Community Environment Health

Portmeirion - Wikipedia

1. Communities and the environment

In formulating what might define a viable community and environment, it must be articulated that in the last 10 years, for so many what facilitates healthy society and socialisation, is a stable internet connection.

This misconception can only be for the perpetuation of social media, where consequentially this has facilitated online grooming, fatalities and the fear of physical contact.

Sadly born out of a lack street wise experience, criminal behaviour and misappropriated trust, the evolving consequence of cyber space has created a prevailing negative influence and perception that has perhaps for many deliberately embedded the outside world being a more dangerous place, this marring positive growth and change of our society.

This invariably supporting the cognizance among many, a malaise of loneliness, depression and even sociophobia among young people.

In defining a viable community and its environment there would be some diverging opinion as to what this constitutes, though there are a core of elements that contribute to homeostasis:

  • Affordable & available housing
  • An expanding and or vacant jobs market
  • Liveable wages
  • Good standard of education that can also reflect the needs of the regional economy
  • Libraries
  • Free further & higher education
  • Reasonable hours at work
  • Local social activities
  • Advice & support
  • Pubs and with reasonably priced alcohol
  • Places of worship
  • Local conveniences
  • Music venues
  • Clean streets
  • Respectable local health care facilities
  • Reliable & affordable local transport
  • Respectable air quality in urban areas
  • Affordable food & clothing
  • Playing/practising Sport & hobbies as a pass time
  • Affordable spectator sports
  • Safer streets with some police visibility

In an evaluation of our core elements it must be accepted that for the under 35’s and those of convenient memory, this is nothing more than a wish list that left leaning political groups would claim to have been struggling to incorporate in communities for the poor and working classes. However, what does needs to be acknowledged is that at least 15 of these core elements were present in communities only 25 years ago!

2. Community centres and Community activities

If there were, anything that can be agreed upon would be the slow and apparent death of local facilities either physically or monetarily, in many cases the absence of local services have been felt for even 8 years or more. These facilities educational, sport, entertainment, hobby, support based activities were vital in all communities, especially in deprived areas while the cost of living has continued to rise, jobs scarcity, stagnant wages and the crash, putting food on the table and keeping up with bills has been the priority. Although where purchases were needed to be made the credit card for many has been the choice of personal torture. In relation to council gyms and sport facilities these have been in line with fees of £27 per month in areas and £5 for a swimming session?

Certainly, 25 years ago, hobbies and interests would have been covered under the unicorn of ‘disposable income’ though were not at the price we find them now. Moreso to the point these activities and support services are deeply tied into the health of the nation physical & mental, with increasing job prospects, relieving stress, better health & happiness and even financial advice.

  • Attracting & Encouraging sports groups and hobbies to offer their services 7 days a week.
  • Day and evening activities that nurture and support vulnerable groups including the elderly and the lonely to socialising.
  • Regular entertainment activities that support community and socialising.
  • Community education and learning for work, interest and social activity.
  • Crèche and family daytime activities
  • Grants and support for community sports teams new and existing

There is a duty of care for city councils to provide support services during a growing public health emergency, but we also have a responsibility to ourselves to address issues relating to our own health and seek advice, but as in this situation when lockdowns are finished to take advantage of services, socialising and finding a life beyond work again.

Though remaining community centres have continued to try and facilitate services despite perpetual cuts, more community support and activities will need to be provided to counter the rising levels of mental illness and addiction of the last 10 years. But not forgetting the ensuing consequence of multiple locks downs, this will be cheaper than exasperating the potential long term high volume of psychiatric services that will need to be funded and will overwhelm the NHS for some years to come!

Covid has only seen to accelerate and Illuminate the issues of social isolation that began many years ago, from only superficially interacting at work as part of the new culture, now in lockdown for many we have become merely a shadow for one another.

Notwithstanding, the prevalence of left wing ideological feminists dominating the social sciences today, when considering the melange of mental health concerns now visible in our society.

Are men being afforded the same level of care as that of their female counterparts?

​3. WHAT YOU WANT IS NOT THE SAME AS WHAT YOU NEED

In a short note, over the past 30 or so years, with the power of emotive advertising and the sale of available credit, we have seen an increasing level of debt that has been partially based on conveying the perception of what we need in our lives and the perception of technology we cannot live without. It must be iterated that advertisers have been employing psychology to market products for many years and further must be stated, they are now very good at convincing the public to part with their money. Often predicated on the flimsy narrative of technological upgrades, with the mobile phone the most prevalent and even pervasive in society, witnessing rises in prices of £200 or more with each new version, only a software tweak and even simply a cosmetic change.

With the prevalence of emotionally indoctrinated literature throughout the internet, it cannot come as a surprise that great numbers of the population are so susceptible to current advertising and evidently, why some technology manufacturers are among the richest in the world.

With the prevailing consequence of Covid 19, is this not the time to take a step back and to weigh any of the perceived benefits versus staying with your existing model or whether your contemplating buying a new product that you need now or at all. With the misguided and misrepresented belief in retail therapy, has only seen to make companies richer and for many a further debt to pay with a short span of psychological benefit.

