LovelyYoungColleague – like so many of my teacher friends – has had the year from Hell. Planning every night into the wee small hours: lessons for children who may or may not be in the classroom; may or may not have caught last week’s topic introduction; may have access to internet at home but, given the extreme poverty of the catchment, probably haven’t.  

LovelyYoungColleague has regularly had to teach, simultaneously, both the children in front of her in the classroom and the children trying to follow the lesson from home on their mum’s phone.

LovelyYoungColleague has only been able to see her mum and sisters a couple of times in the last year; has seen her boyfriend only intermittently (being a follower of the rules); hasn’t seen many of her closest friends for over a year.   She had both jabs as soon as she was offered them and has worked hard on keeping herself fit.  She has taken regular Covid tests.  She has been counting the days to last Thursday’s end of term because on Saturday – yesterday – she was booked to fly to spend the first part of the summer holiday with her best friend in Jersey.

On Friday, she tested positive for Covid. So now, and for the next fortnight, being a follower of the rules, she’s stuck by herself, indoors in a loft apartment, instead of being on her much needed holiday.

On Saturday, our new Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, tweeted that people shouldn’t ‘cower from the virus’.

HOW DARE HE?!!