COVID-19 & POLITICS. The Singers Tale. I give you my Government & I © with 2 Audio clips.

‘What’s that got to do with price of Pilchards?’ You may well ask. ‘How very dare you?’ Well, I dare, so there. Here is My Government.

I love this land, and I mean the land, I was born in. I love the people, well, most of them! I love the sea, the hills the moors, the crags, the beaches, mountains and valleys, the downs and the parks, the cities, the towns and villages, the birds and the bees, the deer, the sheep, the waterways, lakes and rivers, the woods, the wildlife, from the islands around the north of Scotland to the west Ireland and Wales down to the peninsular of Cornwall and The Scilly Isles, around the coast ..and what a coast.

I love the diversity of my own home city, it’s vibrant, cultural and musical heritage. London, the city I was born in, and then priced out of.

I dedicate this Blog post to all those out there working for a more compassionate and equal world. To my beloved little family, Sam, Kasia, Sacha, their loverly partners, Harvey and Steven, and to all of my dear friends, whether they approve of my Government or not. Love you xx

I am ashamed of this government and many before them. The mush-mouthed platitudes about the saints who work and died for the NHS. The Hypocrisy and Lies. The racism, bigotry, the ever-increasing divide between rich and poor. Windrush!

They asked those very people they have been busy pushing out of the country, the people who were invited to come and work post war, for The Mother Country! Asked them to come and work in NHS during this current crisis.

And as for the phrase ‘Living wage! What is not a living wage, a slowly ticking starving wage? Everyone who goes out to work, doing the jobs that keep us as a society going, the transport workers, nurses, street cleaners, garbage collectors, care workers, bus drivers, factory workers, washer uppers, waiters and those who serve school dinners, office cleaners, and on and on, and without those people working on low, low wages, the whole shebang would stagger to a dreadful halt. What would the rich do then? I suppose they could all hoof off to Necker and join that ‘cap in hand to governments, that rich, very, very rich man on his Tax haven Island.

I elect the people who inspire me, alive or dead, young and old. Those who have been homeless and now work to eradicate what should be a human right. A home. Those who know what a mental health condition feels like, and its impact on daily life. Those who have known poverty, those who face living with a physical disability every day of their lives.

Those who care deeply about global warming and pollution, enough to think about the others, still so young and those who are about to be born. Those who run companies with a fair wage paid to their work force, and the earth’s future at the heart of the mission. Those who have made a lot of money and are generous: share and care.

What the fuck does Rees -Mog know about homelessness?

What does Boris care about?

These are actual words both written and spoken, no getting away with the Trump excuse for everything ‘Fake News!’ All real quotes, recorded live, and in print and online, by themselves.

A tiny amount of the filth spoken and in print. Words of the entitled. Posh white men.

Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Another day, another deep-dive. Son of William Rees-Mogg, former editor of The Times, and Gillian Shakespeare Morris (the daughter of a Mayor, Jacob Rees-Mogg got off to a privileged start in life, growing up in a Grade II listed building.

Eton College Trinity College Oxford

On black people, 2010.

(2013, Jacob spoke at the annual dinner of The British Traditional group – an alt-right organisation calling for British people of colour to be deported. It was confirmed that he knew about the groups’ politics before the dinner. Just months later, the group called on Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, to return to her “natural homeland”. Last year, Katie Hopkins also spoke.)

Boris Johnson. Eton College Balliol College Oxford.

On Race

(‘What a relief it must be for Blair to get out of England. It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies..’)

On abuse

‘Child sex abuse victims have criticised Boris Johnson for claiming police funding was being “spaffed up the wall” investigating historical allegations.’

The Tory MP went on to say in an interview with LBC that

“an awful lot of police time” was spent looking at “historic offences and all this malarkey”.)

I was in my kitchen when I heard this interview on the radio. My stomach heaved.

On voting Conservative.

(Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3.)

15. On single mothers

In a column written for The Spectator, the Tory leader said it was:

(‘Outrageous that married couples should pay for ‘the single mothers’ desire to procreate independently of men.’)

Michael Gove

Robert Gordon’s College Lady Margaret Hall Oxford

.Senior minister Michael Gove is no longer self-isolating after he was given special permission to have his daughter tested for the coronavirus – and the result came back negative.

It comes after he was spotted jogging just days into the two-week period when a person should stay home if a member of their household has displayed symptoms.

