Teamwork is needed to overcome so many challenges!

Global warming, the pandemic, political sleaze, care home staff shortages, the homeless still homeless .... which problem to choose from so many to highlight? Children see issues in simple terms without complications; maybe I am becoming childish, seeing things too simply!

For our news to be distracted by "sleaze" during COP26 makes me wonder if fossil fuel industries orchestrated politicians and the press! Global warming is the largest and most immediate crisis; the COP26 agreement has made a deep scratch, but only a scratch on the surface of what needs to be done. It will be 2095 before today's primary school children reach my present age. What then?

Covid19 continues, but we seem to have settled for ‘living with the disease’. TV news illustrates personal tragedies, which are awful, but 150 deaths a week has become just a statistic - though absolutely not to friends and family around those who have died. 150 deaths a week would not normally be acceptable. We rightly remember those lost in war on Remembrance Sunday, including those who worked in logistics regiments. But also, in a different light, we should remember it was the military logistics team that came to get vaccinations going so efficiently.

Afghanistan and Belarus make dreadful news, along with others. Little is heard of them in the main news, but the victims are all real people with real families whose hopes and desires are in ruins. 2,000 migrants trapped in Belarus, two million near to starving in Afghanistan. Before 2095 there will be worse calamities in countries ruined by drought or drowned by rising sea levels. This has already started; the big gap in the COP26 agreement is the need for all who can afford it to provide help to those that don't have the money to adapt.

Some recent good news: George Linnane was rescued by 300 volunteers from an unpronounceable cavern in mid-Wales. When it was suggested that George should pay for the rescue, an astonished volunteer said there was no bill - everyone gave their time and effort for free. The rescuers knew it could have been any one of them and were happier to be a rescuer than a victim. We are all more or less equipped for life but do not know what disasters may happen. The message is that we should rally around to provide whatever help we can to whoever needs it, never mind the cost - or, for cavers, the risk!

Political sleaze needs to be rooted out, but it is a distraction from immediate issues and not new. Many reports use events just to poke criticism at other politicians. Everyone makes mistakes; in seven years in the foodbank I made many; every procedure which seemed excellent had its roots in a blunder that needed correction. There is an American saying; "you can recognise a pioneer by the number of arrows in his rear". The first days of the pandemic were certainly unknown territory; track and trace was a good idea badly implemented; vaccines had globs of money thrown at them but worked brilliantly; the EU proceeded carefully, but got crotchety when they were behind in ordering vaccines!

The cave rescuers give us an example - there are a great many and a huge variety of obstacles, but everyone has a small part to play, all working together as a team!