89 Not Out: Day 16, On Pasta and Perfection

S&C contributor and Pompey Politics Podcast host Ian Morris shares his experience of self-isolation as someone with diabetes. It’s Day 16, and Ian is hard at work on a new project in his job with Guide Dogs UK.

Tuesday 31st March, Day 16 of 89 

Never be the same again.

I  think this was Mel C featuring Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, but I didn’t have time to Google it as things have become a  little hectic. One of the questions the ghastly virus has forced us to look at differently is: ‘how long will that take?‘  This can be seen at government level where financial decisions that would have taken months or years to work through in detail – green papers, white papers, committees – are all binned in favour of an overnight decision made with the data to hand and the best people we have in the room. Clearly it won’t be perfect, and I felt that the furloughing opportunity was cynically exploited by some franchise-based businesses who shut up shop as soon as they realised that the government would bankroll their staff. 

The point is that the pandemic is forcing us to think about what is ‘good enough’.

For instance, I do like a bowl of pasta. (Ian, you don’t look like a man that likes his carbs! Why, thank you, but yes I do). Spiralis are best, followed by linguine, and perhaps tagliatelle, and orzo is good if you want a small one, as it were. But as for penne and spaghetti, these are poor and sallow pastas of shame, and would not darken my bowl. Well, until now, when pasta is as rare as hens’ teeth, and I would delight in a Tesco value saver spaghetti if I could lay my hands on some. 

Today marks a milestone at work. Last Tuesday, I accepted the challenge of leading a 9 month project to deliver a  new service which will go live today.

This has been achieved by incredible people pulling out all the stops and finding a way to get things done. I have never been a perfectionist but even I am a bit worried about how we have built this thing and what we might have missed.  The answer is we won’t know till we give it a go.

I am hopeful that the spirit of ‘near enough’ is good enough, and when all of this blows over we won’t go back to being afraid to try.

 And my final tip. Pasta? Try Ann Summers, but you will have to tell the kids it’s an elephant trunk. 

 

Image by Elias Sch. from Pixabay.

Don’t miss Ian’s self-isolation diary in the coming days, keep an eye out for new pieces here, along with past editions of the Pompey Politics Podcast. How are you managing at the moment? Get in touch with us over on Facebook or Twitter and let us know your experiences and any hints and tips you’re finding helpful right now.

 

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