March Theta 1

10cm x 15cm (approx. 4″ x 6″).  Uni-Pin pens and graphite pencil on acid-free cartridge paper.

The product of a couple of evenings work here.

Imagination

10cm x 10cm (approx. 4″ x 4″).  UniPin pens, Inktense pencils with wash and UniBall Sparkle gel pen in gold.

Just an experiment with a quote.  I’m not entirely sure that it works.

Crazy Time

Work has been manic and very stressful at times.  You’d think that after a full school inspection some of the pressure would ease off.  Not a chance.  Or maybe it has a little, but the staff, including myself, are exhausted mentally and emotionally and are struggling on.

I was away for the best part of a week with some kind of stomach ‘flu or bug.  Usually, I’d bounce back in a couple of days, but this one had me laid low.  On my return I was faced with staff friends stressed out about one thing or another, complaining about the behaviour and attitude of pupils and telling me about the incidents I’d missed while I’d been away.  Incidents that shocked me.  I had issues to deal with nearly every lesson; one of my tutor group arrived in my room in floods of tears stressed about school work and other things, another sensitive boy lost it in another lesson as the boys wouldn’t leave him alone when he was feeling a bit overwhelmed, another pupil had left a class because the boys were picking on her because her gran had died the night before.  All in two hours or so of arriving there.

The NHS

I’ve been getting on my high horse about the UK’s government’s plans to privatise the NHS through the back door.

I’m appalled at our present society.  The NHS, and the welfare state, are paid for by the British tax and National Insurance payers.  They are not owned by the government; the government is merely the administrator.  We, the tax payers own the NHS, as well as everything our taxes have paid for.  They have absolutely no right to sell them off without balloting the people.

It is not our fault the government and country is in dire financial straits.  It is wrong that our taxes are used to bail out the banks and other organisations.  It is wrong that the common people are hit by rising taxes, while the rich are given tax breaks when those who are most in need have to sell their homes, possessions in order to receive the care they need; this will only get worse if we end up having to pay for health care.  I’m sure our nation’s dental health has suffered as a result of the changes made in charges for dental care over the years.

We’re supposed to be a civilised, caring society where all have access to the care they need, regardless of their ability to pay.  Health care isn’t a business, it’s a basic human right, same as education, which has become a factory production line.

I signed a petition about the changes to the NHS and contacted my local MP.

If you’re in the UK and are reading this, you too can sign the petition at the 38degrees website.   In fact, please, please, please sign it.

It’s time the people realise that the government is answerable to us, the voters, that we expect them to manage things to take care of the society that contributes to the running of the country not the people who foul up financially, such as the banks, or to look after those who don’t need looking after as they are obscenely rich.

It seems that the government is stealing from the poorer echelons of society (and that includes the middle classes and professional people) in order to make sure the rich become richer.