So long Mwaksy

It's that cycle I've been going through for a long time and that younger fans often appear to dread as they form attachments to particular presenters as if their world is about to end and that is Blue Peter presenter 39 announced on Friday September 15th she would be leaving at the end of the month.

Mwaksy Mudenda joined the longstanding show on May 14th 2020 which was a very difficult time not just for children as we were in middle of the Covid Pandemic with schools, recreationial  facilities shut but even restictions on when and how often you could play.

If that wasn't enough the show itself couldn't take place within the studio with a lot of restrictions on any outdoor recorded segments so it was she burst into our living rooms from her own.

Like many she also tested positive and had to stay home.

The main challenge was helping children cope with the disruption, maintaining social connections and showing what you could do to keep positive, trying out new skills and sports even in an era of social distancing,

In that her zest for life, resourcefulness and tendency to break out into song aided by her personal Christian faith helped a great deal.

Makes were something she excelled in such as cooking meals, learning how to be Chocolater and she did take part in a Doctor Who stage show playing a Dalek.

She learned British Sign Language and joined a sign choir signing away to hymns.

A special "looking back" show will be aired tonight on CBBC looking at her three years and One hundred and twenty four days tenure.

While at times she may by older standards appeared to on the edge of getting a bit carried away she provided what the core audience needed at that time and I wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

Awards and inspiration edition

This weeks theme is awards and inspiration which is something that helps keep ourselves motivated through these difficult times.

Hot off the press and due to be launched yesterday (Thursday) is Mwaka Mudenda aged twenty-five Blue Peter presenter number 39 in that inspiration children's magazine shows Sixty-one and bit years history.

Found in the BBC's sports department, she makes her debut from home like the current duo Lindsey and Richie with her first challenge which will be a first in these changed times, restoring the presenter numbers back to three which to was prior to the 2010's.

As I still love watching the show, not least for being LB, for many years I'm looking forward to that.

This leads us to the following:

One inspiration by common consent has been Captain Tom Moore now aged 100, a WW2 veteran who raised over Thirty-three million pounds by doing 100 laps before he reached that centenary for the NHS.

Some indication of his impact is he inspired young children, some with disabilities to raise funds too and others overseas and also for his calming philosophical approach  to dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

Recently he was the recipient of a Blue Peter Gold Badge award put forward by Georgia and Benji, his grand children seen pictured and presented due to current restrictions remotely by presenter Lindsey Russell who described him as "a beacon of light".

Street artist "Banksy", an anonymous character whose art just appears on walls was also in the news this last week. 

He left if that was the right word a peace of work in Southampton general hospital  saying he hoped it would brighten up the lives of the staff and patients there and after the Covid-19 infection it could be auctioned off with the funds going to NHS charities.

Entitled "Game Changer", it features a boy playing with a basket of superhero dolls, but instead of grabbing Spiderman or Batman, he is playing with the doll of a nurse with a superhero cloak.

Many have been inspired by the dedication of our Nurses and other clinical staff dealing with Covid-19 patients seeing them as real life heroes rather those in our comics, tv or cinema screens.

It is a both a touching act of generosity on his part and also a touching depiction of a boy at play.

There we have it on the as ever looking backwards and going forward LB blog, the inspiring, the inspirational and the enduring source for all we truly need.