Author: cwhums

Dear Fellow Humanists

Welcome to the September edition of the Coventry & Warwickshire Humanist Newsletter. It was good to see so many people who attended the AGM at Waverley Day Centre and the Social Event on Saturday 23^rd September at Kenilworth Cricket Club. It was good to see new members and some familiar faces. I felt that there was a very positive vibe at the AGM and at the Social Event. Hopefully, this positivity will continue throughout the forthcoming year.

It was disappointing to read that the Prime Minister has decided to announce a ‘U-turn’ on climate change commitments and key green targets. It is confirmed the UK would push back the deadline for selling new petrol and diesel cars and the phasing out of gas boilers, prompting furious condemnation from the automobile and energy industries. This comes at a time when most of the world suffered scorching heatwaves – including Siberia and Northern Canada. It is assumed that the hot sun will be followed by torrential wind, rain and floods similar to those in Libya. That the climate is changing – and the planet heating – is a scientific fact, and it is human activity that is the overarching cause. Climate change is a human problem. It must have a human solution. Just as our historic systems of science, technology, industry, and politics have enabled us to pollute our planet, so we must look to using and reforming these tools to preserve it. As Humanists, we can all play our part, because we must.

Brian Goredema-Braid
Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists
Tel: 07977996363 Email: briangb@sky.com

Annual General Meeting Thursday 21^st September:
We had our Annual General Meeting at Waverley Day Centre. I was very pleased that the meeting was well attended and was an all-round good event with a good level of debate. I have attached my report on our work from 2022-23 at the end of this Newsletter.

The election of officers is as follows:
Chair                                 Brian Goredema-Braid
Secretary                          Jane Sault
Treasurer                          Adrian Davis
Social Secretary                Andrew Ireland
Executive Members:        John Gainer, John Goodfellow and Geraldine Tsakirakis

Subscriptions:
One of the items discussed in the regular meeting after the AGM was the membership fee for the group. Membership of Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists runs from the 1st September to 31st August every year. We are asking for an annual subscription of £10 per person. If you feel able to contribute more, then any additional donations would be welcome. We do not want to exclude anyone, so if you cannot afford £10 then whatever you feel able to contribute would be fine. If you can arrange a standing order to our bank account that would be great, otherwise a cheque made out to Coventry and Warwickshire Humanists can be sent to our Treasurer Adrian Davis. Or if you are going to be at the meeting on Thursday 19^th October, you can give Adrian a cheque or cash.

The bank details are:
Account: Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists
Account Number: 00982911
Sort Code: 20-23-55

If you want to send a cheque, please send to:
Adrian Davis
Flat 14 Ladbroke Hall
Ladbroke
Southam CV47 2DF

Social Event Saturday 23^rd September at Kenilworth Cricket Club:

Many thanks to Andrew Ireland who organised an excellent social event at the Kenilworth Cricket Club. A pleasant venue with good food and company. A welcome our new member, Rhiannnon Jones-Price and John Goodfellow’s partner, (Penny). A big thank you also to Audrey Raishbrook, who organised some light entertainment with some debatable assistance from Bob Jelley and participation from Andrew and Mo. It was also noted that there were some very fine accompanying male voices in the audience! (Questionable??) There was a selection of different quiz’s pictorial, written and verbal for amusement and fun.

Next Meeting – Thursday 19^th October: Charlotte Hockton from Hope at Home:
‘Hope at Home’ is a voluntary organisation that runs a hosting service for people escaping from modern slavery. At Hope at Home, we believe that no survivor of slavery should ever have to sleep on the streets. The organisation train and support volunteer hosts to welcome a survivor into their homes, preventing homelessness and re-trafficking. Hope at Home believe that everyone deserves the chance to find a hope and a future. This should be a very interesting meeting

Remembrance Sunday Wreaths:

Remembrance Sunday is on 12^th November. As many of you know, we request Humanists to volunteer to place a wreath at their local Memorial Statue or Monument in the various towns and districts in Coventry and Warwickshire. Previously, we have been indebted to Bob Jelley for delivering wreaths to Humanists across the County. Whilst Bob did an excellent job, we did feel that someone driving across the area was not environmentally effective. Like last year, we are suggesting that members contact their local British Legion office to request a wreath. We will discuss this issue and the arrangements for laying wreaths at the AGM on Thursday 19^th October.

