North Korea must be

a very strange country in which to live. It seems to be almost completely isolated but I have just been reading about Kim Jong Un's anger at the possibility that their defences have been breached with respect to Covid19.

If that is true then the country is surely in trouble? If the virus took  hold there then things would be very serious indeed. Their health system is, from what accounts are available, not exactly world class.

One of the rare bits of television I have watched over the past year was the Michael Palin program on North Korea. It was interesting but I knew he was being very cautious and barely scratching the surface of the country.  

I have also read a little about the country but again I have felt that the writers were being cautious - even those who are being critical of what goes on there. They strike me as afraid of what might happen if they speak out.

I have only met one North Korean. He had very little to say indeed. He spoke almost no English when I met him. He had escaped the regime and eventually found his way to another country where he was spending long hours being "interviewed" by others. I don't think anyone was being unkind to him but he was still afraid. The other thing that struck me was his bewilderment about things like the amount of food available in a supermarket - which is where I met him. His "carer" or "minder" was trying to find food he might be familiar with and show him how to recognise it there. I was asked to show them where the noodles ratherAfterwards I found them sitting on a bench outside the shopping centre eating ice cream from a certain chain of ice cream providers. I don't know what that ice cream is like. I have never tried it but this bewildered man was enjoying it. When I asked him, "Good?" he raised his thumb in that gesture so many of us understand. I wonder what North Korean ice cream is like? Is it made from real milk or is it plant based? What else do they really have to eat there? We hear stories of them eating grass but most people must have some food. I suspect their diet is monotonous. 

There are all sorts of other things I wonder about North Korea. Perhaps I should try and read some more. How accurate would it be? (If you have suggestions please let me know.)

But Middle Cat has just rung to say that she will pick me up so that we can go and see the Senior Cat together. The weather is not good. We had a little hail earlier and I do not like pedalling out in hail. So, a trip in her vehicle? Yes. It is something that almost certainly would not happen in North Korea. 

 

Dogs in nursing homes

and in aged care can make all the difference to the day of a resident.

The staff at the Senior Cat's residence sometimes bring their dogs in to work. I have met a very elderly dog this way and a very young one as well. I have also seen another dog there.

Yesterday, concerned that we might be heading for a lockdown the priest from the Senior Cat's church made an earlier than usual visit - and took his dog with him.  I was on my way out as D... was going in and I know I will hear about the visit from the Senior Cat - when D... finally managed to get to him.

Even before D.... could finish signing in though there were people talking to his dog, admiring her and patting her. (She just flopped on to the floor and took it as her due.) The entire atmosphere in the reception area changed. 

The reception area is usually fairly quiet. I say hello to the person on duty but not much more. A lot of people go backwards and forwards without saying anything unless they need something. Yesterday people were chatting to each other - about dogs and the people they were going to visit. "Oh, you're M....'s daughter-in-law? I've heard so much about you!" I heard someone say.

And there were two residents sitting in the little lounge area you need to pass through who were watching with anxious anticipation. I could almost hear them saying, "You are going to stop and let us pat her too aren't you?"  I know he will have done that.

I like dogs. I know most of the dogs in this district - those who are regularly walked. The dogs know me. I talk to them - something I know some people think is ridiculous but I firmly believe dogs do understand something. I am much more a "cat" person than a "dog" person but that has not prevented me having a good relationship with dogs. During the last lock down I met the partners of many dog walkers because the dogs saw me and recognised me. 

Their behaviour then was something I thought about yesterday. Do some dogs know that the residents of an aged care facility need them from time to time? Do they sense something? I think they might.

 

The Royal Flying Doctor Service

 is now helping to vaccinate people in remote communities. It is the logical way to get this done. 

I know there are people who will say, "What do you need to be vaccinated for if you live hundreds of kilometres away from anyone else?" The answer to that of course is that these people do travel - and they often travel hundreds of kilometres.

The RFDS is an extraordinary organisation. It is a charity. It is not a government service. There is government which goes into it of course but it has to fund raise. It provides medical services to people in remote areas, really remote areas. 

