Marshall Training
Zoom on-line training by Motorsport UK
A few weeks back, I got an email about a “New to Marshalling” training course and it piqued my interest - another bow to the old skill set - so I signed up.
So I sat at my dining table early one Sunday January morning (9:30am to be exact) and signed into Zoom, feeling a bit daunted. The course was a full day, looking at a computer screen until 3.30pm. Wow. This could be the start of a very long day........
Jim Maguire and his wife Lisa were running the course and I soon met the other participants Dave, Steve and Mike. We did a little icebreaker of introducing ourselves; the other guys seemed to have more experience and I felt a bit pathetic with my little intro, but nobody cared. Jim launched into his PowerPoint and we were off.
Well, it was excellent. Jim is a brilliant instructor, articulate, concise and easy to listen to. It was all very relaxed despite being on Zoom (and probably being a very small group helped) and Jim’s easy manner contributed to that. Actually it was Jim and Lisa’s first weekend of presenting the training courses on Zoom, so they were probably quite nervous themselves, but it went so smoothly and without a hitch you wouldn’t of guessed. The first hour whizzed by and we had a quick tea break from our screens. Then back for more - it was presented very well, laid out very simply, to the point and not at all overwhelming. Jim guided us through how rallies work, timings, getting into position, safety signs and where to position them, crowd control, first aid, how to deal with accidents and incidents, well practically everything was covered! Jim slotted in a couple of videos for us to watch and at the end of each module, opened it up to questions. As a group, we didn’t ask many questions, so I take that as Jim had done such a good job that he has covered all our queries.
As noon approached, Jim announced we had just two more modules taking about another hour and a half. We had an option - break for lunch or carry on. We all voted to plough on and finish at 1:30 rather than 3pm - it just seemed a no brainer on many levels, so we continued. Well, in no time at all, the course was finishing and instead of falling off my chair sideways, hair on end and eyes bulging, totally Zoomed out, I could of carried on. I had learnt a lot in a short space of time and it had been relatively easy. It was a shame to not meet up personally at a venue, swap stories and do the practical side, but it had been very interesting and very easy to take onboard. Thank goodness for technology! We said our goodbyes and Lisa immediately emailed over links and the ubiquitous feedback form. I filled mine out and sent a email back thanking them both for an excellent Zoom presentation. It had been very informative and enjoyable. Now just got to wait for us to be unleashed from lockdown and hopefully be able to put my new found skills to some use!!
Deb Hawkins
We support the Ostrich Foundation
The Ostrich Foundation believes that many young suicides are preventable.
We believe that no one should have to go through the heartbreak and everlasting pain of losing a loved one to suicide.
We believe that everyone can play a role in helping to raise awareness of the issue of young suicide.
At the Ostrich Foundation we’ve made it our mission to create a Suicide Safer Harrogate and when it comes to mental illness, we believe prevention is better than cure.
We want everyone to support and fund our ‘Suicide Safer Harrogate campaign.
The mythology around suicide is huge; in talking about it we don’t create the problem or increase the numbers, in fact it’s the opposite.
The Ostrich Foundation - JustGiving
Their Mission
The Ostrich Foundation exists to work with and support other charities and NHS agencies helping reduce the number of young people who take their own lives, by shattering the stigma around suicide and helping remove the word ‘committed’ from common vocabulary.
Our aim is to work with other charities to help equip young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.