‘The Government is about to introduce a new test for those considering a university career. The central question will be punishingly direct. Do you want to run up a debt of £21,000 in order to go to the best British universities? Some people will, apparently, be put off applying to our elite institutions by the prospect of taking on a debt of this size. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is all to the good.’

Jeremy Hunt Member of Parliament.

The Kings School Chester EXETER COLLEGE OXFORD

Christs College Cambridge.

The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP

Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, and studied law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and for a Masters at Cambridge, 

On and on… loads of them. White Male Private school Oxbridge.

A solution?

Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays by German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher. 1973

Small is Beautiful in the 21st Century traces Fritz Schumacher’s legacy through the activities and outreach of those pioneers who, over the years, have been working on practical solutions to our interrelated global crises. In particular, it describes how several flourishing organisations, some large and some small, have remained closely linked with his ideas and work, and have since become associated as the Schumacher Circle.

The particular contribution of E. F. Schumacher was to bring a profound wisdom and humanity to bear on the practical challenges of our time, and the Briefing both illuminates Schumacher’s thinking and shows the ways in which each of us can help to turn our present crisis into the opportunity to build a more kind, just and ecologically sustainable society.

My Prime Minister

I would have these organisations represented in my Government

Foreign Secretary 

Angela Dorothea Merkel 

HM Treasury

The IMF Managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

The IMF has suggested the UK and the EU should not “add to uncertainty” from coronavirus by refusing to extend the period to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal.

Managing director Kristalina Georgieva, when asked what she thought about the prospect of no trade deal this year and no extension to talks, told the BBC that because of the “unprecedented uncertainty” arising from the pandemic, it would be “wise not to add more on top of it”.

Ministers for housing & homelessness

John Bird, Baron BirdJohn Anthony Bird, Baron Bird, MBE (born 30 January 1946) is a British social entrepreneur and life peer. He is best known as the founder of The Big Issue, a magazine that is edited by professional journalists and sold by street vendors who are homeless or vulnerably-housed.

Sabrina Huck

Sabrina Huck is a Labour and Momentum activist involved with the Labour Campaign for Free Movement.

The activists holding Notting Hill together post-Grenfell

Only three months remain until the one-year anniversary of the tragedy that was the Grenfell Tower fire will be commemorated. Those of us with the luxury of distance, with no personal connection to the survivors, bereaved or those lost in the fire, in some senses have escaped the grip of the lasting effects of the catastrophe. On Sunday 11 March 2017, I had the honour of meeting some of the men and women who act as pillars of support for the community affected by the fire, including Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, to learn more about the grassroots work taking place in Notting Hill.

Dora Boatemah, Chair of the Tenants’ Association on Angell Town Estate in Brixton, London, was awarded an MBE in 1994 for services to the community. She died in 2001. One significant success during her tenure was the defeat of government plans to hand control of the estate to a Housing Action Trust (HAT), against the wishes of the majority of residents, and Lambeth council, which owned it.

St Mungo’s

St Mungo’s outreach teams go out each night to meet people who are homeless and to help them off the streets. With 17 outreach teams we are one of the largest providers of outreach services in the country. Each night we offer a bed and support to more than 2,850 people across the south and south west. We believe that people can – and do – recover from the issues that cause homelessness. We work to prevent homelessness and support people at every step of their recovery from homelessness.

Ministers for the environment.

Green Party

Fracking, Fossil Fuels and Industry: Gina Dowding MEP

Energy: Cllr Andrew Cooper.

ANNE-MARIE IMAFIDON (STEMETTES)

Anne-Marie Imafidon is a prodigy. At 11, she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level computing, and at 20 she received her Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford.

Anne-Marie has worked at Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard and Deutsche Bank, and has Honorary Doctorates from Open University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Kent University & Bristol University and an Honorary Fellowship at Keble College, Oxford.

Anne-Marie co-founded STEMettes, an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in STEM. Since its inception 6 years ago, it has exposed more than 40,000 young people across Europe to Anne-Marie’s vision for a more diverse and balanced science and tech community.

Richard Reynolds – guerrilla gardener

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Richard Reynolds spends most of his spare time illicitly planting flowers in public accessible spaces across the capital. He’s a Guerrilla Gardener and does it simply to show that London could be greener.

 Richard Reed, Adm Balon and Jon Wright. Innocent.

