Rachael McKelvey

• WhatsApp edit function goes global
• Should schools teach arguing?
• Introverting in a room of people people
• Winnie-the-Poohs catchy new slogan
• A night by the canal

WhatsApp edit function goes global
Rumour has it you can now edit your WhatsApp messages, I’ve not tried it but apparently this week Meta announced it would start rolling out the edit functionality globally the coming weeks, “From correcting a simple misspelling to adding extra context to a message, we’re excited to bring you more control over your chats,” it said in a blog post.

But don’t get too excited, the message will append with an ‘edited’ to tell exactly everyone you’ve made a mistake, arguably less embarrassing to just delete the message and retype it.

The internet has long called for an edit function, it’s literally all Twitter users have been screaming for a decade, but there is no real rival pushing this on, not so for Meta and Whatsapp with rival apps including Telegram and Signal already full on edit function fans.

Should schools teach arguing?
When I had initially heard that Alastair Campbell said that he thought that schools should teach ‘arguing’ in classes at The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts this week I might have rolled my eyes and thought this is exactly what Alastair Campbell would think is a good idea.

I do have a lot of time for Alastair Campbell, I don’t always agree with everything he says, but actually I do listen when he speaks and that is sort of his teaching arguing in schools point. In a world that entirely operates on conflict, some are impassable but actually most are not. You can be brilliant friends with people you disagree with on a whole range of subjects and maybe in the world of polarising extremes and supposed “culture wars”, the thought about learning how to argue and disagree isn’t all that stupid at all.

He suggested the idea of calling it “arguing”, “policy” or “big issues” and while none of these sound like the best name that would get kids signing up, I definitely think there should be room on the curriculum for more how to live life stuff.

Winnie-the-Poohs catchy new statement
In the same week after nearly 100 years, a library book was finally returns, Winnie-the-Pooh is now offering advice on what to do if a gunman comes to your school.

The Guardian has reported that a book produced by local law enforcement has been given to school children in Texas. The book features the EH Shepard illustrations of my youth alongside the phrase “If there is danger, let Winnie-the-Pooh and his Crew show you what to do: Run Hide Fight”.

As of January 2022 Winnie-the-Pooh is no longer subject to copyright and is in the public domain, there is no permission or fee required to use the characters or the setting…I can’t help but think this probably isn’t what A.A Milne would have wanted.

Introverting in a room full of people people
I work with people people, people are their speciality and they are really good at peopling, by contrast I am not. I have limited abilities to people and the worst luck, so of course I had just about reached my people limit the day before the first all company meet up where I would finally get to physically see a lot of the wonderful people I work with who make me genuinely believe people are alright sometimes.

Want to know what made it worse? I had to sneak off to grab my laptop and do some work in the space where it was designated no work was required, I then had to be that guy who checked her phone all afternoon just in case there was something else I needed to move on because payday is important and doesn’t care you’d rather be doing something else and you can guarantee come payday everyone would have wished you’d done the payroll and not the something else.

All is well that ends well, but I do envy people who can just turn it all off and people.

A night by the Canal
I’m lucky to have an amazing friend Liz, who does amazing things…like running 145 miles down canals (Kennet and Avon, Grand Union, Leeds & Liverpool) and she is so good at running along canals, she even does it again the other way when its uphill when given the chance.

When she asked if I would help crew, the answer was ‘of course’ and when I volunteered for the night shift solo, she very kindly said ‘yes’. My heart is so full, I am never happier than when I am on, in or near water and the peace of the night on the British waterways is like nothing you’ve experienced before. The weather was perfect, maybe a little too warm to a little too cold for running but for crew duties, which is essentially just turning up at various points with snacks, drinks and kinds words, it was absolutely perfect.

There is also all the admins, so I get to get my clipboard on, my rubbyouty pens and do running maths. Liz finished her race and it was absolute honour to be a tiny part of that.

Current watch:  Canal Boat Diaries – I saved this entire series to watch the day of crewing, you cannot pre-sleep to stay up for 48+hours, you just have to rest. Robbie Cummings welcomes your aboard his narrow boat the Naughty Lass on his journey from Sheffield to Braunston over what can only be described as a magical autumn/winter on the water.

Robbie is very honest about boat life and the historic significance of Britains Waterways, it is my ultimate feel-good TV. Highly recommend. No better prep for 17 hours along the Grand Union.

Current read:
What They Don’t Teach You About Money: Seven Habits to Unlock Financial Independence by Claer Barrett – Claer is the FT’s consumer editor and host of the FT’s Money Clinic podcast, both her Serious Money column and the podcast are not to be missed. The minute she let the world know she was writing a book about the things she wished people knew about finances I knew it would be accessible, straight forward and genuinely useful.

While Claer has some serious knowledge to share, she does it with kindness, humour and understanding, it’s the honest conversation we should all be having about our finances, without the judgement or expectation that usually comes with having those conversations in the very few settings we currently do, either from your family or a financial adviser. This book is for all ages, those who’re just starting their money journey and those of us on our way who might feel like they’ve left it too late, I cannot stress how useful this book is.

Most Impactful Listen: Stuff you should know – What is the Bechdel Test? – Am I really recommending a podcast by two men talking about the measure of representation of women in film? Yes I am. Josh and Chuck are really good at explaining stuff you should know, they explain what the measure is, how it came to be and some of the surprising films that do and don’t pass the test, they also cover the history of why that might be the case. I really enjoyed the episode, much to even my own surprise, even though it spectacularly failed the Bechdel test!