In Praise of the Ordinary

At one of my book group meetings, we were asked who we admired most – living or dead. What followed were the usual replies: Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King … Without doubt, all of these deserved our utmost respect for both their courage and compassion. But when it came to my turn, I said, ‘The church ladies’. A slightly uncomfortable pause followed. If I could have seen the thought bubbles around the room, they would have read: ‘Who? ‘What?’ ‘Why them?’

So I explained. While I admired all the other folks they mentioned, I especially admired the ones who never received any public recognition and very little reward. I wanted to recognise them.

When my children were tiny, I attended and later ran the Mums and Toddlers group in the church hall. It was open to everyone and provided a haven for me on Wednesday mornings. We were made hot cups of tea; the children were entertained and we had a chance to relax and chat with other mums. This was possible because of the ‘church ladies’ who came each week to brew and wash up, drag out toys and take the register.

These kind souls performed innumerable other tasks throughout the week. As my children grew, they offered age related services from Sunday school to youth group. Though they taught Christian values, they never proselytised. They taught instead the invaluable lesson of gracious giving, a model of love through action.

And in these extraordinary times, I would like to thank those other, ordinary people who are often overlooked, though their contribution to our well-being is immense.

My first is the refuse collectors. While listening to the news one day recently, the presenter said that they were hoping to maintain regular collections. For a moment, I was panic struck. What if they didn’t? With these warm days, rubbish would soon begin to fester, vermin would multiply, further diseases would manifest themselves on top of the current virus.

Only when faced with their loss did I fully appreciate their presence. Our health and well-being relied on this humble occupation. I asked my husband to put a wee note on the bins to say thank you. It seemed the least we could do.

My second group is also one which is almost universally overlooked, yet fundamental to the functioning of any town. These are the council workers – often overworked, certainly underpaid and generally the butt of jokes. Their roles are seldom glamorous and historically, they have not been seen as especially helpful. Like any office, there will be the ‘computer says no’ types, but the majority are doing their best with limited resources of both time and money.

Volunteering with the Citizens Advice has given me a much better insight into the insurmountable task these people are given. The Corona virus has intensified pressures, causing job losses in the town and increasing the need for public assistance. And it was through CitA that I discovered that the local Job Centre had processed a staggering 3,000 Universal Credit applications in record time. In their efforts to keep the wait for benefits as low as possible (it’s already five weeks after processing) they worked overtime and through the bank holiday. I doubt that their efforts will hit the headlines nor that the recipients would have any clue of the sacrifices made on their behalf, but I do, and so now do you.

And lastly, I want to thank everyone who is keeping us fed from the farmers to supermarket shop assistants – especially the shop assistants. While media inches were spent (quite rightly) on the dearth of PPE for medical staff, shop assistants were asked each and every day to encounter hundreds of customers with no protection at all. Though this has improved, I doubt it is perfect.

Since I am self-isolating, we shop online and our deliveries come at the most varied times – sometimes as late as ten in the evening. We always make sure to thank the drivers, who are invariably cheery and polite, despite it being the end of a long day.

So my request to you is this. When standing outside on Thursday evening applauding the valiant efforts of the NHS, I ask you to clap for all the others who quietly go about their tasks and whose commitment and diligence make such a contribution to our lives.

Whenever possible, by a note or a friendly wave, thank those who help us. Feeling valued goes a long way to alleviating the stress and difficulty of any job.

And lastly, when the crisis is over, let us all champion those who have served us in these difficult times. These ordinary people are the foundations of our society just as the church ladies were the foundation of the church. We can take their efforts for granted or we can truly applaud them by making sure they are recompensed with fair pay and decent working conditions. We depend on them; let’s make sure that they can depend on us.