Real evidence of ending the lockdown occurred when I was able to go to Salon 66 for the first time since March. I was getting accustomed to my re-enacted Bob Dylan 1960s wild look. Ian has restored the more acceptable coiffured look of the 21st century.
It is debatable whether these superficial vanities (I have not missed the nail bars) have any importance, when face to face meetings have been replaced by stay at home interactions on Zoom, Teams, Skype and Starleaf. I have not used cuff-links for over four months.
Although churches, mosques, synagogues and temples are gradually reopening, they will be far from the usual communal uplifting experiences. Fears about droplets and microdroplets from singing and chanting means no hymns or choirs. The 150 hymns from the Old Testament featured in Jewish and Christian services will be only read – humming may be permitted. Choirs are all on hold. How will Gareth Malone cope?
Plans are proceeding for films about Covid in the style of Cantagion(2011). There is already a mini-series Love in the Time of Corona’ (not featuring the Government’s scientific adviser) and a Canadian thriller called Corona. Sex scenes were shot with masks, latex gloves and hand sanitiser. A new coronavirus film about the UK experience is awaited – Michael Sheen as Boris, Matt Lucas as Hancock and Rowan Atkinson as Dom C. Suitable title would be With the Benefit of Hindsight’ or Don’t Look Back in Anger’.
The urgent plea to secure the survival of pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and all retail is encouraging us all to get out there and socialise, but suitably distanced! Table service at the pub. Get a cappuccino to save the economy! Fast food subsidised by Rishi but only if calorie controlled. Essential now to wear hot sticky masks in shops a full five months after it would have had any meaningful effect.
George Orwell famously wrote If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear’. What is seen as a sinister new cult of dogmatic intolerance has been a worrying sight in the UK as in the USA. It silences debate, seeks to impose conformity, whips up hysteria and violence and crushes dissenting views.
Self appointed cultural commissars are divorced from British mainstream and seek to bully on the internet and elsewhere, pressing for noplatforming speakers holding different views and for dismissal from office because of views which conflict or are not sufficiently in line with the extremist group. An example is J K Rowling who faces boycott by her publishers and being subjected to horrendous misogynistic abuse – for having the temerity to challenge the fashionable transgender ideology.
A letter from 153 philosophers, writers and intellectuals has denounced the intolerant climate’ of public discourse. They argue that the way to defeat ideas is by exposure, argument and persuasion, not by trying to silence them or wish them away. It is hoped that when normal’ life returns, our traditional fairness, balance and tolerance will be restored.
A particularly heartwarming story of the lockdown was the imaginative project by my son Robert which has gone viral on the internet. At Sydmar Lodge Care Home in London where he is Activities Coordinator, he recreated classic album covers by stars such as Adele, Madonna, Queen, Michael Jackson, Springsteen, Bowie, Rag n Bone Man and others. He took pictures of willing residents in their 80s and 90s with suitable makeup, costumes and settings to produce the stunning images.
Millions of views on Twitter and Instagram and the images have gone worldwide. Interviews on BBC, NBC, CNN, Canada, Australia, Japan, Israel, Turkey and all over Europe. The amazing reaction was to the positivity and the attention given to residents of care homes during a crisis particularly hard for these very elderly people and those caring for them. It gave the residents and their families (who were unable to visit) such enjoyment and comfort. I am very proud of what Robert does – and in the midst of this their third daughter arrived. Welcome Olivia!
Home / Business / COMMENT WITH….. Barry Speker
Comment With..... Barry Speker
Real evidence of ending the lockdown occurred when I was able to go to Salon 66 for the first time since March. I was getting accustomed to my re-enacted Bob Dylan 1960s wild look. Ian has restored the more acceptable coiffured look of the 21st century.
It is debatable whether these superficial vanities (I have not missed the nail bars) have any importance, when face to face meetings have been replaced by stay at home interactions on Zoom, Teams, Skype and Starleaf. I have not used cuff-links for over four months.
Although churches, mosques, synagogues and temples are gradually reopening, they will be far from the usual communal uplifting experiences. Fears about droplets and microdroplets from singing and chanting means no hymns or choirs. The 150 hymns from the Old Testament featured in Jewish and Christian services will be only read – humming may be permitted. Choirs are all on hold. How will Gareth Malone cope?
Plans are proceeding for films about Covid in the style of Cantagion(2011). There is already a mini-series Love in the Time of Corona’ (not featuring the Government’s scientific adviser) and a Canadian thriller called Corona. Sex scenes were shot with masks, latex gloves and hand sanitiser. A new coronavirus film about the UK experience is awaited – Michael Sheen as Boris, Matt Lucas as Hancock and Rowan Atkinson as Dom C. Suitable title would be With the Benefit of Hindsight’ or Don’t Look Back in Anger’.
The urgent plea to secure the survival of pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and all retail is encouraging us all to get out there and socialise, but suitably distanced! Table service at the pub. Get a cappuccino to save the economy! Fast food subsidised by Rishi but only if calorie controlled. Essential now to wear hot sticky masks in shops a full five months after it would have had any meaningful effect.
George Orwell famously wrote If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear’. What is seen as a sinister new cult of dogmatic intolerance has been a worrying sight in the UK as in the USA. It silences debate, seeks to impose conformity, whips up hysteria and violence and crushes dissenting views.
Self appointed cultural commissars are divorced from British mainstream and seek to bully on the internet and elsewhere, pressing for noplatforming speakers holding different views and for dismissal from office because of views which conflict or are not sufficiently in line with the extremist group. An example is J K Rowling who faces boycott by her publishers and being subjected to horrendous misogynistic abuse – for having the temerity to challenge the fashionable transgender ideology.
A letter from 153 philosophers, writers and intellectuals has denounced the intolerant climate’ of public discourse. They argue that the way to defeat ideas is by exposure, argument and persuasion, not by trying to silence them or wish them away. It is hoped that when normal’ life returns, our traditional fairness, balance and tolerance will be restored.
A particularly heartwarming story of the lockdown was the imaginative project by my son Robert which has gone viral on the internet. At Sydmar Lodge Care Home in London where he is Activities Coordinator, he recreated classic album covers by stars such as Adele, Madonna, Queen, Michael Jackson, Springsteen, Bowie, Rag n Bone Man and others. He took pictures of willing residents in their 80s and 90s with suitable makeup, costumes and settings to produce the stunning images.
Millions of views on Twitter and Instagram and the images have gone worldwide. Interviews on BBC, NBC, CNN, Canada, Australia, Japan, Israel, Turkey and all over Europe. The amazing reaction was to the positivity and the attention given to residents of care homes during a crisis particularly hard for these very elderly people and those caring for them. It gave the residents and their families (who were unable to visit) such enjoyment and comfort. I am very proud of what Robert does – and in the midst of this their third daughter arrived. Welcome Olivia!
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