really began to realise the toll it was taking on some of my friends and colleagues. That is not because I’m unfeeling (well, not totally anyway) but because I’ve forgotten what having young children is like. Of course, young children are a delight, but the trouble with your own is that you get to have them all of the time. And when school’s out, that really means all the time. My Dad took some delight from his grand-children, and took even greater delight in telling me why: “Oh yes,” he would say with a glint in his eye. “So much better than one’s own children.”

Like all great one-liners, the beauty of this one is that there is a little bit of truth in it. Grandparents adore sending time with their grandchildren because they can legitimately spoil them, and then – more importantly - hand them back. Mrs Martin and I get a taste of grandparenting when our nephew and niece come to stay. I can’t wait for them to come again. For one long wonderful noisy weekend we get to take them on days out, buy them ice-cream and feed them chips. Just as we are feeling a little tired we get to hand them back to the parents, who resume full time duties while we enjoy a quiet Sunday night with a large glass of something quite strong. My slight ‘kids are grown up’ smugness has taken a bit of a knock in the last couple of weeks following the arrival of the puppy.

I have long forgotten what it was like to have young children in the house, but a puppy is as close as it gets to a reminder. Margo has settled in brilliantly, is great at night, and sleeps for vast parts of the day. But in between those periods of slumber, she’s utter chaos. If not getting attention from us, she demands it from the other dogs. Her own food is ok, but if she can cause a full-on fight by climbing in to a bowl during the grown-ups meal time even better.

She likes to sleep through most of the afternoon in order that she can co-ordinate expending most of her energy just as the rest of the house is sitting down in front of the telly.

The living room is strewn with dog toys, plastic bottles, cardboard tubes and boxes, anything the poor thing can chew with her decidedly sharp teeth. When those teeth are not nipping at our fingers and toes it’s not unusual to see broomsticks or mops disappearing out the back door, and all of us are developing stoops from following her around trying to make sure she does what she is supposed to do in the place she is supposed to do it. Despite all attempts at organisation, puppy life is non-organised chaos. Relief looms next week as we can start taking her outside. Parents of young children - I salute you!

DURING Lent many churches focus on the theme of “wilderness” for its teaching and reflections. This is because the 40 days of Lent echo the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry of preaching and healing.

During this time, the gospel writers tell us, Jesus was tempted in various ways to take short cuts to achieving the purposes to which he believed he had been called. He rejects each temptation declaring that he will rely on the word of God.

It may be that we feel 40 days was not much of an ordeal compared to the 12 months that we have been through. However, at this time as we begin to see light at the end of the tunnel (which we can only hope and pray is not the lamp of an oncoming train), what stands out for me is this: the decisions Jesus took during his wilderness experience shaped his actions ever after, to the extent that two thousand years later millions still commit themselves to following him and seeking to emulate his words and example.

Likewise, it will be the decisions that we make during these wilderness days that will determine the sort of people we will be (and consequently the sort of society we will live in) in the days, weeks and years to come when life returns to “normal” (whatever that means).

Jesus said no to the temptation to pursue easy popularity or enforced obedience. Instead, he became the servant of the world, speaking of the values of the Kingdom of God and modelling it through his life.

We too could benefit from spending these Lenten days considering what we will take from our own Covid-wilderness

experience and what we will leave behind. Despite the struggles, the sadness, the isolation and the loss we have experienced there is also much that is worth holding onto: the renewed sense of community, of caring for one another, the examples of selfless service and dedication. If we hold on to these things, we may well see the desert burst into new life.

THESE are unprecedented times we live in. It’s been a year since the first lockdown sent us all home, in fear of what was to come. Those of us who have stuck firmly to the rules given to us by the Government have lived in fear of what was happening outside our front doors and if life would ever return to normal.

Even with my 1st vaccination jab booked, I still have a sense of fear. I’m not fearful of the jab itself, although I confess that I don’t like needles much. No, what scares me most at the moment is that somewhere in the corridors of power, a highly-paid person looked at the NHS and said to themselves, “Hmm, yes, I think a 1% pay rise for that group of people is perfectly reasonable. Yes, I’m happy with that – tell the media.”

I grant you that there are many occupations whose people have gone above and beyond during the pandemic, but I think that most, if not all, would agree that the NHS workers have borne the brunt of things. Already stretched for staff and resources, they have worked tirelessly to look after those suffering and many have given their own lives in doing so.

I am proud of them; this country should be proud of them and the Government should be proud of them. Boris tells us that there just isn’t the money available to give them more. I disagree. I believe that the money could be found as it seems to be readily available in abundance for other things.

How much taxpayer cash was spent on unusable PPE equipment? How much did it cost to re-paint Boris’s jet? How much is the current refurbishment of No 10 costing us? How much money have Tory backers and MPs’ chums made from the illegal dishing out of lucrative contracts without the normal tendering process?

Then we have the obscene waste of money that is our ‘world-beating’ Track & Trace system. A multi-billion pound farce, overseen by overpaid idiots with the collective intelligence and skill of a particularly stupid sofa. Like vultures ripping a carcass to pieces, they have gorged themselves at someone else’s expense – our expense.

The truth is that these (insert your own expletive here) just don’t care. What is it to them if people putting their lives on the line don’t get an appropriate reward for the dedication, sacrifice, and professionalism they have shown? Nothing, that’s what it means to them – absolutely nothing. Even Boris was cared for by NHS workers when he caught Covid19 so you would think that he would have more insight, more compassion even. But no, that same greedy, ignorant Tory mindset remains intact.

He stood on the doorstep and applauded them and now he’s sticking two fingers up to them. Whatever ‘vaccine bounce’ he and his spin doctors were hoping for in the polls has gone and more besides. What a shame that the team at Oxford didn’t come up with a vaccine for heartlessness and greed, as well as Covid19. I’d be the first to volunteer for jabbing a Tory with it, preferably administering it via javelin.

Everyone I’ve spoken to, without exception, has expressed disgust and rage at the 1% ‘offer’. If I could pay a bit more tax and know with absolute certainty that it would go to the NHS workers and not into an MP’s pocket or wasted on frippery, I would do so gladly. The people on the front-line of the NHS have done so much for us and suffered with us. They deserve to be made a special case and rewarded properly. The very thought that the 1% offer was ever deemed acceptable sickens me. The money is there Boris – be a human for a second and just hand it over to them.

Terry Cutting

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