These are just a few observations from having been a patient in a NHS hospital twice for a week on each occasion in the past 5 years. It is now called Croydon University Hospital, but still remains known to us as Mayday.
1. I think that "Hospital Food" has been given a bad name, and whatever they do, the public will continue to consider it poor, no matter how much individual hospitals improve it. We have become a nation of food snobs. On these two occasions I have enjoyed the food. The trouble is, if you say it is good, people raise their eyebrows and imagine that you don't eat very well at home. In fact, I do, having a good cook for a husband. And, luckily, one advantage of advanced age is that you don't care what people think.
2. There are enormous difficulties, one being that, with short stays, you are likely to get the food ordered by the previous occupant of the bed. I don't see how this can be avoided.
3. If old people are asleep, someone tends to fill in the form for them, and, afraid of ordering too little, order too much. I noticed in Mayday staff waking them and encouraging them to eat, but it's almost impossible for a hospital to provide carers with the time to coax them. They waste so much. Also, the servings are too big and discourage them.
4. If you are ill you are likely to have a poor appetite. If you don't feel like eating when you get the menu sheet and order little, you are encouraged to order more in case your appetite returns.
5. Many ethnic minorities so much prefer their own home-cooked food that families bring it in for them. I don't know if they also order from the menu. Possibly some do and that gets wasted.
6. On my latest stay in Mayday a researcher came round and asked me if my meal times were ever interrupted by nurses or doctors. I said no, but if they were wouldn't mind, considering myself there to be cured and their time more important than one meal for me.
7. Does it really make sense, even, in the long run, financially, to have a branch of Burger King as part of the restaurant service? The sight of a very overweight patient in his pyjamas eating there was a very disturbing one.
I wonder if it would be possible to have a trolley on each floor and patients could ask for what they want from it according to how they were feeling at that moment?
This blog is a plea for common sense in public policy. Our leaders don't seem to have any. They just make daft rules for us to follow. We need to assert our right to use our own good sense instead of ticking boxes which can only say 'yes' or 'no'.
Thursday 29 December 2011
Monday 26 December 2011
I am old, but NOT a grumpy old woman
I was disappointed to have this blog referred to as that of a Grumpy Old Woman. I am very conscious of the danger of becoming one of those, but try, about each development I complain of, to offer an alternative way of behaving. It seems to me that negativity is the curse of Britain at the moment and we shouldn't complain without offering something different, otherwise we should just shut up.
Friday 23 December 2011
David Cameron and morality
Of course David Cameron is right - in our search for money we have lost sight of morality. But why does he call them "Christian morals"? Primitive societies had their moral codes long before Christ appeared on the scene. Small societies depended on acting as one and had to be able to totally rely on each other's dedication to the common good. We have moved far, far away from that and in fact seem to be prone to even more outrageous crimes as the years go by, such as the super-rich refusing to pay the taxes which provide them with the amenities which even they need from the state (water, roads, sewage,etc.) and those who don't mind incapacitating hospitals or railways by removing the copper wiring that keeps them going.
We are in dire straits now, but all we see is politicians allocating blame to each other. It's too late for that, what is done is done. But it seems even the Coalition can't stick together. It is so ugly and useless to see the party leaders insulting each other. Let them recognise that the situation requires a combined effort of them and us to redress it and start by giving the lead with a bit of co-operation. Party politics was forgotten about in WWII. Why not now, when the danger is equally great? I don't suppose the French, cross as they are at the moment, are about to invade us, but we are in danger of our own society disintegrating around us. Of course we are all to blame in allowing the situation to get so bad, and we shall all have to pull together to reverse it. But who will lead us?
The ants manage to act as one in a crisis. Are we really the "lords of creation"?
We are in dire straits now, but all we see is politicians allocating blame to each other. It's too late for that, what is done is done. But it seems even the Coalition can't stick together. It is so ugly and useless to see the party leaders insulting each other. Let them recognise that the situation requires a combined effort of them and us to redress it and start by giving the lead with a bit of co-operation. Party politics was forgotten about in WWII. Why not now, when the danger is equally great? I don't suppose the French, cross as they are at the moment, are about to invade us, but we are in danger of our own society disintegrating around us. Of course we are all to blame in allowing the situation to get so bad, and we shall all have to pull together to reverse it. But who will lead us?
The ants manage to act as one in a crisis. Are we really the "lords of creation"?
Tuesday 13 December 2011
A Remedy for Cramp
Cramp is very, very painful and tends to wake you up at night, the more so as you get older. Years ago, reading The Oldie in a dentist's waiting room, I came across this remedy and my husband and I have used it ever since. You just put a real (not plastic) cork in the bed. It doesn't sound in any way scientific, but it works. Since real corks are disappearing fast in favour of plastic or screw-tops, perhaps it's a good idea to start collecting a few?
One night we both had cramp and discovered that, having changed the sheets, we had forgotten to put the cork back. This was something we only found out in the morning - no question of it being psycho-somatic cramp!
I am most grateful to The Oldie for this
Thursday 8 December 2011
My friend and I have been meeting regularly for lunch, every few months, for a great many years at a comfortable Victorian hotel. This time there was a gap of almost a year. Too long! The shell is still there, the inside is transformed into something much more up-market, colder, sharper, smarter. We had our lunch there, but for the last time. Our tradition is broken. No doubt they won't mind.
We had the habit of meeting in the foyer, but gone are the welcoming arm-chairs, and I was faced instead with standing beside a huge placard announcing the imminent opening of a Champagne Bar until my friend arrived - luckily straight away - we are the punctual generation! We set off towards "our" restaurant, but immediately noted that it's no longer for us. Glossy, expensive, it's not where we want to be. We repaired to the Brasserie, but that, too had a chichi look. Obviously the sort of place where you "wait to be seated" but nobody came forward for a while, and then without apology for the delay. The menu was full of pretentious phrases describing the food - the calves liver was said to be "seared", sounding an inappropriate way of dealing with it! The service was rather slow, but we didn't really notice staffthat, until afterwards when somebody approached us and asked about it. Not wanting to get the waiter in trouble we said it was acceptable, but I missed the opportunity to say that service is the essence of a pretentious restaurant, and it is no good spending lots of money on decor if you are going to stint on staff.
This was even more evident when, wanting to have coffee in the lounge, we discovered it was unaccountably closing at 4 p.m., though an important-looking man did summon a scarce waiter to bring us some in the corridor.