Humanist Statement: – Kurt Vonnegut

We usually start each meeting with a Humanist Statement from any of our members. I took it upon myself to start the Social Event with this comment from one of my favourite authors Kurt Vonnegut who was the President of American Humanists. I read most of his books in the 1970’s and 80’s and I keep promising myself to revisit his books – especially ‘Slaughterhouse Five’, ‘Cat’s Cradle’ and ‘God Bless You Mr Rosewater’.

In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write to a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond – and his response is magnificent:

“Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta: I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don’t make public appearances anymore, because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana. What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you’re Count Dracula.

Here’s an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don’t do it: Write a six-line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Don’t show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?

Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash receptacles. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.

God bless you all!”

Kurt Vonnegut

I have decided to use this excellent comment as a Humanist School Speaker whenever I visit a school.

Copenhagen Declaration on Democracy

The 2023 World Humanist Congress, gathered in Copenhagen, adopted the following Declaration on Democracy: a humanist value:

Humans are social animals, formed by evolution and culture to live together with others in society.

For society to function, it needs norms, laws and regulations. As society changes, these need always to be open to challenge and updating as the result of an ongoing ethical conversation and rational debate.

Democracy, which is founded on the principle of the equal value, dignity, and right to participate of every individual, is a humanist way of organizing that conversation and debate.

As humanists, we maintain that democracy should be a fundamental value upheld and protected by all societies and governments. Everyone should be heard with equal dignity and respect, and the democratic process provides a framework for ensuring that this principle is upheld in practice. It guarantees that there can be no legitimate government anywhere without the fully informed consent and participation of those being governed.

Democracy is not just a political process. With its emphasis on equality and participation, democracy is a powerful tool for the realization of social justice, human dignity, and the common good.

Democracy is not a static situation. It is a dynamic process that requires constant engagement, informed participation, and adjustment.

Democracy is not the tyranny of the majority. It must go together with human rights protections, the rule of law, and a commitment to social progress.

In light of these principles, we affirm the following:

Democracy is a universal fundamental value that is essential to the realization of humanist principles worldwide.
Democracy must be broadly inclusive, transparent, accountable, and secular, with institutions and practices that are responsive to the changing needs and aspirations of citizens.
Citizens must be empowered and the right to exercise citizenship must be protected without prejudice.
Democracy as a culture must be actively defended against all threats, including those from regimes, movements and political parties that embrace authoritarian principles, from those with unaccountable economic and social power, and from all other forces that seek to undermine democratic values and institutions.

We commit ourselves to working for a more democratic world.

We call on all governments, institutions, and individuals to uphold and protect democratic values as a cornerstone of human dignity, justice, and freedom.

We call on all humanists around the world to stand in solidarity with those who are struggling to defend and promote democracy, and to work together to build a world in which democracy flourishes and the dignity and rights of all people are protected.

General Assembly Resolution on Democracy

The General Assembly of Humanists International noted the Declaration of the 2023 World Humanist Congress on Democracy: a humanist value and made this resolution:

“This General Assembly notes that democracy faces many challenges globally. These challenges include the rise of authoritarianism, the suppression of human rights and civil liberties, the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation, the weakening of democratic institutions, the continued harassment of and intimidation of civil society activists, NGOs, and others working for human rights, civil engagement, and environmental sustainability, and the exacerbation of social and economic inequalities.

We call on humanist organizations to play their part in confronting these threats to democracy of today in whatever ways they can. We should all consider meaningful ways to advance democracy and democratic values in our current context, to act in the best interests not just of people today but for future generations, for whom democracy should be an inheritance”.

