Still Clapping?

It does somehow seem that those who think we shouldn't keep on clapping and waving to our neighbours feel more sophisticated and "woke", and think we are being conned into substituting superficial praise for genuine appreciation and financial reward. It aint so!

I don't think the key workers will be stopping work now just because they are bored with it, or because the virus is (perhaps!) diminishing. Their dedication will still be needed even when there isn't a national global emergency. Should they be forgotten about once the urgency lessens?

Elegran - I'm with you. On our road, almost every house joins the clapping. We have a couple of NHS workers and many of us have brought our families up here, so as an older group, we are probably good customers of our NHS. The clapping, banging of pans, blowing of whistles is accompanied by lots of waving to each other. It's definitely something that confirms we are all in this together.

I don't know about anywhere else, or anyone else, but for ME it has morphed into a regular time to acknowledge that we are all isolated in one way or another (that is true even without lockdown!) and any contact with others is good. Recognising that many people are risking their own health to look after those most affected by the virus, and keep esential services running, is a good thing too.

That doesn't have to be labelled as virtual signalling, pooh-poohed as silly or dismissed as just window-dressing while wages etc are ignored!! Not everyone can campaign on the political front - or wants to. That doesn't make us second-class citizens who should be ashamed of admitting that we admire the key workers. We do what we do.

If you do want to do it - do it! If you don't want to do it, don't do it.

(to quote an old joke - "If you wanna buy a watch, buy a watch. If you don't wanna buy a watch, don't buy a watch. But keep your snotty nose off the watchmaker's window glass")

I plan to open my front door on a Thursday at 8pm for as long as I can.

I think it's a good idea to finish the clapping after 10 weeks but as long as it does go on for, we'll be clapping.

As I said on a previous thread I think it’s silly. Reminds me of North Korea.
I agree with Doodledog’s post about virtue signalling.

Here is Spain we all got locked down on 14 March. Severely so.

The next night, Sunday, we heard clapping and wondered what it was. It was 8pm.

Spain was clapping to say ‘thank you’ to ALL the people who were keeping us safe. Fire engines drove round in a convoy the following weekend, lights flashing. Police cars switched their sirens on.

We all clapped every night at 8pm for 10 full weeks.

Then lockdown eased. We were allowed outside.

The clapping has now stopped.

Maybe time to call it a day?
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/22/lets-stop-clapping-for-the-nhs-says-woman-who-started-the-ritual

We all did it over “ zoom” the first time. Not since. Don’t see the point. I’d rather see them all paid more and appreciated all the time, rather than just banging a few saucepans every week. I never like being expected to do something.

Lucca thank you, that is reassuring, I hope. I had heard that BJ had said that there wouldn’t be an NHS pay freeze, but you know politicians, I think sometimes their right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. I so hope you’re right and there will not be a pay freeze for NHS staff.
You got a very quick response Lucca. Thank you so much for writing.

Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Dominic Cummings - all these and their counterparts are "the power behind the throne" with solo input to advising the PM. If their solitary judgment is over-relied on and is less than perfect, disaster looms.

However, taking notice of sober reports from experts - more than one expert on a subject, and separate experts for separate subjects - gives a leader a triangulated view of problems on which to base an informed decision.

DH and I went out to our drive and clapped last night at 8 pm as we’ve done each Thursday. The same neighbours are out every week, about half of the inhabitants in houses I can see from my drive.
Simultaneously a collection is made house to house by the local Food Bank so we all put our food donations at the edge of our drives before we clap.

Unless the PM has multiple degrees in all relevant subjects and experience in the application of best practice in each of them, he or she always has to base their decisions on reports from experts. That is true even of dictatorships, though the dictator often bypasses the advice and issues a decree that goes against all sensible advice.

Long experience in office in various branches of the executive before becoming leader does (or would) give him/her a little knowledge of the various disciplines involved.

Public opinion doesn’t count with the bigoted left wingers! Their opinions are the only ones that count no matter how ridiculous they may seem to the wider population.

I would far rather have someone in charge who is open to changing track if there is a better way forward than someone who digs their heels in and sits on the fence like the previous labour leader.

It’s OK for labour to have advisors like Peter Mandelson or Alastair Campbell but Boris should make unilateral decisions without anyone else’s input?

Next week will be the last clapping event, according to the woman who thought the idea. She feels a change in public mood and feels the event has done its job.

Sparkelfizz Nah, he went home and asked Cummings and Cummings said he should do it, so he did!

Or trisher it could be called "listening to public opinion" (ducks back down behind parapet)

On Wednesday the PM said there couldn't be any waving of the treatment fees chatged to NHS staff from Europe, and guess what they are going to be waved! Trusting what the PM says is as stupid as trying to hand feed a shark.

Maddyone. About the pay freeze. I wrote to my MP and got a reply from his representative saying “the prime minister announced this week that these rumours were false and that there is no planned freeze on public sector pay”

We go out every Thursday night - there are several key workers in this road and the children love to get involved and see everyone come out of the front doors. Some new neighbours moved in last week and last night they had a huge drum it was fantastic.

It is not so politicised here (Edinburgh) at least not in our road. Perhaps there isn't as much political feeling against how our FM is handling things?

Fewer people appear than did at the start, but that is normal for all regular things like this.

I do it partly because I appreciate how key workers have kept the infrastructure as a whole going, right through the lockdown, even when they are worse than bored, and partly to have eye-to eye contact with my neighbours. When you are not going out to shop etc, it does sometimes seem that you are the only human being left in a world emptied of people!

I didn't last night and I felt so guilty about it.My wee GD phoned at 5 to eight crying and I couldn't put the phone down on her.She had tripped on the trampoline and given herself a black eye and she "really really needed a granny hug" who could refuse to listen to her ,her mum and dad had both given hugs but she NEEDED one from me.So a virtual hug and some cheering up was done and she felt much better after 25 minutes telling me how they must stay home to save lives and her first thing will be a big party with all her GP's and GGP's and the people she misses.Wee sweetheart

I do, and so do lots of other people. After we have stopped people stand at a safe distance and chat. There is a collection for a local food bank every week at three different houses on this rather long road.

We have clapped every Thursday and although slightly trite, it shows an expression of thanks to the NHS. Our road turns out in high numbers and actually brought a tear to my eye - people do care.

Maddyone, we are in a similar situation to you and know the strain under which our daughter has been working (for a time, complete with virus but still triaging patients from home, despite her raging temperature). If it was not for her amazing husband she could not have undertaken the long hours.

Itsonlyme, I absolutely agree, all the people mentioned are important - you forgot undertakers/gravediggers! We would be in trouble without them.

NHS staff have had their pay frozen for many years and the NHS is actually running on goodwill at the moment but it is almost at breaking point. The politicians will soon have to decide if they really want to keep the NHS going or, as it seems to be happening, slowly break it up and sell to the private sector. This is what many medics fear is happening.

If you like using the NHS, please do write to your MP and suggest unfreezing pay and demand that we keep our wonderful NHS.

We stopped tonight. It's become politicised and seems as though it's an endorsement of this governments response to this crisis, rather than a "thank you" to all those who have made our lockdown more bearable.
I'm thinking of:
postmen/women
bin men
those who keep utilities up and running
supermarket workers
sewage workers
lorry drivers who supply the supermarkets
and many more that we take for granted.
We don't see all of them - BUT - we would soon notice if they decided to down tools and walk out.
I feel sure that we would never miss:
Stock brokers
City bankers
Hedge Fund Managers
Etc.
Why do they matter/get paid so much?
The important people, who make our lives better and who make it all "work" need to be appreciated!!
WE NEED CHANGE!!