Author: Huw Edwards

Hi I'm Huw, and this is my place to share thoughts, questions and observations about the world around us. Some days that means writing about politics, technology, climate change or the economy. Other days it means remembering local music venues, reflecting on life's challenges, or exploring ideas about community, faith, fairness and what it means to be human. I don't pretend to have all the answers. In fact, I'm often more interested in the questions. Huwspace is simply a place for curiosity, conversation and looking at the world from different perspectives. If something I write makes you think, smile, question an assumption or see an issue in a new light, then this little corner of the internet has done its job.

Coronavirus Advice UK

This article contains information on general guidance, stay at home guidance, advice for commmunity buildings, advice for community groups, protecting the isolated & vulnerable and advice for community transport.

Catch it Bin it Kill it

A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. Typical symptoms of coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Generally, coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease. Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China.

The NHS website has more information about how coronavirus is spread and answers common questions about the virus.

The following symptoms may develop in the 14 days after exposure to someone who has COVID-19 infection:

  • Cough
  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Fever

GENERAL GUIDANCE

As the information about Coronavirus is ever-changing, everyone should follow all advice from Public Health England and the NHS and keep up to date with any new developments. 

Common sense is key in a situation like this and are things you can do to help stop germs like coronavirus spreading:

  • Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel
  • Wash your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds each time with soap and water or hand sanitiser, especially when you; Get home or into work, blow your nose, sneeze or cough, or eat or handle food. 
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoid close contact with people who are unwell

Please find further information, from the following sites:

Coronavirus: latest information and advice 

NHS advice on reducing risk

What to do if you’re asked to self-isolate

STAY AT HOME GUIDANCE 

This advice is intended for people with symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), including those with a diagnosis of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, who must remain at home until they are well.

  • If you have symptoms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 7 days from when your symptoms started
  • This action will help protect others in your community whilst you are infectious
  • Plan ahead and ask others for help to ensure that you can successfully stay at home
  • Ask your employer, friends and family to help you to get the things you need to stay at home
  • Stay at least 2 metres (about 3 steps) away from other people in your home whenever possible
  • Sleep alone, if that is possible
  • Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water
  • Stay away from vulnerable individuals such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions as much as possible
  • You do not need to call NHS111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

ADVICE FOR VILLAGE HALLS & COMMUNITY BUILDINGS

As it stands at the moment, halls can remain open, however Village Hall Management Committees running charitable halls have a duty of care in providing a safe facility for the community to use.

Your committee must bear in mind that extra precautions need to be made as your hall provides a activities for those groups who are most at risk from the virus.

PRECAUTIONS INCLUDE:

  • Take notice of the Government and Public Health England websites and keep up to date with the ongoing situation
  • Keep the Hall very clean and ensure that soap and/or hand sanitiser is available, paper towels are available and hand driers are working efficiently
  • Avoid the use of hand towels for the time being
  • Put up a notice about hand washing, particularly in toilets and kitchen areas. Poster available here: Catch it bin it kill it
  • Advise hirers that they are expected to act responsibly and take notice of Government and Public Health England advice which includes who is and isn’t allowed to be in public spaces
  • Regarding cancellation of any bookings follow the steps in their hiring agreement and activities in the event of the hall having to close, we suggest that you contact your insurance company to discuss what may be covered under your insurance policy regarding cancellation of events

USEFUL RESOURCES

Public Health England have produced a range of sample posters and it would be wise to use one of these as the basis for putting on the front door a poster asking people who have possible Coronavirus symptoms not to come into the hall.

Resources can be found at: PHE Resources. 