Source

Copenhagen Declaration on Democracy: a humanist value, Humanists International, World Humanist Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2023

Poetry Corner from Audrey Raishbrook

Audrey is possibly hinting that the coming winter might be a bit severe? Her choice for this month is ‘Stopping by the woods on a Snowy Evening’ by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE HUMANISTS – CHAIRPERSONS REPORT
Annual General Meeting September 2023

It has been an interesting year in many ways. In particular an opportunity for some reflection as to where we are as a group. With Covid now hopefully behind us now, we have managed to combine the hybrid of using both in-person meetings and online meetings. We have had some interesting and thought-provoking meetings throughout the year as well as enjoyable social events.

In September last year was the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth ll which affected a lot of events and activities around that period. The coronation of Charles lll took place in May and was officially attended by Humanist Chief Executive Andrew Copson – which was quite a breakthrough for Humanist representation. News also came available of statistics from the 2021 Census and other sources outlining the decline of the Anglican church and the growth of those with no religion, which should be comforting for many Humanists.

Unfortunately, we heard of the sad death of Roy Saitch who was a co-founder of Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists with his partner George Broadhead. They established a formidable reputation as gay activists and humanists, not just locally but also on a national level. In the June Newsletter, I posted a tribute to Roy by John Marshall, Trustee of the Pink Triangle Trust. We also learned of the sad death of Joy Gardiner. I don’t believe that she attended many meetings. Joy lived in Kenilworth. I only know Joy by way of delivering her Newsletter by hand. I would like to hear from anyone who knew Joy. Her son informed me that she had a non-religious funeral.

In September we had a social event at Kenilworth Cricket Club which was well organised by our Social Secretary Andrew Ireland. The event was quite well attended. In October we held the AGM at Waverley Day Centre in Kenilworth. The November meeting was an informal online event.

In December we held another social event with everyone bringing an item of refreshment. Bob Jelley had printed off a selection of seasonal songs including White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Winter Wonderland etc. Everyone joined in for a good communal sing song. However, I am not too sure about The Mistletoe Bough as a happy song for the festive season? But it was well sung by Bob. Jane Sault provided some exercise with a novelty race game. Again, the event was well organised by Andrew Ireland.

In January and February, we had further online meetings where we discussed issues including the war in Ukraine, sexual and religious discrimination against women in Iran and Afghanistan. In March we invited Bob Jelley to open a discussion on his role as a Humanist Celebrant. He was ably assisted by Moira Pendlebury with this enlightening discussion. Bob provided some useful anecdotes.

We had a very well attended meeting in April. The main speaker was Debbie Hill with some assistance from me with a discussion on Transactional Analysis or as it is often referred TA. The TA Model, developed by Dr Eric Berne in the 1950’s and 1960’s, is one of the most comprehensive and-useful tools available for dealing with interactions between two people. Eric Berne’s most famous book is ‘Games People Play’ TA is a useful tool for us as Humanists and free-thinkers and rationalists – especially when we are in a discussion with someone who does not necessarily agree with our position on religion or faith.

In May, we had an excellent presentation from Jeremy Rodell the Humanists UK Dialogue Officer. Jeremy provided an enlightening presentation. Firstly, on the up-to-date statistics from the 2021 Census and other sources outlining the decline of the Anglican church and the growth of those with no religion. Jeremy then moved to discuss the need for a positive dialogue with those of religious faiths. Jeremy suggested the need for a values-based approach for a way forward. Yet, it is difficult for a positive conversation or coalition of the reasonable while Church leaders continue with their ‘state of false consciousness’. A fascinating and excellent presentation.

In June, 3 of us, Jane Sault, Adrian Davis and myself attended the Humanist Convention in Liverpool. One of the benefits of the Convention is the opportunity to mix and mingle with Humanists from the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. However, one of the drawbacks is that with a busy programme, opportunities for networking are limited. Overall, it was a good Convention with a good level of stimulating debate with some inspiring speakers. Generally, a good camaraderie amongst among some very committed and enthusiastic Humanists. I would definitely recommend any Humanist to attend at least one Annual Convention. The 2024 Convention will be held in Cardiff in June of that year. For the June meeting Adrian and I gave a presentation of our own perspectives of the convention.

