Politics
Black Lives Matter- a London girl’s perspective
By Tina Kumar
To think that racism is prevalent in today’s modern day society kind of shocks me?
But. Does it really?
I mean I’ve been brought up in London my whole life and I don’t think I’ve seen racism in my eyes abhorrently but then again when I do think about the subject and when I ask myself about this topic. Some experiences do crop up in my mind but to say that someone may act on said racism is a whole different story. In the UK and in London there’s a very tolerant and fair system in place and the people are genuinely kind, smiley and want the best for others. To think about someone or something in the racist light might crop up maybe because of stereotypes or what has happened to cause this notion but to say that one would act on this mere grace of a thought concurrently is not something I see or come across very often.
Now in comparison to the US, I couldn’t speak for the existence of racism there and I don’t want to offend anyone who might have experienced racism in the UK. However, from my perspective, being an English/British girl with an Indian ethnicity I’ve never, personally, experienced racism that has made me speak out or want to do something in an outrageous response to it. However, after the death of George Floyd the fact that something so despicable can happen on the streets of America makes me question that why can’t something like this happen anywhere else in the world? Well, of course it can because if people have such deep feelings of racism then what's to stop someone from doing something like this again? This is not ok. Which is obviously the very reason and motive for the protests surrounding Black Lives Matter movement. If racism wasn’t a deep issue in society we wouldn’t be talking about it right now nor would it’s existence be so poignant.
Being a London girl, growing up I didn’t experience racism in school and actually I feel, especially, young people and modern day society have a very real sense of grip on the notion of race and racism. The two don’t concur. As young people we don’t see that a person is black or white or Indian or from this place or that; that would hold them to a disadvantage or make us treat them differently. We don’t see it like that and in schools I don’t think, that you hardly experience it.
Well I didn’t and nor did I experience another being at a disadvantage due to their race. Teachers in London schools or British schools you could say want the best for every pupil. Want to broaden their horizons and give them every opportunity they can. When Boris Johnson said the UK wasn’t that racist soon after the death of George Floyd. I kind of got him because I don’t think racism in the UK is a huge cause for concern. However, the fact that racism is still existent in a place like America. Now that’s a very real reason for there to be cause for concern on this matter.
When I first heard about the Black Lives movement I was so surprised to learn that this is still a very real issue in today’s modern day society. Again I stress modern day. Really, at times it baffles me to accept that racism is still as existent today as it ever was? The Black Lives Matter movement to me is so important. I have friends who are black, well in fact best friends who are black and I’ve grown up around black friends/ peers/ teachers and people my whole life and to think that their lives could be made to feel less important is absolutely disgraceful.
I wouldn’t understand it. I wouldn’t understand why they would be penalised in some way or form in society because of the colour of their skin. Black Lives are certainly important and that also sheds light on other races to encourage everyone in society to really know, believe and understand that racism might not be the thing of the past but it certainly should be. Did seeing a Black American President not help, Barack Obama is a figurehead applauded and respected by many around the world but did not seeing him and his wife, Michelle Obama not change the perspective on racism in America?
I question now whether it made it worse? Or was this the case all along where people in the US and around the world are just racist? Harsh I know but seemingly that’s reality. And if you want to change something and face reality you have to hit it, head on. Face all the facts and knock it out of the park. Knock it out of our minds. Racism doesn’t have a place in our minds. There’s not enough room for it because it’s just frankly disgusting. If you witness racism you might be shocked first but then you might forget about it or brush that experience under the carpet. If, you ever witness racism or some form of it whenever and where ever you must speak up right away. It’s obviously not ok to be racist and frankly those who are society won’t accept them for it and those people will have no place being a part of it or enjoying the benefits it provides.
Black Lives Matter strictly speaks to the notion that perhaps somewhere, something is going wrong in society and something certainly needs to be done about it. If racism wasn’t so prevalent, like I probably hadn’t noticed then the Black Lives Matter movement wouldn’t exist. But it does. Why? Because we as a society need to make sure that no more Black lives are ruined because of the existence of racism in our society.
There’s a very real problem in society linked to racism and we need to speak up about it now. We need to get the conversation going and talk about it. Maybe you could talk to your friends and ask them, have you ever experienced racism and how was it, what happened and how did it make them feel? Now I’m being ignorant here to this very serious issue and of course I know that racism still exists and has been a big part of society. Yes, I know that whenever I’m travelling and visiting new counties I very much see racism and the way people think is differently to how I think and how I and people in the UK have been used to a usually no racism kind of vibe here. I would say we are all lucky in that respect.
However, I never actually thought it was a major cause for concern in cosmopolitan places in the West like in the UK and US. The fact that these notions influence the world and what happens here has a global impact on the world made me concerned about what the hell is going on in our society?
Racism isn’t a thing of the past but if we start to think about how we can embed it in the past is how today’s modern day society can truly show that it has moved on and that it is above all this despicable behaviour associated with racism. We are going to be unlike any other generation on the issue of racism like never before. We can do better and we will do better to conquer the stigma surrounding racism and way racism is treated in humanity; that to, in today’s modern day society.
Like I said before, there is no room for racism in our minds. Nor in society nor in our minds.
Joe Biden and $15
By Tina Kumar
Joe Biden’s first 100 days were closely watched but to me the biggest thing President Biden has accomplished so far has been to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors. The President has signed an executive order that raised the minimum wage and this especially affects those who only make as little as $10.95 an hour.
Although Biden aims to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers nationwide, the success in getting $15 minimum wage for federal contractors shows a positive way forward. Biden has made this an issue as part of his coronavirus relief package but this wasn’t included yet in the $1.9tn plan for an economic recovery that passed with a simple majority. Although this precedent wasn’t included in the bill that was made a law, Biden is keen to help those from low economic backgrounds. The increase in $15 minimum wage is a significant change in America and the Biden administration described it as an incentive to increase productivity, morale and health.
The White House said in a statement “This executive order will promote economy and efficiency in federal contracting, providing value for taxpayers by enhancing worker productivity and generating higher-quality work by boosting workers’ health, morale and effort.”
When I went to America for the first time in 2015, the first place I went to visit was New York. Being brought up in London, my whole life, I’d heard about how similar New York is to London. Naturally, when I went across the pond I naively thought New York would be a lot like London. To my shock and surprise a lot of New York wasn’t like London. Of course, New York isn’t representative of the entire United States of America but to me seeing how life was there. Was then what I was perceiving and basing my knowledge and experience of what it's like to live in America to be like.