Of course, as everywhere, the toilets are superb. But they were perfectly adequate before.
Money seems available for everything except what matters most, people! It is the way you are treated that makes you want to come back. But I suppose I haven't got it right. All those marketing managers can't be wrong, can they?
We had the habit of meeting in the foyer, but gone are the welcoming arm-chairs, and I was faced instead with standing beside a huge placard announcing the imminent opening of a Champagne Bar until my friend arrived - luckily straight away - we are the punctual generation! We set off towards "our" restaurant, but immediately noted that it's no longer for us. Glossy, expensive, it's not where we want to be. We repaired to the Brasserie, but that, too had a chichi look. Obviously the sort of place where you "wait to be seated" but nobody came forward for a while, and then without apology for the delay. The menu was full of pretentious phrases describing the food - the calves liver was said to be "seared", sounding an inappropriate way of dealing with it! The service was rather slow, but we didn't really notice staffthat, until afterwards when somebody approached us and asked about it. Not wanting to get the waiter in trouble we said it was acceptable, but I missed the opportunity to say that service is the essence of a pretentious restaurant, and it is no good spending lots of money on decor if you are going to stint on staff.
This was even more evident when, wanting to have coffee in the lounge, we discovered it was unaccountably closing at 4 p.m., though an important-looking man did summon a scarce waiter to bring us some in the corridor.
Of course, as everywhere, the toilets are superb. But they were perfectly adequate before.
Money seems available for everything except what matters most, people! It is the way you are treated that makes you want to come back. But I suppose I haven't got it right. All those marketing managers can't be wrong, can they?
Tuesday 6 December 2011
What is it that all parents learn to do but no governments seem to think of?
In spite of the belief of the grumpy British at the moment, we are a very advanced and successful society.
We do all sorts of clever things, staff some of the world's best universities, build nuclear weapons and harness nuclear power, perform heart and liver transplants, run high-tech factories, have drinking water come out of our taps, transport millions of people every day on public transport, maintain a sewage system, provide electricity nation-wide and do lots more besides which we take for granted. But there is one enterprise that is considered too difficult for us.
Most parents, when faced with a child saying "I'm bored" find a task for them to do. According to age it can be help mash the potatoes, clean the bathroom, sweep the front path, tidy the toy cupboard and find something that can be taken to the charity shop for a younger child. Sometimes it even enjoys the task, even learns a new skill and wants to do it again. At the very least, the devil didn't get a chance to employ those idle hands.
But Governments, faced with a million unemployed youth and a country crying out for a general tidying-up, seem unable to harness those forces. The advantages would be manifold:
1. Not letting young school and college leavers get in the habit of not having to get up in the morning.
2. Giving them a feeling that they are needed.
3. Our neighbourhoods looking more cheerful.
4. Even if cleaning and cutting back greenery and painting aren't considered skills, they really are useful.
5. Learning to work in groups to do a task together.
6. Improving relationships between different ages in society. The public, seeing a group of youngsters, would not immediately assume they were "up to no good" , and even be afraid of them (Heaven help us!)- might even thank them for the work they are doing!
This should NOT put street cleaners out of a job. To my mind they are some of the most useful public servants and I am grateful every Tuesday when ours comes round to tidy us up. But there are plenty of corners they can't, even aren't allowed to reach. One is just round the corner - some garages set back from the road where rubbish regularly accumulates, to the despair of the owners. The youngsters could, even, with permission, tidy up the front gardens of those who are too old or too feckless or don't know how to do it themselves.
We do all sorts of clever things, staff some of the world's best universities, build nuclear weapons and harness nuclear power, perform heart and liver transplants, run high-tech factories, have drinking water come out of our taps, transport millions of people every day on public transport, maintain a sewage system, provide electricity nation-wide and do lots more besides which we take for granted. But there is one enterprise that is considered too difficult for us.
Most parents, when faced with a child saying "I'm bored" find a task for them to do. According to age it can be help mash the potatoes, clean the bathroom, sweep the front path, tidy the toy cupboard and find something that can be taken to the charity shop for a younger child. Sometimes it even enjoys the task, even learns a new skill and wants to do it again. At the very least, the devil didn't get a chance to employ those idle hands.
But Governments, faced with a million unemployed youth and a country crying out for a general tidying-up, seem unable to harness those forces. The advantages would be manifold:
1. Not letting young school and college leavers get in the habit of not having to get up in the morning.
2. Giving them a feeling that they are needed.
3. Our neighbourhoods looking more cheerful.
4. Even if cleaning and cutting back greenery and painting aren't considered skills, they really are useful.
5. Learning to work in groups to do a task together.
6. Improving relationships between different ages in society. The public, seeing a group of youngsters, would not immediately assume they were "up to no good" , and even be afraid of them (Heaven help us!)- might even thank them for the work they are doing!
This should NOT put street cleaners out of a job. To my mind they are some of the most useful public servants and I am grateful every Tuesday when ours comes round to tidy us up. But there are plenty of corners they can't, even aren't allowed to reach. One is just round the corner - some garages set back from the road where rubbish regularly accumulates, to the despair of the owners. The youngsters could, even, with permission, tidy up the front gardens of those who are too old or too feckless or don't know how to do it themselves.
Monday 5 December 2011
Is saving the planet more important than the financial crisis?
Lord Prescott sounded unexpectedly statesmanlike when, speaking from the meeting about global warming which is taking place in South Africa, with scant media attention, he said that if we do not take the health of the planet more seriously we shall, in a few years' time, think of the euro crisis as a pin-prick - or words to that effect, I only heard him on the radio and have not seen what he said in print. But it is what I have been thinking.
No need to go on about wastefulness - we all know its extent - and the government wants us to go out at Christmas and buy more stuff for the sake of "growth" instead of, sensibly, saving for the rainy days which are on the way when the cuts bite more deeply. (By the way, literal rainy days are to be wished for. Is it global warming that is causing us to have a DROUGHT? In England? In winter?)
Well, one little example of daftness has just come home with my husband. He is 79, all male, and not into glamorous underwear, but his last 2 pairs of underpants (£5, "Mega Value") come in a most beautiful box! I am a collector of lovely boxes for re-use, and am grateful for this one. It is made of strong cardboard and has an inner drawer which slides out as smoothly as one in an expensive bit of furniture. But can we really justify cutting down trees to provide this bit of nonsense? We are meant to be the rational beings on the planet, but we aren't thinking.