For the July Meeting, the main issue centred around where we are as a group. To question whether we are happy and content with where we are as a group and if there is a need to develop? The main talking point is how we should attract more people to our meetings – existing and future members. In the August Newsletter I reproduced an article by David Warden of Dorset Humanists on Humanist groups: how to deliver that endorphin high and some lessons that we in Coventry & Warwickshire can learn from. This is an issue that we will keep coming back to.

In May, Andrew Ireland led a very good ramble around Binley Woods. Even the weather was kind to us with a nice warm sunny day. Andrew also showed us the many improvements that the Friends of Binley Wood had developed since our last visit in November 2021. Binley Wood has many features that need further exploration, including the variety of different trees and the natural ponds. An excellent walk for a sunny Sunday morning. After the walk we met with fellow Humanists at The Cocked Hat for a lovely Sunday lunch. I have the feeling that we should be doing more of this type of activity?

We have some interesting meetings planned for the forthcoming year. In October we have a visit from Charlotte Hockton from Hope at Home which is a voluntary organisation that runs a hosting service for people escaping from modern slavery. Hope at Home believe that everyone deserves the chance to find a hope and a future. This should be a very interesting meeting. We are also further discussions with Humanist national officers including Ann O’Connell a Humanist Trustee, Clare Elcombe-Webber who is responsible for Humanist Pastoral Care and also Madeline Goodall the Humanist Heritage Co-ordinator. We will confirm these dates for 2024.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists are still actively supporting the work of Steve Hurd and Ugandan Humanist Schools. We do send regular donations to this excellent organisation, particularly now that they are being presented with further tax demands. We continue to campaign for the release of Mubarak Bala who is still in prison in Nigeria on the charge of blasphemy. As with Humanists UK, we continue to support campaigns for human rights and for climate change.

I was very pleased to receive a telephone call recently from Andrew Copson to have a conversation about our group. This is a new initiative as Andrew is keen to become more involved with Humanist groups around the country. Jane Sault and I have also been invited to attend a meeting of Humanist Representatives in October in London. This is very good news, as I sometimes feel that as group we can often feel remote from the main central hub of the Humanist movement. Jane and I will report back on the outcome of this meeting.

Apart from the regular meetings and social events, we have many Humanist Celebrants and Humanist School Speakers amongst our membership. This is a healthy aspect. I can only speak as a School Speaker, but it is heartening that we get a lot of revisits to many of our regular schools each year as well as invitations for new school enquiries. I also know that Celebrants are regularly performing their duties. There is always a positive feedback from people who have attended a Humanist funeral or naming or wedding ceremony. I would personally like to thank all of those who are Celebrants and School Speakers for the work that they do each year.

Each year Humanists in various parts of Coventry and Warwickshire attend the ceremonies each year on Remembrance Sunday. I would also like to thank those Humanists who volunteer to place a wreath at local Remembrance ceremony.

I would like to thank members for their support during my tentative first year. Especially the members of the Executive Committee for their continued support. In particular, I would like to thank our Secretary Jane Sault and Treasurer Adrian Davis for their guidance and wise counsel.

Thank you

Brian Goredema-Braid – Chair of Coventry &Warwickshire Humanists – September 2023

Film Review – ‘Tokyo Story’ and ‘Past Lives’

During September I managed to see two films from the Far East that I would totally recommend. They were made in 1953 and 2023 – a 70-year difference. But both with a similar theme. Human interest with both understating excess emotion. Just capturing the mood of the moment and leaving the viewer to address their own conclusions. ‘Tokyo Story’ directed by Yasujiro Ozu was made in Japan in 1953. ‘Past Lives’ directed by Canadian based Celine Song was made in South Korea and United States in 2023.

‘Tokyo Story’ is a profoundly stirring evocation of elemental humanity and universal heartbreak. The film, which follows an aging couple’s journey to visit their grown children in bustling post-war Tokyo, surveys the rich and complex world of family life with the director’s customary delicacy and incisive perspective on social mores.

Featuring lovely performances from Ozu regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, ‘Tokyo Story’ plumbs and deepens the director’s recurring theme of generational conflict, creating what is without question one of cinema’s mightiest masterpieces. Their journey to Tokyo to visit their adult children who appear too busy to entertain them. More wrapped up in their commercial careers the aging parents appear neglected. The only relative to show any warmth is the wife of their deceased son who died in the war.

