As we emerge from covid’s shadow we will find that supporting the most vulnerable, marginalised, and discriminated against is a good place to start in tackling longer-standing but no less existential problems.
Overwhelmed
A few days before Christmas, I went as a parent helper with my daughter’s class to a carol service: shepherding seven-year-olds along frosty pavements, trying to keep their wiggly crocodile in line, shushing them as they waited excitedly in the pews. To be honest, it was the last thing I wanted to do when I … Continue reading Overwhelmed
Cleaning up shit
At 4am this morning I was cleaning up shit. Because that's my job. (Except, as a carer it's a job I'm expected to to do for nothing. Nothing being very slightly less than the insulting carers' allowance that those who can't work alongside caring get. Which is slightly less again than the pitiful minimum wage … Continue reading Cleaning up shit
The winter dilemma
It’s that time of year again. The trees are shedding their golden leaves, the clocks have been put back, geese are flying south; the mornings are crisp and the evenings misty. Thoughts turn to Halloween, Bonfire Night, even, dare I say, Christmas … and the winter bugs have started circulating. Beautiful ... but a harbinger … Continue reading The winter dilemma
Trailblazing
So, I realise I bang on about inclusion rather a lot. That makes me both a zealot, and a hypocrite, because my son attends a specialist provision rather than the local primary school that his sisters go to. There are several reasons Benjamin still attends the wonderful, well-equipped, superbly-staffed specialist provision at which he started … Continue reading Trailblazing
Ignorance is bliss?
On the day that our lives were turned upside-down by an emergency 38-week scan, I remember begging the neurologist to put us in touch with other families with children like our as-yet unborn child. Some part of me knew – despite the medical predictions ("Your baby will never walk, or talk. He won’t be able … Continue reading Ignorance is bliss?
Knowing better
When I was ten years old, I had a best friend. Her name was Helen. She lived ten minutes up the road on a smallholding with ponies (!) and had her own (rickety, damp-smelling) caravan, where we used to spend our afternoons hiding from our little brothers, singing Jason & Kylie songs, trying on lipstick … Continue reading Knowing better
