OPINION With Phil Brandel @Philbrandel1
The paradigm has shifted Last week pop singer Justin Timberlake made some comments that haven’t gone down well with parents across the globe. The entertainer appeared on American radio and said that while he and his wife Jessica Beil are doing fine during the coronavirus pandemic, they might need some space from their 5-year-old son Silas. “We’re mostly commiserating over the fact that 24-hour parenting is just not human,” The fall out was swift with tweets like “Hey @jtimberlake, cry me a fxxxing river about how you’re stuck in a mansion and “24-hour parenting isn’t human.” While I’m working as a nurse, trying to spend time with my kids but hoping I don’t contract this awful virus to spread to my family; you enjoy your life of leisure.” Most comments followed the same thread, the paradigm has well and truly shifted during the current COVID-19 crisis. Not that long ago, we were hearing regularly from vapid minds like the Kardashians/West and getting minute details on their every move. Was anyone else sick of hearing that Meghan Markle was moving to Canada? But now thanks to COVID-19 it seems like we have a new stable of stars who are rocketing up the charts. People whose words we hang off like every syllable is life or death…because it is. People like Professor Brendan Murphy who is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the Australian Government and is the principal medical adviser
to the Minister and Health. People like Alison McMillan the Governments Chief Nurse and midwife. We have also started to pay a lot more attention to our Doctors, Nurses and Scientists. How much more do you think teachers are worth, now that we are all staring down the barrel of five weeks of homeschooling. In the scheme of things who is more important to you day to day life, Justin Beiber or the person who cleans and disinfects the trolleys and hand baskets at your local supermarket? If there is another silver lining to the dark grey cloud that is COVID-19, it’s the suspension of reality TV shows like Married at first sight, Big Brother and any show that involves building and/or renovating. Instead of daily updates on what these so-called celebrities are eating/buying/wearing/dating, we are now glued to daily updates on how we can keep our families alive. But the biggest trophy for trying to remain relevant while the world moves on must go to the NRL. The NRL has been weaving and ducking trying to get their 2020 season back on, not for the sake of the fans, but for the sake of the sponsors, TV rights holders and club owners. Have a think who should be paid more. The boof head bloke who can run, catch and kick a ball? Or the nurse who works 12 hours a day risking her life to take care of others?
Dress up and take the bin out WITH people practicing social distancing and isolation, many have exhausted all the normal avenues of entertainment pretty quick. But there is a new form of entertainment – Bin Isolation Outing. The idea came from the fact
that now our wheelie bins tend to go out more often than we do, so now it’s become a form of entertainment all across the country and even the world. People are now getting dressed up in all sorts of costumes from princesses to Stormtroop-
ers when they take their bin out. It’s a way to “Break the boredom of isolation and to encourage everyone to do something a little different for a laugh” as one Tablelands resident put it. Now the question remains will this strange form of enter-
tainment become common after restrictions are lifted, or will it disappear? Head to Facebook and join the Bin Isolation Outing page and send us your photos to admin@theexpressnewspaper. com.au
Locals Ivy Heder (below) and Silvia Rath (right) have joined in the Bin Isolation Outing fun.
PHOTO of the week
The winner of the Tablelands and Surrounds Photography Group two weeks in a row is ... JILL MELODY
The theme was ‘isolation.’ The photo was actually taken little awhile ago but, as we always seem to be on our own at sunrise, we are quite isolated. Here I was , enjoying the day break and a cuppa, with my husband Luke and our beautiful little dog Kawaii at Bramston Beach. ENTER YOUR PHOTOS VIA THE FACEBOOK PAGE – Tablelands and Surrounding Photography Group
EXPRESSyourself LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thank you and congratulations THROUGH your publication, I would like to congratulate the successful candidates of the recent Mareeba Shire Council election. As one of the unsuccessful candidates in the election, I would also like to thank all the contenders for their camaraderie and support which made the campaign a great experience. To those constituents and friends who offered to man polling booths, arranged forums and assisted in many other ways,
thank you for your encouragement and support in the many activities that make up a campaign Finally, I would like to thank the constituents of the shire for the wonderful support they gave me through the ballot boxes over the pre poll period and on election day. Yours Sincerely. Ann Bell SPEEWAH Independent Candidate for Mareeba Shire Council 2020
! y a d s e n d e W y r e v e y p o c r u Grab yo WE WILL CONTINUE TO DELIVER LOCAL NEWS TO YOU EVERY WEDNESDAY...
GRAB A COPY FROM YOUR LOCAL STOCKIST Please follow all social distancing rules when getting your weekly copy of The Express! PAGE 12 The Express, Wednesday, April 22, 2020
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