Irish super middleweight prospect Tommy “The Governor” Hyde, seven of whose 10 professional fights have been in the U.S., takes his knockout power to Melbourne, Australia, this Saturday for an eight-rounder with Tanzania’s Anuary Mlawa. Presented by Sam LaBruna, the bout at The Melbourne Pavilion will be streamed live globally on http://streems.com.au/
up-to-date news and views from Irish America
Prior to flying from his Cork hometown to Australia
7 KOs] had racked up 47,064 round trip miles fighting in the U.S
That has included three scraps in the Greater Boston area
in addition to contests at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville
There have also been multiple training camps States-side and in the UK
earning Hyde a growing rep as the Irish Road Warrior
Why fight halfway around the world in Australia
“I have a lot of friends living in Australia and we knew there was a huge Irish population,” said Hyde
we decided to get a fight and build a fan base there
I boxed all over the world in places like South Africa
but I never got an opportunity to fight in Australia
so to be able to do both in one trip is like hitting two birds with one stone
I’m getting so much valuable experience fighting all over the world and when I’m stepping up to the world stage
believes his son’s experiences fighting around the world will pay off in the not-too-distant future
“I believe fighting away from home will stand to Tommy when he fights in bigger fights,” said Gary
“He is no stranger to the big shows as he has attended massive shows since he was nine years old
He doesn’t fight with the added advantage of being in the home corner
which will also benefit him when he is in big fights.”
reached the quarterfinals of the World Junior Championships in 2015
and is a three-time Celtic Box Cup gold medalist
At New York’s Madison Square Garden this Thursday
Timmy Egan bids to become the next Irish amateur to win an MSG Boxing Ring Masters title when he takes on Yonali Sanchez of Mendez BC in the 165-pound novice final
is representing Roscommon native Donal Ward’s BUA Boxing Gym based in Astoria
A Gaelic footballer for O’Donovan Rossa and midfielder for the New York Shamrocks
Egan defeated four opponents in five weeks to advance to the final in the highly competitive division that had 31 entrants
It will be the third-year running that an Irish fighter will be bidding for the Ring Masters middleweight novice championship
Sean O’Bradaigh won it in 2023 while Hugh McNulty was the losing finalist last year
“I’ve always wanted to fight in Madison Square Garden
Now I'm gonna get to do it in front of like a lot of my friends and family,” said Egan
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The 10-0 (7 KOs) Hyde, 25, is scheduled to fight Tanzanian Anuary Mlawa, 8-2 (4 KOs) over eight rounds at The Melbourne Pavilion. Only three of Hyde’s pro fights have been in Ireland.
“I have a lot of friends living in Australia and we knew there was a huge Irish population,” Hyde said. “So, we decided to get a fight and build a fanbase here. As an amateur, I boxed all over the world in places like South Africa, Canada, America, and Russia, to name a few, but I never got an opportunity to fight in Australia.”
Hyde had more than 100 fights as an amateur, made it to the quarters of the world juniors in 2015, and won the Haringey Box Cup in 2019.
“Wherever you go in the world, you’re going to find an Irish bar because the Irish are everywhere,” said Hyde. “We support our own and no matter where I fight, I seem to get brilliant support from the local Irish people.
“I love to travel, and I love to fight, so to be able to do both in one trip is like hitting two birds with one stone. I’m getting so much valuable experience fighting all over the world and when I’m stepping up to the world stage, I think that will put me in good stead.”
Hyde’s father and manager, Gary, believes the experience on the road will stand his son in good stead.
“I believe fighting away from home will stand to Tommy when he fights in bigger fights,” Gary added. “He is no stranger to the big shows as he has attended massive shows since he was nine years old. The brighter the lights, the better he will perform. He doesn’t fight with the added advantage of being in the home corner, which will also benefit him when he is in big fights.”