4. Family and Support

The current epidemic has seen families creating support bubbles to ensure the welfare of one another. As we have seen in previous years with families struggling to juggle bills and put food on the table, in this crisis we saw people ensuring those in their bubbles, were supplied with food, their prescriptions were always collected and people supported each other in their isolation & loneliness.

Though the pandemic maybe under control by the end of 2021, this doubtless has consequences on the economic situation in relation to people in the most deprived areas, where unemployment and need for benefits are likely to continue for an undefinable length of time, while the government invests in infrastructure and the economy for some years to come.

In relation to the home, it has been a British culture of great pride for families, to see children leave home to move into their own property to start lives; alternatively adult children who have not left, have found jobs and may have bought new cars on HP. However, in these uncertain times would it not be better for families to stay together for longer, not making unnecessary purchases, saving for deposits on a first home, pooling incomes and supporting the family through sharing expenses?

No one chose the situation we now find ourselves, nevertheless the decisions we make now may have unforeseeable consequences that flow in multiple directions positive or negative. As in every crisis previously, it has invariably been the prevalence of the family in society; in support of one another, that has held the fabric together.

5. Affordable homes and homes available

It is no revelation to the public, that there is and has been a housing shortages for 15 years, this has been an issue of a great deal of contention. With a high volume of migrancy, the lack of investment into building more infrastructure from 1997, but not forgetting after the crash developers and construction companies went out of business, killing off much of the building trade.

Due to the current situation many surveys have not been undertaken so accurate figures are hard to find right now, though according to a .Gov report as of October 2019, there were 648,114 empty homes in England and 225,845 had been empty more than six months? In Scotland 39,100 homes, Wales 23,000 and Northern Ireland 19,111.

In the past four years there have been despite repeated complaints from Labour of empty homes that could help ease the housing crisis, in an emoov report 2019, 70.3% of vacant properties in England were in Labour run areas?

So why are councils not looking to their own empty properties and the local long term empty properties to help alleviate this problem, councils do have the power to make compulsory purchases of long term empty homes? Further the process of commissioning housing projects, sourcing of sites, and building new housing developments takes time.

As a consequence of Covid 19, due to redundancies and the reduction in employment we will need more council rented properties to support the ensuing crisis, though moreso this would have provided revenue into councils and local economies, despite this councils have been only interested in building student accommodation? Granted these projects have brought in revenue but has only seen to create greater disparity for residents with taxes diverted to projects they do not benefit from. Further still many of the building developments in the last 10 years have seen property building in areas where prices are out of the range of residents that again hold no benefit to locals, inviting in people from outside the area and still not alleviating local shortages, but also do not come with local amenities and only benefiting councils.

If we are to address the housing crisis then serious consideration will need to be taken when building large developments that factor local needs and requirements including:

  • What is the city’s housing shortage figure?
  • How many people are waiting for council properties?
  • What kind of properties are needed?
  • What is the local economic situation?
  • What are the prices of neighbouring properties?
  • What amenities / facilities are required to promote healthy growth of the local area?

Due to the outcome of Covid Crisis one consolation of people working from home, will see businesses looking to capitalise on savings from shedding increasingly redundant office space. Previously long partially filled offices have already been repurposed into hotel complexes and Councils will have many opportunities to purchase soon to be redundant buildings and repurpose into desperately needed affordable homes. With the housing crisis now desperate in the four kingdoms, the national administrations could ethically be purchasing long empty commercial space for national home building programmes. This potentially could have several benefits including:

  • Saving time and money on new projects
  • Office building in city centres are closer to amenities and jobs
  • It would relieve the long running moral debates over building on Greenfield site.
  • Where city and city centre office buildings could be repurposed, public transport links are already in place, reducing the need for cars and reducing pollutants.

In retrospect many of the private housing projects in recent decades have done little to resolve local housing issues and has only sort to widen the disparity of communities in the name of profit.

6. How we contribute to the deterioration of the community’s oxygen and life expectancy

There is a long held misconception that oxygen is free when in actuality our post-industrial lifestyle and our never-ending pursuit in the accumulation of things has made oxygen a costly commodity. But further that this is a finite resource that is our responsibility if we want to keep breathing.

The Extinction rebellion argument that it is solely the responsibility of government to correct this problem with electric vehicles, solar, wind and water power generation to be implemented and further that we need to convert farmland back into forests, this is nothing more than a political play. In the first instance the government does have a role to play in rolling out renewable technology and helping to develop fusion, but we are contributing to the pollution of our air everyday through the use of combustion engines for short journeys, powering our appliances and transporting food & goods.

If we are to reduce incidence of lung disorders and the degradation of our physical and mental health, we must play our part also.

As an ever growing species it is our responsibility to have some awareness of the facts of critical changes created by human civilisation. Though, it has become abundantly clear that any and all information distributed through media outlets is likely to have been politically tarnished, by cross referencing the most pervasive of facts that often have their origins in social media platforms we can more clearly make informed decisions about matters that affect us directly.

