@Busy-Lizzie ... the private hospital operating theatres and recovery rooms were used for the ops such as my son had ... but not the ward beds ... there were no ward nurses there ... my son's operation took much longer than had been expected and required a second surgeon to be sent over from the big Ipswich NHS hospital to assist due to unforseen complications ... he was kept in recovery until late in the evening and then sent home to be nursed by @WonkyWomble (his sister) ...the consultant said that in normal circumstances he would have been kept in overnight and not discharged until ward rounds had been completed the next day.
So it wasn't that the private hospitals weren't being used ... the operating theatres were being used a lot ... but the beds weren't ... that's why the figures made it look as if they were empty.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The metaphors in use are really notable in the programme - and the rest of the media.
Attack, battle, fight, war, steal, invasion, defend, weapons.
It puts it in very personal terms - as if they are 'out on a mission to get us' - it's so anthropocentric, an over-simplified binary 'them and us'.
It's similar with the language around cancer, immigration, natural disasters. I don't think it's useful. It makes us feel persecuted, victimised, plotted against and picked on.
It seems to me related to a semi-religious take - as if god/nature has a
plan - Zeus sitting on his mountain sending down thunder bolts,
plagues of locusts, boils or TB. It's all very Jason and the
Oh dear, these lectures are aimed at CHILDREN, they are designed to make difficult concepts FUN . If they gave a traditional dry lecture the kids would loose focus in the first couple of minutes. I don't like all the goo and flash bang wallop much, but if it holds them and gets more of them interested in science it's no bad thing.
The JVT lecture brought back many happy memories! As a teenager, I got tickets to attend several years in a row. A trip into London on the Tube, and lunch in a Wimpy bar!
Daily LFTs for me (I do most days anyway) as a selfish person came to work without testing (a rule) and tested positive when she was asked to take a test. We had to deep clean the office, not that it would get rid of the virus in the air. So annoyed.
these lectures are aimed at CHILDREN, they are designed to make difficult concepts FUN . If they gave a traditional dry lecture the kids would loose focus in the first couple of minutes. I don't like all the goo and flash bang wallop much, but if it holds them and gets more of them interested in science it's no bad thing.
I know. But it's the same language as used in the wider media. No different. It was just interesting to hear all the metaphors accrued in one show. This isn't a criticism of the lectures; more a reflection on how we use language about things we don't like. When I had cancer I was struck by all the war metaphors people used - battling, fighting, defeating, invading, nuking etc.
I think the Christmas lectures are always great. They were started in 1825 and if they weren't a historical hangover, I can't imagine for a minute they would start such a thing on mainstream TV now. I love the bangs and flashes and involved demonstrations from world class scientists - taking children seriously - their understanding and their futures.
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Do hope your OH has his op soon @Busy-Lizzie
So it wasn't that the private hospitals weren't being used ... the operating theatres were being used a lot ... but the beds weren't ... that's why the figures made it look as if they were empty.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border