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!
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