Weekly Update Y2w11

Forgot to do this yesterday, in amongst all the hype and rapidly changing instructions regarding coronavirus.  You'll be unsurprised to know that I'm still fat.  My weight has levelled off this week, but unfortunately it has done so at the top of a peak, rather than after a period of weight loss.

Due to being stuck inside at various times, my girls have wanted to do baking and decorating.
Due to my lack of willpower, I have been eating everything they've been offering me.
I'd like to say that I will do better this week, but I don't have the mental energy right now for blatant lies.

Coronavirus

Everyone seems to be having their say, so now it's my turn.

Firstly, please stop panic buying.  Really.  You don't need that much loo roll, and you're being a selfish twat* because other people can't afford (whether time, money or physical energy) to bulk buy so are being left with nowt.

Same goes for paracetamol.  There are people who have various conditions that are manageable with pain relief, yet they are reduced to being in agony, not being able to maintain their living standards because shelves are stripped bare of basic paracetamol; not to mention the fact that there may be other circumstances why these people cannot 'simply' take other pain relief (pregnancy, asthma or other conditions).  Fever is a natural response to infection, so unless it is a very high temperature or accompanied by aches and pains, it is often best to allow the fever to run its course.

And the same goes for sanitizer and hand soap.  Everyone should wash their hands anyway, after going to the loo, before cooking and eating, after playing with pets or in the garden.  Yes, it is recommended that people wash their hands even more often, so the sales of hand-wash might be in slightly higher demand that usual, but currently it is ridiculous.

And the same goes (unsurprisingly) for dried and tinned foods.  Yes, some people are having to self isolate, but as it currently stands, the government has not required this on a large scale (see my thoughts on that below). As such there is currently no need to start stocking up, because all you are doing is impacting other people.  As I said before, there are people who cannot bulk buy.  Whether they go shopping once a week, or only buy a basket-full more often, if there is nothing on the shelves, these people are not going to eat.  And by 'these people' I am thinking primarily of the elderly or people on benefits who may have no alternative but to shop in this manner.  For most of us, and I assume everyone reading this blog, we do have alternative options.  We can buy online and get food delivered to our door.  Other people may not be comfortable with this technology, may not afford to have internet in their home or on their phone, or may not even have a card to enable them do online transactions.

A knock-on effect of this, is that food banks are running out of food and various supplies.  They are not on the shelves of the shops, so when these items are available, people are keeping them all for themselves, or not buying surplus (in the hope of reducing the affect of the panic buying and leaving enough for the next person).  I know I'm guilty of not donating to food banks recently, and I suspect I'm not the only one.

*Apologies to female genitalia - genitalia = good, selfish idiots = bad.

Secondly, it's not just the flu.
It is true that for most people, it will be an annoying infection from which you'll recover and life will go on.  However, for many people with underlying conditions it can be a lot worse.  I'm not going to expand and make you think I'm a medical expect - it's just common sense that people who have lowered immune systems or already have respiratory conditions will be affected by such a virus more.

For anyone interested in learning more about Covid19, FutureLearn are offering this free online course: Click Here

Then there's the impact it will have on all hospitals and other medical environments.  Not only is there the obvious effects (the more people who get the coronavirus, the small percentage of people who need to be hospitalised will increase, so can overwhelm ICUs), but there will be other people, who don't have the virus, who will need to be admitted to ICU, so there won't be enough beds.

There are people with various conditions who need to use hospitals, even if they don't need to be admitted, so lots of 'routine' appointments, testing, monitoring, and surgeries will need to be cancelled. I, for one, have not been called for my annual mammogram and MRI scan that I have to check for breast cancer at this time each year. Then there's the staff themselves, who not only put themselves at risk by being in an environment where there may be multiple people with symptoms, but if they too are self isolating, there will be less staff in our hospitals, so is a vicious cycle.

Once hospitals are overwhelmed, who will be considered eligible for treatment?  What if you're over a certain age? What if you are disabled or have other conditions? What if you don't have children? What if you're an alcoholic or drug addict? What if you smoke? What if you're overweight? What if you can't afford to pay privately?  Who gets to make these decisions?

So should we all be panicking?

No, but it is likely to have a big impact an some people, and because we should be caring for other people in our society, we should be thinking about the impact our actions will have on others.

The government recently updated their guidance here. I've heard a mixed response to this; some people suggesting it doesn't go far enough, whilst others thinking it's totally fine.  (I haven't heard anyone suggesting that it goes too far.)  My gut-feel is that it probably doesn't go far enough.