In the sphere of political motivation in the second incidence with regard to Extinction rebellion, they demanded that farmland be reverted back to forest as more trees would help combat climate change, by removing Co2 from the atmosphere, backed up with emotive statements such as ‘the amazon rain forest are the lungs of the world’!

In opposition to these statements and demands, in a UN report only around 6% of energy is drawn from wood as much of the world has been using coal now for more than 100 years and the result being that the earth has more trees now than in the 19th century. On a more negative note earth is greener now than in the last 300 years due to the levels of Co2 being produced. To make a clarification to the statement of the Amazon rainforest being the lungs of the world, there have been many scientific papers published in the last 30 years or so that debunk this narrative, illustrating that Trees produce at best 20% and at worst only 8-9% of the world’s oxygen. In a global emergency that may ensue ultimately an extinction event facts are everything, although we have further been told that we have 10 years to turn this around with some stating that we have already past the point of no return. It has been shown in counter studies that it is in fact earth’s oceans that supply the other 80 – 92% of our oxygen, more specifically algae and plankton. Due to large-scale disasters like volcanoes several mile long algae slicks have appeared in the ocean to absorb Carbon Dioxide.

Research, is being conducted and tested, in the industrial use of Algae as a means to reduce Co2 and circulate oxygen in the urban environments, which will perhaps help to reverse the falling air quality.

A technological advancement would see an invention called the Photobioreactor applied to the ISS in 2018; however, these Co2 scrubbers are looking to be applied to the climate change issue, though the most important component of this technology is still the Green Algae, where the application for decarbonising the environment is not a new idea. In developing algae farms when placed near high areas of pollution, these farms could serve to replace the Co2 by-product with oxygen. Certainly, it does bare thought in relation to places such as Heathrow Airport but what about applications in other settings:

  • In city centres, the building of Photobioreactor may be a viable solution in consuming much of the carbon dioxide from urban traffic.
  • While infrastructure is being upgraded, renewables, nuclear and eventually Fusion, applying these kinds of apparatus to filtration systems of coal fired power station chimneys.
  • However, as a more low-tech solution, could more easily see the application of Algae farms to power station sites.
  • A final application of the Algae farm could see the creation of city gardens and taller buildings with flat roofs.

All applications of this naturally occurring life form are still being explored but currently green algae is being applied as fuel for biomass and unlike blue-green or red Algae is considered safer and does occur naturally in fresh water. Even garden moss absorbs Co2 showing that nature has a wide variety of life that feed on by-products from industry and ourselves. In this fight against the apparent danger of polluted urban communities, we must explore all avenues for the most effective and applicable methods in saving the world habitat. In an analysis of our options and the situation presented to us, we as a species must go further to learn all we can, ready to lead in this emergency, not be led by those who have personal agendas; but ultimately support & point Government in the right direction in unprecedented times.

As a species we have a tendency to fight against what we perceive to be the inevitable and in that vein humanity has been known to change the course of history when it is imperative.

Although, if we consider that we only have a finite amount of time, placing all your eggs in one basket to solve such a vital issue is misguided, especially when that action is based on disputed or even debunked science.

However, not discrediting the relevance of trees they do serve a vital function in the ecological system, including that they do absorb Co2, but further still, they provide habitats for varying species of animal and plant life, not to mention that they help stop flooding.

What must be considered in the implementation of renewable energy technologies, they are relative new in the national grid, with infrastructure being an ongoing construction project and these technologies only as reliable as the weather permitting in regards to solar & wind.

We as consumers are tapping the power grid exponentially and must consider our contribution to Co2 levels, especially if you want to breathe cleaner air more immediately in this new decade.

Once this Corona virus phase is under control probably by the beginning of 2022, greenhouse gases will likely return to pre 2020 concentrations.

Below there are a number of examples of power conservations that we can implement as a nation to support the health of our communities and the ecological system damaged by our actions:

  • We have become reliant on our cars to make school runs, commute to work and even visit local shops and there are many commuters that need to travel greater distances to reach their place of work. But in many short distance commutes these could be accomplished by bus, train, cycling or even walking.
  • In the situation of school runs many are only a few street away and at peak times where possible walking may only take a few minutes longer but contribute to better health a situation that is no different when visiting local shops.
  • As a result of Covid 19 we are likely to see a permanent change in work commuting, with office based workers only being expected to travel work premises once or twice a week and some even less. Once again to avoid travelling by car in peak times accept in a longer commute, opting to use public transport and cycling or even walking would go a long way to improving air quality, improving mental health and longevity.
  • Another alteration that can be applied to the weekly routine is varying the times when we go to retail outlets to avoid peak times as best we can, but further patronising our local corner shop/post office for food. People have become a custom to buying certain brands for the foods they enjoy, but this is often due to the fact that they are the brands the supermarkets supply and your corner shop will offer more local brands that may be just as good and did not require travelling by car.