I could instantly tell of the great disparity between the rich and poor if you like to put it in black and white. The inequality seemed so much to me that I was almost uncomfortable at times at what I was witnessing; especially, regarding those who I came across who were in low paid jobs.
For starters, the whole tipping everybody I came across was strange to me. Then, my mum explained to me that the reason you have to tip the door man, to the bell boy to the guy in the hotel who serves you your drink is because the wages don’t cover the expenses and it’s not enough for those workers. The situation wasn’t as bad as what I’d see when I went to India but to me, a cosmopolitan nation with the strongest economy in the world and with America being a super power I found it hard to comprehend that the people here were living like this. How, it was no better in New York than say in India for those at the lower end of the spectrum baffles me.
The -15 degrees in February and extreme snowfall didn’t help working conditions because I saw people working outdoors in such excruciating weather, like the door man to our swanky New York East Side hotel on the Upper East Side. The difference between those I came across shopping in Bergdorf Goodman and the workers at the hotel, Empire State or even in Subway was so huge that I really didn’t like what I was seeing; it made me want to almost escape back to the UK. Since I was there on holiday, I tried to enjoy all that New York had to offer but I must admit I was very uncomfortable with the inequality that I saw first hand. After New York, I went to Chicago for a university conference and thought the situation might be better there but still the inequality was prevalent.
With the increase of $10.95 to $15 might not sound like it’s much but having had that experience in America I can really understand how much of a difference the 37% increase will make to those to federal contractors. This change makes me quite impressed with the Biden administration.
Of course, a lot more needs to be done to make real, further change but Biden’s actions are proving to be heading in a forward thinking direction. My only hope is that Biden is able to deliver on his aim to get the minimum wage raised to $15 an hour for all workers nationwide. If America makes a positive and effective change for those at the lower end of the spectrum, the whole world follows suit it’s example and I can’t wait to see more of what Biden’s reign will bring for everyone in America and the world…
Meet the House of Lords new Lord Speaker
By Tina Kumar
Similar to the Speaker of the House in the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle; the House of Lords has the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. Both these roles are the highest authorities in their respective houses but did you know we recently got a new Lord Speaker?
In fact on 1 May 2021, The Lord Mcfall of Alcluith became our new Lord Speaker is. He was in fact the Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords for almost 5 years under his predecessor, Lord Fowler, 83.
5 years is the assumed length of term for the Lord Speaker.
Lord Fowler’s term was not to end till September 2021, however, he decided to step down. His reasons for resigning suggest that he wanted to have a new team who could see though the crucial changes that are to occur on the upper house. Despite a parliamentary career that ran over 50 years, Lord Fowler, 83 said that the biggest disadvantage of holding the top job has been the fact that he can’t “speak [his] mind on the issues of the day”.
Lord McFall, 76 was previous a Scottish, Labour Party and Co operative politician for 23 years before joining the House of Lords as a member. He was made a Life Peer as Baron McFall of Alcluith of Dunbarton in the County of Dumbartonshire on 17th June 2010 when introduced to the House. Before being appointed as Lord Speaker, he said: “My vision is clear. We need a vibrant second chamber which is open, transparent and engages with the wider public.”
As reported by the BBC, Lord McFall was expected to be running for this position for a long time and as results show Lord McFall ultimately proved to be best candidate in the running. The Lord Speaker holds a vital role in the chamber in both representing the House at important, ceremonial and state events to setting the political direction in the changing landscapes of society.
Upon his appointment as Lord Speaker, Lord McFall said that he hopes for the House of Lords to become a “a vibrant, outward-facing legislature that reaches out as widely as possible across all parts of the United Kingdom” on his watch. He also acknowledged the difficulties and concerns posed by the pandemic on how Members can return once restrictions are lifted. Where he hopes for a safer return of more meetings physically in the house; whilst also continuing to champion technological advances that have enabled parliament to operate over the past year.
A more simple and small version Queen’s Speech will take place on Tuesday 11 May in which the Lord Speaker is expected to have a traditional ceremonial role.
Black Lives Movement- is starting the conversation enough to see real change in the UK?
By Tina Kumar
Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum during a pandemic unlike we’ve seen before. Following the death of George Floyd, controversy spread across the world about the prevalent racism still of some kind of existentence in our society today. Protests, riots and people speaking up about the issue was clear from the upheaval that followed after Floyd’s death. Starting in the US, UK and globally.
The real question is why have we been so late to talk so loudly about racism that exists in our society. Globally, society has come so far in their political, financial and technological advances that shape our world everyday so why is that a societal notion surrounding racism has been overcome by our so called modern society? The peaceful protests that took place in Vauxhall outside the US Embassy, Hyde Park and Parliament Square saw a lot of young people in attendance.
Young people are the future but they also have the ability to acknowledge that racism is not ok sometimes far clearer than the politicians running our country. Boris Johnson said UK is “not a racist country” which I can understand a bit being British but as the Prime Minister he fails to acknowledge that the issue of racism in our society is a big problem that needs a viable, long term solution just as much as all the other problems. If not, more important than the other issues; especially, after the racism topic was exasperated as a concerning matter since the controversy surrounding George Floyd.
The fact that the future of our country, young people, are willing to risk their lives to attend a peaceful protest in the climate of a pandemic. Where their attendance may or may not even help solve the issue of racism are still willing to go, be present and risk their lives in a global pandemic just to make their voice heard is admirable. Them going out in large numbers to support the Black Lives Movement shows just how important it is for politicians and those in high profile positions to acknowledge the issue and bring about an implementable solution for it. A solution that will bring justice to voices of the young generation by finally being heard on an issue that is not only close to their hearts but at the very core of their daily lives. The peaceful protests and large number of people attending show just how important the issue is.
Not only that, the fact that young people recognise the wrong that’s happening in society everyday where at times they’ve witnessed racism first hand shows that this is the time to speak up about racism. This is the time to make your voice heard and if you can’t help in other ways then the least you can do is to bring about awareness on subject and to start a conversation on it.
Young people have been using their social media platforms like Instagram to raise awareness of the issue and having discussions about the topic with their friends and family. We feel passionate about the subject because we know that racism in our modern day society is not right. Racism is not something we should sit quietly about and let it rule our lives and our friends' or families' lives. Racism is not something that should be taken lightly. Racism is a very real issue, it’s an issue in the UK and globally.