I know some people will be put out if things were shut down, not least self-employed people like myself who won't qualify for any benefits or SSP, but we need to learn from other countries.  It's very easy to think "oh, it's the other side of the world" "it's a different culture" etc, then it came to Italy, but "they didn't know what they were doing" and "we're learning from their mistakes".  The main thing that has come from the government, to me, is a sense that they don't want to do anything out of fear for their reputation, rather than erring on the side of caution/protecting people's lives, even if it proves to be too cautious.

This article has a sensationalist title, but does seem to be well researched and makes sense to my "Joe Public" understanding of events.

I know in my town in the UK, that we have currently 2 confirmed cases.  Allegedly, there are actually around 50 cases currently in our hospital, but that the hospital has been told from above that they are not allowed to test anyone unless they have travelled to certain locations.  Now the government have said that if you think you have symptoms you should self isolate and only call NHS111 if you are particularly worried or your symptoms are severe; as such the real number of people who have the virus will be much larger than current numbers (and therefore predictions based on these numbers) will suggest.

Another concern I have (because like must the population, I'm more selfishly concerned about how my future plans will be impacted because of shut-downs etc, rather than concern about contracting the virus itself) is surrounding insurance.  I don't fully understand it (partly because I haven't actually looked into it) but I've heard on the grape-vine, that if people choose to not attend events, then they cannot be reimbursed (which I do understand), if the events/venues get cancelled then people will be reimbursed (fair enough), but if the government implements a national shut-down, and events get cancelled because of that, then insurance is no longer valid so people will not be reimbursed.  As I said, I may have got that wrong, or not understood it, but that position seems inherently unfair.

And what about all bills that need to be paid during the shut-down period?  Generally I'm someone who if something happens that I have no control over, I will take it as it comes and treat the situation as an adventure, so the idea of being shut at home, doesn't actually bother me that much, assuming I can still get food delivered to me (because I am privileged in that way).  If we had to live on SSP for the duration of the shut down, if other bills were put on hold (and preferably without interest accumulating), we'd be ok.  If bills were not put on hold, things would be very tight for us.  We're lucky, we have a good credit rating and could potentially organise a mortgage-holiday.  Other people, however, may be renting, so do not have that option.  Or if it's a private landlord, they may be relying on that income in order to pay their own bills.  Unfortunately, I do not have confidence in our government (well, the prime minister at least) to have though of all these nuances, implications, and more that hasn't brushed past my mind.

Personally, my girls have dance exams in the next couple of weeks, and I wouldn't want them postponed, but it wouldn't be the end of the world.  I do feel for students who are doing GCSEs, A-Levels, and University Finals this summer.  It's a stressful enough time anyway, without worrying about what-ifs and maybes. We haven't booked a holiday this year yet, so have no concerns about that being cancelled, but we have booked various day trips and overnight stays for various reasons that can all be impacted.

I've run out of steam for this topic right now, and I haven't even had a rant about overt and more subtle racism due to the virus.  Last night a friend and I had a delicious meal at a Thai restaurant, and we were the only 2 people there. All night.  I asked the lady working there if it was always this quiet on a Thursday evening, wondering if it was just because it's a weekday, but no.  They are quieter on a weeknight, but they have been near-dead all week.  It's crazy. Anyway, I will stop now (and probably remember the rest of what I wanted to write later when I'm away from my laptop).

Just remember to not panic, be hygienic, and think of others.

From BBC Health

Weekly Update Y2w10

Yeah, let's not talk about this week...

I am eating much more fruit and vegetables than normal, but I feel like I'm not losing weight anymore. I have had 2 nights where I haven't listened to the hypnotherapy app.  I find when I listen to it, I wake up when it goes off, yet when I have it on continuous loop, I don't feel refreshed in the morning.  Last night I didn't have it on at all, and I had a crazy nightmare*.  At least if I listen to it, it keeps the nightmares at bay.

I had a look at a longer term average (2 weeks) and that clearly shows that I'm not losing weight at all.  I go up and down a lot, but overall, I'm the same weight I always am.

We have finally finished painting the kitchen, so hopefully we can put the shelves on the wall, and I can keep on top of cleaning and start cooking again, so can take back control of my weight.