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TM & © 2025 BoxingScene.All Rights Reserved
jewish celebrities
who has been outspoken about her Jewish pride
didn't know her family had a connection to the Holocaust
In a new exclusive clip of PBS’s “Finding Your Roots,” Jewish stand-up comedian, TV host and actress Iliza Schlesinger
whose latest Netflix special is “Iliza Shlesinger: Hot Forever,” discovers that her family has a real
Schlesinger discovered that Esther had a brother
a textile dealer who was still in Poland at the time
He was confined to the walled-in ghetto of his Polish town
which was invaded by the Nazis in September of 1939
“Finding Your Roots” host Henry Louis Gates Jr
confirms that Shlesinger’s family didn’t discuss Lipa’s story
and asks her to relate Esther’s feelings towards Lipa to how she would feel if her brother Ben was in peril
“Horrific… I know that feeling when your sibling’s in danger
especially from an ocean away,” Shlesinger says and sigh deeply
He then showed her some pictures from the ghetto — its tall wall
the rubble and destruction — and asked her how seeing those images and learning that personal connection made her feel
atrocities committed against your own people in particular — there’s always that pull,” she recounts
“but I never thought I had any actual connection because I didn’t know any of that history,” she tells Gates
“I have to go sit with that,” knowing she will need some time to truly process that information
she took her daughter to a Hanukkah service at the Grand Synagogue in Paris
where she was even called her up to light the candles with little Sierra
Shlesinger felt that it was important to attend the service at a time like this
and the act of going to a synagogue stood out to her — because while going to a Holocaust museum or a memorial was about death and remembrance
this act was all about life and continuity
A post shared by ɪʟɪᴢᴀ (@ilizas)
“This simple act was less about ‘loving’ Hanukkah and more about being deliberate in not shying away out of fear,” she wrote on Instagram
“I’m a reformed Jew and I always mention I’m Jewish to people because it’s my way of saying ‘I’m not afraid or ashamed.’ Because we have been so taught to keep a low profile
But I always mention I’m Jewish as a way of showing I don’t hide
I’m allowed to be just as proud of my culture and heritage as anyone is
She ended her post by saying that she hopes that “no matter what religion you are that you can enjoy it peacefully.”
Lior Zaltzman is the deputy managing editor of Kveller
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The project involves the construction of a 71.21 km section of Poland’s S7 expressway between Napierki and Płońsk in the north of the Mazowieckie region. It will be located within the core Baltic-Adriatic corridor of the Trans-European transport network (TEN-T) and will form part of European route E77.
Objectives include creating a safe, comfortable, high-capacity section of road for long-distance, high-speed transit traffic that will have the capacity to handle projected future vehicle flows. The project aims to help reduce travel times and improve living conditions in local communities by channelling traffic away from urban areas.
The road will have two 3.5 m-wide lanes, a 2.5 m-wide hard shoulder and a soft shoulder of 0.75 m in width on both sides of a 12 m dividing strip. , as well as the possibility of adding a third lane. The planned maximum speed is 100 km/h.
Running partly along a section of the existing national road 7 (DK7) and partly along a new corridor mainly to the east of DK7, the road will include nine junctions: Mława Północ, Mława Południe, Modła, Żurominek, Strzegowo Północ, Strzegowo Południe, Glinojeck, Pieńki Rzewińskie and Dłużniewo. Sections of other intersecting roads may be built or rebuilt to adapt the existing network to the path of the S7. Buildings and structures blocking its path will be demolished.
Four rest and service areas – Długiewo, Ćwiklinek, Pepłowo I and Pepłowo II – will be built, as will necessary engineering structures. A road maintenance centre will be established at Glinojeck; sections of DK7 totalling 37.38 km in length will be adapted to function as local roads; the bridge over the river Wkra in Strzegowo will be repaired; and an intelligent traffic management system will be installed.
Further work involves construction of slip roads, pedestrian and bicycle lanes, emergency crossings, passages and mesh fences for animals (including passages linked to bridges, crossings and culverts), acoustic screens and road lighting, and landscaping. Safety equipment such as energy-absorbing barriers, anti-glare shields, fences and horizontal and vertical signage will be set up.
Storm water drainage, and pre-cleaning devices for rainwater flowing from the road into collectors such as watercourses or storm water reservoirs will be put in place. Utility infrastructure including gas and water pipes, sewage systems and telecommunications and power lines will be laid or re-laid.
The work is divided into four parts covering adjacent stretches of the S7: Napierki-Mława from km 0 to km 13.96, Mława-Strzegowo from km 13.96 to km 35.47, Strzegowo-Pieńki from km 35.47 to km 57.46 and Pieńki-Płońsk from km 57.46 to km 71.21.