Simply reviewing the history of the 20th century, ideas that were forgotten with the birth of the Atomic age, where in the US during the 1950’s, Ford had showcased the future of the car with the concept of the Nucleon, further the US Air force were to convert two B-36s in the MX-1589 project. The NB-36H had been modified to carry a nuclear reactor, however, this was never connected to the engines and the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion programme was cancelled by President Kennedy in his annual Budget message to congress in 1961. Notwithstanding, in our current stage of technology, with Mini nuclear reactors and 60 years of accumulated experience, would this not serve as a viable stop gap until the rollout of fusion reactors, to support air quality and emissions targets.

Specifically, we would looking to persuade government to encourage the use of nuclear propulsion in Commercial Freight, Lorries, Trains and Aircraft, this is not ultimately a solution, as there are ongoing waste issues, though in concert with other alternative energy solutions, this is a source worth pursuing in our current situation, when considering the nuclear ships can run for 10 years before refuelling. The ensuing issue that has always remained over the past 60 years has been the ethical storage or disposal of depleted nuclear material of which is disputed.

Furthermore, what of our use of power stations, every year people are accumulating more electrical items many that remain plugged in and running or on standby?

There are phones, tablets, TVs, Bluray players, PCs, games machines, laptops and lights but what about how many times a week you run the washing machine or the tumble dryer?

  • When was your boiler last serviced?
  • All of these require fuel that have an effect elsewhere, so how many of the entertainment and communication devices need to be switched on all the time?
  • How many times a week do you need to run you washing machine, larger load less frequently or small loads more frequently?
  • Do you always need your tumble dryer after washing, when best way that leaves clothes at their freshest is to hang them on the line, weather permitting?
  • How many lights do you need on in the house and when you are not using the room? Using available daylight and turning off unneeded lights all make a contribution to conservation.
  • Even turning down the gas or the rings when cooking, supports conservation.

In our daily lives each day we make decisions that contribute to further production of CO2 and at a local level the contamination of our oxygen supply.

In a final analysis, one further action that can be made is to continue petitioning government to legislate for manufacturers to continue to reduce the power consumption of their electrical products.

7. Healthy or unhealthy

Regular evaluation and care of our own health is paramount and has always been the responsibility of the individual and the family through the choices we make. For 15 years there has been a push to make takeaway and junk food evermore accessible, though in a strange turn of events one of the consequences of the corona virus pandemic, specifically the lockdown would see families cooking from scratch as there grandparent had done before them. A vital contributor of our physical and mental health has been reintroduced to our lives.

Although many have continued their eating habits and this healthy change in lifestyle may in the long run merely be seen as a fad of 2020, only to return to the homogenised, semi-manufactured, processed and unidentified chemical/additive based designer foods, portrayed as healthy or the food of choice.

In preparing our meals from scratch, the choosing of ingredients through the process of cooking to the outcome, these are all mechanisms for stress relief and better bowel health. Furthermore not forgetting the time that we eat dinner, these were among the first casualties of our 21st century lifestyles, further still with the length of this neglect to our mental and physical state it will take time to find individual equilibrium.

Nevertheless, a small deviation just as side note, if we go out into the world wearing our better clothes when going to the shops or simply out of the house and interacting with one another; this can help improve how we feel about ourselves and the response of others, supporting our mood. We must express the best of ourselves in our individuality to be better and promote a better society.

One of the tools for coping with trials and tribulation of our chaotic lives was engaging in competitive sport and activities. For many in this country the only activity away from work has been attending the local gym or at worst gaming.

The athletic pursuits in our lives can greatly support our physical and mental wellbeing whether this be Football, Rugby, Cricket, Martial arts, boxing and swimming. Even regular cycling and walking,

certainly in the last 11 years we have seen a dramatic fall in prosperity, longer working hours, greater debt, the worst quality of food and much less free time for personal activities, finally alcohol has become a luxury. Up until the late 1990’s morning television included a 10 – 15 minute workout slot with various instructors over the years that would end with the much loved Mr Motivator, though it has never been clear why this was removed?

Unquestionably, in the last 10 years the NHS has been pushing people to eat more healthily and to exercise, but just to get exercise. Now government run support scheme for better health seem to be solely for women, but gives little incentive to support men who are struggling, when you consider the extravagant price of Gyms and Swimming fees? For many simply exercising like running or going to the Gym and measuring success by lifting more or running further or longer was not enough of an incentive to keep going and what happened to having fun while you were doing it? The answer was always socially active competitive sport like many of the examples mentioned above, but for those that feel these are too strenuous an activity there are football teams for the retired and over 60’s.

8. Technology and junk food

For those of us that grow up in the 1980’s with home computers are only too aware of the addictive nature of computer games, but to counterbalance this activity we played sports and would go out with friends. If this didn’t happen in any given week our parents would force us to go out and get exercise.

The very nature of computer games is that they are a stimulant feeding the brain like sweets. Children and Adults spend a considerable amount of their free time gaming consuming a lot of cognitive function and raising Dopamine.

When we are not at our consoles, on our phones or consuming copious amounts of junk food of which we are accustom even dependent, with a drop in dopamine coupled with the difficulties in our lives become unhappiness and depression, an inability to cope!

