Mrs Lyons

French & German teacher; DH of Sixth Form; loves words, language & learning; bit of a geek; runner; RMR, BAMR; She/Her; All views my own

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@Michael38890866 @parthaskar @RupertLowe10 That would require the government to make more places available on medicine courses in order to have the number of British trained doctors. There aren't swathes of unemployed doctors out there complaining they can't get jobs because of foreign doctors coming in instead.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@McgavinRich @OonaghKelleher @adamboxer1 But kids care about things they hear, see or read. After reading a book when he was 7 about tigers becoming endangered because of palm oil farming, my son no longer eats Nutella because it contains palm oil and spends one week's pocket money to sponsor a tiger. His choice.

[Greens Organise @GreensOrganise]

Pay Up!

It’s time all employers in the UK paid a liveable wage. It’s a bare minimum.

@LivingWageUK have just announced that the rate has risen to £13.45 per hour/£14.80 in London.

We’ve had enough of being exploited. We’ve had enough of greedy bosses.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

It's so important that men speak up about this and share their mental health. I see this in school - we know when our girls are struggling, but the boys rarely talk to us. In talks about MH it's also more often boys who are visibly uncomfortable. Let's normalise this openness.

[Stan Collymore @StanCollymore]

Suicide.

I'm choosing to be deliberately blunt and provocative in this post because it's necessary. Government, charities, football clubs are all pushing water up a hill in highlighting what is undoubtedly a major health crisis.

You take a rope.
You put it up in a garage or a tree nearby or far away.
You're thinking about every loved one you'll leave behind as you put that rope around your neck.
Then you drop.

Some are decapitated.
Some aren't.
All are found by someone who has a lifetime of trauma that will never leave them.
A son.
A daughter.
A brother.
A sister.
A mother.
A father.

I know 2 men who hung themselves.

One was found by his Mom.
One was found by his brother.
Neither have recovered fully. 20 and 30 years on.

A life sentence for people who were already worrying, terrified their loved one may do something.

So just visualise the above and ask, "is there another way"?

A segway for a moment.

I do a few Q&A's every year. Tales of yesterday with a 99% male audience of my age group.

After the stories and fun, my last question back to the audience is..

"Hands up if you struggle with a mental health issue".

Nobody ever puts a hand up. Despite 1 in every 3 of 500 attendees statistically struggling.

"Ah, nobody, that's fucking brilliant! Well I do! ". I then graphically tell people, stunned into silence about how a rope around my neck in the middle of nowhere jolted me to go home and cry like a baby to my Mom.

After the Q&A has finished, something always happens. I'll be chatting to a few guys, saying bye and one by one, men will come over and whisper " I struggle".

Or my mailbox the next day will have 30 emails from guys, their partners or kids saying " Dad/Uncle /Brother was there last night and what you said hit them hard".

And that's how some people realise that it's time to speak to a pal or family member or even rant to me in an email. It works, I often get a follow up email a year or 6 later saying that they took responsibility for their suicidal feelings and are now flying.

Humans are programmed to want to live, to have families and to keep the species growing and thriving. So for a human to want to short circuit that desire isn't normal, and it should never be spoken of as normal. It's the ultimate red flag.

If you suspect your mate, Dad, Brother, Uncle is struggling mentally, they deserve your intervention.

They deserve a " are you OK, please tell me what's up".

They deserve an opportunity to get past wanting to hang a rope over a tree or in a garage and slowly struggle until they die and you find them.

If you've been there and trust me I have plenty, then you'll know that text out of the blue, or a footie mate or one of your kids asking jow you are can open the curtains to some sunshine.

Because when suicide is your only answer, the room is already dark, and you can't see a way out.

So please, fucking pretty please, ask that husband, Dad, Uncle, Cousin, footie pal TODAY how they are.

You may be shocked what comes back but extremely glad that you asked.

For those who struggle, you're not alone.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@DuiliusNotus @StuartLngr @BladeoftheS Who specified billionaires? He just said the rich.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@AsianStockTradr @secretHT1 What would you consider to be useful stuff? I would have thought that being able to read, write, have at least a basic ability to deal with numbers would be useful. Never mind that without school you'd have no doctors, lawyers, vets, teachers who continue the cycle...

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@KateJones_teach Congratulations Kate

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@MissCatnach It's so hard. I was the main earner and couldn't afford to stay off more than 6 months. I remember crying when I realised I was halfway through my mat leave. I was lucky that my mum helped me out so I had an extra month but he was still only 7 months old when I went back FT.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@ScunthorpeMWS @Lancsiron @Strickomaster That's right.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@missgeog92 Love these!

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@missgeog92 Your displays are always awesome. I'd just love to have my own classroom to make doing displays worth it.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

Most countries missed the deadline to submit their climate plans. But there’s still time to act. @EmmanuelMacron @bundeskanzler, the world needs ambitious NDCs in 2025 — ones that cut emissions and protect people. The world is looking to you to get this right. #ClimateAction

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@GordonBerridge @piersmorgan I remember being so disappointed I couldn't vote in 1997 as I was a few months shy of 18 yet very engaged in politics while some friends of mine who were 18 had no idea. It's about education and ensuring people, whatever age they are, are able to make informed choices.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@GordonBerridge @Polythinker123 @piersmorgan A little over 50% of those who voted not a little over 50% of the population. Very different numbers of people.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@kateowbridge Yes, I had a period where I couldn't go shopping without using my calculator as it was that close to whether I'd have enough money to cover it all.

[Double Down News @DoubleDownNews]

“Murder 20,000 children and you’re not a terrorist, put red paint on a aeroplane and you’re a terrorist. The real terrorist is the Israeli state.”

@AlexeiSaylePod on Palestine Action Ban

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@llewelyn20 I read to try and turn my brain off before I go to sleep, and write down any persistent worries or things I need to do the next day on a pad and paper. I also read about picking a word & then thinking of as many words that start with each letter of that word. Helps me drift off.

[GET A GRIP @docrussjackson]

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” 
– Dwight D. Eisenhower (Former President of the United States, 1890 – 1969)

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@mflandbeyond I walked down the aisle to this ♥️ such a beautiful piece of music.

[Mrs Lyons @MrsLLyons]

@bphillipsonMP How many more cuts do you think schools can make, when we've been making cuts since 2010 and NI has gone up too? I'd love a 4% pay rise, but not at the expense of even more cuts to school.