No need to go on about wastefulness - we all know its extent - and the government wants us to go out at Christmas and buy more stuff for the sake of "growth" instead of, sensibly, saving for the rainy days which are on the way when the cuts bite more deeply. (By the way, literal rainy days are to be wished for. Is it global warming that is causing us to have a DROUGHT? In England? In winter?)
Well, one little example of daftness has just come home with my husband. He is 79, all male, and not into glamorous underwear, but his last 2 pairs of underpants (£5, "Mega Value") come in a most beautiful box! I am a collector of lovely boxes for re-use, and am grateful for this one. It is made of strong cardboard and has an inner drawer which slides out as smoothly as one in an expensive bit of furniture. But can we really justify cutting down trees to provide this bit of nonsense? We are meant to be the rational beings on the planet, but we aren't thinking.
Sunday 4 December 2011
Is this one reason the NHS is in the red?
Yesterday I visited an ex-nurse, now in her 90s and in a private nursing home, not able to walk much but very clear in her mind.
She told me of 3 instances where she couldn't imagine why NHS services had been used to look after her, while the Home, in order to comply with its registration requirements, has to have a trained nurse on the staff all the time.
The first was when she was sent to Hospital by ambulance for an enema!
The second was when she had a fall in the night, cutting her head. She refused to go to hospital that night, but they sent her off anyway in the morning, where the cut was treated and she was brought back.
When the cut was healed the Home insisted that because the dressing had been put on in hospital a district nurse had to come to remove the plaster, which she did in 1 minute, having driven how far to get there?
The third was on Friday, when, her ears needing syringing, she had been putting olive oil in them for a few days. The district nurse came and just looked at them and said he' d return next week, but would syringe them one at a time on different days.
She is paying for care in this Home. Why should the NHS be involved with these minor matters? The Home insists that these procedures are demanded by the NHS. This is daftness. Why should anybody beyond the Home ever even know about them?
We both wonder if this is happening on a grand scale. Does anybody know?
She told me of 3 instances where she couldn't imagine why NHS services had been used to look after her, while the Home, in order to comply with its registration requirements, has to have a trained nurse on the staff all the time.
The first was when she was sent to Hospital by ambulance for an enema!
The second was when she had a fall in the night, cutting her head. She refused to go to hospital that night, but they sent her off anyway in the morning, where the cut was treated and she was brought back.
When the cut was healed the Home insisted that because the dressing had been put on in hospital a district nurse had to come to remove the plaster, which she did in 1 minute, having driven how far to get there?
The third was on Friday, when, her ears needing syringing, she had been putting olive oil in them for a few days. The district nurse came and just looked at them and said he' d return next week, but would syringe them one at a time on different days.
She is paying for care in this Home. Why should the NHS be involved with these minor matters? The Home insists that these procedures are demanded by the NHS. This is daftness. Why should anybody beyond the Home ever even know about them?
We both wonder if this is happening on a grand scale. Does anybody know?
Saturday 3 December 2011
Homeless in Watford
I have just been listening to the Mayor of Watford saying there is a huge increased problem of homelessness in her area and that they are being forced to once again put people into bed and breakfast accommodation.
In most areas there are a large number of empty rooms in houses where a single pensioner is living. We are pensioners and rent out a room to a lodger. It is more daunting to do this if you are just one person, but, with the backing of the Council, perhaps some of these people would be willing to take in lodgers. There would be benefits for them, for they would have the reassurance of not being alone at night, and, in exchange for keeping the rent low, (after all, any rent at all would be a useful improvement to their present situation) they could expect some specified help in, for example, shopping or gardening or also just odd things like replacing a light-bulb in a high-up spot. I know that a large proportions would, at first at any rate, shy away from the idea of having someone else in their home, but I do believe that this idea could grow and it could even become the norm and contribute to well-being in the society. We have no car, and our lodger collects heavy things for us or takes things to the dump, very willingly.
This venture could be put into effect quite quickly as long as there was no nonsense about people having a "right" to en suite bathrooms etc. I think it could be assumed that, if the accommodation is safe enough for the pensioner to live it it could provide space, without any modifications, for a lodger.
Councils already have Housing Departments. This could add a rather pleasant, positive aspect to their workload.
In most areas there are a large number of empty rooms in houses where a single pensioner is living. We are pensioners and rent out a room to a lodger. It is more daunting to do this if you are just one person, but, with the backing of the Council, perhaps some of these people would be willing to take in lodgers. There would be benefits for them, for they would have the reassurance of not being alone at night, and, in exchange for keeping the rent low, (after all, any rent at all would be a useful improvement to their present situation) they could expect some specified help in, for example, shopping or gardening or also just odd things like replacing a light-bulb in a high-up spot. I know that a large proportions would, at first at any rate, shy away from the idea of having someone else in their home, but I do believe that this idea could grow and it could even become the norm and contribute to well-being in the society. We have no car, and our lodger collects heavy things for us or takes things to the dump, very willingly.
This venture could be put into effect quite quickly as long as there was no nonsense about people having a "right" to en suite bathrooms etc. I think it could be assumed that, if the accommodation is safe enough for the pensioner to live it it could provide space, without any modifications, for a lodger.
Councils already have Housing Departments. This could add a rather pleasant, positive aspect to their workload.
Friday 2 December 2011
What is education for?
We are overwhelmed with information from all quarters. Two items, evidence of very different attitudes to knowledge struck me forcibly in recent days.
The first was that certain students are paying high fees to private tutors to help them write their essays. This is what their teachers within their educational institutions are there for. If they write a poor essay their teacher can see they have a problem and address it. If they get outside help, the problem will not be addressed and the piece of paper they receive at the end of their course will not represent the information they have actually acquired and therefore will be less real use to them in later life. Even if you cannot get a job in your field, at least you should have furnished your mind sufficiently to enjoy life in a broader way. It isn't a question of letters after your name.
The second was the television programme "How to Build a Satellite". This showed a work-force, not all of them by any means University educated, totally dedicated to producing an absolutely perfect piece of machinery. They were building the casing of a communications satellite. This was destined to be launched into space and had to last 15 years. No question of the recipient keeping the packaging in case it didn't work and had to be returned! This has to work first time. Each of the thousands of components has to be tested many times over. A lot of the activities are in an extremely sterile environment, involving very careful attention to the rules. Total cooperation is essential. The work-force are mostly long-standing employees and their pride in their work is palpable and obviously makes them feel worthwhile and important and contented. Then, when it is completed, equal care has to be exercised in the packing and shipping to Portsmouth for the electronics to be inserted. Never, at any stage, can anything be falsified or the work skimped. What those people have learnt has become part of them and brought them satisfaction.