A Department for young people’s voices to be heard

Activists Emma Gonzalez, Jaclyn Corin, Edna Chavez, Naomi Wadler and Sam Fuentes attend the 2018 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards: Women Rise on November 12, 2018 in New York City.

CLASSROOMS WOULD BE FILLED
WITH THE CHILDREN AND TEENS KILLED
BY GUN VIOLENCE IN 2017

Ministers for Health Department of Health & Social Care

Maggie’s Centres

Maggies Centre’s provide practical, emotional and social support to patients, families and friends.

The work of the Bone Cancer Research Trust is so valuable, especially to me. If I had not gone to get my lump checked after reading their website then there is a high chance that I wouldn’t be here today

Lauren, who was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Sarcoma of the Bone aged 29.

Founded by Margaret Keswick Jencks was a Scottish writer, artist and garden designer who co-founded Maggie’s Centres with her husband Charles Jencks.

Dr David Nott is a volunteer with Medecins Sans Frontieres and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Rola Hallam is an award-winning British-Syrian consultant anaesthetist, humanitarian, international advocate and speaker and the founder of CanDo; a social enterprise that allows local humanitarians opportunity to provide healthcare to their own war-affected communities.

Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole.

Marie Skłodowska Curie 

Ministers for Mental Health

Young Minds

There are times when I don’t leave my bed for days at a time. YoungMinds has throughout my depression been something that gets me out of bed, it’s a reason to continue.

Aaliyah, Activist

Hannah Kinsey – Head of Training and Development

GUY RIESE (UPLEARN)

Guy Riese

Before the age of 25, Guy Riese is already an experienced businessman and entrepreneur, having started his first company at the age of just 13. That company, an internet hosting firm, grew over the next seven years under his stewardship before he sold the business.

With UpLearn, Guy aims to reinvent tutoring and help those whose education has been affected by illness through the use of AI and cognitive science.

CALM

Mind.

Robin Williams Richard Prior. Suffered from mental health conditions

Lewis Capaldi Live zones at his concerts, where fans can get help with any mental health issues.

Both of these Artist have experienced mental Health Conditions

Sinead O’Connor Lewis Capaldi

Chad Varah, founder of Samaritans

Ministers for education

Angela Rayner ..

giving every child the best chance is personal – her mother couldn’t read.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama 

 Benjamin Zephaniah.

Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst

Michael Rosen

Ricardo Castro

Roald Dahl

Born in Llandaff, Cardiff to Norwegian parents, Roald Dahl (1916-1990) has sold more than 250 million books worldwide. Dahl’s Oslo-born father, Harald, came to the Welsh capital to seek his fortune in the late 19th-century iron and coal boom. Roald was born at the family home, Villa Marie, which is marked by a blue plaque on the garden wall. He went to the Cathedral School in Llandaff, situated in the shadow of the towering Gothic cathedral.

Dylan Thomas Welsh poet.

Minister for Sciences

Stephen Hawking Theoretical physicist

Description

Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock

QUALITY ASSURED SUBJECT:  CAREERS SCIENCE

You may have seen Maggie Aderin-Pocock presenting BBC’s The Sky at Night, asking Jeremy Paxman to hold a torch while she described a lunar eclipse, or on the sofa of a breakfast television show or The One Show talking enthusiastically about science. 

Jo Shien Ng works to develop more and more sensitive electrical components called ‘avalanche photodiodes’ used in everything from satellites that look at the Earth from space, to body scanners in hospitals and airports. She does this by applying an understanding of the behaviour of materials developed through secondary and further education at a Chinese school in Malaysia, and a degree and PhD at the University of Sheffield, UK.

She explains that she is not intimidated by being often the only female scientist in technical meetings — her expertise is clear: “What I say goes”.

Donald Palmer’s job involves studying, and teaching others how, the human body protects itself from infections and malfunctions, including cancer. He is especially interested in the way the immune system changes with age, and examines the surfaces of human cells using chemicals and instruments.

Alice Roberts

Alice May Roberts is an English biological anthropologist, biologist, television presenter and author. Since 2012 she has been Professor of the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham.

Ministers for the Environment  

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility)

David Attenborough

Chris Packham 

Vanessa Nakate Kampala ‘You didn’t just erase a photo. You erased a continent. But I am stronger than ever.’