People who have never lived in a remote area really have no idea what it is like in those places. I have only ever visited two "stations" and both of those are within a day's travel of small townships - places the size of a hamlet or tiny village in the UK.  There are no medical services in those places either. You would need to go even further to get to something like that. 

So, the medical service flies in. It is more than a medical service too. It is a vital part of the life of the people in remote areas. Most stations have a permanent landing strip and it is one of those things which will be well maintained. It will be well maintained because the lives of people in remote areas depend on it. We saw the landing strips at the stations we visited and the precautions taken to make sure that a plane could come in at any time. We heard how people will travel for hours for non-urgent medical appointments when the RFDS is making a routine rather than emergency landing.

The medical staff who visit those locations do some remarkable things too. They often take on far more responsibilities than medical people in urban areas. It is easier now perhaps when there are satellite connections and communications are easier but they still have to take on responsibilities that their city counterparts would not want to risk. 

Other people have to take on responsibilities too. People with limited medical knowledge and nothing more than a first aid certificate have had to do things which would terrify most of us - and they do it because there is nobody else available. If they don't do what is asked of them somebody might die.

When I was a mere kitten and we were living in a remote area we heard a true story of one of the local doctors operating on the side of a dirt road under the light of car headlights. The man he operated on was the man who told the story. 

Would that happen again? Perhaps. Anything can happen out there in a remote area. It isn't what people want to do. It is what they must sometimes do. 

And those remote areas have "indigenous" or "first nations" people who are often even more vulnerable because they don't mix as much and their lifestyle often means they have poor health. Their diet is often poor and diabetes, kidney disease and other issues are of major concern. If Covid19 reaches those areas there would be major issues. The authorities are doing all they can to prevent that. Preventing that means getting people vaccinated, something the RFDS can help to do. 

Someone grumbled yesterday about having to travel several kilometres to a vaccination centre and wait. I was happy to have to go to the same centre without the use of a car. It was all much easier than having to wait for the RFDS to fly in and then travel a hundred kilometres or more to get a potentially life saving jab.

Covid19 restrictions

have been increased again because the "Delta" variant has appeared. The health authorities are trying the best they can to prevent the spread of this "highly contagious" variant.  They don't make changes lightly but we are back to face masks and other restrictions - at least for a while. It is something we expected but there have been many who feel very upset by it.

I am not too bothered about the face masks except for the fact that the Senior Cat, like many other elderly people, relies partly on being able to unconsciously lip read what is being said to him. We were told today that we again have to wear a mask while visiting him. He is going to be even more frustrated than usual.

But that is a minor concern for us both. There still has not been any attempt by the government or the health personnel responsible to solve another problem. 

We are supposed to "sign in" everywhere using a mobile phone which has an "app" which will read a "QR" code. If we can't do that we are supposed to "manually sign in". If you don't and you get caught then there are hefty fines. It is all designed to make contact tracing quicker and easier and prevent the spread of the Covid19 virus.  As I have said elsewhere I don't have a problem with the need to contact trace if it is going to help stop the spread of the virus. I am only partially vaccinated and I don't have an appointment for the second jab until August. I don't want people spreading the virus.

I have tried to explain to more than one person that this signing in business is simply not possible for everyone. I had to explain yesterday when a staff member at a local shop objected to helping someone I know can neither read nor write. The "well they should be able to" answer was enough for me to report them to their supervisor. The complaint, and I put it as nicely as I could, was met with a sigh, "The staff really don't have time for that sort of thing. People like that should get someone else to do their shopping." No. They should not need to do that. We need a system which works for everyone. I have suggested something which would work but, so far, nobody has shown any interest in doing it.

I am also deeply concerned it might now spread to the remote "indigenous" communities. Once there the likely outcome does not bear thinking about. I don't want that to happen but there is a real possibility it could if we are not prepared to accept restrictions on the rest of the community. There are far too many people in those communities with other health problems because of a range of issues that nobody seems able to fix. 

I know what the Chief Medical Officer and her staff are trying to do. It's like trying to keep endless spot fires coming together and causing major damage. I don't envy them. They look exhausted. The UK and Europe know what it can be like when people live in such close proximity to each other. We don't have that here. What we have is a different sort of problem. People often need to travel long distances. They pass through all sorts of communities on the way, vulnerable communities. One infected person can spread the virus a long way.