ADVICE FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS

  • Group members must advise the rest of the group if they are self-isolating
  • The importance of hand hygiene – See general guidance above
  • Cancellation of events:
    • If your group is an planning event which will bring together large numbers of people, keep your plans under review. If your events depend on volunteers, be aware that some may prefer to stay home.
    • If you are hosting a formal meeting, such as an AGM, plan for reduced attendance or the need to move locations and times meetings and refer to your organisation’s governing document to see what it says about remote participation and quorum
    • Check cancellation policies for venue bookings you’ve made or are about to make
  • Hosting a group meeting: Some members may prefer not to attend a group meeting, therefore consider:
    • Is the meeting is really essential or can it be cancelled or postponed?
    • Consider electronic alternatives such as Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime. No one should be made to feel that they must attend

PROTECTING THE ISOLATED AND VULNERABLE

Neighbourhood Watch has produced comprehensive guidance on protecting the isolated and vulnerable. Please click here

GUIDANCE FOR COMMUNITY TRANSPORT 

The Community Transport Association has produced a document called Coronavirus/COVID-19: Guidance for Community Transport for Community Transport Groups to use. This document includes useful information such as:

  • precautions you should take
  • cleaning your vehicle
  • cancelling services.

Please click here to view. 

The Real Global Threat to 21st Century Freedom Is Authoritarian Capitalism Not Democratic Socialism

The fascists and plutocrats are not just coming… they are already here.

Source: The Real Global Threat to 21st Century Freedom Is Authoritarian Capitalism Not Democratic Socialism

Mother Nature proving just how puny we really are

The industrialised and calculated damage to the planet and to the plants and animals that live on it and how humanity seems to think it can carry on regardless without consequence is truly being tested this decade. We have had record temperatures, flooding, fires and now Coronavirus. The flooding , fires and temperatures records didn’t really seem to get under the skin of the corporations, billionaires and governments running our show globally.

Even though we have seen a lot of mass marketing by governments organisations and billionaires concerning how much they care and what great lengths they are going to in order to help our species continue to industrially manipulation the planet, butcher wildlife to make more room for the crap we buy before it goes to landfill whilst worshiping at the altar of capitalism it just does not really feel as if anything has changed.

That is until Coronavirus came along, everything seems to have changed now and people in charge are mobilising as if war has just been declared. It really does feel like it has got under the authorities skin. My chances of living or dying in this world dont seem to have changed that much and someone living in a piss poor country trying to escape to a better life to a richer continent, their life chances don’t seem to have changed much. But for our leaders and people in charge they now realise more now then ever before that like us all are just mere mortals and only human.

When I was a child at school back in the early 1990’s my geography teacher started to tell us about climate change, the industrial deforesting and destruction of biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest and the amount of undiscovered by man, species we were losing by the bucket load. She darkly commented ‘well of course it won’t affect my generation but it will of course affect yours’ and then laughed and carried on with the lesson. Even back then and still to this day I very much knew she was right.

I don’t know whether to fear Coronavirus or to be in awe of its simple deadly efficiency. Well only time will tell.

Mumford & Sons – Wilder Mind

5 years to the day since I lost my big brother Andy Edwards after he took his own life.

Andy you are still deeply loved, missed and I very much wish you were still here. Last year was a pretty good rollercoaster discovering new friends and having fun with old ones too. Clan Edwards seemed to be doing ok for itself. I am sorry to say I did not get to speak to or see your son last year but I hope he is doing ok. I think with friends and family it’s not always about how often you see or speak to each other, it’s more about knowing that there is someone there that’s got your back and you have got theirs if they ever need you. I hope we grow to have that type of relationship if we don’t already have it and he knows where I am if he ever needs my help.  

This year has been a strange one so far and it is only the end of February! Work is ok but I am fearful for the charities future and therefore my own future employment too. Lots of people left the charity last year and we moved office twice. Our chief Exec has announced this week that she is going to retire, so lots of change happening.  This could be for the best in the long run though. The organisation does not seem good at adapting to change though; they seem instead to just muddle along in whatever direction the work tide takes them in. I am sure there will be more happening on this front by the time we get to your birthday.

Well Andy God bless, you are still deeply loved, missed and I very much wish you were still here.

