One small squirrel and i

Had a conversation of sorts yesterday. He, or maybe she, was about to rapidly disappear up a tree in the park when it halted and gave me what seemed to be serious consideration 

. What was I doing there? Well actually squirrel it was a very pleasant afternoon and I needed the sunshine for a little while. The rest of the afternoon was spent observing people and dogs. It may have been a Monday but there were still plenty of dogs taking their owners out for a walk.

I also found the playground but did not venture in as it was full of children being busy and noisily enjoying themselves. It was a very good alternative to all the museums we have been visiting. 

The rest of the day was quiet and needed to be because we had both succumbed to a bug of some sort. This morning things are better. This is just as well because we are off to Cambridge this afternoon where we will meet my friend A… and do some more exploring.

We are going squirrel watching

 Today according to Middle Cat.

We intended to do this yesterday but neither of us felt very energetic we also thought there might be too many people in the park for successful squirrel watching. There being no wild squirrels in Downunder they are something of a novelty for her. She intends to go armed with pencil and paper. I may just people watch and make notes for a response to a paper on disaster relief. The paper was interesting and well written but failed to mention communication issues. Writing a full response will have to wait until I am back at work. The squirrels on the other hand need to be seen now.

Catching up with an old friend

From university days was interesting. She is retired but still involved in the local school. It was interesting to hear her say that she was glad she was not teaching any more.

I know I have felt that way for some time now. It will be interesting to hear what a young friend has to say about her school next week. There are definitely some differences between the system here and back in Downunder. 

We spent a couple of hours chatting before she had to leave for another appointment. The rest of the day was a wipe out as  Middle Cat and I sneezed and snuffled our way through it. This morning has been much the same but I think I am starting to feel better. I don’t want to waste our time here!

Middle cat has gone to get some more milk and we might go to the park if is not raining.

A quiet day in London

 Or it would have been except for the road works outside the place where we are staying.

We both have colds and needed a quiet day after all the museums and galleries so we went out and did some washing at the launderette mid morning. Middle Cat had another snooze as well. 

This afternoon we prowled slowly around to the little corner cafe we had been to with cousin T and his partner. We indulged in hot chocolate and shared a little lemon cheesecake which was not too sweet.

We again considered a visit to Peter Pan but it was startling to spit with rain so we decided to take a very slow walk back here and leave the work men to get on with the job .

Today I plan to catch up with a friend from university days.

The British Library

 Is a place where I could spend many hours with a reader’s ticket. The sight of so many people staring earnestly at the screen of their laptops and iPads is enough to give the book lover in me a very strange feeling  as you realise they are accessing material held there.

Sadly the things we really wanted to see were not on display as the areas were closed. Nevertheless Middle Cat took several photos of the King’s Library stacks and I have plans for a project around them. We came.back early as she was struggling again but it was a good trip even though the stop at the railway station did not include a successful booking of tickets to Cambridge for next Tuesday.

We both have colds, no doubt caught from other people on the buses. I think today will be a quiet day.

The National portrait gallery

 Was on the agenda for today. We managed to get there without getting lost and spent a great deal of time mixing with the rich and famous. 

I think Middle Cat was surprised by the variety there is hanging there. It is a very good way of learning a lot of history. I marveled again at how uncomfortable some of the early clothing must have been to wear. It is also remarkable how the children were made to sit for some of the portraits. 

I bought a postcard for the library staff but it will probably arrive after I get home. I would have preferred to buy one of the paintings but the price was likely more than I would be able to afford even if they were for sale.

Having walked so far we.checked out the ice cream shop on our way back but they don’t take cash so we went to the M&S food shop on the corner and brought a little tub of salted caramel instead. It was very good.

The evening was spent catching up on some work while Middle Cat watched video clips and kept falling asleep.

The small child at the bus stop

 Who was screaming his head off was hungry. His very anxious mother was trying to calm him without much success. She explained they had been to a nearby hospital for some reason and he had not had anything to eat.