But what of diabetes, obesity, ME, Fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, cancer, anorexia, bulimia, dementia, schizophrenia, asthma, COPD and others?

This is about living well and as a nation we must take control of our health, we need to start thinking for ourselves again as many of the illnesses in our ‘modern society’ that have and will blight our lives can be reduced or even avoided by the choices we make. Evidentially, the chances of contracting colds and spreading viruses can be reduced by our actions, as an individual introducing a balanced diet and exercising, reduces stress and decreases your susceptibility to illnesses.

Monitoring our health, administering good self-care and making time to see your doctor when there are problems, can reduce the strain on the NHS caused by poor lifestyle choices like regular colds, or illnesses that if spotted sooner would have been easier to treat. The perfect example in winter with waiting rooms full of people claiming influenza after 3 to 5 days to ask for antibiotics, when in reality you would not be able to get out bed if you did. This leaving people with more serious ailments and the elderly unable to secure appointments for weeks at a time, but not forgetting that the waiting room just became the new one stop shop for viruses.

The spread of disease has been understood since the time of the pharaohs, even the nursery ‘rhyme ring a ring a roses’ which was about the plague mentions sneezing. Nevertheless, for all of our understanding of how infection can be spread, modern medicine, closed sewers, indoors plumbing, daily washing and the invention of antibiotics, we have become complacent.

Every year millions contract colds and flu, then thousands die from the flu! What we see on a daily basis is that people either do not cover their mouths and noses or use their hands to cover their faces when they cough or sneeze? So they either spread germs into the open air or pass germs by touch until washed, though handkerchiefs are considered dirty the use of tissues or your sleeve are better options.

The public either do not think or simply do not care about the impact of their actions, with conscious self-management as a community and as a nation would go a long way to reduce the spread of seasonal infections. By example the ebb and the flow in the spread of the Corona virus has been closely documented and has shown is directly related to our behaviour and the lack of interest demonstrated by some, which is no different to any other type of infection.

Cleaning our hands regularly when we are out, washing our hands before and after meals, washing ourselves and our hands after we have spent a longer time in the toilet, these are extras that can support a safer environment when conducted as a matter of course as a nation. However, not surprisingly such practices are nothing new and have been understood on and off for millennia.

9. Pharmaceuticals and our abuse

There are two issue pertaining to the pace of our lives in relation to illness, firstly our dependence on antibiotics and over the counter remedies. Our abuse of these has led to antibiotic resistant strains or superbugs, liver damage and imbalances in gut flora. Through not adhering to the regime of antibiotics many infectious strains are immune to many of these drugs and repeated use on a regular basis has left our immune systems compromised.

Further, the delicate balance of bacteria and yeast flora that aid in digestion have been damaged with bacteria all but wiped out and yeast overgrowth causing many of minor to more serious ailments that plague our lives and pharmaceutical remedies can with prolonged use leading to liver damage.

We cannot just believe our action are simply our own, humans have a hive mentality and are more likely to think in the same way about the same situations, though the NHS will emphasise the importance of adhering to drug regimes and most will be conscientious following the rules, as with many situations in our lives there are those that will unconscientiously dismiss the consequences of their actions.

10. To Sleep or not to Sleep

Though the second issue pertaining to the pace of our lives that does not get enough coverage in relation to degrading physical and mental health, is sleep or the lack of quality time sleeping. It has been suggested that in the 1980’s the nations average amount of sleep per night was 7 ½ hours, by contrast in the last 15 to 20 years this has dropped to 5 ½ hours! As it stands, if the average person needs to be up for work at 6.00 in the morning and will likely go to bed at 11.30 or 12.00 at this point you are rushing towards 6.00.

But firstly what were you doing before you went to sleep? Likely you were either using your mobile phone or watching television, but both stimulate the mind, not really conjunctive to quality rest and supporting normal circadian rhythms. Though further recently there has been an argument suggesting that the length of quality sleep is different for everyone?

Certainly in the last 50 – 60 years the recommendation has been 8 hours, in considering the fact that a lack of quality sleep over time leads to mental illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer’s, but more immediately cognitive impairment including damage to the short term memory.

  • Another factor that many fail to consider is that the recommendation is 8 hours in sleep and there is an undefined length of time from going to bed to REM state beginning, this depending on how active the mind is at that time?
  • Meaning that 8 hours in bed becomes 7 ½ to 7 hours of sleep potentially and the quality lowers or even less time in sleep is experienced depending on how stressed or worried you are at the time.

It is ultimately for the individual to decide how much time they spend sleeping per night but considering the plethora of evidence linking health and sleep this needs to be an informed choice.

11. Covid an ensuing legacy

In evaluating the global response to the Covid epidemic, this has invariably left some unanswered questions in relation to the British & European V Southeast Asian response, but further still why have immune responses differed between races and even within?

However, without a vaccine, a fundamental question that must be broached, for 60 years science fiction and horror writers have been telling tales of viruses that could bring man’s extinction. Even during the cold war, the Americans had speculated the possibility of future enemy attack via chemical and biological warfare, in the film the Andromeda strain America had a contingency plan for fighting deadly pathogens.

