Story telling at the proverbial cheese and wine party

Over the 12 years I have been writing my weekly blog, people have often asked me how, when and why do I write the blog? The why is easy. I write it primarily to keep my mind active and because I cherish the opportunity of having a voice. When do I write it? Usually, I write a rough draft on Saturday evening. I do it then, so that J can check for any unintended consequences of my dyslexia, as my thoughts get transposed into words. The final version is written at 4.30am each Sunday morning, and posted at 5am. How do I write it? Well during the week I collect and save words and phrases that I have heard or read, or even pictures which, in the moment, resonate. On the Saturday evening, I look at these and try and weave a story using some of them, and that story eventually becomes my blog. If I get stuck, I go for a walk and let my mind bring a story together. It usually works.

Last weeks list of words and phrases included: John Lennon, BoJoCop, Belarus, future generations, pandemic babies, wilful blindness, Christmas, Sophie Howe, booster jabs and Abigail’s Party. The 8th December was the 42nd anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Whilst I was always a Rolling Stones fan and didn’t particularly like the Beatles music, John Lennon was a hero of mine in my youth. I thought he gave so much more to us than simply a few good songs and tunes. In 1971 he wrote the beautiful and somewhat haunting song ‘Imagine’. Take a listen to it here.

It is a song about hope, freedom and peace in the world. It describes the possibility of seeing difference as something that might be celebrated and bring people together, rather than result in war or conflict. All these years later, his words seem so appropriate as many of us watch with trepidation what is going on in Belarus, the Ukraine, Russia, North Korea, China and Syria. There is the threat of, or actual conflict in many of these parts of the world. There is great suffering, fear and trauma too; most of which is the result of the inability of many to embrace difference (of all sorts) and to see diversity as a positive attribute.

Of course, for many of these people, their suffering, want, fear and trauma is overlaid by the continuing Covid pandemic. We don’t know enough about the new variant, Omicron, but we are witnessing an exponential rise in community infection rates. This should make us pause and take stock. Yesterday we were told that the Astra Zeneca vaccine might not be as helpful in protecting even double jabbed individuals, so wherever possible, and whenever possible, folk should get their booster jabs. We also saw the reintroduction of some Covid restrictions, including compulsory mask wearing in most public places and venues. 

It was good to see our somewhat hapless Prime Minister finally remembering to wear a mask, as he paraded around in his BoJoCop outfit. It was part of what should have been a week that focused on tackling drug misuse and the crime that is often associated with it. Sadly, this important and long overdue initiative and funding was largely overshadowed by the outrage following the disclosure that last year, during a period of lockdown, members of his team, ministers and so on were having a Christmas party, which appeared to include games and cheese and wine. While thousands of millions of us obeyed the rules, even where this might have meant we couldn’t be with loved one as they were dying, it seems our politicians and their teams were flaunting the rules. Trust in the government has been damaged, and probably even more so than that Dominic Cummings road trip to get his eyes tested did. We are already seeing reports that suggest high numbers of the general public are unlikely to comply with the new restrictions – a situation that will not only lead to avoidable conflict, but a real risk that our NHS will be in greater difficulty than that faced before the first lockdown.

I guess the one moment of happiness Mr Johnson would have experienced last week was the birth of his new daughter. I am certain that would have brought great joy to him and his family. Last week I also came across the term ‘pandemic babies’. It came up in a webinar conversation with the totally inspirational Sophie Howe. The term refers to the growing evidence that many of the children born during the last two years are showing signs of poorer development of their social skills.  A possible consequence of limited social interaction children might have experienced during the pandemic.

The conversation with Sophie Howe was an exploration of her work as the world’s first, and only, Future Generations Commissioner. I don’t have room in this blog to describe the conversation in detail, but I urge you to take a look at the Commission’s work here. What has been achieved is simply fantastic. Specifically, her work in health has been limited due to the pandemic but even so, she has achieved a great deal in addressing the social determinants of health and wellbeing. We could learn a great deal from this experience as the English health and social care system begins to develop placed-based services. A sense of community makes a 19% difference to our life expectancy. The difference health services make is just 10%. In England, Lord Bird (of Big Issue fame) is currently taking a Private Members’ Bill, the Wellbeing of Future Generations, through the House of Lords. I hope he succeeds.

Abagail’s Party? Well, you have to be of a certain age to remember this TV film. It came out in 1977, and was a play about a drinks party, the original cheese and wine party, which takes the viewer through the sometimes excruciating suburban approach to ‘good manners’. Covid restrictions permitting, J and I will be hosting our own ‘cheese and wine (and gin and beer) party’ next week. And so, this week’s story ends. Until next time, stay safe.