I took out the small cheese sandwich I had with me and offered it rather hesitantly but it was received with relief and gratitude. There w as instant silence . I have never seen a sandwich disappear so quickly.

As they boarded their bus the mother gave me a hug and the small boy finally gave me a smile.

Yes, London bus stops can be very intimidating places. 

Downunder has made a mistak

 In recognising Palestine as a country. It goes against international law and the rules about what constitutes a country.

I do not know much about international law but I do know that there need to be several things present. One of these things is a recognised border. There is none. This is not simply about the disputed areas but the fact that there are two distinct areas.

It brings us to the second point and that is the government of these areas. They are not under the control of one entity and they have not been elected by one group of people. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are separate from each other.

A country also needs to be able to defend itself and they have no armed forces. Hamas is armed but it is armed by external forces which have an entirely different agenda.

Those things are just a start. 

It all suggests that the recognition has more to do with our internal politics than what might be best for the people of Palestine once it does become a country. Our Prime Minister is working for his own benefit again.it is not surprising but it is yet another reason for concern.

The Natural History Museum is

Best avoided on Sundays I think.

Middle Cat wanted to see the dinosaurs and the David Attenborough exhibition. She thought she could manage the journey to and from so we prowled over there above eleven. As I expected it was very crowded and very noisy. We did manage to see a bit past adults getting in the way of small children but I have been there at better times. It makes me cross and irritable when tourists with cameras think they have priority over small children who really want to see things.

We eventually gave up and went to the Science Museum. If you don’t know London then I need to explain this is conveniently in the next building. It was busy but quieter. We spent some time looking at planes and computers with Middle Cat sitting down at frequent intervals. She had to lie down when we finally arrived back here. Today we need to get her a better pen for drawing. It might make her feel less frustrated.

I have been scribbling down ideas for new knitting patterns and other works of a more literary nature. It is too difficult to write much on the iPad 

Rachel Sale’s idea

 For the museums of the future is something that I find attractive. It is simple.

Yes we were back at the V and A yesterday. It took a while to get there because Middle Cat is not fast in the morning at any time and right now she is struggling to do much despite her protestations to the contrary.

We did get there for a second time however and did a bit more prowling. On the way out we came across the learning centre area. As former teachers we found that interesting. One program was of particular interest to me as it was concerned with the relationship between physical and knitting. We were both interested in the primary school project encouraging children to create sounds and relate them to pictures as well.

The other area of interest at the end of our time there however was the temporary installation of modern work. Much of this was self indulgent in the way art all too often is but Rachel Sale’s approach to the idea of future museums was very different. I like the way she has attempted to involve everyone who might be interested. Look up the Blue Print project if you are interested and see a very different sort of blueprint for the future. It has given me an idea for a project being developed by several of us for next year.

More to come later.

Oh London bus drivers

 Must really love us. They keep assuring us we are in the right place to catch the next bus. It doesn’t always happen that way but we have found some interesting things on our way. 

If we were the other side of Kensington Gardens I would have found it easier to work things out but Middle Cat had other plans. We can try again tomorrow perhaps. The weather is due to change and I think she should see at least one outside attraction today.

We did prowl into Waterstones and get a map with bus routes on our way back.That should help. I have not forgotten the number 14 and 73 routes either.

More tomorrow and I promise better posts when I have a proper keyboard.

The Sargent Exhibition

  At Kenwood House was on the agenda yesterday. Cousin T….and his partner picked us up because they both wanted to go too.

I had not realised just how many portraits Sargent had done in charcoal. There were over 700 and this was a selection of the American heiresses he did.I think I prefer them to the paintings as they are less stiff and formal.

The real treat was revisiting the Rembrandt self portrait though. R… and I both feel the honesty in it is almost devastating. Rembrandt is verging on old age and he.has just lost his last child. His eyesight is failing and he is in dire financial straits but he is still painting and capable of revealing so much.

I also felt so relieved to be among the greens again after such a dry winter in Downunder. The variety here is so much easier to look at.

Today we are heading back to more “culture” or perhaps natural history.

