Education is for life

One common conception is that education is just for the young, endured for a brief period and then hung on the hat stand indefinitely but it need not be like that.

In some parts of the world substantial numbers of adults are lacking in numeracy and literacy skills often because in their own childhood educational provision was patchy or as soon as they were able to work any kind of learning stopped altogether because of their families situation.

In other instances they may not of studied the subject range  or depth many today feel is desirable to be knowledgeable.

Thus in some parts of the world it is not uncommon for adults to be taught in schools sometimes sharing in lessons, sometimes with classes just for them in school with them in effect becoming scholars again.

I can recall the bemusement of a friend who left school at the earliest possible opportunity with no academic qualifications looking back at her "that's all over with" emotions of the past as like a number of us she took her first examinations several years later.

She'd discovered learning never stops.

It also turned out that in some respects she also shared some of my more littles traits too! 

Road Map: making sense of it

It's been a fairly bright mild week with a fair amount of sunshine about, heck I even saw the first wasp of the year yesterday morning AND I had to fend him off my torque  liking it's bright colours but really there's only been one major thing on peoples minds this week.

The much talked about Roadmap  for leaving the Covid restrictions not least the lockdown was signed off by the UK Government's cabinet before being announced in the House of Commons, Monday followed by a televised address in the Evening.

Because of devolution, the Scottish Parliament, The Welsh Assembly government goverment and the Northern Ireland Assembly all have their own differing versions of it so this just plan applies to England.

You might think Public Health would be better run across the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as one but nationalist politics don't favour it and as a Unionist I feel that doing things separately causes needless problems around travel and quarantine arrangements we all don't need.

For the first full month for most of us little happens beyond those in  regular Primary and Secondary Education including Further Education and a handful of those in University who actually need face to face tuition and practical work.

People in care homes can have one registered visitor which is something many have been lacking since all this started last March and deserves a welcome.

Social distancing as in 2 metres apart, masks etc stays until we're told any different.

While this "road map" has dates unlike a well known broadcaster you should note the dates are Indicative (look it up) being when it is expected things may change BUT the final go ahead will be reviewed a week before on the basis of data and scientific advice first.

It is NOT a timetable of the sort that say on one date we WILL do this regardless cos that's what is written for that date.

It is expected on March 29th the first of a series of phased rule changes  allowing of more social contacts such as gatherings in peoples gardens, the "stay at home" message changing to "Stay local" will come in and outdoor organized sports will be allowed to resume but do stay tuned to the announcements first.

By July it is anticipated things will be more normal but some measures such as face coverings and the likely need for ongoing vaccination programs to run will more likely than not to remain.

While foreign travel is seen as potentially possible no earlier than May 17th, do bear in mind a few things such as much of continental Europe is very behind vaccinations compared to us and has high infection rates so they may not want you and you might well bring any local forms of infection with you both to their country and from it.

It is possible some countries may want proof of Vaccination if they were to allow you in because actually every countries first duty is to protect its own people first and until anything is said to the contrary, you will still need to do your isolation in hotel here on arrival at your own expense.

You might was well get that in your noggin and look at staying in the UK instead!

The virus isn't going away: What is happening is through vaccination, transmission is being reduced person to person significantly and the impact of any infection hugely reduced when it comes to developing it in people so we're all safer, safe enough we expect by the summer to have less restrictions and more of a near normal life back.

You have to do your part and be a part of the solution to getting things back to where we'd all like them to be in what has been a challenging and very scary year.

Delayed anniversary

 

Just over two years and a month ago I remade a tumblr as a newer replacement to one of the group that got removed as collateral damage several years ago.

Although this blog isn't centred on it, age regression is a big thing with me so apart from having a blog specifically about that, one of the first tumblrs I had also followed the same route to the point of belonging to a Tumblr age group community.

Not everything that interests me fits within that as you will probably know if you read this blog and having lost the original slightly more grown up Tumblr I was finding I needed one for things around fashion, anime and things around elements of alg presentation that didn't fit with the setting some communities take usually born of ignorance and it's best friend, prejudice.

That tumblr was called thatboardingschoolgirl cos really it tied in to this blog interests being a scrapbook of an adult little girl as if she was magic'd away to the boarding school of her dreams jotting ideas and cutting out things that interested her.