In that situation, they had designed purpose build containment and research facilities to expose and try to fight what would turnout to be an alien virus that had been wiping out towns and villages. So why were there no protocols for a proactive response to the news of a new potential pandemic among nations or the WHO spreading from the other side of the world? In an uneasy potential stalemate between us and the virus’ future mutations, we have known that this was coming for sometime and if we are completely honest, so far we have gotten off lightly as we have seen with previous biological threats this could been far worse, we have been expecting far worse!

In future, we will need standard Global protocols that halt the spread of potential threats with contingencies once the virus has reached populations, most of which we have endured this past year that include:

  • Prime Ministers warning of a potential threat on the way and what are part will be in curbing that threat.
  • Border closures
  • Quarantining
  • University and pharmaceutical facilities ready to turn resources to pending threats with government instruction.
  • Hospital preparedness and emergency protocols
  • Curfews
  • Controls on city and regional movement
  • Stay at home

The public does not want to return to the events of the last year, though our behaviour had a direct impact even as a minority on the health of the nation. If we do not want see the costly events of 2020/21, then as previously iterated if we are not more vigilant in the face of ensuing storms we will see maybe more than this virus has had to offer and a return to the most draconian of measures that infringed our civil liberties. Although we have the technology to track and control virus’ always remember Captain Trips.

12. Between the old order and the ensuing snow storm

Until 2020, our society had been extending toward infinite velocity, life moving at such a pace that the consequential acceleration started fraying neurons, stripping away our memory and our ability to reason. In the all-encompassing blizzard we lost sight of any kind of sanity as we were swept along in its wake. Until the end of 2019, the working week had been 42+ hours on average, though many of us working a great deal more.

During the first Lock down, which you could illustrate as a scene from the day after tomorrow or the original survivors, you start to remember life as it was. Which incidentally since 2012, has appeared like a tangent universe and an ensuing chaos with work the only schedule.

However, we did not always live this way, for those that can remember clearly the 1980s there were a number of fixed point in our 7 day week of which we would navigate by. Although it must be highlight that industry was closing and unemployment 4M+.

  • Though it must be expressed that despite the largest fixed point of our week was work, the average time spent was 35 hours! Another rather important fixed point and notable difference in our lives was that until 1990 it was illegal for businesses to open on a Sunday, as this being a day of Christian rest. You would have found some corner shops and then later only the local petrol station, unless you were to attend a morning service the only open place was the Local pub.

If you were a football fan then you would see your favourite team play with a season ticket at £26 – £100, a match ticket at £1.20 – £8.00, this was very much a family pass time! But most importantly a more relaxed time in the pub. Although the day would have evolved around the Sunday Roast, despite surprisingly still a ritual today in Britain, with the 7 day working week the day no longer evolves around it.

But finally with Music culturally an imperative in our functioning lives, the Chart shows of Radio 1 and Capital FM, listening in and even recording the new releases of the week. Truly a day of rest and socialising for the Nation, before the start of the new working week!

  • Our evening entertainment of the working week had been a constant war for some 40 years between the BBC and ITV to produce the best comedies, drama & soap operas. With the TV times or Radio times you could schedule your evenings by the programmes broadcast, though not forgetting you still had your favourite radio shows. However even by the standard of the day could not compare with Christmas programming a paradox or extinction event of films and television, the money spent to cater to children, families and adults that could blow minds with disbelief!
  • Friday truly the special day of the week, with this being payday and 5.30 the start of weekend, further if you lived in London then ITV would change to LWT(London Weekend Television) with this a different schedule of programming and the BBC showing Top of the Pops to see your favourite bands & Artists. Friends and Colleagues going to Pubs, Clubs and the Cinema (£1.50 ticket) as a matter of cause to unwind & socialise after a hard week at work, with average price of a pint at 80p. Further still if you were staying in you could go the video shop and rent the latest movies on release.
  • Finally Saturday’s fixed points were Shopping day but also the day you went to record shops to look at the latest singles and album releases you heard on last Sunday’s chart show & through the week, not forgetting even seeing your Team play, leaving evenings free to out at all of the above and local restaurants.
  • Moreover, it must be iterated that wages are relative to the cost of living with the lowest wage at under £3.86 and on average £7.76. The cost of living was simply lower than today!

In contrast, between the order of the past and the ensuing chaos of the 24/7 everything available at once lifestyle, it is transparent that life has been simpler with a full social life, freer from stress and reason to be happy, all of which are now absent!

Despite being constantly reminded of the forced belief life has never been better, why has our world been increasingly intolerant of life?

Further, a question that must be iterated, is why the cost of goods and services, greatly outstripped the rate of inflation?