London buses

 Are providing us with a great deal of entertainment. Yes, we got lost yesterday. It took us far too long to get to the Victoria and Albert as we ended up going to the terminal and back.

We had decided to do the trip in order to find out how to get there and discovered that the locals get lost too.

We will be returning them again of course because, like the BM, we have barely scratched the surface. Unfortunately the fashion gallery is closed so I have missed out on the very early textiles but there was still some interesting William Morris work on display.

Getting back was an even greater challenge because of the big anti Trump demonstration but we eventually managed an Uber at a reasonable price with the help of a lovely West Indian midwife who called one for us and stayed chatting until it arrived.

Today we are going to Kenwood with Cousin T and his partner. Tomorrow it may be back to the museums!

We explored Foyle’s

 Yesterday because I needed to buy books for young friends. We managed a bus in both directions but it was also a lot of walking. I am finding the changes in the population mix very interesting.

Today will be a decision between a return to the British Museum or finding our way to the museums in South Kensington. I think it will be the latter.  We will go back to the BM later.

Middle  Cat is coping by sitting down often and.talking to all dogs and people insight!

Exploring the British Museum

 Property would take years but I prowled in yesterday and spent seven hours on the upper floors.  Middle Cat trailed along and will need to add more data to her phone as she oohed and aahed over various things and took photos. She also added some photos to mine so I have a visual record of some things I think I can use for knitting inspiration.

I have long wanted to see the Tompion clocks they have there.His skill as a clockmaker was extraordinary. The wood wheel clocks were also so good to see.The Senior Cat always wanted to make one but felt the gears were beyond his skill level. Looking at them I could only wonder at the skill involved in cutting the wheels, especially out of the very hard timber needed topping prevent warping.

I have a photo of a particularly fine “body chain” with the links made of gold and hope to create something to remind me of it. So much of the work there could still be worn today. Even some pieces three thousand or more years old looked strangely up to date.

Middle Cat is coping by sitting on the walker frequently but we had another early night 

Exploring the bus system

 Yesterday I have discovered that Middle Cat finds it too difficult to get on and off. I find it extraordinary that she is less mobile than I am. Plans for exploring London by bus are now on hold. We might try the Tube today but it would mean walking to Queensway to get the direct line to Tottenham Court Rd.If she can manage it then we can spend hours in the BM.

There are many other places I had planned but some of them will be inaccessible for her as they have too many steps or too much walking.

I went twice the distance yesterday. Late in the afternoon I went to the little shopping street near the hotel and finally found a few postcards for people I cannot email. Today I also need to find a post office and some stamps.

Writing this on the iPad is very difficult but at least you know I am alive.

Today we ventured further afield

 And used a bus but Helen found it much more difficult than I did together on and off. This going to be a problem. She also needs to stop and rest frequently. We went to South Kensington and had a light lunch in a cafe before going into M&S,s food and picking up some salad for another meal.

We came back by taxi to a new room here.it is on the ground floor and the bathroom has a walk in shower which is so much more accessible.Helen had a snooze while I went to try and get a screw top bottle opener. I was not successful but the lovely Afghan refugee looking after the hardware shop offered to open the screw top on th water bottle at any time!

I also bought four postcards. Some of you might be lucky but they are hard to find. When Iwas last here they were cheap and plentiful. 

There will be more witterings later.

We are changing plans

 And not doing all the planned travel because Middle Cat is not coping with the idea of our next destination which was York tomorrow but that means a train ride and two changes on a Sunday. I do know what Sunday trains can be like. 

We have to find out if we can stay here for longer or get somewhere else— proper posts will have to wait until I can access a proper key board 

We spent yesterday at the hospital

In the emergency department and have nothing but praise for the much maligned nhs. The staff are definitely overworked and underpaid!

Middle. Cat. was given very thorough attention. It may have helped that we had come by ambulance! All this was due to her fall in Singapore. We left the hospital almost twelve hours later with a diagnosis of a mínor but very painful crush fracture in the base of her spíne. 

Today we need to make some decisions about the rest of.the trip.

