Looking forward to an online meeting this Thursday with international speakers. For one, it being advertised made me aware - I may be a retiree soon, but I can still play a role. Secondly, working in statutory services, in my fifties, as a locum senior social worker in my personal reflection meant a sort of reconciliation with the many ills of the world that had previously tended to depress me. Here I could do something, a core thing, for one person- and it changed my world.
The other thing it taught me, on a personal level was my understanding of the phrase 'let's agree to disagree' - a core of what had attracted me to come to Britain - was mine.  The Local Authority reps who found me me a bit too radical (even as they could not put their finger on it), not only ignored the professional guide lines for social workers which demand walking that tight rope - authority - advocacy, they genuinely could not relax into having differing views.  

Today I read on linkedin that NHS whistleblower Dr Chris Day has been granted a Hearing at the Court of Appeal to challenge the previous decision which was made without examination and cross-examination.  I am delighted for him. He rightly points out how much the NHS has spent on discrediting him.  You don't want me to work out what it could have been spent on. I take heart in the fact that nurses and doctors are currently speaking out about shortage of equipment,  Where accurate, I trust all this could well contribute to a development where the Public Interest Disclosure Act is no longer beind undermined. 

Prompted by another social worker's question on facebook, I am reflecting on what sees me through and I find a few sentences recently heard echoing in my mind. There is the former GCHQ translator Katharine Gun. Her experience is presented in the film Official Secrets: She did not stop the war in Irak but says she has no regrets, she would do it again 'because 'truth always matters' . There is Judge Claire Gilham who had to take the case for whistle-blower-protection to the Supreme Court after having raised concerns about local working conditions. She says: 'Ethically I have always known my point was right'. There is the late Pakistani Human Rights lawyer Asma Jahangir who said 'of course you are afraid, of course you cry - but that does not mean you stop'. Of course, only the latter was in a position where her life was at risk. And only Katharine Gun was imprisoned when accused of a breach of the Official Secrets Act. - In my personal reflection what matters is that their courage resonates with me through these sentences. A conscientious decision stands. And that's that. Paradoxically, I wonder: Perhaps it helps to be a bit on the introvert and sensitive side... 
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