Because most of our daily activities have become so immeasurably easier over recent years we tend to give the young the impression that everything is easy. That is a real disservice to them. Overcoming difficulties is one form of fun.
The first was that certain students are paying high fees to private tutors to help them write their essays. This is what their teachers within their educational institutions are there for. If they write a poor essay their teacher can see they have a problem and address it. If they get outside help, the problem will not be addressed and the piece of paper they receive at the end of their course will not represent the information they have actually acquired and therefore will be less real use to them in later life. Even if you cannot get a job in your field, at least you should have furnished your mind sufficiently to enjoy life in a broader way. It isn't a question of letters after your name.
The second was the television programme "How to Build a Satellite". This showed a work-force, not all of them by any means University educated, totally dedicated to producing an absolutely perfect piece of machinery. They were building the casing of a communications satellite. This was destined to be launched into space and had to last 15 years. No question of the recipient keeping the packaging in case it didn't work and had to be returned! This has to work first time. Each of the thousands of components has to be tested many times over. A lot of the activities are in an extremely sterile environment, involving very careful attention to the rules. Total cooperation is essential. The work-force are mostly long-standing employees and their pride in their work is palpable and obviously makes them feel worthwhile and important and contented. Then, when it is completed, equal care has to be exercised in the packing and shipping to Portsmouth for the electronics to be inserted. Never, at any stage, can anything be falsified or the work skimped. What those people have learnt has become part of them and brought them satisfaction.
Because most of our daily activities have become so immeasurably easier over recent years we tend to give the young the impression that everything is easy. That is a real disservice to them. Overcoming difficulties is one form of fun.
Thursday 1 December 2011
Public Transport on Christmas Day
I have just booked my taxi for Christmas Day.
We used, until quite recently, to have public transport on Christmas Day, but now it doesn't happen. I wonder whether there might be sufficient demand to have it again? There must be plenty of bus and train drivers for whom Christmas is not a festival, allowing those for whom it is important to have the day off.
I wonder if it might be considered for 2012? It looks from here that times might be even leaner then than now and being able to have a big family party is a good way to have fun, especially for those who are otherwise condemned to a lonely Christmas. Most festivities include drinking so it isn't always possible to pick people up by car, even if one is available, still less to take them home.
Speaking for myself, I'd gladly leave my bus pass at home on that day and pay to travel, if that would make a difference. I'm pretty sure many pensioners would feel the same.
We used, until quite recently, to have public transport on Christmas Day, but now it doesn't happen. I wonder whether there might be sufficient demand to have it again? There must be plenty of bus and train drivers for whom Christmas is not a festival, allowing those for whom it is important to have the day off.
I wonder if it might be considered for 2012? It looks from here that times might be even leaner then than now and being able to have a big family party is a good way to have fun, especially for those who are otherwise condemned to a lonely Christmas. Most festivities include drinking so it isn't always possible to pick people up by car, even if one is available, still less to take them home.
Speaking for myself, I'd gladly leave my bus pass at home on that day and pay to travel, if that would make a difference. I'm pretty sure many pensioners would feel the same.
Wednesday 30 November 2011
Why I feel really sorry for the super-rich
At some time or another most of us have thought that £1million or so would solve all our problems - so we still have our illusions. However, it's obvious that money doesn't buy you contentment, because when you've got the money you still have to skimp and save and it must be rather sad to find that out.
In London there is a development called One Hyde Park where the flats sell from about £3 million to £30 million, but only 9 of the 62 owners can afford to pay their Council Tax.
Not that it's exorbitant! One case mentioned in Sundays' Observer cites £1375 per annum as the amount payable. Mine, on a Band D 3-bedroom Edwardian semi in a back street of Croydon is £1459.93 and I manage to pay it. Somebody should let them know that they don't have to pay it all at once, you can do it in 10 installments. Of course my out-goings are lower - I don't have any bully-boy guards around the place, and the garage came with the house, not at £250,000 extra.
Though the Council does make some daft decisions, see yesterday's post, on the whole I am grateful to them for supplying schools, swimming pools, rubbish collection, libraries, parks and all the other things we take for granted and realize we all have to pay tax to cover. So I can hold my head high and don't have to hide in a tax haven when it comes to paying my whack.
Who wants to be a billionaire? I don't!
In London there is a development called One Hyde Park where the flats sell from about £3 million to £30 million, but only 9 of the 62 owners can afford to pay their Council Tax.
Not that it's exorbitant! One case mentioned in Sundays' Observer cites £1375 per annum as the amount payable. Mine, on a Band D 3-bedroom Edwardian semi in a back street of Croydon is £1459.93 and I manage to pay it. Somebody should let them know that they don't have to pay it all at once, you can do it in 10 installments. Of course my out-goings are lower - I don't have any bully-boy guards around the place, and the garage came with the house, not at £250,000 extra.
Though the Council does make some daft decisions, see yesterday's post, on the whole I am grateful to them for supplying schools, swimming pools, rubbish collection, libraries, parks and all the other things we take for granted and realize we all have to pay tax to cover. So I can hold my head high and don't have to hide in a tax haven when it comes to paying my whack.
Who wants to be a billionaire? I don't!
Tuesday 29 November 2011
How my local Council could save money
Today I have seen yet again the monster purple machine which propels a small round brush along the gutters being driven down our streets. It does not do a good job. For one thing I don't know if the driver can actually see if he is close to the pavement or not, and every time he comes to a parked car he has to go round it so that bit of gutter doesn't get a chance. At a saving of what, £40,000, perhaps a lot more?, that same man could be effectively sweeping with a lowly broom. He would have a healthier life and there wouldn't be fuel to pay for and the streets would be cleaner. Who was the joker who thought up these daft machines, and who the gullible Council officials who got convinced by salesmen that they would be a good idea? Dare I suggest this is an example of where women rather than men might make better decisions on such questions?
Sunday 27 November 2011
Pensions
We are living longer. There's no doubt about this - plenty of centenarians about. Well, then, we have to get our pensions at a later age, otherwise we'll be pensioners longer than we actually pay in and where will the money come from? This is hard on the people already in the process, but there are plenty of hard facts to be faced since the country as a whole has been living beyond its income for a long time and it can't go on for ever.