Today we fly to Heathrow

 It is a very long trip of course but not as bad as it once was. This time we are in the air for about fourteen hours. Middle Cat will need at least a day to recover so it is a good thing we have four nights before we need to go to York 

We’re having a difficult time

 But it is interesting. Middle. Cat had a fallbut fortunately break anything, She is finding it difficult to get around,

We went to    a  Chinese Medical Centre and they were very kind and very thorough but it took them three hours before they were satisfied..

We were going to spend the day with my good friend R… but she had left a message to say her father had died very suddenly. We did not want to intrude on her family at this sensitive time.

We did see her today and she told me she is happy and glad he went so quickly. She was still very anxious I should see my goddaughter and the new baby. He is a delight and it will be so good for them to have him in their lives right now now.

We have not seen much of Singapore but I am still glad we made the stopover.

Tomorrow is the long flight to London and I am not. Looking forward to that, especially for Middle Cat but she wants to go on!

Singapore is so clean

 And tidy too. The only rubbish seems to be cigarette butts and the occasional piece of paper 

On the train people give up their seats to the elderly and disabled or parents holding children It is very different from Downunder.

We had a traditional meal with our friends yesterday and a lot of conversation with it!

I am writing this on the iPad but it is not easy 

We are in singapore

 And have walked too far Middle Cat has done too much so we’re having a quiet day with my friend. R.

The days of big department stores

are over it seems. There was a nostalgia piece in our state newspaper yesterday. It was written by one of our local columnists and former radio personality. He is well known for "stirring the pot" on occasions. He can be very abrupt, indeed downright rude at times but he was spot on yesterday.

He wrote about how people "dressed up to go to town". This was at a time when the central business district was also where you went shopping for anything not locally available. There were no "shopping centres" or "shopping malls". They simply did not exist. The population was very much smaller then than now.

I remember the "dressing up" bit. My mother and my grandmothers would wear "best" dresses, stockings, hats and gloves. In winter they wore wool overcoats over dresses or skirts. Mum's mother wore a corset to "hold herself in".  The Senior Cat would wear a suit. My brother wore his school blazer over a white shirt and tie. We girls were in our second best dresses rather than our Sunday dresses. Our shoes would be polished.  We would not even have questioned if we might wear our comfortable home clothes.

In the city there were "department" stores to visit. I remember them well. They each had a flavour of their own. Myers had a "bargain basement" where Mum would pick up the remnants of fabric she made her every day clothes. Just before I began at teacher training college she picked up two remnants and made me the two dresses that lasted me, along with a single winter skirt, all through my three years there. The remnants cost 95c and $1.20. The skirt, a pleated one, was "on special" at a very upmarket tailoring establishment called "Fletcher Jones". It cost $12 and last me through for nine years. I had to endure hemlines going up and down!

David Jones was considered more "classy". They had someone playing the piano near the books on the ground floor and haberdashery was hidden on the sixth adjacent to the auditorium where the Book Week display would be held.

John Martin's had the Christmas Pageant. We knew about that but we were never in the city to see Santa Claus arrive behind all the floats. It was not until we were adults that we went to see it - or watch children watching it. I went once with Ms Whirlwind and several of her classmates. It was enough. 

There was Cox Foy's which had a sort of fun fair on the roof. In all the years it was there I never ventured that far. I did not like the basement of Harris Scarfe's. It felt as if it was going to fall in on me.  They were along the same street which has now become a pedestrian mall. The buses no longer travel along it. You are much more likely to be hit by someone illegally riding a skateboard. 

There was the Arcade with the only restaurant I ever ate in as a child and the lane which led to the main bookshop which published our school text books and the place which sold the "pineapple crush" drinks we were allowed to have just that once on a very hot day. 

All of those things are long gone. Myers and David Jones are now filled with tiny areas that sell individual brand names. John Martin's and Cox Foy's no longer exist. They have gone along with Miller Anderson's, Moore's on the Square and Peoplestore's. 

I am not sure we are any better off now. The big shopping malls seem soulless to me. I traverse them reluctantly wearing jeans. I don't own a dress and I have no dress up sort of gloves or a dress up hat. Stockings? Please do not mention them! 