Beginning near the Napierki junction, the section runs through the municipalities of Wieczfnia Kościelna, Mława, Szydłowo, Wiśniewo, Strzegowo, Glinojeck, Baboszewo, Stupsk and Płońsk, and ends at the Ciechanów junction, at the start of the Płońsk ring road.
The project aims to improve the quality of transport links in Poland through integration of the planned route with the rest of the road network, and to increase accessibility to – and strengthen interregional connections within – the TEN-T network.
In addition, by enhancing the efficiency of road transport, the project is expected to support free movement of people, goods, capital and services, thereby contributing to the EU's external competitiveness and internal economic, social and territorial cohesion.
Total investment for the project “Construction of the S7 expressway Olsztynek-Płońsk, section Napierki-Płońsk” is EUR 449 823 677, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 242 459 568 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Transport infrastructure”.
Ministerstwo obsługujące ministra właściwego ds. rozwoju regionalnego
Generalna Dyrekcja Drog Krajowych I Autostrad
Cork boxer Tommy Hyde at his weight in before his Super Middleweight fight with American Noah Kidd which he won with a fourth round stoppage at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.
April 11th at the Melbourne Pavilion in Australia against Tanzanite fighter Anuary Mlawa
The 26 year-old southpaw Mlawa will be a tricky fight for Hyde and it will be another step up in class for the Corkman
He has a record of eight wins (four by KO) and two losses in his career to date
the 'Governor' will be looking to to extend his unbeaten record with his 11th straight victory
Tommy had been due to fight in the Australian city last year
but an ankle injury forced him to take a step back and he is now hoping to get as many Irish faces in the crowd as possible for support on the night
"There's a massive Irish community in Melbourne
we get everyone there in April and have an unreal night together
"I'm working very hard over in Manchester at the moment and I'll be in the best shape possible for fight night
and this is a step towards that," Hyde said
Cork's Cathal Crowley at his weigh-in before his last fight against Edgar Kemsky in Salthill Leisureland Complex
GalwayHyde was home recently after taking a break from pre-fight prep with well-known trainer Lee Beard in Manchester as he gears up for his next bout
“I’ve been over and back to Manchester since the start of January
so training camp is going great and I’m feeling very sharp now ahead of this fight
"I’ve got some great sparring with my team mates
English light heavyweight champion Troy Jones and the undefeated Marvin Thompson
so I’ll be ready to show my work in the ring
"This is a massive opportunity for me to get to fight in front of a big Irish audience over in Australia and
“I was supposed to fight there last August and the response I got was savage before having to pull out with an injury but this time it's happening and I can't wait," Hyde added
Cork's Cathal Crowley will be also in action next month when he will fight in his seventh professional fight on April 12th in a Night Of Champions at the National Stadium
Crowley’s last outing was last December at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar when he stopped Polish fighter Mikolaj Rabczak at the end of the fourth round
Crowley will be looking to put in another very good performance as he plans to fight for the Irish Super Middleweight title later in the year
“I’ve been training hard in Dublin since my last fight in December
working on improving all aspects of my boxing skills under my coach Packie Collins,” Cathal said
“I got this fight confirmed last month and now it’s time to lock in even more
"The fun is only beginning with hard sparring
sprints and much much more to get me in the best shape of my life for April 12th
"I’m was over to Madison Square Gardens in New York to see Dubliner Emmett Brennan beat Kerry’s Kevin Cronin live and the plan is to fight Brennan for the Irish title at Super Middleweight this summer
we will have to wait and see?,” Crowley added
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seven NHS staff at Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Ilford reflect on the battle to defeat Covid
and tell how the virus tore through their workplaces and their lives
News | Health
It was February and Cherian Koshy was on the beach in Kerala with his wife and two sons
He was taking a week off from his job as Chief Biomedical Scientist at King George Hospital
when he realised what a serious impact coronavirus was going to have on his life back home
However much his family were enjoying the beautiful scenery and long sunny days of southern India
he couldn’t ignore the stories about the virus splashed all over the Indian papers and on loop on every TV screen he walked past
“I’d been following Covid-19 since it broke out in Wuhan and when I heard it was in Europe I knew we’d have a lot of work to do; people would get ill really quickly,” says Koshy
“I started reading everything I could about it while I was on holiday
The world was going mad and I knew I was going to have to act quickly to implement a new testing programme
“The world was going mad and I knew I was going to have to act quickly when I returned to implement a new testing programme.”
