CLAPPING IS KEY...

At the moment Thursday night at 8 O'Clock is clapping time. It is to say thank you to the people who are doing 'key' jobs to care for everybody else. 'Key' is not that metal thing to shut or open doors but key cos they make sure all humans can 'keep going' - as my human Dad says - while they try to hide from the coronavirus.

The National Health Service is the most important service of all right now - it takes care of all humans' health. Nurses and health care assistants and doctors are the key workers who get close to any human who is sick and try to make them well again. They - and other support people in hospitals - are doing their best to save people from the virus. Some people only get a little bit unwell and can stay at home to get better, but other people have to go to hospital cos they can't breathe cos the virus has attacked their lungs, which are the things we use to breathe. If they stop breathing completely then they die and sadly that is happening to a lot of people. But some are also saved by breathing machines that make sure they get enough oxygen so their lungs get better and then they can breathe again for themselves. The nurses and health care assistants and doctors and anyone going close to them have to wear coverings on their faces and bodies and hands to try to stop the virus attacking them. Many people are cross and upset cos there have not been enough of these coverings and some nurses and doctors and health care assistants have died too.

The people who are key in hospitals in hospitals also need to get to the hospitals so they need ways of getting there if it is too far to walk so another lot of key workers are the people who drive buses or trains that go from homes to hospitals.

Cos many people - in fact all people who aren't key workers - have been told to stay at home, and some of those told to stay at home have illnesses already and they can't go out at all - then they need things brought to them so they can eat and drink and 'keep going' too. That means another lot of humans are key - those ones bringing that food and drink and other things people - and all the animals living with them - need to stay alive and well. They are called delivery people and they have been extra busy cos more people than those who have to stay at home have asked them to bring them things and that has meant it's been very difficult for the people who have been told not to go out at all to get everything they need. The delivery people have to go to lots of homes and that means being near lots of people, and even though they keep a long human distance apart, they still might be more at risk of the virus attacking them.

There are also key workers who bring letters and other things to people's homes and they have to keep working too cos people are still sending things to each other and that's good cos it makes people feel good to get things especially from loved ones they can't be close to at the moment.

People who clean are very important cos cleaning helps stop the virus from being on things and getting onto people when they touch those things. Cos they might still touch things with the virus on people have to keep cleaning their hands too. And then the rubbish needs to be taken away so people called 'bin men' are also key.

For people who can go to the shops to get their food then another lot of key workers have to be in those shops to put food on the shelves and help those people pay for their food before they can take it home.

To 'keep going' many people - and animals too - need 'pills and potions' - as my human Mum calls them - to make their bodies work properly - so another lot of key workers called pharmacists have to give those out and human doctors called GPs and animal doctors called vets have to be key working too to tell them pharmacists to give the 'pills and potions'.

Then there are people who have to go around and look at what other people are doing outside and if they are getting together with lots of them and not staying a long human distance apart, or of they are not exercising or with other people from their home, but playing games or sitting in the sun, then those key workers - who are called police - have to ask them to 'move on' or 'go home' and if they don't do that they have to pay money to the police.

Some people who are old or also not very well are called vulnerable and need key workers to care for them - those workers are called carers and they need coverings to protect them cos like the nurses and doctors and health care assistants in hospitals and the vulnerable people they are looking after, they may get more of the virus attacking them and be less able to fight it away.

All those key workers that I've already written about need other key workers to look after their children if they have them.

And then there are the people who are supposed to look after the country and everybody in it and they tell everybody else what to do, though many people think they haven't told people the right thing to do at the right time, so the virus has managed to hurt more people. So I don't know if those people - who are called members of parliament cos they sit on parliament, except not now - are key workers cos they may not be keeping the country going very well.

After humans have all kept going so much that the virus is no longer attacking people and key workers called scientists have found a way to stop it - then I think all these key workers need special treats - I'd like lots of Babybel cheese but I think they would like more money cos they don't get very much.

Until then keep clapping at 8 O'Clock on Thursday nights.

Love and licks, Emma and Ted XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

To read my other stories please visit my blog http://tedterrier.blogspot.co.uk/ or you can get my books, The Journal of Ted Terrier, The Second Journal of Ted Terrier and The Third Journal of Ted Terrier – with different pictures and stories - from any amazon website: http://tinyurl.com/q6a49tx (First One in Colour) at .com or http://tinyurl.com/o3pjra8 (First One in Colour), http://tinyurl.com/jxegs3b (Second One) and http://tinyurl.com/jnyjpy3 (Third One) at .co.uk or read about it as well as other dog books at http://wooftasticbooks.com/…/11/26/the-journal-of-ted-terr…/ .

The Blog of Ted Terrier © 2020 by Emma Knight

Art by Sue Mynall

MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN...

Cos too many men and women and children went out in the sun that happened on Sunday - sun does not always happen on Sunday but it was a very sunny Sunday and also the day to show extra love to your mothers - and didn't stay a long human being apart from each other - they have all now been told to go to their rooms in their homes and stay there for at least three weeks. Also cos they were also going into shops and standing too close to each other, they are now only allowed in shops a few humans at a time, and there are round things on the floors of the shops that sell things that people need to keep living, like food and medicines, and the round things are a long human being apart. Humans have to be told what to do sometimes cos their thinking is muddled. The difficulty is though that they are being told what to do by other humans who might be called 'mad' cos they have even more muddled thinking. Humans let their thinking cover up their feelings sometimes and the more they do that the madder they are. Dogs just feel and then act on those feelings. It's only humans that call dogs mad, but we can't be mad cos our thinking is just the right amount of thinking to behave how we feel. It would be very difficult if dogs had coronavirus and could give it to humans cos all we feel is that we want to be close to and love our humans.