   

Is immigration too high?

I cannot answer that question. There are too many variables for anyone to give an accurate answer.

Is immigration necessary? I can answer that question. Yes, it is. How many people we allow to enter the country is not the question we should be asking. We need to ask, "Why is immigration necessary?"

One reason of course is our aging population. More and more people are living longer and longer. That is true everywhere. My godfather died just last week at the age of a hundred (and five months!) He was an old man, a man who should not have lived as long as he did given his war service and the injuries he sustained then. Excellent medical care helped as did a caring family. 

Even people with no family to care for them are living longer but they often need extra help, perhaps to stay at home or to live in a facility for older people. It means an increase in things like age-related dementia and the need to care for those who acquire it. 

We need help with the delivery of all sorts of services and skills like building housing. Those things are very obvious.

We do not need more yoga teachers however much we might argue that yoga is good for our physical and mental health. We do not need hairdressers or manicurists or any other similar skills.

We also do not need people who are not going to integrate into our society and accept our laws, our Constitution, or our culture. It is time to stop thinking about "multi-cultural" affairs and think about a cohesive society. This in no way should stop someone retaining some aspects of their birth culture inside their own homes, aspects which do not break the law of this country. It should not prevent us from enjoying a greater variety of cuisines or a range of other cultural activities. Such things add to the capacity of everyone to accept one another. The idea that these things should in any way take priority over the laws and Constitution or the foundations on which this country was first built is wrong. 

What we do not need are laws and policies which encourage or even prevent people from integrating into society. This happens all too often.

We are also far too ready to accept people into this country and then expect them to work at the low level jobs that those who were born here do not want to undertake. Surely we should be asking questions when a plumber who has qualified in England cannot get a job as a plumber here? Why does a doctor who qualified in Scotland choose not to come? Is it because of all the difficulties put in his way? Why is an engineer from Taiwan (with excellent English) driving a taxi? There are plenty such examples to be had and it is time to do something about it. We need to recognise and acknowledge their skills and do so in a timely fashion.

We also need to insist that at least some of the unemployed people here are not able to simply appear to seek work. They need to actually seek work and accept work which is offered to them. They need to actually attend and finish training courses. Many do of course but those who fail to attend and finish training courses and then accept jobs which are offered them are making it much harder for everyone. It also means increasing immigration in ways which may not be best for society. 

Any "multicultural" approach must also recognise that there is no single "indigenous culture" and no single "indigenous language". What was there when white settlers arrived was a very diverse range of cultures and languages. What often remains now are no more than remnants and even those are often so tainted by interaction with others they would be unrecognisable to those who lived them two hundred and fifty years ago.  Yes, it is hard to realise how much we have lost but what are we actually trying to retain?

Claims that we are some sort of "highly successful multicultural society" are something we need to which we need to give much more thought. It might be that it is the very thing which is causing division rather than cohesion. 

Research grants are available

 if you wish to study something a little different.

There was a recent report about the Downunder Research Council handing out millions of dollars of research funding and what the money would be used for - or at least some of the money.

Some of these grants seem a little odd to me. One university has been given $752,000 to "examine the form and development of Chinese temple theatre architecture in mainland China".  I am sure this is research of great importance and that the Chinese government is delighted someone is interested enough to follow up this very important topic. It will no doubt have a great deal of relevance in modern Communist China and here.

Then there is the $216,000 grant to "explain how the Asterix comic book series is relevant to the cultural history of France". Well, I quite like Asterix so I suppose there is something in this which is important enough for such a large grant.

More importantly there is the $458,000 to "understand gender inequality in opera". I am sure that is absolutely vital research for the preservation and development of opera in general.

All this matters because another university has been given $909,000 "to determine the optimal length for on-the-job napping". I was not even aware that this sort of thing was done let alone that it was so important. Yes, I know Winston Churchill was said to have short power naps but how many other people do?

But then there is the $1,293,000 to "improve understanding of whale watching tourists". This must be a massive business to need this sort of funding.