Another issue Floyd’s death marks is the misuse of power by police forces. Especially, in the US as was clearly displayed by the atrocities of the events leading to his death. The misuse of power by police is also an issue in the UK.
Stereotypes play a huge role in society whether it’s for a positive reason or negative reason in society. In the case of racism, stereotypes are widely accepted and relied upon that people make judgements based on without knowing the full story.
Police in the UK often make decisions based on a certain stereotype that is disadvantageous based on the race of an individual in society and that’s not fair. It’s not fair to judge a book by it’s cover, is it? Why do you think all these discrimination laws have been put in place to protect people at work from being discriminated against from race, gender, religious beliefs, sexuality etc? It’s so that you don’t judge a book by it’s cover. So why is it ok to judge a book by it’s cover in our normal day to day lives, doesn’t seem fair at all to me when put this way? Why doesn’t the government then acknowledge the issue of racism and take further steps and implements them legally to protect us from racism in society?
You can’t change the way people think over night but what you can do is put laws in place to show just how serious you, the Government, are about the issue of racism. So as to at least get people to think differently about the views they may have. To positively influence people and society to start to get society thinking in another, more fairer and more positive way about race.
The British Government around the world is one the most respected political institutions on the planet but will it be able to influence a positive change towards solving the issue of racism in light of the Black Lives Movement? Is it willing to go that extra mile to show that it cares about society, it cares about the future of society and that it cares about the people of our modern society to bring about a change that we’ve been craving for all our lives? Our cry for help is the Black Lives Movement and the time for change is now.
This is my message for our current government: “today’s British Government was elected by a majority that’s been the biggest majority in the history of the Conservative party ever. You were able to deliver on the disastrous and complicated implications of Brexit. Pandemic, surrounding Covid 19 has been another unprecedented and surprising issue you have dealt with somewhat successfully in the eyes of the British People. So your next big issue is the issue of ‘Racism in modern day society’ and this is what you should be focussing on to change perceptions of in society for the better. This is your next big cause and your efforts won’t go unnoticed because the future of the UK stand by you and will acknowledge you for the role you’ve played in shaping their lives and future of this matter that is so important to us. Can you do this for us? Or will you leave us to be disappointed once again? The ball is in your court.” Tina Kumar.
A pandemic has made us see things more clearly, will it have the same effect on you, our esteemed British Government?
I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out…
Has your perception of UK govt changed due to coronavirus/ pandemic?? How they handled/ handling it?
By Tina Kumar
At first with a March 2020 lockdown, I thought the Government, albeit were facing a very real and new problem, Covid 19. I got the impression that they were dealing with it quite well. However, now that we have had a few months to learn and adapt to this novel coronavirus; I feel as though, the Government are making it up as they go along.
Well, naturally that’s the case because they have to act and respond to the virus as it presents itself. However, I feel now that instead of the Government playing the guessing game and with a new mutant strain basically being the enemy that’s changing every 5 seconds. The government and Boris Johnson should just go for the slow and steady approach. Lockdowns aren’t fun but they are effective.
Yes, full lockdowns and any lockdowns are harmful for the economy, society and people’s livelihood. However, with vaccines in sight; it might just be better to hold off lifting restrictions too quickly. Yes, you may not have been impacted and affected by the virus directly but I’m sure by now you would’ve heard of how badly some people have been affected by this virus.
It’s time to wear our masks, be safe, stay indoors and let the Government try to figure it out for us. They are the ones who receive scientific facts, research, data and all sorts of information. All being dealt with and explored by experts so why not trust them in making decisions to protect our wellbeing and that of our family and friends. Yes, we are sacrificing our livelihoods and our ability to lead a normal life but it’s far better to be safe than sorry.
I don’t so much as condemn the Government’s actions but I try to understand that whatever they are doing is to protect us and whatever restrictions they put in place are for the safety of our communities. At times, during this pandemic, I wonder if what is really going on in the hospitals, or the challenges the NHS are facing when life seems normal outside of these circles. However, one day when I was driving on my way home; the journey was perhaps 45 mins to an hour and I must’ve seen an 7-10 ambulances in the space of that time.
Now, I don’t know what they were for or where they were headed but to take very real guess I think that they were associated with the pandemic. Frankly put, this virus is scary; we shouldn’t be fearful but we should most certainly be weary. A global pandemic is serious and until a vaccine isn’t heavily given out we must take caution. I’m not entirely sure of what goes on No10 but from what I’ve seen; Boris Johson, Rishi Sunak, Matt Hancock and health officials seem to be doing the best the can to help protect everybody from the virus and still try to maintain people’s livelihoods to an extent.
Yes, we might not like their approach and lockdowns can seem really long, difficult and horrible. But to be safe and come out safe at the end of this crisis is what we are hoping of getting out of sacrificing our livelihoods for an extended period of time. If we can achieve this and those close to us remain safe and healthy; that’s all we could every hope and wish for.
The government have provided extensive support to businesses, the furlough scheme, universal credit and much more to help people during these difficult times and we should be grateful of how the government has been dealing with the financial strain the virus has caused the economy and people’s lives. Do we think, they could’ve have done better? Maybe, but that’s for you to decide and I’m sure we all have an opinion on how the government could’ve done things differently to help more during the pandemic.
Maybe the pandemic has come about to teach us to be grateful and happy for what we have and to give us a time out from our usual lives. Yes, it has been an extremely difficult time for many but what we need to realise is that if a government is restricting us and imposing lockdowns then maybe we can make use of our newly found time and focus our energy on something else. Rather than thinking we can have any say on a virus that we can’t control. After all the Government entails of human beings much like us? People with no apparent control over the virus.
With Brexit delivered and the government’s handling of the pandemic I feel my perceptions for the Government have changed and have been so for the better. I don’t doubt they have made mistakes but after all they are also human and when faced with such a difficult and novel virus like Covid 19. I couldn’t imagine that I’d have a better way of tackling this disastrous disease.
I could provide some suggestions/ ideas but I’d have to accept the fact that no matter what, this virus is out of my control and it’s something out of everybody’s control around the world.
Otherwise, we wouldn’t be forced to remain in our homes for such long periods of time. I hope that everybody comes out of this pandemic safe and a better, more improved person than they were going into it.
