The Rain Festival
Tirgan is the fourth ancient Iranian Festival of seasons, alongside Norouz (Spring), Yalda (Winter) and Mehregan (Autumn). This year it is celebrated on Sunday 4th July.
Yesterday afternoon, Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in the second game of the 2020 UEFA European Football Championships (delayed to 2021). After this, he stopped breathing, and his heart stopped beating.
In a critical few seconds, Simon Kjær, Denmark’s captain, promptly recognised the cardiac arrest and started resuscitation before medics could arrive. The decisions made in those critical few seconds are very likely to have saved Christian Eriksen’s life. He prompty recognised the arrest and started resuscitation before the medics could arise. This shows the value of everyone, in whatever role, learning CPR.
Once Eriksen was stabilised, Kjær showed…
A Connection with Nature
It is Mental Health Awareness Week — A time for all of us to reflect on mental health and wellbeing.
Escapism through the medium of words and images
Graphic novels can take us to places in time and space. Here are some of the best ‘logues for lockdown. Some are real-life experiences, some are historical, some are semi-fictional , and there is no particular oder — but they all take us to places which exist in real life and give us a unique form of escapism. Here are fifteen of these sequential art narratives, accompanied by a brief synopsis.
Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
The plump fruit can give more than meets the eye…
‣ They are full of lutein (0.5mg/medium avo) and zeaxanthin. These are two carotenoids which are selectively absorbed in the macula. Relative intakes of both decreases in age, more so in females than males, and it has been suggested that a good natural source of these two reduces progression of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and possibly cataracts as well.
‣ They have lots of folate, vitamins C, K, B6 & potassium, and small amounts of magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorous and vitamins A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B3…
This speech had a huge impact on the British Public’s psyche, many of whom would believe that COVID-19 was nothing to worry about.
Today marks the anniversary of the day when Boris Johnson stated proudly:
“I’m shaking hands continuously. I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know. I continue to shake hands.” Boris Johnson, 3rd March 2020
This press conference took place on the same day that the UK Government advisory body SAGE gave clear advice that the government should warn against shaking hands, hugging, and indeed all forms of physical…
An epic 8-hour journey through 20th century history and behavioural psychology which beautifully explains, though doesn’t quite offer solutions to, the situations we are in today.
The Art of the Documentary
The power of the Schwartz Round in the COVID-19 pandemic era.
Talking through things can help us unburden ourselves, and each other. Indeed, exploring buried emotions in a comforting and nonjudgmental environment lifts weights from our shoulders that we didn’t even know we had.
In busy working environments, challenging events can lead to a build up and compartmentalisation of emotions, and this is ever more stark in the era of COVID-19. This pandemic has tested everyone, and for those working in healthcare the unrelenting pace and change of working practice, together with tragedies in and out of the workplace, may have had a huge impact on their emotional health. …
Doctor Yak
Yakking all day about technology, healthcare, culture and art.