Youth for Future Africa and the Rise Up Movement

Aparna Rajagopal, a native of Chennai and a resident of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, graduated from the prestigious National Law School in Bengaluru. However, today, she is not a lawyer but a self-taught farmer and a nature lover. She says, she founded Beejom, an animal sanctuary and a sustainable agricultural farm, in 2014, accidentally.

David Wicker | Italy

“We will not stop until politicians and leaders decide to take action”

14-year-old David Wicker lives in Italy and has been organising groups of students to protest via Fridays for Future in Turin, Italy and internationally with the purpose of asking governments all around the world to place the Climate Change issue as their top priority in their agendas and to start respecting the regulation of international agreements and treaties.

Shalvi Sakshi — Fiji

Few countries are more exposed to climate change than Fiji. The low-lying island nation could be submerged in the next few decades as  sea levels continue to rise.

For 12-year-old Shalvi Sakshi, that’s unacceptable. At the UN’s COP23 climate talks in 2017, Sakshi was the youngest speaker present. Despite her young age, she delivered a sharp call to action, urging world leaders to stop the release of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

“This is the time to do something to slow down the rising of sea levels,” she said.

Xiye Bastida | USA

“We are on Earth to take care of life. We are on Earth to take care of each other.”

Maestra Pati, a leader in Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gordo’s conservation work, is well aware of the incredible odds climate activists must face.

“We know that we might not save the planet. Despite that, we have to keep hope and to try to fulfill this miracle of love. We hope to put enough will, love, sense of belonging, and action into the world so that maybe something better will arise from this.”

Aviram Rozin, project leader for Sadhana Forest’s work in Kenya, shares that it is his deeply personal sense of ownership which drives him to be a tireless climate activist.

Department for Transport

GREEN TOMATO CARS

Green Tomato Cars founder Jonny Goldstone 

Green Tomato Cars are out to clean up the Big Smoke. Having been the first taxi operator to use the Toyota Prius way back in 2006, they are now pioneering fully zero-emission corporate transport with the UK’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell EVs.

As London’s eco-friendly taxi service, the company has a fleet of 600 hybrid vehicles which together complete 10,000 journeys a week. As an added bonus, the cars’ (limited) emissions are offset by the company’s project in Uganda which subsidises fuel-efficient cookstoves. They also plant almost 200 trees a year as a community initiative.

Friends of the Earth Scotland Director Dr Richard Dixon

Climate change, rapid declines in the health of the natural world and over-consumption of resources are problems that require a radically different approach to economic development, writes Dr Richard Dixon.

Caroline Lucas Co-Leader of the Green Party

(1860-1935)

Jane Adams was one of the most prominent reformers of the early 20th century Progressive Era and would probably have been considered an environmental justice activist if the term had existed at the time. She was a pioneer in uncovering environmental health concerns and advocating for environmental equality for all people, no matter their income or ethnicity. She and her fellow activists uncovered lead poisoning and industrial poisons in many low-income communities. In 1931, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ministers for Sport

Megan Rapinoe 

Kare Adenegan,

Ian Wright

Jonathan “Jonnie” Peacock, 

Ellie Simmonds 

Will Bayle

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Alvin Hall

Economist Justin Wolfers recently wrote about how female economists are airbrushed out of academic discussion when they have a male coauthor.

We decided to bring together some of the women who’ve had the biggest impact on the subject and the practice of economic policy, whether in academia, business, politics, or education.

LUSH

Mark Constantine OBE is a British entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and CEO of Lush, described as “one of the world’s biggest cosmetics firms”.

Lush has put a lot of effort into building an environmentally conscious brand. It invented the first solid shampoo bar and offers packaging-free products instore. It is also in the process of eliminating palm oil from its products. Lush has an extensive vegan range, is against animal testing, and regularly offers limited edition products to raise money for good c

Minsters for Arts and Culture

Ian Shaw – Musician Activist Actor Writer Broadcaster Raconteur

Street Dance

Christian Griffin

Christian has been dancing in Birmingham for many years. He was spotted while busking one day and invited to join an all-male dance company called Man Made Youth. From there Christian auditioned successfully for the Birmingham CAT programme and the National Youth Dance Company, where he developed his love and understanding of dance. Since then Christian has opened up his own Dance Academy, Brum’s Dynasty, together with his street dance crew Key Infinity.