Koshy’s job is to test tissue samples and fluids to help diagnose and treat diseases
as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments
When he got back from his holiday there were already suspected coronavirus samples from nasal swabs waiting for him in the laboratory
“There was a global demand for kits and equipment and companies couldn’t give us a date they would deliver them so we had to look at what we already had that could work
but in a few weeks we got the testing kits approved by NHS England
We prepared as much as we could but it hit us big time.”
Koshy — who earned the nickname Mr Covid from colleagues because of how quickly he became an expert on the disease — adds: “I felt a lot of responsibility at work and at home
I didn’t want my family to be exposed to the virus
She lives alone in east London and I’ve been taking her food and medication after work
“There was one day where I went to work in the morning and felt so tired I had to go home
Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS trust
(BHRUT) which also manages Queen’s Hospital in Romford
Together they serve three quarters of a million people in three north-east London boroughs — including the large elderly population in the borough of Havering
who staff feared would be hard hit by Covid-19
Staff were scared to raise concerns over patients
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Queen’s alone has about 900 beds and King George around 450
Both have busy emergency departments in normal times — the A&E at Queen’s deals with 150,000 cases a year
staff at the two hospitals found themselves at the centre of a rapidly evolving
high-pressure global emergency with no certainties
Koshy and his colleagues sound shell-shocked when they talk about the past few months
Everyone from the mortuary worker to the porter describes how anxious they felt dealing with a new virus; not knowing how it would affect their jobs
or their health and that of their families
and with no idea of how long the pandemic would last
saw her first Covid patient in March — a 72-year-old American charity worker who had been travelling through Europe
We did a chest X-ray and sent him to the high dependency unit
but he will always stay in my mind because he was so ill
“That first week we were so unsure about what to expect
We were very keen to have full PPE and masks
It quickly became clear that we were in a fast-changing dynamic situation and we had to adapt quickly.”
and was worried about whether she would live long enough to meet them
There was a pervasive sense that the spread of the virus was accelerating
and that going to work meant inevitable exposure to a dangerous and contagious disease
remembers packages of PPE arriving in March
“We were told we were going to work on swabs
taking them from the testing pods to the labs,” he says
It was all new and scary and sometimes I’d think
“We started preparing the hospital mortuary for Covid early on,” adds Gemma Norburn
an anatomical pathology technologist — her job is to prepare bodies for burial or cremation
“At first I just thought it would be like winter
But it ramped up quickly and became very busy
We had non-stop phone calls from families asking what they could do about funerals
and we could only advise to a certain extent as government guidelines developed.”
outsourcing post-mortem examinations to nearby mortuaries so they could focus on managing capacity
management divided the hospitals into Covid and Non-Covid wards
with separate staff and separate entrances – each hospital effectively became two hospitals
By the end of that month both King George and Queen’s had closed to non-Covid patients
except for those in exceptional circumstances
and staff quickly familiarised themselves with new technology to carry out appointments over the phone
Elective surgery and non-urgent cancer treatment were moved to nearby hospitals
which caused concern but meant staff could be diverted to work on Covid
The one area that couldn’t close was Queen’s maternity ward
About 8,200 babies are born there each year — the third highest number in England and Wales
The maternity ward stayed open and staff tried to do all they could to reassure new parents who were surrounded by people in masks and PPE
the immediate challenge was caring for the soaring number of seriously ill patients
“I feel like I’ve been living in this for a long time even though it’s only been four months,” says Asha Bhulia
Normally Bhulia’s job is to make life as comfortable as possible for patients reaching the end of their lives
controlling their symptoms and pain with the help of drugs
and providing psychological and emotional support
Covid meant that she was doing this on a scale she had never expected
“I’d be on call with a list of patients to see but by the time I got to the ward those patients had died
We were learning on the job as the disease escalated fast
there have been 400 Covid-19-related deaths and 1,114 cases recorded at the trust since the pandemic began
which runs five hospitals across the City and east London
The last patient death at the trust was on the 8 June
and since the start of the pandemic two members of staff have died from covid
Since the start of the pandemic there has been a fivefold increase in critical care capacity across BHRUT
It only hits when you get home and you sit down and realise how exhausted you are
Bhulia says: “You want to power on and see as many patients as possible
That’s how it was for most of my colleagues too.”