Life in London - during lockdown
By Tina Kumar
It’s the start of a possible third national lockdown in the UK. The usual, very busy London life has completely changed once again. With the rapid spread of coronavirus the people of the UK, England and the current hotspot London find themselves spending 24 hours in their homes. Everybody is sitting and working and eating and trying to keep themselves inside their homes. A rare walk here and there during these cold, winter months, possibly even a run or light jog. However, primarily everyone is finding a way to spend their time inside.
The first lockdown in March 2020 was rather strange, a difficult adjustment but people in London had accepted that this was the future, well at least for the time being. Soon after this new normal came in to place and major adjustments were made I became used to this new normal. I and my friends seemed to be enjoying their time at home, getting work done, doing self care face masks, trying something new and thinking of new and improved ways of doing things. Looking back on life, thinking more about what they want to do now and in the future. Life was given a sort of pause and a lot of time.
Where before, time was limited; it was now all and the only thing that we seemed to have a grasp on.
A lot of time and a lot of time to do whatever we wanted.
However, in July everything started to slowly open back up. With a couple of months, life was seemingly back to normal and by September people were either back to work, shopping, meeting friends and family with no social distancing in sight. Except for the fact that we had to wear masks everywhere we went, we were quite quickly back to normal far earlier than anticipated.
However, then came November and we were back in a sort of eased lockdown to the previous, with Christmas nearing there didn’t seem like there was much hope of getting to celebrate Christmas as normal this year. Christmas was saved but then a new mutant strain shut all hopes down and we were back in lockdown just a week before Christmas.
Now, with 2021 finally here, a new tougher lockdown possibly on the horizon.
Moods have suddenly shifted and life seems like a long, new, lockdown for the foreseeable future. Frankly, the mindset from possibly not being too afraid of Covid 19 is quickly back to the frightening notions when Covid 19 first came about in London. However, the thing about London for me has always been about the buzz.
Now, the buzz is surrounding a quieter home life.
The walks in the garden or a beautiful nearby park. Life has drastically changed again and come to think of it I think I’m quite used to the lockdown feel. This time, the fear surrounding this virus has increased because in comparison to when the virus first came about this time round, the case is way worse.
But are we afraid far less than the last time?
As we should be feeling more apprehensive in the sense that we should be taking lockdown far more seriously than the last.
The government and the public now have a far better understanding of the virus, to an extent; with the new strain causing a few problems. This time round we might be in for a longer period of lockdown and I don’t quite know how to feel about that. The previous full national lockdown came about in Spring time but this one is in the Winter and darker, longer days. Gone are the days of baking the banana bread and now are the days of planning meticulous, busy days where our ‘all the time in the world’ lives is a once in a life opportunity that we must grasp on to.
Instead of getting anxious about all these restrictions the Government and Boris are imposing we must ensure that we make use of our time inside the house.
Here are some options of what to do during are possible many months of lockdown. It might be time to plan to achieve a goal over a longer period of time.
- Cooking - learning new and extensive recipes. Learn to cook a lobster, or that Chinese dish you’ve always wanted to learn. Learning to make 2/3 new dishes each week could greatly improve your culinary skills by the time life gets back to normal.
-Learn a new language - you could choose from French, Italian, German or even something a bit more difficult like Hindi. With all this time, why not? Duolingo or watching a TV show in a new language can really help you learn a language to a very decent level.
-Learn how to bake - brownies, cookies, Victoria sponge, sticky toffee
- Make up with someone you might have fallen out with years ago - even if it’s just to clear the air
-Write a book- spend 30-60 mins a day
-Save up your money and see if you can invest it during these times
-Start a new project you’ve always wanted to do
-Prep and do the GMAT
-Apply for business school
-Get your coats/ jackets/ expensive clothing dry cleaned
- Sort out your storage/ garage
-Organise a family games night or movie night once a week
-Call up a friend/family member you haven’t spoken to in ages; maybe even FaceTime them!
-Learn to dance/ practice your dancing skills- Youtube is your go to
-Get exercising- transform your body, eat healthy
-Listen to Podcasts / Audio book - Spotify/ Amazon
- Do some online shopping for your homes/ yourself- whether it’s cupboards, changing up your kitchen, getting new furniture, shoes, skincare, clothes, make up - whatever you feel you’d been missing out on before!
-Discover new artists on Spotify/ Apple Music - listen to music more
-Watch interviews of famous people/ CEOs/ people you admire on Youtube
-Start some sort of brand
-Learn how to make an English Sunday Roast possibly on Sunday!
-Pursue your passion or a take up a new passion
-Paint, draw, get creative in the arts!
-Renovate/ paint your house/ clear out and declutter your home
-Throw away old clothes
-Reorganise your cupboard / shelves
-Iron all the clothes in your cupboard
I hope my ideas have given you some options of what to do during a global pandemic but I guess the main mantra here is self improvement, improving your home and doing things you haven’t had a chance to do in a long while.
Get thinking and get creative of what you could be doing during these times.
Good luck and remember, whatever you do make sure to have fun!
If everything is back to normal then why doesn’t the government end ‘work from home’?
By Tina Kumar
With vaccine success and the government making the move to remove masks from being mandatory, it would seem that the UK, like many other nations is making a move away from the pandemic.
Some of us may have returned to work, part time in the office rather than full time but the UK is gradually making the move away from to what was deemed to be normalcy before the pandemic hit. There was a bit of a warning given by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, that if cases get worse a lockdown would be on the table. Prime Minister re-iterated the same point just a few weeks ago when he said with winter coming a possible lockdown may be too.
The narrative in the media is surrounding the fact that booster vaccines are something that are needed next to tackle the virus and without these life may not return to normal. This is in fact infuriating a lot of people because initially the same thing was said about the initial Covid-19 vaccines. The reason the government was able to keep the country in lockdown for months was due to the promise that a vaccine rollout would lead to a return to normalcy.
Yet, with all restrictions lifted and everything seemingly back to normal; then why doesn’t the government end ‘work from home’?
Coming out of lockdowns, it feels like the pandemic is seeming over; however, amongst the freedom we forget that we are very much still in a pandemic. Our perception of the pandemic might have changed but the fact remains that we are still very much in a pandemic. Work from home hasn’t ended because the government inevitably swears that a return to complete normalcy will lead to disaster with a rise in cases. Every day, even now there is an average of 30,000 cases being reported in the UK. Although, with the opening of restrictions and vaccine success this has meant that the cases have remained or have continuously been increasing at this rate. It can still be argued that the government may not be letting us in on the full story.
