Archive for the ‘News’ Category
The death of Ian Tomlinson, Jane Austen, and how to raise children……..thoughts on the week’s stories.
Posted by: melissabenn on: April 11, 2009
- In: Events | Guardian article | Musings | News
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Two stories this week, both in the Guardian, have refreshed my faith in journalism, firstly the unfolding tale of the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper seller who collapsed during the G20 protests in London; the other a feature in today’s Guardian about two different organisations helping troubled kids. The extraordinary Ian Tomlinson story [...]
Where is Labour’s vision for schools?
Posted by: melissabenn on: April 7, 2009
One does not need a degree – or indeed level 4 – in common sense to interpret the political meaning of Ed Balls’s most recent speech on Sats. In effect, the schools secretary is saying: We know this system needs radical reform, but we need to be seen to be doing it in our own [...]
The women who rule our hearts not our countries.
Posted by: melissabenn on: April 3, 2009
- In: Musings | News
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Here’s a quick thought: in a week when political wives shone, and political husbands were shunned, why is it that we love the modern female political spouse so much? Granted, they do the job allotted to them with supreme grace and humour, but that’s the point: it’s a job and yet not a job. Increasingly, [...]
A sorry tale.
Posted by: melissabenn on: March 30, 2009
- In: News
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How many dimensions can one uncover to this trivial, slightly tawdry news item? The sight, yesterday, of the Home Secretary’s husband Richard Timney issuing a twenty two second apology outside the family home for downloading two pornographic films, which his wife then mistakenly claimed as part of her parliamentary expense account, fills me with an [...]
A message to the Facebook fraternity/sisterhood.
Posted by: melissabenn on: March 16, 2009
- In: News
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Here’s an interesting looking group you could join……….
No quick fix for the soul
Posted by: melissabenn on: March 13, 2009
This week I was at the House of Commons, chairing a meeting for The Maya Centre, an Islington based multi ethnic voluntary organisation that offers psychodynamic therapy to women on low incomes, work that is clearly making a huge difference. Despite its reputation as home of the rich and cool, Islington has many pockets of [...]
One of Us nominated for British Book Award
Posted by: melissabenn on: March 10, 2009
- In: Events | News
- 2 Comments
One of Us is one of six books on the shortlist for the Waterstone’s New Writer of the Year – a prize aimed at identifying ‘literary stars of the future’ – at this year’s Galaxy British Book Awards. The nominations were announced today, March 10. The award is decided by popular vote and voting lines [...]
Finally, a “young lady” answers back…..
Posted by: melissabenn on: March 5, 2009
- In: Guardian article | News
- 1 Comment
Below, a flavour of the kind of response I attract whenever I write any political piece, particularly about education. I will protect the privacy of the man who wrote it, who mounted a robust and highly personal defence of grammar schools, but I will take the liberty of quoting the more personal parts, that relate [...]
In today’s Guardian…………
Posted by: melissabenn on: March 2, 2009
Today, local councils will send out offers of places to all children about to enter secondary school in England. With reports of increasing numbers of parents failing to get their first choice of schools, and pressure on the state from recession-hit parents deserting private education, National Offers Day – as it has come to be [...]
Oppose privatisation of the Royal Mail……
Posted by: melissabenn on: February 18, 2009
- In: News
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Please sign up to the statement put out by Compass, opposing government plans to privatise the Post Office. As Compass, the Democratic Left campaigning organisation, says, ‘given the current economic situation it doesn’t make any sense that the Government are nationalising the banks on the one-hand, but seeking to privatise Royal Mail and the Post [...]
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