Striking will only make the country poorer, and can't change the facts.
Striking will only make the country poorer, and can't change the facts.
Friday 25 November 2011
Why do the people actually doing the work get fired first?
When an organisation has to economise, the first thing it seems to think about is firing staff, and not those at the top of the pole, they always pick on those at the bottom who are actually doing the work or producing the goods. This is easier than looking into the various ways that money is being wasted, such as over-use of electricity or considering if certain functions in the administration actually need to be performed. There might be whole departments that have outlived their usefulness. But those in charge don't want to fire themselves or their pals.
Two friends of mine told me of their experiences yesterday, which seem to point up this problem - for problem it is.
One works for a Council. His department is being reorganised and there will, in future, be 7 posts, currently employing 8 people. They have all been invited to re-apply for their own jobs involved in different aspects of keeping the streets clean. My friend attended an interview with his boss (£36,000), 2 other administrators, and 2 other people. A panel of 5! He was asked "What do you think you can bring to this job?" and he could only reply "I have been doing it, apparently satisfactorily, for 9 years". All the "applicants" nervously await the decision. More high-level discussions costing how much per hour?
The other applied for a job cooking for a fast food chain. She was given a chair and table and some straws and cellotape and asked to construct a house out of them. She protested, "But I'm applying for a cooking job!" and was told she was being tested for manual dexterity. It might seem from the outside that the psychologist who thought this up could be more dispensable than cooks in such an organisation.
Two friends of mine told me of their experiences yesterday, which seem to point up this problem - for problem it is.
One works for a Council. His department is being reorganised and there will, in future, be 7 posts, currently employing 8 people. They have all been invited to re-apply for their own jobs involved in different aspects of keeping the streets clean. My friend attended an interview with his boss (£36,000), 2 other administrators, and 2 other people. A panel of 5! He was asked "What do you think you can bring to this job?" and he could only reply "I have been doing it, apparently satisfactorily, for 9 years". All the "applicants" nervously await the decision. More high-level discussions costing how much per hour?
The other applied for a job cooking for a fast food chain. She was given a chair and table and some straws and cellotape and asked to construct a house out of them. She protested, "But I'm applying for a cooking job!" and was told she was being tested for manual dexterity. It might seem from the outside that the psychologist who thought this up could be more dispensable than cooks in such an organisation.
Thursday 24 November 2011
How we treat older children
Some creatures are born able to cope from day 1, even some mammals are very clever at birth. Baby kangaroos find their way from the womb through all the fur up to the nipple in the pocket, which is a long and arduous journey for them, but we are rather slow in our development. In India we read of children from 4 or 5 leading independent lives, but here it is generally considered that they need parenting from the very moment of birth until age 16, or even until they are recognised to have come of age at 18. However, a lot of them aren't getting it and join gangs to find something to belong to. This isn't very good because the gangs teach them how to survive, but not exactly how to be good citizens or make the most of their own potential.
Parenting does not seem to be considered as a job any more. But it is one that needs to be done. Anne Robinson's programme, The Weakest Link, has, I am glad to discover, been moved to 2.15 in the afternoon, when few school-aged children would be watching it, from 5.15 when they were. She has been heard to say to a full-time mother, "Couldn't you find a proper job?" Stacking super-market shelves, in her estimation, is a much more worth-while occupation. Also, she is endlessly rude to the competitors. They are all volunteers and know what they are in for, so I don't feel particular sympathy for them, but it is objectionable to see somebody so rich and successful and considering herself a role-model being gratuitously rude to other people. This is a terrible example to children and needs, just as much as violent and sexy programmes to be scheduled when they are not watching. It is even more insidious than they are because not fiction, but fact. I don't think that all that violent fiction is particularly good either, for violence is considered the normal way to behave, but I suppose it has to be accepted because it is so much wanted by the adult audience.
It is often assumed that even if a parent stays at home until the children are ready for full-time school they not only could, but should return to work. I find this perverse. A kind grandparent or baby-sitter can look after a very small child quite satisfactorily, but when they come home from school with problems with relationships or needing help with homework it is surely a parent that they need, somebody involved with their whole development through life.
It is true that money has to be earned and I am not "picking on" present-day parents who have to deal with the difficult situation they are faced with and have to cope with it as best they can. They cannot possibly put parenting ahead of their job.
But this blog is concerned with public policy for the future which could enable us to change our way of raising children, which, in many cases, just can't be said to be succeeding.
Since jobs are likely to be in short supply, could not parenting be considered part of one's employment, and all parents entitled to work only 3 or 4 days a week, with employers not considering this a concession, but a normal part of life? Then a house could become a home once again where there was sure to be a welcome and a meal, at which all members were expected, provided. I have to admit that one of my daughters claimed that she "longed to be a latch-key child" but that may well be just because she wasn't one. We tend to yearn for what we haven't got.
There is a word "respect" which has gone out of fashion. Well, let's bring it back, sincerely, not by stupid rules of political correctness. My father went totally blind when he was 33. He would say, "I am blind, I can't see, I am not "visually impaired". He was proud of his blindness and his ability to get around London and do a job in spite of it. And he was respected, not pitied for it.
Babies need respect for their needs, as they cannot stand up for themselves. Parents need respect and should insist on it, or they cannot do their job. Children need respect, and will live up to what is expected of them. If you expect poor behaviour, you will get it. If it is assumed they will behave well, they will try to do so. We have given up the automatic respect we used to give to statesmen, the royal family, doctors, teachers, lawyers, but should grant it when they have proved they are worthy of it. I am afraid we have exchanged that automatic respect into automatic disrespect, and that doesn't do any of us any good. There are a lot of good people doing excellent jobs, and they will do them even better if given a bit of credit for it.
My smallest grandchild was complaining that her teacher was bossy. We asked her, didn't she think that that is what teachers have to be, and, on reflexion, she admitted that that is what a teacher is for - to get you to learn what she has to teach. She's a bit young to learn the word "authoritative", but I think she got the idea.
We can respect each other better by not leaving litter behind in the bus or on a public bench, or throwing it down in the street. Do as you would be done by is quite a good motto and makes life flow along smoothly. If you don't want people sticking empty beer cans into your hedge, don't mess up things yourself. It's easy enough. Respect for the world around us.
And, of course, as ever, we need the help of the media. Lots of attention to the many youngsters who are trying to build a better society - less to the mischief-makers. But perhaps the press, on the whole, doesn't want a better world?