If the government was waiting for vaccine rollout to change things, which can be argued happened months ago; then why doesn’t it fully open the country back up again? Flying and travelling is still restricted with hefty amounts that have to be paid for PCR tests, as well as no end to ‘work from home’ and other restrictions being imposed such as vaccine certificates needed at nightclubs. Vaccine rollout has already happened and approximately most people from very young children to the rest of the country has already had not one but both doses.
After months of nearly the whole population, or at least those most at risk, being vaccinated. Surely, it’s time for the government to elaborate on what they said would be a return to normalcy?
Boris Johnson increases National Insurance by 1.25%
By Tina Kumar
Boris Johnson has increased the national insurance by 1.25%. Despite going against what he promised in his manifesto. The reason for increasing national insurance is in order to help reform social care. The 1.25% increase applies to both employers and employees. However, the money raised won’t go towards social care until 2025. Only £5.4 billion of £36 billion raised in the first 3 years will go towards social care.
Billions will also go towards new costs such as workforce, training, councils and to assist in clearing NHS backlog caused by the pandemic. Boris Johnson said: “I accept this breaks a manifesto commitment which is not something I do lightly, but a global pandemic was in no one’s manifesto." The Prime Minister also highlighted that the increase in national insurance would make sure that the cost of social care for an individual over their lifetime would be capped at £86,000.
The Prime Minister called his move “progressive” and used the pandemic as the core reason for changing his tune. Needless to say the increase would cost each individual an extra couple of hundred pounds depending on their earnings per year. The increase will come in effect from April 2022 in order to raise £12bn for health and care. After a 2 year delay in tackling the issue MPs were said to vote on the national insurance increase this week.
The Prime Minister attended PMQ’s today to further explain and answer questions on this particular matter. MPs pass social care levy by 319 votes to 248 making it the highest tax burden in peacetime - notably 70 years.
Should the West ever accept the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan?
By Tina Kumar
The US withdrawal in Afghanistan after 20 years lead to chaos. With people trying to flee the country and the imminent take over of the country by the Taliban in a matter of days. Even leading to a subsequent bombing at the airport. That not only killed innocent civilians trying to escape the extremist Taliban regime but also killing US soldiers there for the protection of innocent lives. The UK and US maintained a presence at Kabul airport in order to not only help get their own safely out of the country but to also help the many Afghan people who were trying to leave the country.
After 20 years of the war in Afghanistan it’s upsetting to think that even after so long things didn’t turn out the other way. After all the 20 years of fighting, after an exponential halt to the country’s development and infrastructure, after a whole population’s development became stagnant and years of instability faced by the people of Afghanistan. It’s a shame to think that the West couldn’t conquer a nation that most needed it’s help. Yes, you `might argue why were we there in the first place? You are quite right but since we were there surely we could’ve done something to improve the lives of the people in Afghanistan. Albeit that task may have been gravely difficult due to the resistance faced by the Taliban.
Surely there was another way out of all of this? A different turnout and a different ending.
With the existence of a United Nations, and powerful super powers like UK and the US; it’s a shame to see a country slip into the very hands of the people who’ve caused so much distress over the past 20 years to the people of their own country. This brings me to the question that despite the US basically surrendering to the Taliban and the UK having to follow suit.
Would it ever make sense to acknowledge the Taliban as the new government of Afghanistan? Surely not.
We might have to accept the reality of the situation but we shouldn’t have to.
The Taliban might now have a say say about what goes on in the Afghan territory but surely it doesn’t have a say so about what the US and UK can and can’t do. With no embassy presence allowed of nations like the UK and US; how can the West ever co-operate with a Taliban government so despicable in nature and so morally wrong towards their very own people? If it was the other way round, surely they wouldn’t be as accepting of the nature of circumstance. The 20 years of war and resistance already proves the aforementioned point. In a society where democracy, power and money have become so cosmopolitan that surely the West would be sophisticated enough to never acknowledge a government under the Taliban regime.
The chaos has already happened and quite frankly it’s a well known fact that the Taliban can no way be trusted. Therefore, it’s now up to the Taliban to prove if they could ever be worthy enough to be acknowledged by the West?
Summer plans hit different in 2021?
By Tina Kumar
Summer 2020 was hit by a pandemic and it’s quite remarkable to think that it’s been a year since then and nothing much has changed. Except for the fact that we can’t fly out if we wanted to. Probably a smart decision on Boris’ part, albeit, a decision he should’ve taken at the start of the pandemic. However, at least the government have shown that this time round they are taking a bit more of a long term approach and cautious effort to tackle the virus.
We thought 2021 would solve our problems but 2021 has been a lot like last year. Although we hope for a quicker call to a covid-free future. We can’t help but still have our summer plans derailed due to the coronavirus. Since we can’t freely travel abroad to go on holiday, or go to live music events and we still have to abide by the 6 people per table at restaurants/bars and so on.
Yes, we are still complaining about restrictions but that’s because we’ve been told what we can’t do for so long that we simply don’t appreciate in addition to that being told that we can’t go on holiday abroad this summer without the need to quarantine for 10 days on our return.
All of the popular destinations Brits want to go on holiday, mainly the European cities we’d like to frequent have all been put on the amber list. So, it’s evident that Boris and the government are trying to make it as hard as possible for us to go away this year. Even though, this deterrence is in place, over 5 million Brits have sill booked to go on holiday abroad this summer to amber list countries.
People have become so fed up of being locked in, not being able to see families or to go to restaurants and so forth. That this time round perhaps even though they aren’t really allowed to fly out for recreational purposes, despite the restrictions in place, they still want to escape life in the UK for a well deserved holiday abroad! On top of restrictions, the fact that it’s the summer months you can understand why people are so eager to get out and to get away.
Many people have already been vaccinated or with young people, had the first dose so they do feel some form of protection. They don’t mind wanting to risk getting the virus and would rather still go on holiday abroad to going to amber list countries for a break. However, millions of people in Britain have also learned from the early opening of last year’s first lockdown, have experienced coronavirus first hand through themselves. Or learning from the experiences of friends and family and so have chosen not to go abroad; in fact, some intend not to go abroad at all this year. Since, they are aware of the risk they pose with possibly getting Covid-19 - some just don’t want to deal with the health risk or the nuisance of it all if they’ve seen the first hand experience in their home. In that case, staycations are on the cards for a lot of people in the UK.