“Everybody’s fear was that the NHS would get to breaking point
But then I became so busy at work that I watched less because I was living it.”
She adds: “We know how to deal with breathlessness and help with pain but we didn’t know this disease and we didn’t know whether there would be an end point
It changed everything about how we do our jobs.”
“to update us because otherwise if you’re working all day you miss the new guidance that’s constantly coming in — things like advice from PHE [Public Health England] about everyone wearing masks — that changed quite a bit.”
She describes how they provided support for patients and families — and how Covid presents special difficulties when doing this: “As it went on I learned how to alleviate the physical symptoms — but it’s also that the patients are scared and want their families
If we break bad news to a patient or relative and they are upset
“If we break bad news to a patient or relative and they are upset
There’s always a patient that touches your heart and my colleagues and I usually cuddle too
Social distancing was difficult because we had to change the way we worked so much.”
she and her colleagues made more use of technology to communicate with patients’ families
A gentleman about to go to a hospice called his son
there’s nothing I’d do to change you,’ and his son said he loved him so much
“The gentleman blew kisses to the iPad and his son blew kisses back
The son said I should come on the call too
I had PPE on so they could only see my eyes but it made me well up with tears
Relatives appreciate it so much when you make a call — they’ve been at home worried sick and watching the news just wanting reassurance.”
Family and friends are sending in messages that staff laminate
so they can be cleaned and stuck up around patients’ bedsides
“The virus doesn’t discriminate,” says Elshowaya
We made a huge effort to communicate with their families who couldn’t visit on the phone.”
is one of many staff at the trust whose job has changed
Before the pandemic she was a trauma rehab co-ordinator and physiotherapist
working with patients to optimise their recovery and help them move normally again
But when Covid struck she was redeployed to make sure patients in intensive care were resting in a position in which they could breathe as easily as possible
She had been working part-time but when the pandemic hit she took on extra hours “to do my bit
was furloughed so he looked after their two children
wondering how am I going to manage being in critical care
“I’ve done this for 20 years but I’ve never been in a situation with so many unstable people all side by side
There are simply so many patients needing care that there’s no room in your brain to start analysing the emotions at the time
You have to stay focused on working with them
She continues: “Covid has its own timeline
It will resolve when it wants to resolve — it’s whether the patient can weather the storm
There was a point after the peak [of cases] where I was tired and wondered how it would end
The patients were treading water — they weren’t getting worse but they weren’t getting better
They didn’t need more oxygen but we couldn’t reduce it either
It’s hard to gee yourself up when you don’t see an end point.”
Vital experience was gained as they worked
“We discovered that when the disease develops
patients need to be turned onto their sides to breathe — at first Covid dries the lungs
but the longer you’re on a ventilator the more you produce phlegm
so we turn the patient to loosen it and then suction it out
“You don’t want them to talk too much because you can make them breathless
Normally in graded rehab you push them to get maximum gains
but with Covid you dial that back 20 per cent
You can have someone able to sit on the end of the bed and think they are doing fine
then if you add something like asking them to brush their hair they are breathless again.”
meant that throughout the pandemic all staff worried about their own safety and that of their families
Many still aren’t sure if they have had the virus or not
Elshowaya developed Covid symptoms at the end of March
“I lost my sense of smell and was off work for a week
My mother in Sudan rang me every day to make sure I was ok
I have to continue doing my job with pride and helping others
because being a doctor is the job I always wanted to do.”
a surgeon who she had worked with as a registrar
We will have a memorial service later but for now I’ve written a few lines about him and I keep ringing his family to offer support.”
When Griffiths comes home she has a new routine to lower the risk of contaminating her family
“My children run up to greet me but they know they have to stay away and can’t give me a cuddle and I can’t give them a kiss until I’ve had a shower
I think I’ve had Covid but I can’t wait to have immunity testing to know for sure.”