That as we are due soon to work our way out of this lockdown is something that will help as it has over the last eleven months with the stresses and strains of it all.

Staycation

Given it's been minus seven yesterday and darn cold throughout the week even though I'm normally super hot blooded perhaps it's understandable that for some minds are focused upon Summer vacations beyond these shores.

There had been a lot of talk in the mass media about getting away for summer and the much criticised "Jab and fly" promotion by Ryan Air, an Irish company implying that in effect you get vaccinated and then we can go to all corners of the World.

Well Mike Hancock, Health secretary and Grant Shapps Transport minister have put a damp squid on that idea in tackling the problem of people who had been abroad needing to quarantine upon return and just not doing it, potentially spreading covid of different variants.

In short, people from next week will need to be booked in a hotel at their own expense if they travel from a country on a list of 33 hots spots for ten days where they will have to stay and any time outside such as going out for a smoke will be supervised.

If you do not tell the truth regarding where you have been or otherwise break the regulations then you are likely to face a ten year prison sentence because the risks to the public are huge with this virus being something that does kill and such contact would effect potentially several bystanders who may well require treatment by our stretched health service.

The travel industry isn't happy about this - far from it - but honestly unless you are going act responsibly which a good number of people haven't then you are going to have to be made to do so.

Many of us do indeed badly need a break, this last eleven months has been stressful and some more for people not least those unable to do what they normally would  and for those of us with health issues or disabilities but it is likely at some point we'll be able to do so 'at home' but going abroad where a good number of countries do not want visitors as they too battle with this awful virus really is a very bad idea.

Let's concentrate on slowly getting things going again in our own country for our children and then build up more things for adults rather than rushing off risking so much.

800th post edition

It may sound strange but we're just over and I mean just that, 800 posts on this blog which does go back a long time and has had the odd makeover in that period from the days I sat huddled around the ancient Stone PC in it's console with separate Hello Kitty keyboard and 14" 4:3 CRT monitor trying to write something. 

One thing no one would of anticipated writing about is a pandemic that has more or less shut down much of everyday life around the world, resulting in over 110,000 deaths in this country alone because it's spread by everyday social contact, the stuff we crave as humans.

We've had some good news this week with that scientific research that shows people are inoculated by the Oxford/AstroZenaca vaccine have a very dramatic reduction in the transmission of Covid and that in one test no one in  the control sample who did develop covid required hospitalization who had been vaccinated compared to those who had not.

This over time dues potentially open the doors to a slow return to something like normal while the EU tries to sort out it's own program in a more responsible way by working with the vaccine companies to increase production.

Things around current affairs have been a part of this blog not least because it helps to keep my more age regression blog focussed on that and trust me that littles life has helped a lot where more grown up concerns get talked about here.

From day one posts around  music featured as between an overlap of people at one Tg site and a dedicated music site there was an audience for talking about recordings and the increasingly common question of how different editions do sound.

There has been at various times some posts around fashion not that current conditions easily lend themselves to having places to show your "glad rags" off and bits around littles fashion cos I'm very much that in everyday life.

And then there's been interests posts around literature, dvd's, the arts and vacations too as this tends to be a broad based blog.

It'll most likely make it's 900th post soon enough for thanks for following over the decades.

Zombie Madness Updates

 As I type this I can hear rainfall through my bedroom window  as it's now warmed up a fair bit and is six degrees c rather than minus five which is pretty good going so although it's winter still, it's okay.

It is getting on for about ten months of this Zombie Madness so the mass media have been doing a looking back reflective thing of which the sobering thought is over 100,000 people have died with covid as a cause of death although because of big differences over how you conclude what is a covid death it may be our figures are not as high compared to similar countries at first glance although no one can ignore the very real loss behind the statistics.

There are those who want to put the government on trial for it's handling of this and no one can disagree with the proposition mistakes were made but it is important to remember this virus is nothing like we've had before so the scientists are playing catch up getting to grips to it, not always having the full facts and even at odds with each other and it's that which feeds into public policy by politicians. Mistakes will happen is such situations.

