Gareth 'Hottie' Southgate (and working arrangements after 19th July)

 

Warning, there is talk of football in this blog, but it should segue nicely (or convolutedly) into working arrangements...

 That was an incredible evening's entertainment last night. It's the morning after and I'm still feeling a little befuddled by the experience. I watched it with a group of friends, all of whom have been double-vaccinated and two of the group are doctors, just in case anything goes wrong...  It is so good to see the national swell of support for the England team and I really hope that the 2-hours of the game were a lonely place for those who boo the England players for taking the knee before games. The cheers of support now drown the jeers and the players continue to highlight the evils of racism. Such brilliant leadership from Gareth Southgate, discussing with the team what they wanted to do and then supporting them with their decision. The transition of the England Manager from the player who missed a crucial penalty in Euro 1996 to national leadership & fashion icon is quite remarkable. Perhaps more remarkable is this thread on Twitter, describing how he'd be the perfect partner - it is absolutely hilarious, try and get some time to read it: "Gareth Southgate is the ultimate middle-aged crush. I just want him to drive me to a colonoscopy appointment then sit outside eating a scotch egg in dignified silence" https://twitter.com/littlemaddles/status/1410950345203798017  (apologies if anything inappropriate has now got into the thread, but it was perfectly good when I read it!)

 I've been watching the England games with my friend Manda. She's absolutely football-mad and for a couple of hours, we just sit and talk complete rubbish. No talk about work, children, health problems of elderly parents or Covid; it's like a spa-session for the brain. The first time I was able to do this, I felt a little overwhelmed. I remarked to my wife afterwards that it felt so normal and that's what I'd really been missing. So when I get into County Hall soon, will I dissolve into a quivering wreck when I see people, talk with them face-to-face and listen to how they've been? Let's see, I'll be in for a couple of public-facing meetings shortly.

That brings me on to arrangements for coming into offices from 19th July. Although the government won't be announcing a firm decision until 12th July, it is pretty clear that in the face of rising cases of the new variant, we are being told we have to learn to 'live with it'. And that is true, we will have to learn to live with Covid-19 but that doesn't mean a compulsory mass piling-in to workplaces and other venues. We've been absolutely clear that hybrid working is the way ahead for Somerset County Council, so a mixture of home and office locations, with teams discussing and agreeing the best way forward. This reduces occupancy levels in our offices and helps maintain a Covid-secure environment. So we are not supporting a return to how things were before March 2020, but there are and will be discussions over the coming months about how we work together to make sure we're operating at our best in the most appropriate locations. And for most of us, this will likely include some time in the office to work on things with colleagues, meet new team members, and have that social-side that helps teams work brilliantly together. Of course there will be individual circumstances where we need to be sympathetic, such as needing to be in the workplace or at home because of personal considerations. That is absolutely understood. But for now, we are taking things extremely cautiously and for good reason: The Health & Wellbeing of the workforce remains a top-priority. This has absolutely been the case throughout the pandemic and remains so now. Of course there are the personal considerations about not wanting to see colleagues and friends contract the virus. There are also the business reasons; we have increased demand for our services, we can't risk a big increase in infections in our workforce.

And so back to the football and the minor matter of Italy on Sunday evening. Both teams are managed by superb leaders, one played up front, the other in defence during their playing-careers and both wear a suit very well. Of course, an England win would be an enormous boost for us, after everything we've been through over the past 16-months. But then the Italians have had it extremely tough as well; remember the scenes early on in the pandemic, coming out of Italy? The nightmare in their hospitals, the early view of what lockdown would look like, and opera being sung from balconies over deserted streets? Winning this tournament would mean so much to both countries and that's probably why I still feel a bit overwhelmed by it all. A huge well-done to the players and managers for putting smiles on our faces and giving us 'other things' to talk and get excited about. 

On that note, one more from the Twitter-thread: "Gareth Southgate is the kind of man who would go back into Tesco for their partner because they'd forgotten to buy the main thing they went in there for, with no tutting or annoyance, just a gentle smile saying 'Well after all it is for our dinner, teamwork makes the dream work'.

Thank you for reading, have a good weekend and perhaps don't book any early meetings on Monday morning...