Although the media, at times, I feel exaggerates the government’s handling of the virus, many people do agree with the government’s strategy. As young people even if we are apprehensive to go somewhere particular we still feel that we should go because we haven’t been able to fully enjoy ourselves for a long time. Here it’s more of the fact that as young people we haven’t had the chance to enjoy ourselves at this age. Where usually we’d be out and about, meeting and partying with friends we’ve no longer been allowed to have that experience. I especially feel sorry for this who have had to go to university during covid. Generally, young people feel if we’ve had the first or both doses of the vaccine then we feel we have a sense of protection. Therefore, we should be fine even iff we take the risk to go out with friends. In comparison to young people, the older generation are much more risk averse. I can assure you from the more grown up people that I’ve spoken, they repeatedly assure me that they try to enjoy themselves but are still hugely risk averse when it comes to the dangerous virus. They want go out with friends and family but sometimes they’d rather just not - they’d prefer to avoid that circumstance in fear of getting the virus. Understandable.
As young people, we would obviously be having a different approach towards Covid 19 and life ahead of us depending on our personal/ first hand experiences of the virus and in addition to the the experiences we’ve heard about the virus about the people we know. Which evidently shapes how we see and wish to tackle the virus for ourselves. The government and Boris are imposing restrictions for a lengthy amount of time but I don’t feel that’s going to change the way I feel about the virus.
Yes, summer is coming up, we are being promised a ‘freedom day’ but to be honest I’m just going with the flow at this point. If restrictions are lifted, great but this time round I’ve learnt that. If we do have restrictions imposed or possible lockdowns then I accept that too. If we have to learn to live with the virus then this has to be my approach. An easy going, go-with-the-flow vibe. Nor I, the government or any human being has the capacity to control and defy the virus as evident by the past year. However, what we can continue to do is try to be as safe and cautious as possible when we go out. We should wary that going out might become normal again but that the virus also has the ability and power to change things very quickly. Things can go from fairly normal to super restricted real fast when the virus changes, variants come about and the government makes its response and imposes restrictions.
Other than that, I hope you reman safe, wear masks when needed, enjoy yourselves and have a lit summer ahead!
Why is Covid so much in the UK?
By Tina Kumar
Covid-19 has seemed to drag on far beyond the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020. However, with the ending of lockdowns and finally the follow through of freedom day (19 July 2021) happening what I don’t understand is why there’s so much covid in the UK? With the pandemic having spread across the world; America was one of the first nations to open up fully. That lead to around 200,000 cases a day at one point in the nation but then cases started to fall and dipped before coming back to around 90,000 cases a day as I write today. Now that’s a lot of cases and with the initial vaccine drive I imagine a lot of deaths have occurred due to the spreading of the disease.
If we compare our situation in the UK with America then we can see that with the US having fully opened up its inevitable that cases will exponentially rise, and will rise a lot; all before there’s any sign of cases falling after a certain peak is reached. The media have been reporting in the past week that cases have started to fall. So with a successful vaccine push, are we, in fact all kidding ourselves? To me, it seems lockdown in September is the next lockdown we’ll have to experience. Isn’t that inevitable? I hope not but who knows what will happen.
The government kept us in some form of lockdown for 6 moths after opening up too quickly in July 2020, before we had any kind of vaccine. Now that we have the vaccine that is a good thing right, it’s beneficial and gives us a bit of an advantage of coronavirus because it helps avoid death. Having the vaccine it means that even if someone gets the virus then it won’t be so bad. However, the fact remains that even if you have the vaccine you can still catch the virus. Not total control over the virus just yet. Then, surely we can’t just live our lives as we please?
Yes there are currently no restrictions in place but we are still in the midst of a global pandemic.
Any time a country has a spike of cases the UK puts them on the amber list or the red list. Then surely we are still in a pandemic but this time round the government has effectively shifted our perception towards it.
We’ve also gotten far more used to the virus since its inception in March 2020. It’s been 18 months since we’ve been in a pandemic. With the success of the vaccine I believe either we will return to normality - so no more work from home and people can travel however they please. Or we will most definitely be in a lockdown of some form. To me, I don’t think I see us returning to full normality just yet because the UK still has around 30,000/40,000 cases everyday. When you compare the cases in the UK to Europe, in a day, Greece has 3,000 cases; France is around 23,000, Italy around 6,000 and so on. Except for the India and then the US, the nations with the most covid in Europe are UK, France and Spain. Now why is that?
Is it because we have opened up too late or is it that we’ve opened up at all and that is the reason why cases are increasing? In that case we shouldn’t have opened up so fast. Now this all seems like fascinating stuff.
However, what will be the end result and the ultimate solution to Covid-19?
Clearly everybody in the UK is frustrated with the government’s restrictions imposed on us due to the virus whether it be lockdowns, closing of restaurants, or the NHS covid 19 app etc. Is the government’s fulfilment of freedom day (19th July 2021) and the ending of restrictions just the government’s way of appeasing us before we go back into lockdown in 2 months. Essentially, that would be just after the summer is over.
To let us do whatever we want now so that if we have to go back into lockdown we won’t all mind as much. It’s obvious Boris and his government have already kept us in lockdowns for as long as they needed until the vaccine was rapidly distributed. However, if the government lifted restrictions because the vaccine meant that you were fully protected and could no longer get covid again- which they aren’t. Then that would then have been an entirely different story and I would accept the ending of restrictions as a way to move forward from this virus.
What if the lifting of restrictions is the government’s way of experimenting how long we can go with no restrictions to see if herd immunity can be reached?
Herd immunity if where a significant amount of people have caught the virus and their body knows how to deal with it then that would help reduce the amount of cases that could spread and that would in turn reduce the amount of people who could catch the virus. As well as the fact that since Covid-19 is a virus you can get through people, if you’ve already had it; you could be immune from getting it for some time because of the antibodies. However, you can still get covid even if you’ve had it and even if you’ve had the vaccine. If you have the vaccine you are protected in a way because if you get covid you will most likely not die. As was the case before you even had the vaccine if your immune system is able to fight the virus. I mean, I’ve had the vaccine and I encourage everyone who would not be allergic to it to get it. And of course getting the vaccine is a good thing to protect ourselves and each other.
