Brave new post pandemic world

One of the big questions going forward is what will the new normal look like? Very different from the old, that is for certain. Without the vaccines to get us out of the pandemic, the new normal would have been a series of lockdowns, interspersed with periods when some controls were relaxed. The vaccines offer the path to a new world. Work patterns seem sure to change, with no one quite sure how many office workers will return to their offices. Many are expected to split their time between home working and the office. The Greater London Authority has modelled three scenarios, one for the return of 80% and two for the return of 40% of office workers to central London. There seems to be a split between those who like home working, those who can't wait to get back to the office and those who want a better life balance between the two. Some sort of a hollowing out of the centre of London does seem likely, with a commensurate loss of service sector jobs to match. Areas on the periphery, like Wanstead, could boom with the work from home culture being well served. The high street is also likely to be a radically changed place with a big switch to online shopping over the pandemic period. Over the past year, a million plus people have left London - many, migrant workers employed in the service sector, who don't have the work anymore. There has though been a steady trickle of people moving out from the capital, This trend, combined with a hollowing out of the centre has real implications for housing and transport infrastructure in the future. Transport has changed dramatically over the period of the pandemic, Cycling and walking have been encouraged, with matching new infrastructure. These gains in the direction of active travel must be built upon. People also need to get out of their cars and back onto public transport, as the Covid threat recedes. The important thing moving forward is to plan on the basis of s radically changed post pandemic world, not set according to how things were before but how they are now. Life has radically changed for most people and it is important to build upon the positive elements as well as seeking out new more innovative ways of living.

Skylark and other birds of Wanstead Flats

It was great to see the temporary fences going up recently on part of Wanstead Flats to protect the nesting skylarks. The little birds used to be numerous on the Flats, nesting in the grass. At this time of year, you could walk across to the sound of the singing birds, as they rose in helicopter like ascent from the ground. The skylark population though has more than halved since the 1990s, with intensive farming and use of insecticides and weedkillers reducng the insect population and habitats. The Flats are one of the few areas left in London where the birds breed. This is why the action of Corporation of London Epping Forest #COLEppingForest in protecting the area from March to August has been so important. The area itself has become a magnet for migrating birds and increasingly bird watchers. The winchats and stonechats that come in the autumn, can often be seen in the brooms area in the centre, by the skylarks. Rarer visitors like the spotted and pied flycatcher can be seen around this time as well. More recently in the winter months, there have been redwings, fieldfares and redpoll around. One of my favourite sights are the birds of prey (or raptors), drifting on the thermals above the Flats. One particularly memorable sight came last August with the huge fork tailed Red Kite flying over the Flats, with a buzzard higher above for company. Rarities like the white fronted goose can turn up for short periods, as two did by the Alexander Lake around last Christmas. Barnacle and Brent geese also sometimes appear among the more common resident Canada and Greylags geese. There have been rarities stay for short times over recent years, such as a rustic bunting, near park road and a red backed shrike, close to Capel and Aldersbrook Roads. These two also brought in the birders from far and wide. Bird watching has grown in popularity over the period of the pandemic, with increasing numbers of people venturing forth, with binoculars at the ready. This growing interest should also be of value in terms of increasing the number of people on the look out for the endangered species like the skylark. Read more about the skylark and other endangered species at https://www.wildwanstead.org/endangered/skylark

Staycations

Really struggling to understand why such prominence is being given to the seeming "need" to go to another country for a holiday this summer. Last year, travelling abroad brought cases into the country. Travelling will also drive up carbon dioxide emissions, something that will bring on the crisis of climate breakdown. Finally, what is the matter with staying at home? Take a staycation, boost the hard-hit hospitality sector in this country. Of course, the tourist and aviation industries need support but the prominence being given to the sector is difficult to understand. Given the sacrifices of the last year would it be such a big ask to stay at home this summer, support the domestic economy and give the climate a break? published - Independent - 23/3/2021 Paul Donovan

Tackling sexism and violence against women in society needs more than just passing new laws

The threats posed to women by men are not going to be solved by passing more laws to be enforced by often misogynistic police officers. Too often the response to any social problem in this country is to pass a new law, problem solved, time to move on. What has recently exploded in the response to the tragic death of Sarah Everard and previously the MeToo movement is the appalling way that women are viewed and treated by men. In it's worst form, this results in violence and death. Domestic abuse levels have shot up over the period of lockdown. Victims trapped with abusive partners. Meanwhile, funding for refuges has continued to decline. The one place, where women at risk can go. Fundamentally though male attitudes need to change. It is striking how many men, who consider themselves progressive and enlightened, still have a very strong attachment to holding power over women. The hunter gather profile still reigns in so many places. It has been noticeable that over the period of lockdowns, it has been the woman who has predominantly had to look after the kids, giving up their "other work." The woman has often been the hands on one, when it comes to home schooling. The pandemic period has in many ways set equality back. This is not to say things haven't changed over the years, with women getting more economic and social independence but there is still s long way to go. I still find it amazing to see the number of men, who cannot and will not do the most basic tasks of life. A sense that some have never grown up - always looking to find someone to replace their mothers. All, though, is not doom and gloom, progress is being made but it may not be as quick as some think. Women need more support in employment and at home in the domestic environment. When help is needed, like via refuges, that resource must be there. It will, though, be by making real changes in the way we live and the culture of society that things can alter. It is not just a case of more laws and more police, nor is it a problem of one specific part of society but for us all.

