As Andy Marsh, CEO of the College of Policing, said recently about the media’s trust in policing:
“Trust arrives on a tortoise and it leaves on a horse.”
I’ll be thinking about that as I serve customers at my day job today.
Quotes
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Food for thought on prosthetic limbs in hot weather
Whilst suffering in the sweltering heat that’s engulfed the UK this week, I came across this live update from Emma Tracey, who is a disability affairs reporter at the BBC:
When I speak to BBC Sport reporter Sally Hurst, she’s sitting in front of a fan and her voice sounds strained.
Sally is an amputee and is finding the current weather particularly tiring.
That’s because above-knee amputees use around 65% more energy to walk than non-disabled people do – but it’s not the only reason she’s struggling in the heat.
Prosthetic limbs trap heat around the socket, causing residual limbs to swell and to excessively sweat.
“I may have to literally pour sweat out of my socket several times a day,” says Sally. “Yes, it’s gross!”
The extra moisture and heat can cause blisters as well. Plus, with fewer limbs, Sally tells me “you have less surface area to get rid of heat through sweating”, making it harder to regulate body temperature.
“It’s important to manage your condition as an amputee, because any blisters can take days to heal and make wearing a prosthetic impossible.”
Amputee charity Steel Bones advises the people they support to also look after their prosthetic limbs, including avoiding leaving them in the sun or a hot car as the heat can damage the materials and affect the fit.
There’s definitely food for thought in there on how to identify vulnerable groups ahead of an emergency and how we support them—not least as I wouldn’t have had a clue, admittedly.
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A friend, a crossword, and a free pint
I was recently doing a crossword in the pub when I got stuck, so I asked my notoriously generous Scottish friend: “I’m stuck on this one: ‘Trapped on a desert island, eight letters, starting with M?’”
She responded: “Come on, silly, it’s Marooned!”. Me being me, I promptly clapped back: “Oh, go on then – I’ll have a creamy pint of Guinness*, please!”.
* Other alcoholic drinks are, of course, available.
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To be the best…
Enjoyed this quote from Lil Wayne, courtesy of Matt Mullenweg, this morning:
I believe that, to be the best, you have to smell like the best, dress like the best, act like the best. When you throw your trash in the garbage can, it has to be better than anybody else who ever threw their trash in the garbage can.