Parenting does not seem to be considered as a job any more. But it is one that needs to be done. Anne Robinson's programme, The Weakest Link, has, I am glad to discover, been moved to 2.15 in the afternoon, when few school-aged children would be watching it, from 5.15 when they were. She has been heard to say to a full-time mother, "Couldn't you find a proper job?" Stacking super-market shelves, in her estimation, is a much more worth-while occupation. Also, she is endlessly rude to the competitors. They are all volunteers and know what they are in for, so I don't feel particular sympathy for them, but it is objectionable to see somebody so rich and successful and considering herself a role-model being gratuitously rude to other people. This is a terrible example to children and needs, just as much as violent and sexy programmes to be scheduled when they are not watching. It is even more insidious than they are because not fiction, but fact. I don't think that all that violent fiction is particularly good either, for violence is considered the normal way to behave, but I suppose it has to be accepted because it is so much wanted by the adult audience.
It is often assumed that even if a parent stays at home until the children are ready for full-time school they not only could, but should return to work. I find this perverse. A kind grandparent or baby-sitter can look after a very small child quite satisfactorily, but when they come home from school with problems with relationships or needing help with homework it is surely a parent that they need, somebody involved with their whole development through life.
It is true that money has to be earned and I am not "picking on" present-day parents who have to deal with the difficult situation they are faced with and have to cope with it as best they can. They cannot possibly put parenting ahead of their job.
But this blog is concerned with public policy for the future which could enable us to change our way of raising children, which, in many cases, just can't be said to be succeeding.
Since jobs are likely to be in short supply, could not parenting be considered part of one's employment, and all parents entitled to work only 3 or 4 days a week, with employers not considering this a concession, but a normal part of life? Then a house could become a home once again where there was sure to be a welcome and a meal, at which all members were expected, provided. I have to admit that one of my daughters claimed that she "longed to be a latch-key child" but that may well be just because she wasn't one. We tend to yearn for what we haven't got.
There is a word "respect" which has gone out of fashion. Well, let's bring it back, sincerely, not by stupid rules of political correctness. My father went totally blind when he was 33. He would say, "I am blind, I can't see, I am not "visually impaired". He was proud of his blindness and his ability to get around London and do a job in spite of it. And he was respected, not pitied for it.
Babies need respect for their needs, as they cannot stand up for themselves. Parents need respect and should insist on it, or they cannot do their job. Children need respect, and will live up to what is expected of them. If you expect poor behaviour, you will get it. If it is assumed they will behave well, they will try to do so. We have given up the automatic respect we used to give to statesmen, the royal family, doctors, teachers, lawyers, but should grant it when they have proved they are worthy of it. I am afraid we have exchanged that automatic respect into automatic disrespect, and that doesn't do any of us any good. There are a lot of good people doing excellent jobs, and they will do them even better if given a bit of credit for it.
My smallest grandchild was complaining that her teacher was bossy. We asked her, didn't she think that that is what teachers have to be, and, on reflexion, she admitted that that is what a teacher is for - to get you to learn what she has to teach. She's a bit young to learn the word "authoritative", but I think she got the idea.
We can respect each other better by not leaving litter behind in the bus or on a public bench, or throwing it down in the street. Do as you would be done by is quite a good motto and makes life flow along smoothly. If you don't want people sticking empty beer cans into your hedge, don't mess up things yourself. It's easy enough. Respect for the world around us.
And, of course, as ever, we need the help of the media. Lots of attention to the many youngsters who are trying to build a better society - less to the mischief-makers. But perhaps the press, on the whole, doesn't want a better world?
Wednesday 23 November 2011
How we treat very small children
When I was a young mother in the 1950s I looked forward to pushing my toddler out, because it was a time when she was happy to be sitting peacefully in one place where I could see her rather than roaming around the house emptying the soap powder, or, even worse, the sugar onto the floor or pushing a stool around so she could climb on it to reach the ever-retreating ornaments, or even just quietly playing with her toys when I, alarmed at the quiet, would go and destroy the whole thing by peeping at her, which would remind her to come and get under my feet again. We had great "conversations" going down the street and point things out to each other and she'd learn new words and it was a totally satisfactory part of the day. That is, until she wanted to get out and walk! However, when my grandchildren were small in the 1970s their push-chairs faced away from me. No interaction was possible while we were out, and I noticed the faces of other children, and have ever since. They don't enjoy their outings. They look worried and withdrawn and well they might, as they are pushed out first into any new situation., alone in the world as far as they can see.
It wasn't so bad when push-chairs were folded to get on the bus. Then they at least got to sit on Mum's knee and be spoken to and could look out of the window and see what was going on around them. Now they are shoved into that little alcove, facing just a grey wall, and can see neither the outside world nor the other passengers, nor Mum or Dad. We wouldn't like it! In a train, for example, everybody covets the window seat. Even if this situation is to be remedied, so much the better, but those already strapped into their expensive monstrosities aren't likely to have them replaced.
I think it is harmful to give children the wrong impression of the outside world. It is not a dangerous place to be hurried through, but one to be interpreted, talked about, explained. A little child's life is a constant learning experience and parents are there to help it along, not be constantly on a mobile phone to somebody else. Your child is somebody.
It is so interesting to see how everything changes over the years. When I was a child, in the 1940s, my mother used to get hot under the collar about young mothers who, she considered, had "tarted themselves up" accompanied by very neglected-looking, even dirty children. This was in Tulse Hill, south London, a very average commuter inner suburb.
Now, in Croydon 70 years later, I get upset because the opposite is the case. It is the babies who have become the fashion plates and the mothers' style is the neglected look. Perhaps we are just a critical family who look around for something to disapprove of? I prefer to think it is because we really love babies and want them to be happy.
Baby clothes have disappeared and instead they are dressed in miniature adult wear. This looks delightful and funny and charming in the shop and on the moppets in the magazines, but they spend a lot of time more or less in bed, and how many people go to bed in their blue jeans and leather jackets? Wouldn't the babies be more comfortable in their old-fashioned baby-grows? And, before they can walk, they would certainly be better off without those adorable little shoes or boots.
A bit later, when they go to the playground, and these are less and less used, I have noticed, they are constantly being reminded to keep clean and not do anything the least bit dangerous. Why not take them to the playground in clothes that can take a bit of rough and tumble? And you can't do much of that, on that emasculated equipment, which has been so scaled down that they can never have the excitement of being taken down the slide by an older brother or sister. The dreaded "health and safety" has been at work there, I feel.
