Holy Cow Batman!

I thought that by sharing these pictures with all the supportive readers that are on Vocal, I imagined that I could bring a little bit of a smile to everyone's faces after the past terrible year, that the Covid-19 pandemic has dragged us kicking & screaming through.

The mundane 'nine-to-five' work life that many people endured going through - suddenly changed for many people overnight across the globe when the 'Stay at Home' restriction order came into force.

As immediate as this Government order was. When put in place, employed people across the globe suddenly were stopped in their tracks with the traveling ban to work. Every worker then had to quickly set plans to then carry out their normal daily work, and adjust their task calendars from their own homes. Having to come to grips with rescheduling their planned meetings that had previously been face-to-face - to more technology-based video calling.

Now I know that many people are 'I.T. literate' (information technology) but there were still many who were unsure of this, as they simply had not had the need to use this technology before the pandemic sprung up so nastily sneering up at the world, that we had once been familiar with. I, like many other senior grade nurses' in the mental health sector, had already been using secure-link video conferencing calls for quite some time - enabling us to hold meetings with other care coordinators and social workers, who were based within geographical areas across the united kingdom (UK.)

The one good thing to come out of the restrictions with travel bans due to Covid-19 was that we able to work more efficiently (regarding 'time and motion') and it had an enormous asset by 'lining our pockets' so to speak because our cars were no required to travel between hospitals - thereby reducing our petrol (or diesel) purchases.

I know that, for myself, and many other nurses,' that we were not subject to this restriction - as with all essential and emergency workers. Because we were classed as frontline workers from that day forward. For us, the daily plod and drive to our places of work had to continue.

Traveling on the roads, I recall for the first time ever, since I started driving in 2009, I found the roads uncluttered by many other cars that were usually on the roads at the times I would head off for work (and return 12.5 hours later) and the only joy I could feel then was the absence of Heavy Goods Vehicles on the roads - (you know the ones) those where their drivers believed that their engines had Nitrous Oxide in the tanks and liked to team roll every other vehicle on the road at breakneck speed (yes, those ones!!)

Although working as a nurse was like getting to the hospital and pretending you were an astronaut trying to get your astronaut space suit & helmet on - a little like the picture below, but I am sure I looked very 'catching to the eye,' all dressed in yellow and blue!

By the time you were finally ready to enter your ward environment, you were already sweating BEFORE you had even had the shift handover!

Perhaps a new diet plan could come out of this - the 'nurse-spaceman diet?'

Hey Ho, Onwards for the next heavy & sweltering 12 hours shift (oh, and the same for the next three shifts after this one is over too - groan...

But for many others, the restrictions in place fell with disastrous effects on those employees that were not listed as frontline workers. Due to shop closures, and other business areas, numerous staff were made redundant and sadly many small business enterprises could not carry on without their daily sales & purchases from the public buying sprees, that had previously been rife daily events- and had to 'shut up shop' permanently through rising overhead costs; adding to the already soaring Universal Credit claims throughout the UK.

From the start of Covid-19, the increase or claims by the Universal Credit Department (between 1st March 2020 & 23rd June 2020, source GOV.UK) it was reported that there was a mass rise in claims of a staggering 2.4 million claimants. The COVID-19 lockdown has impacted negatively (from 16 March 2020 going forward) with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) paying out approximately 1,285,750 advance payments with around 1,032,830 of these for a new claim and benefit transfer advances.

Now to the big question & the tricky hurdle.

You are not a 'frontline' worker yet you still need to earn your living, to pay the rent, the mortgage, the gas bills, the water bills, the electric, the communications bill - in fact by the time you have got through the exhaustive list of these necessities of the money-hungry giants who are supplying their services to you, have you anything left over? - probably not. But as a full-time nurse doing 42-hours (and often far more with overtime) my wife & I have always got through from payday to payday.

And That is Exactly my Point here - Covid-19 was more than just a killer strain across the world reaping his scathing hands across our lands but, more it was an instigator of a death sentence for anyone who got in its path. I am not going to scare anyone reading this, with the staggeringly upsetting mortality rates, simply because everyone across our planet knows just full well, what Covid-19 has left us. It has decimated so many.

But as the picture below suggests, as we are coming to a close with the almost holocaust effect that Covid-19 has smacked us with. There is HOPE for us all in coming out of this the other side.

The Sun will continue to shine upon us.

Loss of Business & Job livelihoods -

According to The Guardian newspaper group (published 1st December 2020,), it was reported that there had (up to that date) been 262,279 redundancies actioned, with 9,602,000 workers being furloughed due to Covid-19 - due simply to the pandemic, the economy was dramatically stalled, making it the deepest recession in well over 300 years.