Accept the restrictions. Wear a face mask. We might be lucky. It might be just for a short time  - if we all do the right thing.

The Returned Books trolley

in the library is always of interest. 

I was reminded of it this morning when I saw a post on FB by someone saying that her two librarians seemed to have hidden her Returned Books Trolley. The coffee table was piled high with books instead. 

This house is much the same. There are piles of books in all sorts of places. At the moment there are two piles by the front door, another in front of one bookshelf, three piles in the Senior Cat's bedroom and a pile each side of my bed. 

All this is in addition to the double and triple stacked bookshelves. Sigh. Yes, I am slowly giving books away. It is difficult.

But at least one pile by the bed is made up of library books...and it is not quite as high as it once was. I didn't look at the Returned Books trolley last time I was in the library. I didn't borrow anything from the Returned Books trolley the time before that.

If I am honest the Returned Books trolley in the library fascinates me. I like to know what other people are reading. No, I do not stand there with my nose and whiskers twitching. I just look with interest. Ooh someone has borrowed that. I wonder what they thought of it? Someone has borrowed this and did not finish it because there is an uncut page here. Yes, I know that author and I didn't like the first one that much. Will I try this  one? Ah, a new author I have heard about. I want to look more closely at that one. And this one is a local author. It is self-published and I wish they had given it to someone to edit and proof read because the topic is an interesting one.

I know what is popular with other readers. Crime novels are top of the list in this district. Everyone seems to enjoy reading about murder and mayhem and the detection thereof. Then there are the novels of a more romantic nature. Set either of these genres in the past and they seem to be even more popular. Cookbooks seem popular - do people actually cook anything from them? Biographies and autobiographies and books about sport. Car maintenance manuals are not as popular now but the bike manuals still seem to be used. Craft books are more likely to be found on the Returned Books trolley than the shelves. The Returned Books trolley holds a treasure trove of potential reading.

While I am looking someone else comes to look as well. They do so almost furtively and then say to me very quietly, "Don't you love looking at what other people have been reading?"

 

Teaching children to knit

is not easy. I know that. I still try. Children want to learn.

Knitting is much more complicated than learning to "colour in between the lines" or "write words". Yes, those things require fine motor skills but they use one hand, not two. 

Knitting requires fine motor skills - and both hands.

A little girl arrived at our library knitting group yesterday. She looked anxiously but eagerly at those of us already there. The adult with her explained in heavily accented English that the little girl wanted to learn to knit. Then she added that there was another little girl coming too and that both of the girls wanted to learn to knit. The other little girl was bringing supplies. 

She appeared a short time later with the same anxious but eager look on her face. Her father smiled a little anxiously too. Could I?

G..., who shares most of the teaching in the group with me, was already helping someone put a fringe on a scarf and I knew she was going to be helping someone with some crochet skills. I took a deep breath and said, "Of course. That's what we are here for."

And it is. The last thing I wanted to do was say, "No. Go away. I want to get on with my own work."  I was suddenly assailed by memories of my own time learning to knit. 

Everyone I knew told me I would never learn to knit. My mother told me I was "too lazy", my father told me, "I think you need to try something a bit easier", my teacher told me, "you need to learn to write first" and other adults said other things. I knew girls my own age who were learning to knit. I admitted they had "nice writing" and that they drew pictures that actually looked like things they were meant to be. I saw people knitting - because people did knit in all sorts of places back then. I knew my maternal grandmother could knit because of the pink cardigan I loathed and detested but had to wear. I knew my paternal grandmother because of the blue gansey that I loved but was getting too small for me. I had watched her turn the heels of socks using what looked like an absolute forest of needles. 

It was my paternal grandmother I went to and told I wanted to learn to knit. She looked at me and smiled and said, "Of course you can." I think she knew that I knew it was not going to be easy. 

It wasn't. It took me nearly two years to complete one short row of knitting without dropping a stitch or accidentally jerking the stitches off the needle. I learned what needed to be done long before that but it took me that long to learn enough hand control to actually do it. My grandmother, a woman with just three years of schooling, was that brilliant and patient teacher who would not give up because I was not going to give up either. We worked on it together. She patiently cast on over and over again. She talked about rabbits diving into burrows and coming out the other side and much more. 