I don't think we are very kind or understanding about older children either.
Enough Grumpy Old Woman for today, that will be for tomorrow.
Monday 21 November 2011
Introducing Myself
The Friendly Streets
On the face of it, neither our own old age, nor the difficult age we live in, is funny. But when you start to put your bus pass in the fridge and the butter in your handbag, and to name five other relatives before you reach the one you want, and when firemen are told that the most important lives for them to save are their own and nursery school staff aren't allowed to cuddle tiny children to comfort them when they hurt themselves, then we have to either laugh or cry. Crying brings temporary relief, but humour is more versatile and lasts longer.
When we are children we hear the phrase "Life Begins at Forty" and it shakes our belief that grown-ups know it all, because every child knows that at 40 you have one foot in the grave. It is only when you reach that venerable age that you understand the meaning of the phrase, and in fact every decade has its compensations and we go on enjoying them (50 or so and no more fear of unwanted pregnancies, 60 or 65 and you get lots of "concessions".) At 70 you are still pretending to be middle-aged and can get away with it, but at 80 - there's no getting away from it, you're old.
I have never heard anyone say "Life Begins at 80", but it has its points. For one thing, the Government has just sent me £200 to help pay for fuel. But there's a lot more than that. So long as you have your health and a bit of help here and there, there's much to enjoy - a wonderful freedom. You can get up and go to bed when you like (no timetable to stick to), wear what you like without worrying about fashion (in fact may get an unexpected compliment from a granddaughter when you put on something retrieved from the back of the cupboard from 30 years ago which she tells you is "retro"), accept invitations or refuse them, say what you like- even get away with being politically incorrect, pretend to be deaf when it suits you, and you always get a seat on the bus! And you have worked out what it is you want and don't want to do - you are out of the rat-race. No more competition! Lovely!
Which brings me to the friendly streets. One advantage we oldsters have is that we grew up before the days of the "Anti-Hero". That was when heroes were the good guys and the bad guys got their come-uppance in the end. I think that was even a rule when it came to films (Hayes Office) - the same one that said when two people were on a bed one had to have their foot on the floor! If I'm wrong, someone will love to correct me. I blame James Bond for starting it all - a truly horrible man who was, is ,a hero! Now everybody despises good guys. It's "cool" to be bad. I've always liked Cliff Richard, for example, but everybody else seems to hate him. Starting up a sing-song, when asked, at a wet Wimbledon and getting even the rather serious Navratilova singing lustily seemed to me an admirable thing to do . If I'd been there I'd have been grateful, it must have been a lot better than sitting glumly being dripped on and waiting in silence for the rain to stop, but he has been mocked for it ever since. Perhaps if he had said "I'll do it for £20,000" he'd have been better understood?
So I think we grew up taking it for granted that most people were quite nice and only villains were nasty people. I still think that is the case. You can count on it. After all, if you fall down in the street you know that in no time at all somebody will be helping you, finding a chair from a shop or lying you down if that is what is needed, someone else covers you with a coat, yet another phones for an ambulance, staying with you until it comes and probably giving you a telephone number in case it is needed later. But, somehow, we don't think it is the case. Newspapers make their money on muggings and murders and obviously wouldn't get any readers if they just wrote about the 99.99% of people who get home safely. But the press does create a climate of fear which I think is quite unnecessary, especially for old people. They particularly don't like to go out in the dark, but, for goodness sake, in the winter that's about 4 p.m. The young, if inclined to be violent, mostly attack each other, apparently to grab each other's phones. I haven't even got a mobile phone and if I did have it certainly wouldn't be the kind anyone would want to steal. I will come home as late as I like on the bus. My children don't like it, but I don't want to be dependent on mini-cabs drivers whose taste in music I don't share, and who no longer come to the door, but just telephone from the kerb to say they are there! There will come a time for that, but I'm going to enjoy my freedom while I can. Besides, the dear old bus is free.
But I wouldn't launch into a blog - which is difficult for somebody as IT-ignorant as I am - in fact couldn't have been achieved without the help of the next-generation-but-one, without a more serious intention. For I believe we do collect some wisdom over the years.
I am emboldened to try to share my views with some other people because recently two issues that I have been bothering myself about for over twenty years have just now been recognised as worth acting upon. Writing to MPs, writing to papers, attacking the local Council, none of them had any effect, but now they are happening. If only somebody had listened to me 20 years ago, a lot of anguish would have been avoided.
On the face of it, neither our own old age, nor the difficult age we live in, is funny. But when you start to put your bus pass in the fridge and the butter in your handbag, and to name five other relatives before you reach the one you want, and when firemen are told that the most important lives for them to save are their own and nursery school staff aren't allowed to cuddle tiny children to comfort them when they hurt themselves, then we have to either laugh or cry. Crying brings temporary relief, but humour is more versatile and lasts longer.
When we are children we hear the phrase "Life Begins at Forty" and it shakes our belief that grown-ups know it all, because every child knows that at 40 you have one foot in the grave. It is only when you reach that venerable age that you understand the meaning of the phrase, and in fact every decade has its compensations and we go on enjoying them (50 or so and no more fear of unwanted pregnancies, 60 or 65 and you get lots of "concessions".) At 70 you are still pretending to be middle-aged and can get away with it, but at 80 - there's no getting away from it, you're old.
I have never heard anyone say "Life Begins at 80", but it has its points. For one thing, the Government has just sent me £200 to help pay for fuel. But there's a lot more than that. So long as you have your health and a bit of help here and there, there's much to enjoy - a wonderful freedom. You can get up and go to bed when you like (no timetable to stick to), wear what you like without worrying about fashion (in fact may get an unexpected compliment from a granddaughter when you put on something retrieved from the back of the cupboard from 30 years ago which she tells you is "retro"), accept invitations or refuse them, say what you like- even get away with being politically incorrect, pretend to be deaf when it suits you, and you always get a seat on the bus! And you have worked out what it is you want and don't want to do - you are out of the rat-race. No more competition! Lovely!