Max Revell

Street Dance

Max started dancing when he was nine, going to break dancing and popping classes at Street Factory in Plymouth. When he was a teenager he began travelling to battles and competitions all around the country. After working with various theatre companies, Max decided he wanted to learn contemporary and auditioned for contemporary dance conservatoires in the UK. He now attends Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Max’s goal is to continue battling and competing but also to create and perform in both contemporary and hip hop theatre shows around the world.

Poets

Sissay’s internationally acclaimed career as a writer began in 1988, when he published his first book of poetry aged 21. He was the first official poet of the 2012 London Olympics and his Landmark Poems are installed at sites across London and Manchester. Sissay was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2010, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Huddersfield, which runs the innovative Sissay Scholarship for Care Leavers, the first of its kind in the world.

Sappho was an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by a lyre. In ancient times, Sappho was widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets and was given names such as the “Tenth Muse” and “The Poetess”.

Film

Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion DNZM is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. Campion is the second of five women ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director

Pressure (1975)
Widely regarded as the first black British feature film, Horace Ové’s gripping, neorealism-inspired drama focuses on the tribulations of school grad Tony (Herbert Norville), the British-born son of first generation Trinidadian immigrant parents who arrived in England in the 1950s.

Kenneth Charles Loach is an English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.

Caryl Churchill at 80:theatre’s great disruptor

Caryl Churchill is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non-naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes. She has made every theatre trip an adventure into the unknown, with a relentless urge to experiment that hasn’t abated over almost 40 plays

Martha Graham

Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years.

Rufus Norris

Rufus Norris is a British theatre and film director, who is currently the Artistic Director of the National Theatre. 

Carlos Yunior Acosta

Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada CBE is a Cuban ballet dancer. He has danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He was a permanent member of The Royal Ballet between 1998 and 2015.

Bobby McFerrin
January 1, 2014 • The vocal gymnast comes from a musical family — his father was the first African American man to sing at the Metropolitan opera.

Museums

Neil Macgregor

Ministers for Media

BBC newsreader Moira Stuart. Bring her back!

Andrew Marr

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist and the author of Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class and The Establishment – And How They Get Away With It. ‘ Thousands of people in the UK are dying from the cold, and fuel poverty is to blame.’

Prior to his media career, Owen worked as a trade union and parliamentary researcher.  More recently he has become widely known as a political commentator, broadcaster, author and columnist – formerly at The Independent before moving to The Guardian.  For both of these newspapers he has been a regular commentator on current affairs, providing his perspective on the developments of government.

June Sarpong

June is a media phenomenon and is the only host of her generation that is equally comfortable interviewing politicians, celebrities and members of the public… June has also taken on the world’s most challenging live audiences, hosting 2005’s major Make Poverty History event in London’s Trafalgar Square and presenting at the UK leg of Live Earth in 2007. In 2008 alongside Will Smith she also hosted Nelson Mandela’s  90th Birthday celebrations in front of 30,000 people in London’s Hyde Park

Jim Naughtie

Radio Presenter Journalist Writer

George Orwell. Albert Camus

Nellie Bly. Journalist

War / foreign correspondent in Mexico and during the first world war. Bly’s  main interest  lay in exposing political and social injustices, such as treatment of the insane and working conditions for female factory workers, and the effects of the Diaz dictatorship in Mexico.

Minster of Food and Agriculture

THE TRAVELLING BEE COMPANY

A beekeeper that travels around the North East and Scotland pollinating crops and producing unique honeys has seen his hives grow after rebranding his business.

Mark Chambers, the owner of The Travelling Bee Company, tours the North East with his bee hives to produce a variety of sweet treats for honey fans.

This honey company believes that happy bees make the best honey. For them, that means bees on tour.

The Travelling Bee Company bundle their bees into the Bee-Mobile and take them to set up hives across Northumberland, the North East, and in Argyll, Scotland. The happy bees get to experience areas of great biodiversity, and plants across the regions get a pollination boost.

Ministry of Defence

Walter Tull, the son of Daniel Tull, was born at 57 Walton RoadFolkestone, on 28th April 1888. Walter’s father, the son of a slave, had arrived from Barbados in 1876 and had found work as a carpenter.

Walter Tull was both a professional footballer player and a soldier during World War One.

Walter had to give up his career as a footballer to help out in the war, but he then became recognised as the first black officer to lead white British soldiers into battle.

Captain Tom Moore’

The Red Arrows

The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams that had been sponsored by RAF commands. 