Grandma told me there was no right or wrong way to learn to knit. I had to learn the best way for me to hold the needles and manipulate the yarn.  She was right when she showed me that I had better control when I held the needles closer to the points. She showed me how she held the yarn and what happened when she did not do that. 

"But it doesn't matter if you can't do that. You will find another way."

It was something I was absolutely determined to do. Why? I don't know. There was something telling me I needed to succeed at this magical skill. It was going to be part of me. I was going to do it. 

Grandma dried many tears. She picked up many stitches. She never gave up on me.  Eventually she gave me a small ball of blue wool. It was "blanket" wool - wool we would now call "chunky" I suppose. I knew what to do. I had to try and try and try again.

And I knew what to do with that blue wool. I cast on and I knitted. It took me a long time. The end result was far from perfect. I kept it all from her until I had finished. Then I handed it back to her with the words, "It's a pot holder for you." 

And my grandmother took it and backed it with my grandfather's old pajama shirt and she used it. I found a scorch mark in it years later where Grandpa had nearly set it alight taking the toasting fork out of the fire. When he showed me he told me, "Never thought you would manage that. We were so proud of you."

I squirmed at that praise. I could knit by then. Grandma was teaching me a lot more by then. I knew how to turn the heel of a sock!

And I thought of all that yesterday as I worked with two little girls. I told them it wasn't going to be easy but I also said, "I know you can do it." I tried to remember all that my grandmother had told me about there being no right or wrong way but your way, the way that gets the result you need. I told them about the rabbits and the youngest little girl giggled delightfully.

I listened to the adults who came with them talking in French. Neither of them can knit. They did not know all the English terms I was using. I told them that knitting language changes between North America and here. I told them about Youtube knitting videos in English and French. 

And I told them that knitting is really one of those universal languages. It is a language of love and caring and telling children they believe in them.

It has been forty-five years since my grandmother died - and I still miss her.  

Medical trials are part of the research

process which produce the drugs and the vaccines and the many other things which help us stay healthy or recover from illness. 

Okay, we know that don't we? Have we also thought about that research is done? 

Yes, I know about trials on other animals - and yes it worries me too. I am also thinking about trials on human beings.

When we were first told that the Astra-Zeneca vaccine was going to be available here and then we were told about the possibility of blood clots people began to get worried. The media made a lot of it too. They are still making a lot of it.

I have had my first A-Z shot and I am booked in for the second one in August. I plan to have it too. I plan to have it for more than one reason. The first is that I want to be as protected as possible against a virus that is potentially fatal, especially as I am in the older age bracket. The second is that I want to protect other people as well. Those are both good reasons to get vaccinated against all sorts of things. 

But there are two more reasons as well. The first is that medical science might learn something useful from me if something goes wrong. That might save the lives of other people. It seems to me that this is a pretty darn good reason to do the right thing. 

The second reason is that other people have risked their lives developing this vaccine. They allowed themselves to be injected and more. Yes, you can say, "Well they didn't have to do that" but is that really the case? Someone had to do it.

When I was first in London "bone marrow transplants" were only just being developed. I lived in a student hall of residence where there were student medical researchers working on the process. They needed a data base and I am happy to say that almost every student registered their interest and became involved in the process of providing samples for the researchers to use. All these years later there is still a lot of work to be done but without the initial work researchers would not be where they are now in the use of life saving transplants. 

Important? I think so. A much younger friend of mine who has multiple health problems has just signed up to be part of a research project. The researchers sought her out and asked if she would be interested. She has thought long and hard about the potential risks but has still decided to be involved because "they might learn something that helps someone else". 

We both know someone who is refusing to be vaccinated against Covid19. He is not an "anti-vaxxer" he simply told us, "I'm waiting until I know it is safe. I'll see what happens to other people."  It is possible that most of us might like to do that but then perhaps nobody would get vaccinated. 

I am simply going to hope that I don't react as I did first time round. I am going to thank the people who have risked their own lives so that I could protect myself and other people. Is that reasonable?