Friday 6 November 2020
“I have no doubt that people will be able to have as normal a Christmas as possible..”
Boris Johnson November 2020
Oh do ‘Shut up!’
Stringent covid -19 restrictions are imposed nationally across England for the second time this year. Tier 1 residents, after 5 minutes of social isolation, flood media channels with their motivational messages, cheery Dunkirk spirit and ‘top tips‘ for ‘surviving lockdown‘. I am sure they are well intentioned, but for this North West mum, after months and months of this misery… I’m just not feeling it.
What am feeling, driving home to a radio coverage of the PM bumbling his way through a Press Conference, is growing fury. The Home Nation plan to ‘Save Christmas‘ finally tips me over the edge! Oh do stop central Government treating us all like 5 years old? Rules. Nursery Rhyme slogans. The Naughty Step of Tier 3. It is simplistic. It is patronising. It is, quite frankly, an insult to suggest that so many weeks of; rudderless leadership, emotional hardship and at times sheer despair can be balanced out by the chance to pull a few crackers with the in-laws on Christmas Day.
At work, this week we send a further 5 cohorts of pupils home. Around 200 young people, completely devastated, faces etched in panic and often close to tears
“Please no, Miss. This is the third time I’ve been sent home this term!”
“My mocks … what about my mocks?“
“I was off for the last 2 weeks I’ve only been back a day”
“Miss, I’ve has Covid already!”
Next week, to reduce pupil bubbles, we shall cancel PE lessons …
What am I supposed to say? (I shriek at the radio)
Hey, your education’s in ruins but don’t worry, we’ll all be able to have a fine Christmas dinner together!’
What is an appropriate response to the frantic parents who call, in ever increasing numbers, weighed down with concerns about their children’s anxieties and well being?
‘Oh never mind any of that. Ho ho ho! Santa Claus is coming to Town’
What utter crap!
Or am I wrong? Christmas is a great thing after all and usually my favourite time of the year. Perhaps some twinkly lights and a few glasses of egg nog is just what we do need in these grim times. Let’s face it, without a festive fortnight, the months ahead look relentlessly bleak. In the unforgettable lament of C.S Lewis’ Lucy Pevensie,
“Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!” “How awful!”
Source: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Perhaps a better response is to ease up on Christmas … and just turn the radio off!
Smashing Single Parenthood 
One thought on “Feeling Grinchy…”