Helen Gwynne-Vaughan was a formidable leader and inspirational speaker. She laid the foundations and set the standards for all women’s air services. During the First World War, Helen Gwynne-Vaughan was invited by the War Office, along with Mrs Chalmers Watson, to help form the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). As Chief Controller stationed in France, she was instrumental in creating a respected and disciplined force.

Ministry of Justice

Kirsty is the winner of the First 100 years Inspirational Barrister Woman in Law 2018 and Winner of The Advocate International Pro Bono Barrister of the year 2018. She is Head of the International Human Rights Team and former member of the Criminal Bar Association Executive.

Leslie Thomas QC is one of the top human rights barristers in the UK today. He is the head of Garden Court Chambers and is a renowned expert in inquest law and public inquiries.

Alfie Moore 

Policeman turned stand-up comedian Alfie Moore gets his audience to make the policing decisions as he takes them through real-life crime scenarios

Ministry or Human rights

Leo Abse

The crusading backbencher used private member’s bills to unleash a wave of liberalisation with historic consequences. His work led to the decriminalisation of homosexual relations and the reform of the divorce laws.

The crusading backbencher used private member’s bills to unleash a wave of liberalisation with historic consequences. His work led to the decriminalisation of homosexual relations and the reform of the divorce laws.

Rosa Parks

Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “And death shall have no dominion”; the ‘play for voices’ Under Milk Wood; and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young man. Equality and Human Rights Commission

Nassima Al-Sadah 

Peter Tatchell –

Mary Wollstonecraftthe most inspirational women in history

Mary Wollstonecraft

‘If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?’

In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft’s call for equality and her advocation of women’s rights struck 18th century society like a bolt of thunder splitting a tree in two.

A promising life cut short by a dissident republican New IRA bullet was a tragedy which re-opened a chapter of life in Northern Ireland most people hoped we had left behind.

Lyra McKee did not live long enough to fulfil her potential.

But the impact of her death could yet be immense. Tarana Burke

Founder of the #MeToo movement

Sarah McBride

Transgender rights activist and National Press Secretary of the Human Rights Campaign

More organisations who should have a voice within Government

Ministry of people, some of them no longer on earth, who will have a some interesting takes on NOW!

Thelonious Monk Billie Holliday Cleopatra William Shakespeare

Oscar Brown Jr Desmond Tutu Steven Hawkins Charles Dickens

Morgan Freeman Pauline McLynn

Jesus, Buddah, Allah Bach, Kandinski, Jane Austin, Les Dawson

Nelson Mandela  Mother Theresa  St Francis Assisi Laurel and Hardy

Martin Luther King  Darwin Marie Curie Victoria Wood

Tony Benn Steve Bell Maya Angelou Alan Bennet Danny DeVito

Christy Moore

Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Christy Moore is one of Ireland’s best-loved musicians with a career spanning over half a century. In fact, the Co Kildare man was once named Ireland’s greatest living musician by RTÉ’s People of the Year Awards.

Samuel Beckett

Paul Robeson Helen Mirren Charle Chaplin Miriam Margolyes 

Miriam Makeba Oum Kalthoum Edith Piaf  Monica Ali

Louis Armstrong Ella Fitzgerald  Billy Strayhorn  Joni Mitchell 

Dave Allen

Dolly Parton Josephine Baker Oprah Winfrey Ainsley Harriet 

Brian Cox Jay Blades Simon Reeves Linda Smith Jeremy Hardy

Mark Steele Ruby Wax KD Lang Lady Ga Ga Fran Landesman

Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) is an incredibly well-known naturalist, conservationist, illustrator, and writer. It’s quite likely that you’ve read some of her work as a child, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Born in England to a wealthy family, Beatrix had an interest in the natural world at a young age.

Harriet Powers

Harriet Powers (1837–1910) was an African-American freed slave who created beautiful storytelling quilts in the 19th century. Harriet was born into slavery some 30 years before the American Civil War.

Love, peace, breathe, sing, dance and eat ginger, tumeric, garlic and spuds in many marvellous ways .. Roast, mashed, chipped …

Ooh..and in my case? Wine. xx

2 comments

  1. Wow, this is an amazing (and inspiring) read, Carol. Thank you so much. I’m planning to watch the film White Riot tonight so I checked out the origins of RAR in 1976 and came across your name. I was an adventure play worker in London 1978-80 and that time is special to me, politically. Keep telling it!

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