Weeeeeeeeeeeeed

Most of those UK Blipers born in the 1950s and 1960s will know immediately the connection between today's photo and the title.

It was part of the standard UK education syllabus back then, using trailblazing audio-visual communications techniques. Broadcast by the BBC from Monday to Friday, "Watch with Mother" was intended for pre-school children. Interestingly the programme title was chosen "to deflect fears that television might become a nursemaid to children and encourage 'bad mothering'"(Wiki)

Being a Wednesday, I have to connect my Blip to the "story" that was shown on that day: "(Bill & Ben) The Flowerpot Men" who always had a large yellow flowering weed/sunflower alongside them. Well that's not quite right, it was a grey sunflower but that was the power of the then black and white TV which allowed us, children, to do some thinking ourselves.

Living in Trinidad, I never got to see the programme and this accounts for my poor intelligence. From the age of 8 to 17, I did have a very privileged education thanks to my parents being expats and my father's employer paying most of the school fees.

Despite my joking references yesterday, my school was not in the "Old School Tie Network" - no Roman Catholic school in England would ever be allowed to be in the elite category. From my recollections, my fellow pupils were not the types to seek political office or great fame and fortune. For the most part, it was a rather lazy, liberal, "socially aware" bunch.

A wasted opportunity perhaps and of course we had the luxury back then of free education up to university level. So even more waste.

If I was able to be granted a wish, it would be that every child is given exactly the same opportunities for a good, free education regardless of background, sex, race, religion, wealth, health (mental & physical disability). And that includes them having the same access to everything connected with that, whether free school meals, free school books, free school outings, free special needs equipment and treatment etc.

A huge challenge alone in a "wealthy" country like the UK. Getting children in Africa to at least have a pair of shoes and a lightbulb in the classroom is alone a challenge.

It sickened me to hear that Jeremy Corbyn is giving a speech this week about the BBC calling for them to publish not only statistics on the gender, age and pay of their employees but also now, "Social Class". Never mind how anyone is supposed to be categorised, why on earth are we having such discussions in 21st Century Britain. This whole "Class" business that preoccupies all levels of British life is evil, destructive, divisive and certainly financially costs the country far more than EU membership.

After education - which is the major cornerstone - the next issue to tackle in the UK is inclusion. Giving the 4+ million UK people at the very bottom of the ladder, the chance to feel worthwhile members of the community. Without hope, there is no future and this state of mind costs us millions and disrupts all aspects of society. Right and Left Wing radicalism breeds in this milieu.