Her friends and family were worried for her at the start
but when workers were given the right PPE “everyone felt less stressed
I was never in a situation where I didn’t feel safe.”
“You steam up and it’s hard to hear each other but you get used to shouting at each other and there’s a sense of camaraderie
I’ve been trained in donning and doffing it so you don’t spread infection
The one thing is you can’t go to the loo when you’re in PPE because you have to change it and that’s a waste
Normally I have a few coffees in the morning but I can’t do that now.”
plays the ukulele and tends to his tropical fish in his downtime — says: “From the start
if there wasn’t the right PPE I pushed back
You’d go in to the room where it’s kept and someone would have taken the last mask
or the one that’s there isn’t the right one for the job you’re doing
It only takes one bit of contact to catch it.”
He was taken aback at how quickly the virus spread
with rooms that Covid patients had been in marked as dirty
I’d go into ICU [the intensive care unit] to move patients who were ventilated and it looked space-age — all the patients look the same ventilated so you have to search for their name tag or do some guesswork.”
Bobby was three months old when this started and is now six months old — I’m missing him growing up.”
he tells patients the wifi password and helps them set up their phones
I might buy them a newspaper or a magazine
“I was ill at Christmas with symptoms before they said it was here
It would be nice to know if that was Covid
I’d feel safer but I still couldn’t let my guard down
Even now I don’t know whether the Government is letting people out back to normal too early.”
After three months of working amid the pandemic
Griffiths is now processing the data she’s collected on the disease
If there was a second wave this data would be useful
What we haven’t got to grips with is how much fatigue patients have afterwards
“We are trying to work closely with communities to make sure people who have been discharged from hospital can ask for help as they start to be able to walk again and then function independently.”
The pandemic has transformed the way doctors do their day-to-day jobs
who specialises in diabetes and endocrinology
seeing all his existing diabetes and endocrine patients by video call
Across both Queen’s and King George there were 5,700 telephone appointments in April
partly to protect vulnerable people who would be in danger if they came in
Staff say they are pleased that older patients have been able to follow the video call appointments
such as a 90-year-old woman with a fractured wrist who was able to see a specialist and be guided through how to care for it on the phone
Norburn makes innovative use of technology in another aspect of her job — running Death Cafes
aim to make people feel more comfortable talking about death
and normally involve people meeting up to enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake
and this will continue alongside physical appointments
“Death is a taboo subject and people avoid it
“Even when I told my parents I wanted to work in a mortuary — after studying archaeology and then doing a variety of jobs I wasn’t happy in — they weren’t sure
We’ve seen in an increase in younger people wanting to talk about death after Covid.”
The trust has set up “wobble rooms” where people can go to reflect on what’s happened
“It’s a relief to be able to talk to colleagues about it,” says Bhulia
“We have a WhatsApp group and doctors are in it too
It’s nice to speak to people who understand what I’m going through.”
Bhulia was studying to be an advanced nurse clinical practitioner
“When Covid first broke out my studies continued,” she says
“I was preparing for an exam and it was difficult to juggle that with the increased workload
At that point I felt I didn’t have any chance for a break or time to myself — I’d work
But now the exam has been deferred and it’s on hold.”
She knows she will go back to her studies one day and is relaxed about when
“This will stay with me forever,” she adds
“I’m getting through it by hoping it was all temporary and we can go back to how we did our jobs before
Hopefully I won’t experience anything like this again.”
Koshy’s team have been volunteering to work late
then you realise that every single staff member is stressed too
He has been touched by the kindness of his friends
One night during the peak of the outbreak he came home from a shift to find that his neighbour had cut his lawn
“He’d seen that I’d been working so many hours that I didn’t have time to cut it
The hospital has been inundated with care packages from local businesses — drinks
Peters feels that his job matters more than ever and the pandemic has made others appreciate what he does
but Koshy’s workload shows no sign of diminishing
This week he has started on staff antibody tests
More than 2,000 employees have been tested
The pandemic has been grim but working together in its shadow has elevated the feeling of camaraderie and pride among staff — and expanded their skills and experience
This month Mlawa is sharing his hospital’s experience with doctors in Tanzania
“The countries which dealt with Ebola have dealt with Covid well
they have the organisation and know the power of teamwork,” he says
We got through it by working together as a team
“We got through it by working together as a team; cleaners
if one good thing is to have come out of this
it’s that I know more people in the hospital so if I want to refer a patient to
Griffiths adds: “So many random people have been redeployed to critical care
We’re all trying to do our bit and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones
There are nurses who had never done critical care before — they’re upskilling on the job.”