What I don’t understand is that even with the vaccine, lifting of restrictions and summer time that are we really on our way back to normal? If you think about it we are in a lot of the same circumstance as we were before except we are now either more or less scared of the virus depending on our unique experiences to do with it. It’s our perception of the virus that has changed due to time. After having the opportunity to learn about it over time, through our experiences and through the government’s influence in changing our perceptions towards the novel virus. I would say Boris and his government have been rather successful in changing our perception of the virus so that we can have a bit more of a relaxed approach towards it.
With cases so high in the UK it will be interesting to see what happens next in the journey of the pandemic. However, if we are to live with this virus, covid-19, then we are going to need a far more promising solution to get us out of it.
Covid is a big problem that needs to be tackled with some form of certainty as up until now, it’s, covid-19 that has been calling all the shots…
Will we go back into lockdown?
By Tina Kumar
It’s the possible end of lockdown now; yet the Indian variant is still to provide a concern. If we go back to December 2021, the re-emergence of the second lockdown was felt across the nation. The usual, very busy London life had completely changed once again. With the possibility of a future lockdown it’s important to acknowledge what it really feels to be in lockdown and what to do if and when we are. In lockdown, usually everybody is sitting and working and eating and trying to keep themselves busy inside their homes. A rare walk, run or home workouts seem to be the only exercise we could fit in. Primarily, when in lockdown everyone is trying to find a way to spend their time inside.
The first lockdown in March 2020 was rather strange, a shock to the system, a difficult adjustment but people in London had accepted the notion and went on to adapt to this is the way forward. We started to get used to this new normal. I and my friends seemed to be enjoying being at home, getting work done, doing self care and faces mask, trying something new and thinking of new and improved ways of doing things. Looking back on life, thinking more about what we could do now and in the future.
Life was given a sort of pause. Where before, time was limited; it was now…all…the only thing we seemed to have a grasp on.
A lot of time to think and a lot of time to do whatever we wanted.
However, in July like now; everything started to slowly open back up. Life was seemingly getting back to normal and by September people were either back to work, shopping, meeting friends and family with no social distancing in sight. Opening up early proved a grave mistake when the second lockdown came round in November. Christmas was saved but then a new mutant strain shut all hopes down and we were back in lockdown just a week before Christmas.
Now, half way through 2021 finally, we find ourselves back in the position we were in July 2020 with the easing of restrictions. Although, we have the threat of the Indian variant this time means things are a little different.
Yet, this is coupled with the fact that unlike before. This time round, we have the success of over 70 million people having had the first dose of the vaccine. With freedom day of 21st June 2021 still a long way to go; I question if we will be back in lockdown by September 2021? Will we see the lockdown cycle repeat?
I'm hoping vaccine success will mean no more lockdowns. The government feels hopeful too that their coming-out-of-lockdown map is working.
It’s important to note that whenever we go back into lockdown, moods suddenly shift and life seems like a long, new, lockdown for the foreseeable future. Frankly, the mindset of not being too afraid of Covid-19 is quickly brought back to the forefront of our minds with a quick increase to the frightening notions of when Covid-19 first came about in London.
London for me has always been about the buzz.
In lockdown, the buzz is surrounding a quieter home life I feel. Working from home and walks in the garden or a beautiful nearby park really do slow life down. Life drastically changes and come to think of it I think I’m quite used to the being in lockdown feeling. Every time we go out of a lockdown the fear surrounding the virus decreases because it seems we aren’t afraid anymore. As we feel the government and the public have a far better understanding of the virus, to an extent; with the new strains like the Indian variant causing a few problems.
However, I feel as though; despite vaccine success that we should be weary and be prepared for a future lockdown. This is juts my opinion. Perhaps, I’m being pragmatic? I suspect a lock down cold be in order, especially, if cases significantly increase due to the Indian variant. Just in the past week cases have gone up day by day between 65%-90%.
Then what? What will we do if we are back to having our all-the-time-in-the-world lives again? Do we see this as a once in a life opportunity given back to us? Or do we dread the notion of a future lockdown and accept the reality of the situation?
I feel if we do go back into lockdown that you should approach the situation by not getting anxious about all the restrictions the Government and Boris impose. Rather, we must ensure that we make use of our time inside the house if we find ourselves back in our homes. Although, I really hope we won’t go back into lockdown.
In the possible event we do here are some options of what to do during a new lockdown and even if we don’t go into one maybe you’ll like to do something on this list anyways:
-Time to set yourself a new challenge. Plan to achieve a goal over a longer period of time.
- Cooking - learning new and elaborate recipes. Learn to cook a lobster, or that Chinese dish you’ve always wanted to learn about. Learning to make 2/3 new dishes each week could greatly improve your culinary skills by the time life gets back to fully normal.
-Learn a new language - you could choose from French, Italian, German or even something a bit more difficult like Hindi. With all this time, why not? Duolingo or watching a new TV show in a new language can really help you to learn a language to a very decent level. That too in record time.
-Learn how to bake! Anything from brownies, cookies, Victoria sponge to sticky toffee pudding. Why not?! The sweeter the merrier.
- Make up with someone you might have fallen out with years ago - even if it’s just to clear the air
-Write a book- spend 30-60 mins a day
-Save up your money and see if you can invest it during these times
-Start a new project you’ve always wanted to do
-Prep and do the GMAT -why not just prove to yourself how smart you are? Do it for yourself.
-Apply for business school/master’s
-Get your coats/ jackets/ expensive clothing dry cleaned
-Sort out your storage/ garage
-Organise a family games night, pizza night or movie night once a week - add a theme!
-Call up a friend/family member you haven’t spoken to in ages just to catch up and see how things are going; maybe even FaceTime them!
-Learn to dance/ practice your dancing skills- Youtube is your go to for this
- Get exercising- transform your body, eat healthy, set a new fitness goal
-Listen to Podcasts / Audio book - Spotify/ Amazon are where you can find them
- Do some online shopping for your home or for yourself- whether it’s cupboards, changing up your kitchen, getting new furniture, shoes, skincare, clothes, make up - whatever you feel you’d been missing out on before!
- Discover new artists on Spotify/ Apple Music - listen to music more. Discover and add new songs to your playlist.
- Watch interviews of famous people/ CEOs/ people you admire on Youtube - get motivated, get inspired.