​​13. A FIVE NATION COMMUNITY

In the last 3 decades, there has been less interaction socially within the four nations, where generation have been trained to look to the EU; this has allowed nefarious and clandestine agendas to drive a wedge between nations. This undermining any work that people have done to close the divide and seen a rise in young generations of England openly supporting the IRA with a hatred of his or her own country? We need to do more and work as a nation socially as well as politically to start dispelling myths of English hatred; we are kin in the Blood and not a business deal or political contract. However, this must include the Irish republic, as we are not just trading partners, Irish genes account for some 20% of English blood. We would like to propose the nations to interact more within the Kingdom, beginning with more internation sport:

  • The reinstatement of the four nations Football, though to also include the Irish republic
  • Further still, potentially this should include such tournaments as Olympic and World games pre championships for the support of competitors. Though also, social interaction between nations, but also the sports of Cricket, Tennis, Rugby and more.

​14. NHS

In an analysis of one of Britain’s largest and most cherished Institutions, too many accounts of failing have been witnessed in the past 25 years or more. However, in that analysis for each observation of failings that require change or improvement, contributing factors and explanations that have been formulated or surmised, were only to be countered with statements that contradict any explanation. By recent accounts and in relation to unfolding political events, we may have another foothold situation.

We would challenge anyone to unravel the systemic issues that have plagued this Institution. In honest reflection of the matter, our pride in the creation of this grand achievement has blinded us to the growing limitations of our health service, where rival nations have surpassed us in their overall provision of care. In recent observations at the point of entry in emergency situations, we have a very high standard, however in other areas such as cancer treatment we lag behind many of our counterparts.

In response to recent failings in the health service, the Government is to take measures that will see them relinquish much of their responsibility, a perhaps welcome development as the NHS has not operated as well since delegating responsibility to self-management and private companies. Nevertheless, this Government will need to make a Top down investigation into the way Hospitals and trusts are run, to gain any true prospective of the reasons for the systemic failings before being able to make changes, a hope that we and the public will be holding our breath for! However, we would speculate that many of the independent assertions made over the years may prove to be true, but further still, after the government’s intervention, some of the problems and issues simply evaporate.

In 2014, the public were asked whether they would pay more to ensure the strength of the NHS, the public were happy to pay more, consequently no changes were made. What is apparent is that new funding strategies need to be formulated, with an already stretched service, the strain of mental health support and the scandal of nursing home care over the course the century so far. The care sector will need to be brought into the NHS; our families should be receiving the care that they spent 40+ years paying Taxes & National Insurance contributions paying their own way.

According to NHS Digital data in April 2013, there were 56M patients attending surgeries, with the mergers of medical practices and an increase population size by 2020, there were 60.3M people registered. This was an 8% rise in the population vying for community medical care and effectively a 4M rise in patients. Notwithstanding, throughout the Kingdom there have been scores of surgery closures, with some of the greatest losses during the Covid Crisis.

It had already been difficult enough to book a GP appointment prior to 2020, in the next year there will be sharp fall in the number patients securing an appointment, unless there is a serious investigation into how city councils run district health care. The resulting consequence may see an already previously swamped A&E being further filled with patients seeking medical support.

As many may not be aware, unakin to Hospitals GP Practices are not a part of the NHS in the same way, where GP’s are run as small businesses governing their own budget. Further still paying their own Indemnity insurance, however in parallel, with rising litigation surgeries are paying as much 25% a year, effectively insurance of £1700 16 years ago to as much as £10K by 2017.

We would ask, is this the best way for our Surgeries to operate, with expanding practices and the long austerity measures have not been conducive to patient care, do we need to look at local & National government having a more direct influence on GP care? Furthermore, with the size of patient lists in many area and regions, a new Government framework to effectively, add new surgeries and Clinics to rebalance the current urgency in the GP network is desperately needed.

15. The Centre of Social life

There is a plethora of data going back decades that clearly defines the dichotomy in the reality between long term social drinking and drinking alone. In Britain the Pub has been a beating heart of the community for a 1000 years, a regular social event that would bring joy to millions as a fanfare to mark the end of a hard working week to meet friends and family for conversation, fun, sport, meals out and quite Sunday afternoons; though most importantly to alleviate the stresses and shed the stressors even temporarily that plague our working week and lives. We as British people are no heavier drinkers than our Northern European counterparts are and in areas where alcoholism has been, most prevalent is in direct relation to poverty, but moreso the suffering local economies and social decay.

Alcoholism is not a problem of society it is a systemic symptom of social dystopia and issue of mental illness, the alarm bell that the community is suffering from economic or political failure, alcohol is the right of people to bring happiness and deal with pressures of their lives, but is not the same thing as Alcoholism.

With the EU intervention to curb drinking in member states through levying high taxes on alcohol bought in Pubs, clubs and restaurants drove drinking underground unchecked and unmetered. The ensuing storm of Alcoholism plaguing British society has never been higher until 2019, from the early millennium the missing symptom that would fuel this cancer on society would be supermarkets selling alcohol cheaply.