Peters agrees that “the people make the job
My porter job was meant to be temporary after I was made redundant as an engineer but six years later I’m still here — I work with a great bunch of blokes.”
At the peak in April there were 20 Covid wards across the two hospitals
Griffiths says it feels like she is she is “in this weird limbo
We’ve learned so much from each of the patients we’ve had and we’re now stuck between the Covid and non-Covid world
where we don’t really know which direction we’re moving in
and you have to stay ready in case it all happens again
I had a list of patients to see but by the time I got to the ward they had died
Bhulia has worked at the hospital caring for patients reaching the end of their lives
“Our main aim is to try to improve quality of life
“We also care for our patients holistically
emotional and physical elements of how their illness affects them.”
Bhulia’s work accelerated rapidly as the hospital was inundated with people infected with Covid-19
“So many more patients were nearing the end of their life,” she says
“I remember being on call with a list of patients to see but by the time I got to the ward they had died
“There was no time to process that emotionally because there were more patients to see and you wanted to care for as many people as possible.”
who lives with her parents is north-east London
“You want to power on and see as many patients as possible
“Everybody’s fear was that the NHS would get to breaking point
It feels like an eternity since I saw my grandsons but it’s what you do
His job at the hospital was meant to be temporary after he was made redundant from his job as a motor engineer
During the pandemic he has worked more hours
moving beds around and transporting samples
“Going into ICU and moving patients takes a bit of getting used to
You have to try and identify which patient to move but they all look the same when ventilated in space-age machines so you have to try to find their name tags.”
“My life is just work then home then work again
I work in a high-risk area so it’s for their protection.”
Her mother called from Sudan every day to check on her
Before I leave the hospital I change my clothes and have a shower then when I come home I change everything again
especially when we had sick young patients deteriorating in front of our eyes
But every patient we lost regardless of their age made us very sad.”
But I have to continue doing my job with pride and helping people
Being a doctor is the job I always wanted to do.”
Even getting a patient to brush their hair can tip them into breathlessness
trauma rehab co-ordinator and physiotherapist
“Often when I’m working on patient rehabilitation I try to push them to get maximum flexibility gains,” she says
“But with Covid I learned to dial that back 20 per cent because patients can be so unstable
A patient might be able to sit on the end of their bed and you think they are fine
then you add in getting them to do something as simple as brushing their hair and it tips them over the edge into breathlessness.”
turning patients onto their side so that they can loosen the phlegm that builds up when they are on a ventilator
“You can’t go to the toilet working in PPE because you have to change it afterwards and that’s a waste
I’ve got better at taking the PPE on and off
and when I come home my children now know that they can’t kiss or cuddle me until I’ve had a shower and washed my hair.”
She divides the pandemic into three phases
The third phase was when I started to get tired and wanted to know how it would end
It’s hard to gee up when you don’t see an end point
trying to analyse the data recorded to help recovery in case we get a second peak.”
then you look at every single staff member at the hospital and they are all having a hard time
“I worried for my colleagues working on the front line,” he continues
“My wife doesn’t go out because we don’t want her to be exposed to the virus
My mother is 79 and diabetic so she’s isolating at home in east London and I take her medication and food
I’ve seen how devastating this disease can be so I want to protect my family
with scientists from all around the world sharing information with each other
We had non-stop calls from families asking whether they could arrange funerals
“We had non-stop phone calls from families asking what was happening and whether they could arrange funerals but we could only advise to a certain extent because we were waiting for guidance
If I had children I’d have worried about infecting them
My wife is a nurse – we have been like ships passing in the night
and we have adapted to use telemedicine so we don’t forget our non-Covid patients with other conditions.”
has been doing remote talks about the virus for people there
He adds: “My wife is a nurse so we have been like ships passing in the night
working and doing the shopping on days off
who is home from university where she studies pharmacology
worries about us but she knows we are just doing our jobs.”