Which brings me to the friendly streets. One advantage we oldsters have is that we grew up before the days of the "Anti-Hero". That was when heroes were the good guys and the bad guys got their come-uppance in the end. I think that was even a rule when it came to films (Hayes Office) - the same one that said when two people were on a bed one had to have their foot on the floor! If I'm wrong, someone will love to correct me. I blame James Bond for starting it all - a truly horrible man who was, is ,a hero! Now everybody despises good guys. It's "cool" to be bad. I've always liked Cliff Richard, for example, but everybody else seems to hate him. Starting up a sing-song, when asked, at a wet Wimbledon and getting even the rather serious Navratilova singing lustily seemed to me an admirable thing to do . If I'd been there I'd have been grateful, it must have been a lot better than sitting glumly being dripped on and waiting in silence for the rain to stop, but he has been mocked for it ever since. Perhaps if he had said "I'll do it for £20,000" he'd have been better understood?
So I think we grew up taking it for granted that most people were quite nice and only villains were nasty people. I still think that is the case. You can count on it. After all, if you fall down in the street you know that in no time at all somebody will be helping you, finding a chair from a shop or lying you down if that is what is needed, someone else covers you with a coat, yet another phones for an ambulance, staying with you until it comes and probably giving you a telephone number in case it is needed later. But, somehow, we don't think it is the case. Newspapers make their money on muggings and murders and obviously wouldn't get any readers if they just wrote about the 99.99% of people who get home safely. But the press does create a climate of fear which I think is quite unnecessary, especially for old people. They particularly don't like to go out in the dark, but, for goodness sake, in the winter that's about 4 p.m. The young, if inclined to be violent, mostly attack each other, apparently to grab each other's phones. I haven't even got a mobile phone and if I did have it certainly wouldn't be the kind anyone would want to steal. I will come home as late as I like on the bus. My children don't like it, but I don't want to be dependent on mini-cabs drivers whose taste in music I don't share, and who no longer come to the door, but just telephone from the kerb to say they are there! There will come a time for that, but I'm going to enjoy my freedom while I can. Besides, the dear old bus is free.
But I wouldn't launch into a blog - which is difficult for somebody as IT-ignorant as I am - in fact couldn't have been achieved without the help of the next-generation-but-one, without a more serious intention. For I believe we do collect some wisdom over the years.
I am emboldened to try to share my views with some other people because recently two issues that I have been bothering myself about for over twenty years have just now been recognised as worth acting upon. Writing to MPs, writing to papers, attacking the local Council, none of them had any effect, but now they are happening. If only somebody had listened to me 20 years ago, a lot of anguish would have been avoided.
 |
| L S LOWRY 'The Village Square' |
Empty Houses and the Housing Shortage
In 1991 I worked on the Census. It was well known that there was plenty of empty housing in London (enough to house the population of the city of Leeds was the figure quoted) but it was nonetheless shocking to me to discover that on my patch at least 5% of the accommodation was empty. I looked into the matter further and discovered that very little Council Tax was payable on empty property. This seemed crazy, for it is anti-social to keep a house empty when it is needed by others and obviously the owners did not need either to sell or to rent out, so they could afford to pay tax. I thought the tax should be increased each year that the house was empty. At least even if they still did not feel they had to sell, the owners could be contributing to the Council's Housing budget. On top of this aspect, some empty property is an eyesore andattracts dumping. By my reckoning thousands of children could have grown up in less crowded conditions if somehow I could have got this rather obvious point through to those that decide our fate. It is only now, in 2011, that Central Government has given permission for Councils to reduce the discount allowable! Why should there be a discount at all?
This reminded me of something I had experienced in Switzerland, the country with such a good reputation for order and reason. I was living there for a while because my then husband had some work there, and I was friendly with a family of musicians who were poor (as so many musicians tend to be) and had several children. There was a housing shortage there too, and they were offered, at a very low rent, the chance to live in a big old house which was awaiting demolition. It was bliss for them - they could practise their music without annoying anybody, and their children, and mine too, had a great time roaring around the empty rooms. This lasted a couple of years and they were transferred to a flat in a block, where there was a problem with cello practice and the sound of, by this time, not so tiny feet rushing around. The house was demolished, but it was at least 10 years before the hospital wing which was to be built on the site was started on. Those children could have grown up in the house that suited them so well.
In all the efforts I made to talk to various officials, I got the impression that people just don't care if we have empty housing at the time of a housing shortage. This seems to me the moment when ordinary people all over the world are determined to get their views recognised by Governments. This is why I seek a wider arena in which to air views I consider reasonable.
Next time: treatment of small children.
This reminded me of something I had experienced in Switzerland, the country with such a good reputation for order and reason. I was living there for a while because my then husband had some work there, and I was friendly with a family of musicians who were poor (as so many musicians tend to be) and had several children. There was a housing shortage there too, and they were offered, at a very low rent, the chance to live in a big old house which was awaiting demolition. It was bliss for them - they could practise their music without annoying anybody, and their children, and mine too, had a great time roaring around the empty rooms. This lasted a couple of years and they were transferred to a flat in a block, where there was a problem with cello practice and the sound of, by this time, not so tiny feet rushing around. The house was demolished, but it was at least 10 years before the hospital wing which was to be built on the site was started on. Those children could have grown up in the house that suited them so well.
In all the efforts I made to talk to various officials, I got the impression that people just don't care if we have empty housing at the time of a housing shortage. This seems to me the moment when ordinary people all over the world are determined to get their views recognised by Governments. This is why I seek a wider arena in which to air views I consider reasonable.
 |
| L S LOWRY 'The Derelict House' |
Next time: treatment of small children.
Public Transport on Christmas Day
I have just booked my taxi for Christmas Day. It's not so long ago that public transport ran on that day. It's one when families like to get together but are likely to drink and be unable, therefore, to fetch all their near and dear, so many lonely Christmases are spent.
Probably a good proportion of drivers have no particular feeling for Christmas and consider it an ordinary day and wouldn't mind working. Having that day off would have to be a right for those who care.
Nothing ever gets done very fast, but I just wonder if there would be enough demand for this valuable service to be reinstated for Christmas Day 2012? By all accounts, it would seem we are due for even leaner times a year from now, and there is a lot of free fun to be had when families assemble in unaccustomed numbers.
Probably a good proportion of drivers have no particular feeling for Christmas and consider it an ordinary day and wouldn't mind working. Having that day off would have to be a right for those who care.
Nothing ever gets done very fast, but I just wonder if there would be enough demand for this valuable service to be reinstated for Christmas Day 2012? By all accounts, it would seem we are due for even leaner times a year from now, and there is a lot of free fun to be had when families assemble in unaccustomed numbers.
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