"Here is the news": Giving 200% and old conjunctions

There was an interesting conjunction today on BBC Radio 4 news:

The Today programme in the early morning has been featuring care of the elderly. This morning I listened to the latest report -

Care home life is 'slow death'

Deddie Davies is a sprightly 70-year-old.

But when she agreed to spend five days in a care home as part of an investigation into care of the elderly for Radio 4's Today programme, she found a pace of life far removed from her usual bustle.

Then driving home on PM (BBC Radio 4 at 5pm) there was discussion about the tendency for football players, their managers and many other people in the media to talk about "giving 110%", 120% and even 150% and so on. A mathematician discussed this with the presenter Eddie Mair as a light hearted news interlude - just how meaningful is this talk in this context?

This got me thinking about the heavy morning news and care of older people and the whole ever-present debate around the following:

1. caring as a vocation;
2. the aptitude of junior care staff;
3. the attitude of junior care staff;
4. what is that makes some (the vast majority!) junior care staff GIVE 200%;
5. the wages of junior care staff;
6. to what extent can 2-4 be taught and how can the gaps be bridged?
   

Between this diurnal news spectrum there is a further conjunction. This year a new solar cycle started (at last), the first sun spots have appeared.

So, POLITICALLY the weather is going to get stormy over the next five years or so. As far of care of the elderly is concerned it's going to be stormy for quite a while. Nursing or 'social care' - it is all about light and real heroes. ...