*Last night's dream was weird.  My dreams often are, and though I don't usually consider weird dreams as nightmares, this one was a bit more gruesome than normal.
It started fairly normally.  I was waiting for my friend Sarah to come visit.  She was coming to me, by train, then we were going to catch a train somewhere together.  She was due to arrive in 15min, but I was still in bed.  Then she wanted me to pick her up at the station.  We were on the train together, then we ended up in an Indiana Jones-esque land.  There were loads of women all dressed in white togas tied to the side of a cliff.  Then, when the king or his kids got bored, they would catapult one woman to the top of the cliff/aiming at the other women.  Whoever she hit, would explode and there would be random limbs thrown all over the place.  The dream went on, but it was very vivid, so I still feel tired now

First Lego League Junior - BoomTown Challenge

A group of HErs, including DD2, set up a Lego robotics team, in order to enter the First Lego League Junior.  In my area, there has been success with HErs entering FLL in previous years, sometimes not only winning regional heats, but national and internationally too!  This was the first time (that I know of) that a local HE group entered the Junior league.

The group was made up of six children between 6-9years old, and we met fortnightly for 2 hours from September/October to February.  For their age group, they were taking part in the Boomtown Build Challenge - designing and building a building from lego, incorporating a part that uses robotics and is programmable.  Most weeks, they were guided by a workbook which took the children through exercises looking at different parts of designing a building:

• What will the building be used for? 
• Who will be using it? Is it accessible?
• Is it strong? Is it stable?
• Is it environmentally friendly? etc

And there were small programmable mechanical/robotic structures to build such as a crane, an elevator, an automatic door, a fan etc.  Near the end of the weeks, the children had to decide upon a final building with which to enter the competition, build it, do posters to display and write a presentation for the judges.  They had lots of ideas, but rather than the oldest/bossiest/loudest child taking charge and demanding it all be done their way, they decided amongst themselves to use as many ideas as possible, and soon The Boom Eiffel was born!

One of the children particularly likes the Eiffel Tower, and as other children (incl DD2) have been there too, it was decided as a group that the design of our building would be based on the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

The base was made up of four separate rooms: pet shop, aquarium, cafe and souvenir shop.  In the build of the building was the elevator, to carry people up to the next floor.  The next floor consisted of a learning centre, where people of all ages can learn together, and a gym.  The next floor up was open to the air as it was a rooftop garden, and finally the very top floor was a cafe, serving produce from the garden, with a balcony so people could look out over Boomtown.  On the roof of the cafe was a wind turbine, some solar panels and a lightning rod.

Each child then created a poster to be displayed, and had to write their own presentation.  As DD2 built the garden and is concerned about the environment, she focussed on that side of things, whilst others talked about how the building was accessible and who would be using it.  Unfortunately, as DD2 was busy competing in a dance festival on the day of the Expo, we recorded her presentation in advance, so it could be shown with the rest of the team.

On the day of the Expo, the children were nervous but had a great time.  They spoke with the judges and other competitors, and all the children were given matching Tshirts so they could feel like a team.  And we are very proud to say that they won the prize for Complexity and Design!

The kids are doing their presentation again next week, at a local science fair during British Science Week, but they met up earlier this week to congratulate each other and to give DD2 her medal.

I was proud of myself for making a lego cake to share, lol. 

The Blade Heir by Daniel Adorno

I bought this book (for free, obvs, lol) a while ago but thought it sounded interesting by the title.  Now I have my new kindle and can sort books into 'read' and 'unread' I'm now choosing new books to read based on alphabetical order of the author plus whether the title sounds like it'll be good.

The blurb says:

The Dragons Have Awakened...

Lucius suffers each night from recurring nightmares of a black dragon called Kraegyn. The frightening dreams signal the return of the dragon tribes that wreaked havoc on the peoples of Azuleah centuries ago. Confused and uncertain of his role in the gathering storm, Lucius joins his elf brother Siegfried on a perilous journey to reforge the Requiem Sword--the blade which once defeated Kraegyn.


Lucius' quest will take him through the kingdom of elves, dwarves, and faeries. Though he will gain allies on his quest and uncover secrets surrounding his past, can Lucius survive long enough to stop Kraegyn's ascension?

The Blade Heir is Daniel Adorno's debut novel and is an epic fantasy tale modeled after the works of C.S. Lewis, Stephen R. Lawhead, and Michael J. Sullivan.

Lucius is a human who lives with his adopted elf-family amongst the elves.  He soon discovers that the fate of humankind rests with him, and he needs to go on a quest accompanied by his elf-brother.  Along the way he meets various allies and enemies, and learns more and more about Yesu and the divisions between humans, elves, dwarves, faeries, as well as the Draknoir and their evil leader.

I really liked this book.  It is easy to read and has much more going on than I was initially expecting, especially as this is Daniel's debut novel.  Having read some of the other authors listed in the blurb, I can definitely see the influences they ave had, and that makes me want to read the story more.  In a fantasy world full of magic and mythical creatures, I am intrigued to see how the story develops, and how the various strands fit together.  And, ultimately, whether what I expect/hope will happen (in regards to various scrolls and prophesies within the story) will actually happen.

