Did you brave the chill last night and join the “Clap for Heroes?”
It seems that the latest version of this popular initiative has struggled to achieve the same response, so far anyway.
The weather and darker hours will certainly not help it but neither of course will the somewhat toxic response that the initiative’s founder, Annemarie Plas, received when she floated the idea of its return.
Annemarie has faced a torrent of abuse and has since distanced herself from the rebooted version reminding observers;
"I have no political agenda, I am not employed by the government, I do not work in PR, I am just an average mum at home trying to cope with the lockdown situation," she said, in a statement.
She said the newly revived clap could and should still happen at 20:00 GMT.
"It's up to each person to decide how relevant or worthwhile they feel it is to participate,"
Maybe there is some apathy (we hope not) or perhaps, as many have commented on social media, the time for gestures is over and the focus should be on simply wearing a mask and 'doing one's bit’.
It is interesting to note that Annemarie reminded people that she is ‘just an average mum’. Right now, parents and guardians across the UK are back to juggling work/life and the demands of homeschooling.
Many of them will be teachers, who are now in a hugely pressured situation as both employee, parent and carer. My mum was a teacher and I often saw her working evenings and increasingly long weekends when I was growing up.
The nudge nudge narrative around extra holidays has never washed with me and is a key part of the mission of Welbee where we are working to improve awareness and levels of teacher wellbeing.
Teachers work incredibly hard and this pandemic has only made their professional and personal lives more challenging. However we cheer our key workers this year. Whatever thoughts, gestures, initiatives or policies are put in place, we must remember our teachers, who are so often at the front line of care.
