I’m not sure whether it is physically possible for your spirits to soar while your blood runs cold?
If it is then it happened to me when I heard our Prime Minister announce that maths would become compulsory up to the age of 18.
My spirits soared because even a casual glance of the direction of professional employment tells you that mathematics is becoming ever more important. Digital, Artificial Intelligence, programming and the like are here to stay. We need a digital skills revolution and maths is at the heart of it.
Most commentators recognise that greater focus on STEM subjects – especially among girls – is the key to progressing UK productivity. The PM is right to focus on this and to be applauded for wanting to do something about it.
My blood ran cold because I hate and hated maths. I wish I had paid more attention in school but it was as a foreign language to me. I still hear the whistle of the wood-backed blackboard duster coming towards me launched by my increasingly exasperated high school maths teacher! Future generations will at least be better prepared than I was.
Just before Christmas I attended a CPRE reception in the House of Commons and signed up to become a hedgerow champion. In rural North Dorset we are lucky to have so many mature hedges and it is encouraging to travel around the constituency to see so many more being planted.
The initiative to plant a hedge across the whole of the county is symbolic and welcome. Hedges provide a source of protection and food for so many birds, small mammals and indeed reptiles. They are green corridors sustaining many many lives as well as helping the wider climate environment. If a dog is not just for Christmas then a hedge is not just for a farmer’s field.
Irrespective of the size of our gardens we all have fences or walls marking out our properties. Any such boundary could also contain a hedge, even if only a few feet long. Any garden centre and many websites can give advice on which species to plant.
During the war we lost thousands of miles of hedging and it is slowly being restored. We can all play our part – children and grandchildren enjoy planting them and everyone can appreciate the home for wildlife that can be created. Bare root plants are relatively inexpensive. I really would encourage you to have a go.
I joined a countywide discussion regarding Dorset NHS provision. Everyone will be alert to the pressures being placed on the NHS. I was encouraged to hear of the collaborative planning being done by our local providers. It won’t make us perfect but it does add resilience.