My human Mummy - Jane - would say that sometimes - at this time - love isn't sensible cos now it means it makes someone ill and so you might lose them. She would say she was a 'very silly sort of a person' but she loved others very much even though her muddled thinking sometimes made it very difficult for her to act on her feelings of love.

Other humans' muddled thinking can mean they only think of themselves and they don't mind what happens to other people cos of them doing that. They are called selfish. Dogs can't be selfish cos all they love is their humans. Everything we do is to make them happy and doing that makes them more likely to be well and stay healthy.

Humans please love like dogs but with just enough thinking of humans so you can love at a distance.

You can go out in the sun for walkies away from your home once a day - having one of us with you helps that too - or you can go out in the sun in your garden as many times as you want to - and we will very happily go with you all those times!

Love and licks, Emma and Ted XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

To read my other stories please visit my blog http://tedterrier.blogspot.co.uk/ or you can get my books, The Journal of Ted Terrier, The Second Journal of Ted Terrier and The Third Journal of Ted Terrier – with different pictures and stories - from any amazon website: http://tinyurl.com/q6a49tx (First One in Colour) at .com or http://tinyurl.com/o3pjra8 (First One in Colour), http://tinyurl.com/jxegs3b (Second One) and http://tinyurl.com/jnyjpy3 (Third One) at .co.uk or read about it as well as other dog books at http://wooftasticbooks.com/…/11/26/the-journal-of-ted-terr…/ .

The Blog of Ted Terrier © 2020 by Emma Knight

Art by Sue Mynall

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS - Written on International Puppy Day

There is a new thing on earth - it is a being cos it is but it is not alive. But I don't like it cos it is hurting my favourite humans. Oh and just in case you were thinking too much about that all humans are my favourites, what I mean is my favourite beings who are human beings!

It's called a coronavirus, which Emma says I must tell everyone is not like the drink that she likes to drink, though she doesn't like to drink it at the moment cos the virus is horrible and the drink is nice, but she says there may be a problem with assocification (I think she said that) - which is when one thing makes you think of another and makes you not enjoy thinking of the one you like.

Emma also likes the colours in the picture of the coronavirus on television cos it is orange and pink with purple spikes. But it might not look like that in real life if you could see it, which you can't and if it was alive which it isn't really. Cos you can't see it, it can jump around from person to person without any of them knowing, and they only know if they have it if they get unwell in the way that other people say it makes them unwell. But even then they didn't know if they really had it and it can fool you cos it can make you unwell in different ways or even not make you unwell at all.

If I saw one I'd bark at it and eat it. Dogs can't be hurt by it, which is very good news cos it means humans can still be hugged and kissed and licked by us and we don't have to 'socially distance' from them. Socially distance means each human being has to be the length of a tall human being away from any other human being. They are still allowed to love each other, but they can't do it by being close to each other, which is not very nice at all.

The coronavirus started in China by jumping from another animal to human beings in a seafood market in Wuhan. And then it just kept on jumping from human to human cos they were still close together and cos even though a doctor told other people about it they didn't listen. When they finally did listen that poor doctor had died, and even though they tried to stop it jumping around even more it was too late cos it had started jumping to people who went to other countries. Now it has jumped all over the world. Well lots of its have cos that's what it wants to do make lots of its of itself.

As Emma says more Italians than anyone else in other countries have it. Italians do a great deal of hugging and kissing each other and like to be together in big numbers of them. I think that should be a good thing, but sadly it's not cos of this virus. Italians have been showing how much they love each other by singing on their balconies and having parties where they can see and hear each other whilst being at least a tall human length apart.

Other humans in other parts of the world are singing and dancing and exercising for each other in videos that they put on their computers or phones and then tell other people to watch or sing too or dance or anything else they may want to do at the same time. Telephone talking is safe too. And doctor and nurse humans are doing wonderful work to help the other humans the virus has jumped on. Many humans are clapping those doctors and nurses too.

For a while - and I'm sad it's still happening - some humans suffered with their muddled thinking again - like in 2016 when they didn't want to listen to experts just cos they were experts and were the people who spend their time finding out the information we need to make the decision that is best for everybody's being to be well. And that's why humans have not been able to stop coronavirus jumping.

So Ted Terrier's Advice on International Puppy Day:

One: Hug a puppy!

Next one: Be with other humans by dancing, singing, talking, exercising - lots of walkies, sharing so long as you are at least a long human distance apart or on a computer.

The one after that: If you are older than 70 human years or not very well all the time, stay at home away from other humans who do not already live with you, but with your dog or dogs. We love having you with us!

Another next one: Get a dog to live with you if one of us doesn't already.

Another one after that: Think about other people and make sure they are ok - be like a dog.

And cos of that thinking: Send other humans food or medicines, the best one of those being a puppy full of love.

And last bit of thinking for now: If you have to do work do it at home - unless you have to go and look after other people cos they need you to go to them cos they can't come to you - but if not play - especially with your dog.

And an extra bit: Be safe... Share love with each other... and Be loved by Dogs!

Love and licks, Emma and Ted XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

To read my other stories please visit my blog http://tedterrier.blogspot.co.uk/ or you can get my books, The Journal of Ted Terrier, The Second Journal of Ted Terrier and The Third Journal of Ted Terrier – with different pictures and stories - from any amazon website: http://tinyurl.com/q6a49tx (First One in Colour) at .com or http://tinyurl.com/o3pjra8 (First One in Colour), http://tinyurl.com/jxegs3b (Second One) and http://tinyurl.com/jnyjpy3 (Third One) at .co.uk or read about it as well as other dog books at http://wooftasticbooks.com/…/11/26/the-journal-of-ted-terr…/ .

The Blog of Ted Terrier © 2020 by Emma Knight

Art by Sue Mynall