Thank You To Our Key Workers!

For two weeks, from 26th March - 28th May 2020, people stood outside their doors, and banged pots and pans and 'Clapped for Carers'. People hung banners on their fences saying "Thank you NHS" and key workers were able to obtain all sorts of benefits- special shopping slots at the supermarkets, discounts on all sorts of goods...And rightly so. When the majority of people were Working From Home, and shielding from Covid, the police, fire brigade and NHS worked on regardless. Many put themselves at risk, others separated from their families, in order to do their job without the possibility of bringing the virus home. 

In Early Years teaching there has always been a part of the curriculum which includes acknowledging those who serve our society in this way. As a "Young Leader" in Girls' Brigad ein the late 1960s, I had to teach the Explorer Section [aged 5-8] for one of the badge sections entitled "People Who Help Us". Last term, one of Rosie's class assemblies was a Thank You to the NHS [she wore a green tee-shirt, and played the part of a paramedic] I was really excited to find these three characters for £1.50 each in the CS last week. Aren't they lovely?

Representatives of the Fire Service, Ambulance Service and Police Force. [there was also a lady doctor, but she'd been picked up by the woman who'd got there five minutes before me!] I put the police constable on my hand and strolled to the till. "Allo!Allo! Allo!" I said.

"Oh! are they puppets? I thought they were just soft toys" said the saleswoman. 

I brought them home and washed them thoroughly. Here they are, standing on the bookshelf, drying out, balanced on plastic bottles.

They are in superb condition, I don't think they'd been played with at all [sadly] But given the grandchildren's fondness for role play, I hope they will get a lot of use over the next 2 or 3 years. 

Yes, there will, sadly, always be those who are not worthy of honour - firemen and police officers who abuse their power in order to rape women,doctors and nurses who deliberately inflict suffering and death on patients. There have been all too many such cases just in the past year. 

But the majority of these people are decent, hardworking people, who put themselves at risk for the greater good - and sadly some sacrifice their lives. Men like Graham Saville, a Notts police officer who was killed, just six weeks ago, whilst trying to help a distressed person on the railway tracks. And Fire Officer Barry Martin, who died in January, fighting a huge blaze in Edinburgh. There have been more than 300 healthcare professionals who died of Covid in the past 3½ years.

I hope these puppets will bring joy to my grandchildren as they play with them - but also I hope they will learn to respect and to be grateful to all those who serve in our communities.