Hambury has captured what he calls the “everyday heroes” working at BHRUT
“I usually do portraits of people in the public eye but Covid meant that work had completely disappeared,” he says
“So instead I decided to shoot photos of the people involved in the pandemic
We hear about the doctors and surgeons but I wanted to show the porters
He adds: “The staff at these hospitals go to work every day knowing they will be in contact with a dangerous virus
When I went in to take the photos the hospital seemed calm and clean
changing my clothes and showering when I got home before seeing my family
Then I realised the hospital staff have to do that every single day.”
The people Hambury met are from all over the world
“The NHS is so politically charged,” he says
“I hope this project shines a light on the people behind the statistics.”
https://www.stellapictures.co.uk @StellaPicsLtd
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Nostalgia and a sense of loss inspire a mock celebration — fake chuppah and all
(JTA) — Nostalgia for Jews is a well-documented phenomenon in Eastern Europe
with cultural and even substantial commercial aspects
In Ukraine, so-called Jewish-themed restaurants with pork-heavy menus compete for tourists, while figurines of Jews are sold at markets as good luck charms. In Poland, graffiti reading “I miss you, Jew” have become a common sight
Jewish cultural festivals draw large non-Jewish audiences in Krakow
Some credit this trend to a feeling of loss over the near annihilation of once-vibrant Jewish communities
Others trace it a desire to reconnect with the pre-Soviet past
the fake Jewish wedding that was held Saturday in the village of Radzanów
Make-believe Jewish weddings — a regular educational event in Spain and Portugal
where nostalgia for nearly-extinct Jewish communities is also prevalent — are rare in Poland (locals in the village of Bobowa organized one in 2013)
Even rarer are enactments as well-produced as the one in Radzanow
a cultural group promoting Polish heritage
the event featured a few dozen non-Jewish volunteers
Some men wore fake beards and side curls – including ones that didn’t match their natural hair color
a journalist for the Radia dla Ciebie station
got under a chuppah – the canopy used in traditional Jewish weddings — together with his make-believe bride
They were “wed” by a fake rabbi in a show before villagers
whom the event’s organizers sought to teach about Jewish traditions
the London-born founder of From the Depths
which promotes Holocaust commemoration in Poland
events like the one in Radzanów are “some kind of therapy taking place all over the country.”
sees it as a way of commemorating the hundreds of Jews who had accounted for approximately half of her village’s population before the Holocaust
“We want to remember all those homes of all pre-war Jews, who lived a peaceful life punctuated by the rhythm of holidays, family celebrations and more mundane events,” she told the news site Nasza Mlawa
Nearly all who remained would be sent to the Mlawa ghetto
“We remember those who lived here before us and entered the memory of our grandmothers and grandparents
It was so recently,” said Rychcik-Nowakowska
Elsewhere in Europe, Jewish-themed festivals are more common , bringing together hundreds of participants. There too, Jewish-themed events are held in the absence of a living, breathing Jewish community thanks to nostalgia and a desire to generate tourism revenue
where hundreds of thousands of Jews were oppressed 500 years ago during the Inquisition
the passage of time has made goodwill gestures toward Jews less complicated than in the east
Spain and Portugal even passed laws granting citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews – a move whose generosity contrasts sharply with the refusal by Poland and other East European countries to offer even partial restitution for property that was stolen from Jewish communities
an actress from the Jewish Theater in Warsaw
She choreographed the entire affair — from the signing of the ketubah (the Jewish marriage contract) to the traditional Jewish music played by a band of locals and musicians from the capital
Even the POLIN Jewish museum of Warsaw was consulted in staging the event
The wedding is not the only attempt by Radzanów locals to reconnect with their village’s lost Jewish heritage
initiated a project aimed at rededicating and reopening the village’s abandoned synagogue – a small but beautiful Moorish-style building that miraculously survived the Nazi occupation
who has secured the cooperation of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland for his project but is still looking for investors
is adamant about restoring the synagogue to a house of worship rather than having it turn into museum
“If there is no Torah in the synagogue, than it is still just a building,” he told the news site Gosc Plocki
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century
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