R.I.P. Elisabeth!

Firstly, apologies for no posts at the weekend. This time it wasn't that I just didn't get around to it, but just because I couldn't think of what to write about - but I can now. This blog is called 'George Millman, Actor and Political Activist' and over the last few months I have written a lot of political stuff, but not so much about being an actor. So this post is dedicated to a really legendary actor, who has just sadly died an untimely death from cancer at the age of 63: Elisabeth Sladen, best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and its spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures.

I've always thought Elisabeth was good. I'm obviously not old enough to remember her from classic Doctor Who, but in more recent years I've enjoyed watching her stuff. I was very surprised when I realised how old she was, because she always seemed really sprightly and fit for her age, and I was actually quite shocked today to learn of her death, particularly when I never even knew she had cancer. Credit to her for keeping her illness quiet really. Anyway, I just thought that as I didn't post at the weekend, I should do a midweek post dedicated to an acting legend who will be remembered for a long, long time. R.I.P. Elisabeth, you will be much missed.

There are no prizes for guessing who is featured in people I respect and admire this time!

Bradley and Big Brother

Hello, and welcome to this week's post!

Now, a few days ago I was wondering what to dedicate this week's post to, when an email from avaaz.org (which you might know is an international civic organisation that promotes activism on issues such as human rights) basically answered the question for me. The email was a link to a petition against the brutal treatment of WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning - which needless to say, I immediately signed.

I don't know much about Bradley Manning, so I was going to do a lot of research about him before I posted this, so I can talk about the things that he has done and exactly why this is cruel and inhumane. However, as soon as I started, I came across a really wonderful article that completely hit the nail on the head. The writer of this article, Ryan Gallagher, describes it much better than I can, so I will simply leave a link to this article so everyone can read it. Here it is:

http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/bradley-manning-is-uk-citizen-we-have-a-duty-to-help-him

And of course, here is the petition calling for Manning's release:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/bradley_manning/?cl=1008236539&v=8793

I absolutely urge you to sign this immediately. I don't care who you are or what you do, but this is a man's life we're talking about here. Please don't click off and plan to do it later; you might forget. Come on, you'll feel really good about yourself afterwards!

There is one more thing I'd like to talk about this week. It has been announced that popular reality TV show Big Brother is returning on another channel, only a year after what was meant to be the last series ended. I personally am a bit of a fan, so I'm quite excited about this, even though I think this has happened much too quickly.

Anyway, last night I was having a conversation about elections last night, and I had a marvellous idea: elections should be like Big Brother! We get all the candidates into a studio house for a few weeks, get them involved in silly tasks, film them non-stop, vote off all the annoying ones and then the winner becomes Prime Minister, or whatever it is we're electing them for.

Yes, I know saying it like that sounds really stupid, but I think it would be a much better system than what we have at the moment. It's a much better way of finding out things about a group of people you know nothing about. The big problem at the moment is that we don't see the candidates under pressure until they've been elected in. If they were all involved in a confined situation that brings out the worst in everyone before the election, the whole country could see what they're really like and know which one they want in charge. I actually think this could work?

For people I respect and admire this week, I have to go with Bradley Manning - who else? And also Ryan Gallagher, because he wrote a really great article about him. And made this post much easier for me to write.

See you next week, peoples!

London Protests and The Big Questions

Hello people

Now once again, my blog is falling behind a bit. I am really sorry about this. I am trying to keep it up to date, but I have loads of work at the moment. I can't believe I've missed a whole week on this blog, particularly considering the subject matter of this latest post.

Anyway... I was at the London protests last Saturday! It was a full day of it, with the trip from and back to Bristol. I was with a gang of a few people - both my parents were there and some friends, and a few new people. I helped with holding a sign that one of our party had made saying 'SAVE OUR NHS'. There was some wonderful placards around. There was one that said 'Be careful where you cut' and the placard was cut into the shape of an enormous pair of knickers!

There were also some incredible chants. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) was being led by a very loud and eccentric woman who was leading a chant of, 'ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! KICK THEIR CUTS RIGHT OUT THE DOOR!' She was doing the sign language as well. I went and helped them out a few times. There was also an American woman with a vocoder and a load of kids near her who was going 'There ain't no power like the power of the people 'cause the power of the people don't stop!' Then the kids go, 'Say what?' I joined in with that as well, it was such fun! But seriously, I was very excited by this march. These things really make you feel part of something. Maybe it's just because I'm young and naive, but I'm actually very positive about the potential impact of these protests. Historically, people have got through a lot worse by protesting, so why could the same effect not happen now?

We didn't actually get as far as Hyde Park, we had to turn around so as not to miss our coach.

There is another thing I just want to talk about in this post, and that is The Big Questions. I've been meaning to talk about it for ages, but I haven't had a chance to - until now. The Big Questions is a faith and ethics show presented by Nicky Campbell on Sunday mornings on BBC One. Every week they have three debates - a political one, a moral one and a spiritual one. They have had some fantastic arguments in the past, and I watch it every week. I would really recommend it to anyone who likes debating the issues - and if you're reading my blog, it falls within the same category. I will probably talk quite a lot in future posts about things that they've discussed, so seriously, give it a try (although it's not on for most of April.)

For people I respect and admire this week, I really have to just mention the people I was on the protest with: Gill Frost and Chris Millman (my parents), Melanie MacIntosh, Mark Smalley, Caroline Naysmith and Tim. There are also some friends who I didn't meet there, but who I know were there - so thanks to Will Taljaard, Sammy Tikly and Alina Muszynska as well.

Check back soon!