Sometimes it’s best to check the facts behind what someone tells you. Often it’s what they don’t tell you that is the key thing….

So this week we have had utter governmental incompetence. First they proclaim that having the second highest death toll in the world represented a great achievement. Then they pronounced that it was time to celebrate as the lockdown was ending. Two days later that message suddenly changed to the lockdown is staying in place. Then Sunday night the PM announced that those who can’t work from home should start to go back to work the next day but don’t use public transport. Within hours that became best wait till Wednesday.

It’s absolute chaos. The lockdown stays in place in Scotland and Wales but not England. In those countries the message is Stay HOME. In England it’s changed to Stay ALERT. How do you stay alert to something you can’t see. You can now see your parents and family but they can’t agree on where, when and how. Already this morning, the rule on how many elderly parents you can now visit has changed 4 times….. We currently have incomprehensible madness. You can go to work and see work colleagues but you can only meet up with one member of your family. You can drive to destinations but they won’t tell you what your allowed to do when you arrive – are you even allowed out of the car? They talk about using the R number (the effective virus reproduction number) as the decider of policy. Yet they can’t measure it. In other countries they give a definite number. Here it’s always given as a range somewhere between 0.5 (in your dreams…) and something well over 1 (more likely). If we only test a few people then how are we supposed to work the number out. People with mild conditions are told to stay at home but are not tested.

So much waffle and misinformation. Clearly it’s what they are desperately trying to avoid telling us that is the key. Strangely that’s the stuff which will also show what a catastrophic cockup our PM has made of this crisis. Can we please have some some real honesty.

So in the spirit of Honesty, I will come clean with you. I’ve not been telling you all the facts. I’ve hidden something from you. SORRY. I’ve been talking about my swimming analogy. Grief and life feeling like I’m swimming towards an ever receding islands. That better stay as something in my mind and not actually happen. As I CAN’T SWIM….

Aa a kid we only had two swimming options. One was to swim in the Sea. That’s the North Sea. It’s better known as the OMG how cold is that Sea. Also in my day the local Steel, Chemical and Nuclear Plants would dump far too much into the icy waters. Big signs on the beach would warn against eating shell fish. If that wasn’t bad enough, you would get signs next to the poison signs warning Do not swim due to dangerous currents. So not a great place to learn to swim.

The only other swimming option was the town’s swimming pool. A very old swimming pool. Obviously built before they had invented the words – Heating or Hygiene. My new School would do weekly swimming lessons there. That was my big chance. Sadly that chance evaporated. The first lesson was curtailed when one of the older boys thought it would be funny to have a wee in the pool. The second lesson was only a few minutes old when part of the Pool’s glass roof started to fall down. Again we were evacuated. The pool didn’t reopen while I was at school. So that’s my excuse – I can’t swim.

See it’s easy to be open…..

70 thoughts on “Honesty”

  1. I can’t swim either. Well what I mean is that I can’t swim in all this chaos although I can physically swim in water. I am sinking and don’t know how to float again. I am being honest. Xx

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  2. It is such a different thing living where you do and having the ocean be as wild and cold as it is… I understand that feeling of grief and the daily overwhelm of life, past few days been fighting to even stand up some days.. its been heavy… our government has decided that restaurants can open but only to serve 10 people as from Friday… it sounds like utter chaos there… these are such strange times.

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  3. God we had a pool like that when I was at school. It was a horrible experience and one I’d like to forget but can’t seem to. I’m surprised you can’t swim … never too late to learn.
    I am not commenting on the fiasco that is our government. Stay at home but don’t, keep 2 metres apart but if you can’t don’t worry, go to work but don’t use public transport, meet up outside with one other person …. pick your favourite family member …. but you can’t sit in their garden. My personal favourite … which age group love to clamber over each other, have no concept of social distancing and will wipe bogies on each other and lick your face … let’s send them back to school. Stick over 30 of them in a small classroom and see what happens. Ridiculous

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      18. Download scrabble app .. ‘word feud’ … and I’ll challenge you to an online scrabble comp. No cheating though! my user name is clairei if you dare …

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  5. I can’t believe you told us!! 😱 😉 I cant swim properly. When I was a kid, our church believed that swimming suits was the same as being nude, and well, there weren’t any gender segregated pools that I knew of, in nyc. 🤣

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    1. We had separate lessons as well. When son was young he went to a swimming pool birthday party. The pool was old and only had one changing room. Men and women in same room. You could wait for one of the few tiny single changing rooms to become free. But most mums and dads just got changed together. A most odd experience.

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  7. I can’t swim either. We were supposed to get swimming lessons at the YMCA/YWCA when I was in Grade 4, but that year they decided to renovate the Y, so no lessons. We had a public pool where they gave lessons in the summer for a 2-week period. I went the first year and all I learned to do was to open my eyes under water and to do the jellyfish float. Even as young as I was, I figured I would be 80 years old before I actually learned to swim with 2 weeks every summer, so I never went back. But for some unknown reason even though I cannot swim, I can lay on my back and just float. But I wouldn’t want to try that if the water was very rough. I think I would sink to the bottom.

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  8. That is chaos. And by the way, I really can’t swim. What I mean by really? Let’s just say I would not want to have to jump off a boat in a hurry and keep my self floating. Ok, now that was easy. Now other things to open up to much harder.😌

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  9. Lol I missed this one…

    Honesty and politicians do not go together. I do not know an honest politician – when politics enter – honesty leaves ✌️

    I was forced to swim, since like 2 … I am a strong swimmer. Meh… I still like the rafts too lol … nothing wrong with a raft ✌️

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      1. Wait … let me make sure the wording is same?? lol …

        Raft… like floatation device? Some you blow up?

        What about a kick board? Styrofoam little body board you ride waves with

        I’m just gonna have to throw you the life preserver then!

        Either way you fine… your thing is not swimming lol… but you run – my thing is not running, unless it’s slow mo and I win 😄✌️

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      3. 😮 wow!! I’ve never met anyone who’s never been on floaty things 😮 …

        I’ve just always grown up with pools or beaches…
        We just HAD to learn to swim. Was a thing

        I learned to swim at 2… my mom had me put in swimming lessons with the YMCA 😄✌️ not kidding

        I do remember the lessons though because they were kind of traumatic lol

        They teaching me to hold breath and they be dunking me over and over again. Every time I came up for air, I would be screaming crying and I could see my mom sitting on the bench lol … I would scream MOM and they throw me back under water 🤨… I remember that from way back then cause WAS so traumatic 🤨… they don’t do it like that anymore – but it taught me how to swim really fast!!

        I think is a lot like learning a foreign language? When you are young… you can grip it really fast and really easy… the older you are the more set you are and harder it seems?

        Do you want or wish to swim? Is that a desire for you?

        I taught my own kids to swim, only because I know how.. so I just show them how … daughter is a little fish like me ✌️ oldest too… middle one doesn’t like anything 😄✌️ he’s too cool for that (but he knows how to swim lol)

        But that’s ok you don’t swim, many don’t… I know many who can not swim…

        I just have never met someone who hasn’t done floaters though – that’s interesting!

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