-Start some sort of brand - a new business venture?
- Learn how to make an English Sunday roast maybe even on a Sunday
-Pursue your passion or a take up a new passion
-Paint, draw, get creative in the arts.
-Renovate/ paint your house/ clear out and declutter your home
-Throw away old clothes
-Reorganise your cupboard / shelves
-Iron all the clothes in your cupboard
I hope my ideas have given you some options of what to do during a global pandemic but I guess the main mantra above is all about self improvement, improving your home, doing things you for yourself and doing things haven’t had a chance to do in a long while. Get thinking and get creative of what you could be doing during these times.
Good luck and remember, whatever you do make sure too have fun!
Afghan crisis an international shame
By Tina Kumar
The crisis in Afghanistan is a crisis that represents international shame. 6 weeks after Joe Biden withdrew US troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban, in a matter of just a few days took over the entire country. After taking over the presidential palace in Kabul on Monday the Taliban declared their Government in Afghanistan.
The country has seen its' population try to flee the crisis at airports and all other routes. The US troops sent to get Americans out are currently in control of the airport and are assisting in getting Afghan people out of the country too. However, it’s still important to note how devastating and heartbreaking it is to witness a crisis as such in the 21st century.
Needless to say the atrocities the Talibans inflict on the people of Afghanistan is so terrifying that people would rather die trying to leave the country than to suffer and have to live under the Taliban rule. An example of this was when a young man died after falling from the outside of the aeroplane which had taken off for the US.
Joe Biden gave an interview today in which he seemed to be angry when the journalist pointed out the aforementioned devastating fact. Responding with: “that was 4 or 5 days ago!” In an angry tone. The fact that after 20 years, Joe Biden, the current US President choose to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is shameful.
Biden’s actions as President has proven to be the single, worst action any President could take in the face of women’s rights. The Taliban are known for their atrocities to people but especially notorious for the terror against women. Boris Johnson said the British troops could not fight alone or continue to remain in Afghanistan without US presence. The Prime Minister also said that the UK will take in over 25,000 people from Afghanistan over the coming years.
Flights from US, UK and Australia have been sent to Kabul, Afghanistan. To not only get the citizens of those respective countries out but to also help assist the evacuation of the Afghan people; fleeing their country in the hope of a better life outside of Afghanistan.
Many are gathered at Kabul airport in the hope of finding an escape from the Taliban regime. It’s unfortunate to see that even after 20 years not even nations more powerful than Afghanistan like the UK and US could bring about a better change for the people of Afghanistan.
The extraordinary take over by the Taliban was so fast that it spread like fire and eventually closed in on Kabul - the capital city.
Many blame the US President’s actions because of the inevitability of the situation and escalation of atrocity that would be certain if US troops were to be removed. The decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan is not Biden’s best move. In a matter of days it’s shaken the world to bring light to how severe the situation in Afghanistan was, is and how it's worsened since the withdrawal of troops.
A lucky few of the Afghan people have already managed to escape to nations such as the US and UK with the US troops in Kabul continuing to aid in evacuating people.
What does Boris’ extension of freedom day mean for weddings?
By Tina Kumar
Boris Johnson announced an extension of what is deemed ‘Freedom Day’ to 19 July. Many young couples who’ve had to repeatedly push back their wedding plans were planning on having the wedding of their dreams this summer. Surely, with a roadmap out of lockdown announced several months ago surely it's expected that people can start to make plans for the future.
Be it a holiday, to plan a wedding or to have some form of liberty on what they can and can’t do. Wasn’t the whole point of having a concrete roadmap out of lockdown? Which Boris called ‘irreversible’ in place to provide some form of certainty of what we can expect in the near future?
Many couples pushed back wedding plans after the announcement of the first lockdown but it was when the November/December lockdowns occurred that couples had to cancel their wedding plans again. Or some even at the 11th hour organising a whole weddings just in a couple of days all so they can get be married before restrictions were imposed. Some even planned their wedding within a day to avoid the uncertainty of when they would be able get married next since it was unknown how long the current restrictions would last.
Of course we can all understand that the pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives. Imposing restrictions and limits on wedding planning or going out and just our everyday liberties no longer taken for granted. However, for those who’ve perhaps waited over a year to get married and had to cancel wedding plans multiple times would naturally be frustrated if weddings were to not be allowed to go ahead as planned this summer.
As we learn more and more about the virus, we can start to adjust our actions and ability to make future plans accordingly. Surely if the Prime Minister isn’t going to lift restrictions on weddings then could an alternative could be to permit outdoor wedding scenarios? Considering it's summer, an outdoor wedding option could be a very viable option as the weather would also allow it. Especially, as large outdoor events have previously been successful in terms of outdoor settings not leading to a significant increase in the spreading of the virus. An example of this is the recent Royal Ascot races where thousands attended after having had the rapid covid testing.
Boris is to hopefully announce the lift on the ban of limited wedding guests but the only concern is what will happen if this doesn’t happen. Or what will be the case if freedom day is further extended? We don’t want to hope for the worst but Boris’ words and actions surrounding lockdowns, restrictions and the pandemic seem as though he’s saying: ‘Don’t worry, everything is on track, we will open the country up soon enough’ and then simultaneously telling us ‘But, you never know, I don’t have control of the virus and you should know by now to prepare for the worst.’
The conflicting messages sent through the government and the Prime Minister really do leave a big pineapple shaped predicament for couples planning for one of the most important days of their lives - their wedding day.
I know somebody whose wedding was to take place a couple days after ‘freedom day’ with everything booked and reserved but they were still anxious of the case that if the situation changes nearer the time. Potentially diverting their wedding plans. After talking to them: they said that all they can do is hope for the best but they know that if plans do get changed that they will be hugely disappointed. They give me the impression that they’ve accepted the fact that they’ve had to wait a long time to have their wedding but will simply re-book in order to have the wedding at some point this summer of plans change.
They are hopeful restrictions will be lifted but is this because our Prime Minister is possibly providing a sense of false hope?
We are still in June and it’s still far to early to predict future scenarios but with the Indian variant possibly controlled. In addition to no emergence of any other variants (other than the supposed variant of hay fever). The best bet for future wedding plans would be the week after 'freedom day' if fingers crossed ‘freedom day’ does go ahead!
Here’s hoping we remain on our Prime Minister’s version of ‘on track’…