Traditionally the treat of imbibing alcohol had been more associated with going out than staying in (barring Christmas, Birthdays and Parties), but with the economic crash, loss of jobs, stagnancy in wages, debt and the rise in living costs staying in literally became the new going out and supermarket alcohol smoothed the way to make this more bearable. Although never quite alleviating the painfully long dark British winters of which there have been too many to think about, many drinking alone, unable to vent their frustrations, then only numbing and internalising their pain & anguish, with the disparity in society ensuing over the last 10 years, high levels of mental illness have become prevalent with Alcoholism an inevitable symptom. A terrifying revelation if the public had not already been aware of the precarious relationships and inevitable consequence, leaving people to reflect this

suspicious consensus of logic; what was the real reasons behind this legislation more taxation or something nefarious in nature?

Where Drinking in communities border on abuse the failings of local government and economy need to be sort and addressed, though to advise and campaign for healthier attitudes towards alcohol are sensible and moral, to impose restrictions will only seek to further damage the economy, remove jobs and end community behaviour.

Now the ensuance of mental health has gone into free fall since March 2020, alcoholism does not make a society unhealthy; disparity leading to an unhealthy society makes people unwell and can drive them harder to drink.

It must be however, addressed that for the same reasons of an unhealthy society, due to difficulty in meeting the demands of this wonderful and modern world, with little support in local services and outreach programmes. There has also been a steady increase in the use of prescription and illegal drugs, which has been a further symptom of our decaying communities only to be exasperated by lockdown. Nevertheless, just as disturbing as with Alcoholism this form of addition cannot be age classified with 6% + frequent users in 2020 in a .Gov report for England and Wales. According to Health Scotland, this figure was 1 in 60 in 2018.

For a number of years CAMRA (campaign for real ale) has written many articles asking for duty to be lowered and promoting the benefits of local establishments.

However in the past 20 years we have lost far too many of our pubs, 25% by 2018, but this industry contributes £23b per year to the economy and £13b in tax, with 900,000 employees although this was around 2019?

With the closure of this vital organ in many of our communities urban and rural alike, has facilitated to a death of society and local economies. Closing these speak easy environments and the sheer cost of a pint of beer in relation to the cost living, contrast to the fall in wages in the past 11 years has greatly contributed to the increased rates of depression, but also greatly lowered the rates of social interaction. If the lockdowns resulting from the pandemic are any measure, this has only highlighted the British public’s need for public houses.

Happier people are better workers and are less of a strain on public services and the treasury, further still reasonably priced alcohol in a controlled and social environment means more money into the community and more money into the public purse. The fundamental nature of Public houses are that they are deep rooted and mass closures of these Center’s of social life with a wholesale embargo/ abstinence attitude or be punished has been seen as a frontal assault on British culture one that we will not forgive or easily forget!

The final nail in the coffin for those closed pubs was that they were sold to developers repurposed or even demolished for luxury homes, in many areas out of the price range of local residents and leaving no trace of what the land formally held.

Between 1918 and 1939, British breweries started the inter-war pub programme to build 5000 new pubs to attract women and families into their establishments replacing the debauched drinking dens. As a result this would create some of the finest examples of British reproduction buildings as Pub in the Kingdom, that were held with great pride in towns and cities, later becoming listed, but now many gone and just the memory of those who frequented them or just photographic history.

We propose and advocate repopulating the nation with public houses, though as with the inter-war building programme, Pubs should be built to encompass the traditional grandeur that many of our drinking establishments used to boast as Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian and Elizabethan. Though these are reproduction as with their predecessors they should reflect our heritage and with pride. But further as with the previous restoration programme these should hold such facilities as function rooms, ballrooms, games rooms, stages, restaurants and gardens.

We need the support of you the public to address this issue with a number of steps needing to be taken to facilitate a positive climate for a rebirth in this very British project:

  • First of all it was the oppressive tax levy added to alcohol in the name of preventing alcoholism that actually caused this situation and we want to petition the government to lower this tax and allow the pubs to flourish through socially accessible drinking to promote local economies and growth of the workforce.
  • Tax incentives for the promotion of opening and building new pubs
  • Extra support for new independent pubs with Licensing
  • We need to collaborate with groups such as CAMRA and British Beer and Pub Association to try encourage the major breweries to start a new programme similar to inter-war pub building initiative.

In the ongoing lockdown, the need for social and group activity, venting frustration, drinking and celebrating is understandably a pressure cooker right now. This will likely see a huge boost in the economy and just like after the Second World War perhaps a new baby boom and coupling all in all a return to the belief in hope and prosperity in our future.

Finally in retrospect, the current culture of ‘do what you want, be who you want be’ is factually a contradiction that invalidates individuality and replaces this with collectivism, as individuality through the indoctrinated narrative. Such ideology flies directly in the face of the fundamental core principle that has held Anglo and then western culture together.

This stating we have the right to express our beliefs and hold individual thought; this does not negate the fact that in Anglo culture there is the right for others to challenge our beliefs and ideas, though further still the right for an evolving society to challenge outmoded ideology. However, neither side in any debate can be allowed the use of censorship to silence counter opinion that may reflect the national and cultural consensus, especially when it is apparent that censoring instruments are being applied to the opinion that contradicts the loudest narrative.

As long as festering conceptions and dangerous ideologies are not properly aired and debated, it only compounds situations that consume the fabric that holds society.

Copyright © Stephen Pryor 2021

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