Policing at Clapham Common raises questions of accountability

The policing of the Clapham Common vigil once again raises the question of police accountability An officer is charged with Sarah Everard's murder. A predominantly male policing force then deal in a very heavy handed way with a peaceful vigil to remember Sarah and highlight violence against women. Will officers be disciplined? Too often in the past whether it be deaths in custody or police infiltrating protest groups, having relationships and children with the women concerned, there is no accountability. No one is disciplined or prosecuted for the damage done. This creates a vista of impunity amongst serving police officers, a sense of being untouchable. This cannot continue. Police officers are given exceptional powers over citizens lives so have to serve to a very high standard. When these standards are broken, action must be taken.

Covid exposes deeply ingrained racism in UK society

Why is Covid killing people of colour was the title of a recent fascinating documentary by actor David Harewood. He found Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) disproportionately represented amongst those getting and dying from covid. This was caused in part by a high representation of BAME people in the front line- the key worker professions like health, care, transport and food production. BAME people were also found to be over represented in poorer communities, who would be eating less well and suffering more grievously from things like pollution. A doctor ? dismissed the idea that BAME people maybe more genetically vulnerable to the disease than white people. She quoted African and Asian countries that have not been hit as badly by Covid as the UK. What became abundantly clear was that the deeply ingrained racism of British society ensured that BAME people continue to be discriminated against and treated as second class in every way. The Covid pandemic simply exposed that racism, as it has inequality on a grand scale in this society. Moving forward, things could get worse, with a perceived reluctance among some in the BAME community to get vaccinated. This often comes from a distrust born of experience. There are already worrying signs of a discriminatory framework emerging between those who have been vaccinated and those not. The last thing needed now is to throw racial division into that particular construct. The increasing control of people by fear has been a worrying tendency over the period of the pandemic. It will be a struggle moving forward to get back all of the liberties sacrificed on the altar of security. But if we are to create a better world, these liberties must be restored and the racism of society needs addressing. At present, there is a lot of denial going on, particularly at governmental level. This needs to change because otherwise society will continue to disintegrate along race and class lines.

Churches need to be living organisms not just museums to the past

Churches are fascinating places to visit, sites of living history. There are some fantastic local churches, like St Marys and Christchurch in Wanstead. The church yard of St Marys is also a nature reserve, with log piles, bee hives and budding flowers. The often-ancient graves outside stretch right back to when the church was built in 1790. Inside, there are many epitaphs to Georgian and more recent times. The links to the slave trade were recently chronicled by historian Chris O’Donnell in his excellent talks. Chris highlighted how some had made money out of slavery, whilst others were actively involved in the campaign for abolition. I have found churches fascinating places to visit, with often hidden and not so hidden history. Take St Thomas Church in Winchelsea, which goes back to Norman times. The tombs of old knights adorn inside, however, outside is the grave of comic Spike Milligan, with those famous words (in gaelic) – “I told them I was ill.” The sad thing, though, is how many churches have effectively drifted into museum status. But it does not have to be this way. If more churches really live gospel values and open up to the local community, they can thrive once again as living parts of the community. Around 30 years ago, I was excited by life at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Wanstead. Following Live Aid, a group of us formed the Association for Relief in Crisis Areas, which undertook fundraising and awareness raising activities of poverty at home and abroad. We supported projects to supply water and electricity to a community on a barrio in Lima, Peru. There were other projects in Colombia, India and Kenya. The fundraising was done via a variety of activities from sponsored walk and runs to eat out nights, quizzes and discos (remember them). The work was raising awareness of social justice, as well as creating community in the church. The whole thing ran for about six years, before withering, largely due to lack of people coming forward to take the work on. Many churches today are doing great outreach work. They are at the forefront of the foodbanks network. Many are tackling the climate crisis head on, moving to sustainable energy sources and extending biodiversity in their own buildings and grounds. The work of St Marys and Christchurch, in terms of extending biodiversity in their grounds, springs to mind. But more can always be done. It is in the work of social justice that the church’s future lies. If young people find their church is actively involved in environmental and human rights issues they will stay and get involved. All will be invigorated. Churches need to revitalise themselves as genuinely integrated community hubs. The history and traditions of faith have a vital role to play in today and tomorrows world.

Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1 is a great read - light pacy and very funny

Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1 by Joanna Murray Published by Firle Press Price £8.99 The Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1 represents a journey of self discovery for author, Joanna Murray, via running a coffee shop on St Leonards station, East Sussex. The reader is introduced to a whole variety of characters, from Stig the station manager to Harriet Harpie, whose rudeness finally gets her banned from the coffee shop. This memorably leads to an outburst on the station outside, when she declares: "that bitch wouldn't serve me because I wouldn't say please." The Pirate, the Ice Queen, Dot Cotton and Station Man are among other great characters featured from the coffee bar. There are amusing recurrent themes, such as the people asking for the toilet but being told that there isn't one on the station or in the coffee shop, not that this stops them repeatedly asking the same question. The coffee shop experience is though also a journey of discovery, so daily life is punctuated with looks back at the author's life, her various relationships and a refusal to commit amid something of a rolling stone existence. That is until the stone comes to a halt at the coffee shop in St Leonards. The book is nicely structured, with short sharp witty chapters on each character or episode. Each chapter is punctuated by the station announcer's relay of the stations on the lines, along the coast and up and down to Charing Cross, which provides an interesting rhythmn. There is also a bit of amusing dialogue, around coffee orders, to end most sections, together with a couple of lines of history on each of the places where the train stops. All in all this was a really enjoyable read, opening up so many lives of people, who at first glance in the commuting context could seem one dimensional.But it also touches on so many aspects of everyones life journey, told through the perceptive eyes of the coffee shop owner. One hanging question ofcourse, in these Covid coloured times, is how the coffee shop has been fairing over the past year, or maybe that is why Joanna Murray had the time to write the book in the first place.