Rather than just adding the sequel to my wishlist, I have actually bought it immediately so I can keep reading Lucius' story.

Weekly Update Y2w9

Over the past week my weight has come back into control.  I did go out for a meal with friends on Friday night with a few drinks and ate until I couldn't eat any more - I couldn't finish the main and couldn't face dessert - so as expected my weight increased the following day.  Then yesterday I wasn't careful with what I was consuming, and every time someone asked me if I wanted a biscuit, or a slice of cake, or a Welsh-cake, or half a Belgian bun, or a can of beer... I kept saying yes.  But that's ok.  Not ideal, but ok.

Over the whole of last week I dropped over 2.5 kilos (around 5.5lb) which is quite a lot, and certainly more than I was expecting. Whether it was because of the newfound motivation, or whether the hypnotherapy is working, or because we had a Riverford veg box last week and I don't want to waste our money, or because I was more active due to painting the house, or because of something else entirely, I don't know.  But, I'm still listening to the hypnotherapy each evening before I go to sleep, we have another veg box arriving on Wed (but then will be going to fortnightly as it is more veg than we eat in a week!) and I still need to finish painting the kitchen (all the awkward bits near the ceiling and in the far corners) so hopefully I'll have a similar downward slope on the graph this coming week too.

The Unschooled Life by Lizi Gambell

I was given a copy of this book for free, in exchange for an honest review.  As someone who unschooled/s her child(ren), I was interested to read Lizi's take on it.

The blurb says:

Are you considering home education? Are you curious about unschooling?

The Unschooled Life combines personal storytelling with advice and guidance for any parent on a home education journey. In this book, Lizi Gambell tells how her eldest son became deeply unhappy at school, and how things transformed when they left the system and started to build their own learning life. Lizi shares the ups and downs of this decision, including the process of confronting her own conditioning, and the wonder to be found in learning alongside her children.

The Unschooled Life includes chapters on:
Developing your Education Philosophy;
Juggling a family and work with self-care and wellbeing;
Coping with other peoples’ questions and criticism;
Tackling screen time and the lure of new technologies.

Using anecdotes from her own life, Lizi shows how a real family can develop a holistic approach to education and parenting, and live happily outside the box! Lizi is a remedial hypnotist, with a deep interest in the mind, self-confidence, and overcoming anxiety. In The Unschooled Life, she brings this unique perspective to the opportunities of unschooling.

If you are looking for a how-to of home education in general, this isn't the book for you. There just is not enough information about the technical side of where to start and who to contact (if indeed anybody) if you decide to home educate. There are some useful parts, but primarily this is a book about Lizi's personal journey.

If you are looking into unschooling, I would say this book is more useful.  Unschooling is a sub-type of home education where you follow the child's interests and natural curiosity, rather than imposing a curriculum or formal work on them.  This is what I did with my girls, allowing them the freedom to learn in their own way and own their own education.  Though much of the book is about Lizi's approach to home educating her children, it is good to read a real life example of unschooling in action, and if you are concerned that this approach is neglectful or too hands-off, then this book will reassure you.

The book itself is very easy to read.  Lizi writes as if you're a friend, so it is informal in style, with plenty of anecdotes and stories that reiterate what she is saying.  If unschooling is new to you, then I can see this book being an easy intro to the topic.  At the end of the book, there are also plenty of 'further reading' to choose to dig deeper if you think unschooling would be right for you and your family.

My main criticism of the book is the final topic on screens.  As Lizi mentions that she follows Sandra Dodd and has read Sandra's Big Book of Unschooling, I was expecting Lizi to be considered a Radical or Whole-Life Unschooler, but the chapter on screens suggest that she is not as she does impose arbitrary limits (imo). Screens and various new technologies are not a problem.  By giving children broad and various opportunities, they will self-regulate and learn loads whether using technology or otherwise. Am I a radical unschooler? Ideally I would be, however, we did implement bedtimes, after years of not having one, when my children were dancing more in the evenings and not recognising their own tiredness cues. I don't know if that technically makes me a not radical unschooler, but at my point in life I don't really care. Rather than Sandra Dodd, I tended to follow Joyce Fetterol's Joyfully Rejoycing and would recommend her to people looking to unschooling.

Overall, this book shows the joy that Lizi has for her family and seeing her children learn naturally as part of an unschooling lifestyle. For people new to the idea of home education or unschooling, this lighthearted book will give you a positive, but realistic, view of how children can effectively learn outside the institution of school.