Tag: health

Why Olympic Gymnasts Inspire Me

I am not very keen on football and team sports but I absolutely love the range of games on show at the Paris Olympics. I especially like to watch the gymnastics.

I remember enjoying gym classes at school despite being rather clumsy and a slow learner when it came to balancing and leaping.

My own gymnastic struggles never stopped me trying. I was never going to the Olympics but I certainly had fun climbing, spinning and bouncing over a vault.

Inspired

Now I make sure that I watch the gymnastics competition at the Olympics (on TV). It has been wonderful this year because a local gymnast has been competing in the team and individual all round events as well as on individual pieces of equipment.

Jake Jarman is from my home city and makes me proud as he is already showing such talent, even though it is his very first Olympics.

Previously, Lewis Smith has won lots of medals on apparatus like the Pommel Horse. So there is definitely a talent pool in Peterborough.

Who’d have thought it?

This is just a short appreciation post for the incredible gymnasts who are risking their lives each time they grab onto those rings, swirl round the high bar and pirouette across the floor in artistic gymnastics.

Good Luck To All Contestants

You Olympians are all heroes to me. I wish I had the power, concentration and determination that each of you has.

Allelujah Film: Celebrating The NHS

Some movies come and go. I enjoy them and then forget about them soon afterwards. The new Allelujah film is all about the struggling National Health Service and highlights some important issues. There was no way I could easily forget such a moving piece if cinema.

With a magnificent cast, the trailer was sweet and had a few one liners in, easily hooking me in. More than anything, I knew I was going to see a warts and all movie celebrating the NHS.

What’s It All About?

In October 2021 I went to see a theatre show with Jennifer Saunders in. Richard Eyre directed Blithe Spirit and clearly enjoyed working with Jennifer as he placed her as the lead in this intriguing new film. Gathering together such mighty actors as Judi Dench, Russell Tovey, Dave Bradley and Derek Jacobi, he has constructed a story with a real heart.

Newcomer Bally Gill plays Doctor Valentine who oversees The Bethlehem nursing hospital where Jennifer’s Sister Gilpin runs a tight shift, managing the beds available and keeping spirits high. Her upcoming medal presentation for years of service happens at the same time that a local News TV show decide to film behind the scenes at the Beth.

To add to the mix, one of the current resident’s sons works in the Department of Health as an advisor. He (Russel Tovey) visits his father with a view to closing the place down. Can his father’s affection for the place turn his opinion?

In A Nutshell

I was half expecting it to be a comedy but it genuinely wasn’t. With heart-warming elements and a stellar cast, it told some gritty truths about the state of our failing National Health Service.

Judi Dench played a woman who used to work in a library and was too shy to appear on the documentary. Getting used to filming her thoughts on an iPad she played a significant part in uncovering an injustice. I had better not say any more for fear of spoilers.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion this was a realistic film which was celebrating the NHS but also providing warnings. It is an eye-opener for people who have not had to put an elderly relative in care. Making you think about the workload of doctors who are currently striking, it is able to hold up a mirror. I left with more questions than answers but I think that was its intention.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope that you will go and check out this beautiful film. Please consider following my little blog for more articles about books, TV shows, films and climate change.

Poorly With Covid – Poem

A year ago I got my first bout of Covid and I hated it. Weirdly, almost exactly a year later I contracted it again. I was hoping to say it was less impactful the second time around but in truth it totally wiped me out. Here is my brief poem about this irony, entitled ‘Poorly With Covid.’

Last March I was poorly with Covid,

I gradually pushed it away.

Last week it sneaked up upon me,

With a cough and a sneaze on Friday.

Last time you made me feel awful,

Like a horrible flu you consumed.

This week you wiped me out altogether,

And the horrible headaches resumed.

I am surprised it was so bad this time round,

Though my last jab was in 2021.

Mind you, I don’t know what’s expected,

It was never gonna be that much fun.

So, yes, Covid still has a presence,

It’s spreading again in the spring.

But give me a break until next March at least

Or they’ll be calling me THE COVID KING.

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Final Thoughts

This was slightly different to my usual style as I don’t normally write such long lines when I rhyme. I just woke up and wrote it but hopefully it made sense. There is something cathartic about writing a poem straight out, without overthinking it or endless editing. That is the way that I prefer to write.

Thank you for taking the time to read my short poem about Covid. Please check out my World Without Ice Poem. Perhaps also follow my blog for future similar content.