Moreover if we seriously wish to make those responsible accountable in the courts, how about going for the Chinese Authorities, the Christmas skiing people who together with all those who went to Italy, Spain and France  brought it back with them in March, the travel business that pushed it, the thousands who haven't even tried to follow the rules having house parties, raves, wedding events for hundreds, refusing to wear a face covering without good reason and so on?

I suspect this is politically motived.

We all have a part to play in bringing covid to heal, not just the politicians and our actions do impact on how quickly we can. 

If you want less deaths and a quicker end to the madness, you know what to do.

Our vaccination program is going well with over 7.1 million people having at least the first dose making us one of top countries for the percentage of the population protected because we worked with the companies to get the certification program done efficiently while keeping the robustness needed to ensure it is safe and placing the orders well in advance.

The issues bedevilling the EU's program has been laid bare, a program this government was criticized for not going along with when we could with delays in certification and ordering.

Now the EU are demanding to take from the allocations for our own country made here by AstraZenica to make up for their losses and to take from supplies that may be for third world countries who would struggle without it.

Everyone understands vaccines are like gold dust, that people should get what they need within a agreed time frame from ordering but to go to grab another countries order just because you say "our need is greater" is wrong as then President Trump's grapping of PPE made in the states but sold commercially around the world was. 

Canadian health care ppe was robbed by him.

Economic nationalism, grabbing another's orders just because you need it is morally wrong and shameful, not worthy of what progressive bodies like the EU see themselves as.

We placed our orders when we did to secure them, that was the entire point of acting quickly (for once) when they did not so to be told that actually you shouldn't expect that seems odd.

Yes between the companies and the EU a way needs to be found to deal with supply issues (you can't order huge supplies and expect it all ready to-there's always a lead in factor) because Europeans do have a need, a right to receive vaccinations - god knows we all do - but this kind of grab is not the way to do it.

To be really free from it we need world-wide inoculation's, not just the rich countries of Europe, Austrasia and North America and this kind of action leaves a bad taste.

On other hand we know Zombie Madness will run until end of February when some kind of review will be done to see any any relaxations are possible like having schools full open and so on.

Inaugural edition

I'm like forever having deja vu moments one being being asked this time in 1981 to write a reflective essay on what I thought of Ronald Reagan becoming president by the Head Mistress of our school for marking.

He was as some of you might recall a bit controversial and some even questioned of he was really suited to the office.

As with most things to with the Presidency it's all rooted in the Constitution and the actual act of being sworn in is the same.

This is a picture showing the Inauguration - President and Vice-President making of George Washington, the first President of the Republic.

Wednesday January 20th of course was the Inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris after four years the likes of which I have not seen before and hope never to see again.

As with everything around most of the World in 2021 and indeed the previous year the event was impacted by Covid so people needed to stay away, their place being taken by the Stars and Strips planted and all attendees tested before being admitted.

Because of the insurrection of January 6th security was extremely tight and even that was vetted in case of any infiltration by forces who would disrupt the inauguration ceremony. 

Presidents are for ALL Americans, young and old, black, latino or white of any and no politics and like some of us did here youngster do follow these moments as they learn about how their country is run and their part as citizens within it.

This theme was amplified in his inaugural address not least because of the sharp division not just between the contenders but of supporters who even at times have very different "facts" even regarding the outcome.

Now is the time for Unity not least in dealing with this god awful pandemic and it's impact on lives and livihoods to ensure measures to control it, vaccination programs and support happens.

Equally further action is needed to tackle the sin of racism and racial disadvantage with care so everyone is taken along understanding the measures needed and that the lives of all do indeed matter, not disregarded in the way we have seen some black lives by the police in the recent past.

No society can function effectively when sizable chunks are left on the sidelines struggling with education, housing, health care and getting the equal opportunities they are entitled to being able to progress in their and their families lives.

The environment and concerns about Climate Change do not have a "except the the U.S. card" -  these issues effect everyone on the plant regardless of race, religion and politics and rejoining the Paris accord and planning to reduce emissions matter.

After four years of instability, at times idiotic comments and sheer chaos I wish the New President and Vice President all the best in trying to tackle America's pressing issues and restoring civility to political life.