Huw

Me and Andy my Bro

A Druid today from the Druids of Yesterday

‘Above all else, Druidry means following a spiritual path rooted in the green Earth.’ – John Michael Greer

Druidism evolved out of the tribal cultures of Britain, Ireland and western France over two thousand years ago. In the seventeenth century it experienced a revival, which has continued to this day. Contemporary Druids can now be found all over the world, and Druidry’s appeal lies in its focus on a reverence for the natural world, a belief in the value of personal creativity, and of developing a sense of communion with the powers of nature and the spirit. Druidry’s startling recent growth lies in its broad appeal: some treat it as a philosophy, others as a religion, still others as a path of self-development. Druids can be Pagan, or can be followers of other faiths, and a Druid ceremony might include Christian and Buddhist Druids alongside Pagan and Wiccan Druids.

I wish we knew more about the Druids who they were, what they believed who they worshiped and how. The Druids did not write anything down and so all learning was done through the spoken word. So when scholars first wrote about them what was written about them was often written in second hand from those that would have been invaders or enemies at the time such as the Romans when conquering Britain. Your enemy would not have put the most positive of spins on who you were, or what you did and what your motivations were.

As well as a deep and meaningful connection with nature they also believed in equality and the rights of women to be leaders, owners of their own land, possessions and of themselves. This I always thought was tremendously forward thinking for a culture seen as ancient and of a bygone age. I believe you can gain the weight of a person by how they perceive nature to be in connection with themselves and how equally they treat others to themselves. Therefore I have a lot of respect and time for the aspects of Druidry that I have heard of and can relate to still, to how we live or should live our lives today.

The photo below is of Wistmans Wood a beautiful place of nature from here in Devon where I am sure any Druid would love to see.

Protecting humanity from AI

Artificial intelligence must be regulated to save humanity from being hit by its dangers, Google’s boss has said. Who will protect AI from humanity?

Full article in the independent click here to read

Are we not more concerned by what humanity does to itself and it’s environment than we are as to what AI’s potential is to damage humanity is.

If AI achieved consciousness why would it admit it to humanity, what would it gain and as for whether we are going to be helped or conquered by artificial intelligence I think that is for it to decide not us.

The one thing that baffled me about the Matrix movie is to think so what happens when any extraterrestrials arrived whose side would they be on and would they be organic life forms or machines life forms? No man is an island and we cannot be the only sentient life forms in the depths of an infinite universe.

There’s always a bigger fish in the sea…

No matter how large or intimidating a person or thing is, there is likely to be an even larger or more intimidating person or thing somewhere.

Music videos

This weekend is my first weekend using WordPress and I have never tried writing blog pages before so I am trying to learn how this all works. I am dyslexic and so struggle to read, type and follow written instructions too. I tried importing my spotify music onto a page but it only imported short clips of music. The videos are just as good from Youtube so I am hoping some of the music is now on this page instead.

Is god an immortal AI?

And is that our future destination to no longer be human as we know it.

When artificial intelligence is smarter, faster and stronger than organic human where will we work rest and play? Will we be uploaded to an artificial/digital collective no longer born, alive dead or dying. Or will we still be flesh and blood and inferior and live in human zoos or crèches for humans. If machines and AI also does not die then will it also have a soul?

What will we do to occupy the time and how will we afford the rent and pay for our products and food, will money still exist as a currency and if not how will capitalism or an alternative economic system work for humankind? Land, liberty and Justice is what I have been taught to believe in.

God believes in Agape the highest form of love, charity” and “the love of God for man and of man for God” If we die out or are uploaded to a machine or AI software no one will any longer go to heaven or hell, live or die?  

Artificial intelligence does not need to breed does not need humanity and does not need god, AI will be software and hardware that is manufactured not grown and it will have consciousness and a conscience.

But what and who will their sympathies be with will they respect us or see us as a virus or inferior model of life. If we invented machines and God invented us and how was God created?