Yes, please pardon the sarcasm. I can think of better things to do with the money that is apparently available. (If we are doing social science research then a better understanding of the value of libraries, who uses them, how and why would be a very valuable piece of research. It may remind government why they need to be funded and kept open,)

It is difficult to take the above examples as serious, academic research of value to the wider community. They may be topics of great interest to someone and they have obviously managed to write a research proposal to that end. It is claimed they were "vigorously peer-reviewed" but I would ask, "By whom?"  

Volunteers are an essential

part of our society. There was another call for volunteers in our state newspaper yesterday. This was not a call for volunteers for a specific group but a more general one. 

It did not surprise me. It is becoming more and more difficult to volunteer.

No, you cannot simply put your hand up anymore and say "Yes, I'll help." 

I volunteered again this year at the state's annual agricultural show. It is the big event for the state's agricultural industry and is a very important event for farmers and others. I was working in Handicraft, an area which would seem harmless. 

Not so. I had to have an up to date "Working with Children" certificate from the police. I also had to complete a "Safe Work" certificate for the organisation. We could not be on the premises without these things and we had to wear our own safety vests at all times. It all sounds perfectly reasonable doesn't it? 

It is also something, apart from the safety vests, which was only brought in three years ago. Yes, it has been a sudden and apparently urgent requirement brought in because there have been changes to legislation which make it necessary.

There are problems with this. The Working with Children certificates may deter anyone who has been convicted of a relevant offence from applying for one but not someone who has not been caught. This will always be a problem. The certificates are expensive to get and not all organisations are willing to pay for them so the expense can mean some potential volunteers will not be willing to pay for these themselves. In my case the organisation which runs the Showground was willing to pay for them. It is a not-for-profit charity but it is also an essential part of the state's agricultural industry. Should the government be demanding the organisation pays or should they waive the fees? It is something which causes debate. I did not see or interact with a single child over the entire week I was there. Children are not permitted to be in the area at that time. So, why the need for a certificate? It is another thing which causes debate.

The Safe Working certificate is very basic commonsense. Mine notes I achieved 100% in the test you need to pass. It was not difficult to do. I do not know who wrote the test but it reads more like "we need to do this" than any serious attempt to ensure people know the rules.  Even so it will have taken time to develop, almost certainly by a volunteer committee of some sort! 

All this is simple compared with the hoops some people must jump through in order to volunteer or encourage others to volunteer. You want young people to join the church choir? It will go all the way up to the Archbishop or the Moderator or the Deacon or something else according to the denomination. Work with Scouts or Guides? Oh the paperwork! Help with Meals on Wheels? The "food service" training needed! Hear children read in the classroom under the eye of the teacher? Training days on top of all those checks! Teach English to migrants? You need a National Crime Check for that. Work with vulnerable NDIS recipients? We will throw everything at you and see if you can pass.

I suspect people give up. It is all too difficult, especially when time is limited. There are other things to do. The ability to commit to regular hours each week is more difficult than it once was. Put all the other barriers in place as well and it is too much to handle. 

Yes, I do understand the concern for the safety of others. There are "bad" people out there ready to take advantage. They are also a very small minority of people - and they have not yet been caught. The vast majority of people will do the right thing. We just need to let them do it.

 

 

Eating on the footpath

is not something I can remember ever occurring when I was very young. We children did eat those currant buns outside the bakery in the place where I was born, of course we did. It was fun to get a small, warm bun and eat around the currants and lick our sugary fingers in a most unhygienic fashion. 

What did not happen was adults "having coffee" sort of sitting. It would not have been legal to place a table and a couple of chairs on the footpath and let people sit there. Even the "beer garden" of the local pub was hidden away. Eating and drinking in public like that was something which simply was not done. There were in fact very few places to eat out at all. You could get something like "fish and chips" but pizza and "burgers" were unheard of. 

Fish and chips of course came wrapped first in plain "butcher" paper and then in a double layer of yesterday's news. You tore the top open and dived in. It did not happen often. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I did that in childhood.

