Well, there’s running in the rain and then there’s not running in the rain. The weathermen predicted heavy rain and quite strong wind today and as I lay in bed listening to the wind blowing the rain against the windows I decided that today was a not-running-in-the-rain day. So I went and spent about 15 minutes on the rowing machine instead, to convince myself that I was still getting my dose of exercise.
It’s forecast to get colder again tomorrow and possibly even to snow again on Thursday. So it goes.
Granddaughter Number Two, still not yet back at university, has been sending me photos of her small siblings curled up in her bed. Her smallest brother, having just got over chickenpox went home from preschool yesterday with a sore throat, a cough and a high temperature. And her smallest sister, having had the sore throat, cough and high temperature over the weekend, has now succumbed to chickenpox as well. Its a good job Granddaughter Number Two is still at home and that she has finished her mammoth assignment-writing session. Otherwise I might have found myself called on to be Nurse Grandma. Not that I would seriously mind; it would just mean my getting out of my warm bed rather earlier than usual. Hopefully by the time she returns to York next weekend the small people will be over the worst of coughs and colds and chickenpox and my babysitting duties will return to occasionally playing game, supervising craft activities and building models.
Which reminds me, promises were made by the government about improved childcare in this country, but now I read this:
“The education secretary has admitted that she cannot guarantee the government’s pledge to provide new free childcare hours will be met on time as she is “not in control of all the bits”.”
That’s current 15 hours of free childcare a week for two-year-olds from April in England, expanding to 30 hours for children as young as nine months by September 2025. Part of the problem is the allocation of funding for nurseries and staff shortages.
Hey! Ho! Another bit of education in crisis:
“Last week, the government launched a £6.5m-backed recruitment campaign to encourage people to work in early years just two months before the first phase of the expansion begins.
A trial – which will take place in 20 local authorities in England from April – will also give new recruits and returners to the early years workforce a £1,000 cash payment shortly after they take up a post.
But sector leaders and campaigners said the “Do Something Big” campaign had been launched too late and the proposals were “a drop in the ocean” compared with what was needed to support changes.”
Then there’s this article about the benefits of free school meals for all. And it’s not just fighting the stigma of being “that kid who has free school meals”. It can benefit all of them. Research shows that a properly organised system helps reduce obesity and improves reading skills, presumably because a child who has had a good dinner can concentrate more fully on the afternoon’s learning.
Of course, this would demand funding. Perhaps we could stop reducing taxes for the wealthy and so help to pay for stuff that matters.
And finally here are two contrasting views of life in the Israel - Palestine crisis. On the one hand there is a report of daily life in Gaza City...
"Al Jazeera has a report from Mohammed R Mhawish who has remained in Gaza City with his family throughout the Israeli assault on the territory. He writes:
My family – father, mother, sister, wife, and two-year-old son – and I are seeking relative refuge in the parking garage of a destroyed apartment building. On rainy nights, I take off my coat and wrap it around my baby, making it both a blanket and protection for him against the cold, with hope and prayer that it will be enough for his small body.
Beyond shelter is the struggle for food. I cannot recall the last proper meal my son had. Wheat is nowhere to be found so we have been using animal feed-grade barley and corn to grind into flour for bread.
If you secure food, you still have to cook it and, with no cooking gas, people are combing the ruins to find anything they can burn for a cooking fire, exposing themselves to bombing at any time. And so, when every hour of the day is spent either looking for food or a means to make it, we cannot always worry about staying safe."”
And on the other, this set of photos of Israeli citizens getting on with normal daily activities … with an assault rifle slung over their shoulder as they stride down the street or resting on their lap as they sit in a cafe or restaurant.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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