Exacerbator of the already Disabled Percentage of the Population ('seen' & 'unseen') negative effects -

According to the Office of National Surveys (ONS) - just over three-quarters (78%) of disabled people said that they were 'worried' (“very worried” or “somewhat worried”) about the effect that the coronavirus (COVID-19) was having on their life (February 2020.) This proportion was smaller among non-disabled people at 69% (same time period.)

Moving on into 2021, the updated report noted a change - with a higher proportion of disabled people (27%) stating that they were “very worried” compared with non-disabled people (16%.) Identifying an upward change amongst people's views as a year had gone by, where pandemic restrictions had been actioned, with the Covid-19 vaccine having been implemented throughout the UK alone.

The proportion of disabled people reporting being worried in February 2021 (78%) was lower than in September 2020 (83%), and at a similar level to that reported in earlier periods in the pandemic, such as July (75%) and May 2020 (74%) (Figure 1). For both disabled and non-disabled people, proportions of people “very worried’ were similar in February 2021 compared with September 2020.

Never before seen daily examples of the intolerable strain on the - National Health Service (NHS) and the Private Hospitals Sector (which many as like my Hospital had been earmarked for) were straining and simply treading water each day, as we took the horrific overflow from the NHS who quickly overrun and badly understaffed

- but I will discuss this in an upcoming article entitled 'The UK NHS,' yet to be completed. So please do watch out for this upcoming publication!

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OK, where will I base my home office now?

I imagine many of us in our thousands have been asking this question, ever since the 'work from home' order came into effect. And I can tell you, it has been either very easy to do, or the damned hardest setup you will have ever made. If you already had an impromptu 'office' at home, then great (half the battle solved) but, then what about if you have children (oh the pure joys that come to my mind right now) of organized chaos and mayhem striking. Have you ever had your kids sing or shout at the top of their voices? Or what about the crawling baby scenario, filling their nappy in your office - I will not even try to tell you that you must keep a straight face and not verbalize 'oh my god that stinks,' loudly whilst you are on a video link - just don't, it can certainly change the whole seriousness of your business link. Or your kid wandering in and pulling funny faces behind your back, for all to see through your webcam!

Make sure your dog is somewhere so it cannot be heard barking and howling to someone's dreadful taste in music, in the next room!

You need a door, yes, a door, a firmly closed one with a lock, and a large sign saying 'working, please do not disturb' emblazoned for all to see for sure! You certainly cannot go about your work whilst lounging on your bed or the sofa downstairs, for all to see your decorative tastes through your webcam - although that could be a talking point (but would that be appropriate to your web meeting) - I don't really think so!

What we all have to take from this disastrous pandemic!

The above image of the horse, and the pig in the title photograph, gave me hope & a breath of fresh air after every one of my shifts (oh, that is, after I changed out of my spacesuit before leaving the Hospital!)

I have composed this article around what driving home from work each night after my shift did for me. It gave me fresh air, something I had not had through the past 12.5 hours whilst on the ward. It gave me hope that the world was still out there, seeing animals roaming wild through the New Forest in Hampshire - who probably were blissfully unaware of what was happening for us humans. The wildlife was still present & flourishing, the grass & trees were still budding and, generally, nature was still with us, supporting our mental health every step of the way through one of the worst times in our life.

..... It gave me hope.

..... And I hope my articles give every one of you hope because I had Covid and I survived. I now enjoy my time writing articles from my home, and I know just how lucky I really am.

..... My heart goes out to the loved ones that passed away, and to the ones that survived, left with forever memories of a once happier & better time.

And now for our road ahead with lockdown drawing to a close (no earlier than June 21st, 2021 in the UK) just what lays ahead for us?

What will we learn from this - the most important message of all times, to love, care, and respect one another whilst we still can... because we just do not know what the future holds for us all.

What will we carry forward into going about our lives once more?

Courtesy of YouTube (Europe - The Final Countdown) written by Tempest, J. and performed by a Swedish rock band (release by Europe in 1988)

I believe it to be an appropriate song for an appropriate time in everyone's lives now. I have always enjoyed the songs created by this band, which is why I have decided as this being a 'good fit' now.

As one line states:

'Will things ever be the same again?' - a big question & open for much debate - I am sure.

Thank you to every one of you for just being there in this time of need......

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please read and click the heart after reading. Anyone choosing to tip me, well, thank you so much for your generosity and kindness shown by this - hearts are great but tips help me succeed and do better but remember they are not obligatory.

More of my articles can be found at: https://todaysurvey.today/authors/jonathan-townend

My email address for any comments please, to: [email protected]