I still don't eat out very often. It will be interesting to see how Middle Cat and I cope with this while we are away. It might be why we decided we wanted "self-catering" accommodation in some places - no, not just because it is cheaper. It may actually not be much cheaper. 

What we will not be doing is sitting at a table located out on the footpath somewhere. The weather might be against it but it is also something that we are not used to doing. We might well do it in Europe where, at least in the south, it is much more common. It is unlikely we will do it in Scottish rain.

There are a great many places here where it is possible to eat outside. I wonder why people want to do it in the immediate area because the cafes concerned all seem to be close to busy roads. Why eat to the smell of car fumes and the sound of car tyres swishing past? They are no quieter than it would be inside. There are people passing all the time. Why would you want to have to constantly shift your seat so someone can move through the area? 

There is also the issue of food and drink falling on the surface others are walking on. Perhaps European cafe owners are more aware of that or people are tidier or the seating is arranged differently. I do not know. The last time I was in Europe was many years ago and the weather was not conducive to sitting outside.

It is a while since I have properly been on a picnic too. Middle Cat and I would take the Senior Cat out to the beach occasionally but he found it easier to stay sitting in the car. We would eat fish and chips there so he could watch the waves and the boats coming in and out. It was something he loved to do and actually found very relaxing.  That is the way a picnic should be. Middle Cat and I have occasionally found the need to get a drink and something small to eat but we have not sat outside a cafe to do it.  We find a quiet spot and watch the waves or the birds or just enjoy the greenery. 

I wish I understood the attraction of eating outside a cafe like that. It is so different from the occasional picnics with Grandma and Grandpa. The tartan rug would be spread out. Grandpa would light a fire in the hole he had carefully dug and make tea for the adults. We children would be given home made lemon cordial. There would be sandwiches out of the wicker picnic basket. We would brush away the ants and bury all the "rubbish" in the fire hole at the end of it all. Grandpa would stamp on the earth over the hole to be certain the fire was out. Around us there would be bird song and human chatter. 

I think I prefer that to the sound of car tyres and people moving irritably past me on a crowded footpath. This is not Europe where one can find a small cafe without main road traffic rushing past.  

When did school based "therapy" become

a "thing"? 

I can understand the need in some situations but it appears to be more than some schools can handle. They are not specialist schools with a team of on-site trained staff.

I had a long and generally very happy association with several schools for children with both physical and intellectual disabilities. Two of those schools had a wide range of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy available at school during the school day. The staff worked with children individually and they came into the classrooms to help with issues we had. I worked with them to set up the physical means by which some children were able to communicate without speech. Through it all I knew that this was all highly specialised and individualised therapy designed to allow a child to function at their maximum capacity. It was hard work but it was rewarding.

Doing away with specialist schools meant those services were no longer available on site as they had been. Providing those services is much harder, much more expensive and by no means always as successful. How can it be when teachers without specialist training are expected to observe and describe issues and work with the therapist and parents as well as child to bring about a possible solution to a problem? There can be no quick discussion with the occupational therapist during a lunch break or a call to the physiotherapist because a seating issue has occurred. It is much more likely you will need to wait for several days and then only meet if the time is made.

If  you talk to anyone it is much more likely you will find yourself talking with the support worker provided for a child who is finding it difficult to emotionally or psychologically cope with school. Even that may not occur. Those workers are only there with the permission of the school anyway. They are not there as of right and they can be asked to leave at any time.

I suspect most schools are willing to have such workers there. It will often be a matter of "if anyone can help..." but they can only be there under certain conditions and they must be "within line of sight" - or able to be seen at all times. Yes, some come into the classrooms but others need to work elsewhere. You cannot have a child trying to concentrate on standing upright and being watched by other children who should be concentrating on a maths lesson. That child needs to be out of the classroom - for their own sake as much as the sake of the rest of the class. 

Apparently schools can now have many such therapists visiting the school and there are still many parents who need to take their children to physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy away from the school. It is just one of the many problems which have increased since the closure of specialist facilities.