Regardless of her poverty, the daughter-in-law makes very effort to respect the aging parents-in-law. She is often ridiculed her in-laws because of her poverty. A charming view of family relationships, humility and humanity. Despite the film’s age it has a timeless theme.

I have been a keen admirer of the developing film industry of South Korea. The excellent comedy drama ‘Parasites’ directed by Bong Joon-Ho deservedly won the Oscar for best picture in 2020. ‘The Handmaiden’ directed by Park Chan-Wook and based on the novel ‘Fingersmith’ by Sarah Waters won rave reviews at every film festival.

‘Past Lives’ This is a story of lost love and childhood crush, the painful and dangerous access to the past given by digital media; the roads not taken, the lives not led, the futile luxury of regret. And it’s a movie that speaks to the migrant experience and the way this creates lifelong alternative realities in the mind: the self that could have stayed behind in the old country, versus the one that went abroad for a new future.

The pair reconnect over Facebook, and soon, their lives revolve around regular Skype calls, regardless of time differences. However, with no sign that either one of them is willing to upend their early careers, the stream of video calls stop. Nora and Hae Sung’s lives continue over another 12 years before they reconnect again. A gentle but beautiful film of two people whose lives intertwine again after years apart is delicate and sophisticated, but also simple and direct.

Film Preview:
A selection of films being released over the next few weeks

The Old Oak: A new film from Ken Loach and possibly his last ever film? As usual, Loach hones in on a controversial and sensitive subject. A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the town when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses in the community. Starring Dave Turner and Elba Mari

RMN: Another politically controversial subject from this award-winning Romanian film. A man returns to his parents’ mountain village in Transylvania, longing to see his ex-lover again. He notices the unrest caused by her offering two foreigners work in her bakery despite no-one else having applied for the jobs. The townspeople come together to express their racist anger.

Brother: The sons of Caribbean immigrants, two brothers face questions of masculinity, identity and family during Toronto’s early hip-hop scene. Starring Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre.

A Haunting in Venice: A Haunting in Venice is a 2023 American mystery film produced and directed by Kenneth Branagh loosely based on the 1969 Agatha Christie novel Hallowe’en Party. It serves as a sequel to Death on the Nile and is the third film in which Branagh portrays the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. With an all-star ensemble cast. Personally, I am not too keen on Branagh’s approach of turning Poirot into a James Bond type character?

Dumb Money: An American biographical comedy-drama film based on the 2021 book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich and chronicles the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021. The cast includes Paul Dano, Pete Davidson and Vincent D’Onofrio.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3: The third instalment in the franchise with the familiar format of a romantic comedy film. Starring its director Nia Vardalos, John Corbett. An entertaining and charming romantic comedy

The Lesson: An aspiring young novelist, is hired to tutor the son of revered author JM Sinclair played by a deliciously acidic Richard E Grant and a formidable art dealer But he finds that the Sinclair inner circle is a place where nobody but JM is permitted to thrive, and that the ownership of stories is a contentious matter. Also starring Daryl McCormack and Julie Delpy.

The Great Escaper: This film is bound to be a big hit with many people. Based on a true-life story. In the summer of 2014, a World War 2 veteran ‘breaks-out’ of his care home to attend the 70^th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. It is hinted that this will be Caine’s last film. Jackson died within days of completing the film.

The Miracle Club: A comedy-drama film starring Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, and Stephen Rea. The film’s plot involves a group of working-class women from Dublin on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in France. The film explores the themes of faith, friendship, family, and forgiveness as the women face their personal challenges and secrets.

Golda: A biographical drama film that depicts the life of Golda Meir, the 4th Prime Minister of Israel, particularly during the Yom Kippur War. It stars Helen Mirren, Camille Cottin and Liev Schreiber.

Killers of the Flower Moon: An epic Western crime drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, based on the book of the same name by David Grann. Its plot centres on a series of Oklahoma murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, committed after oil was discovered on tribal land. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

Foe: A science fiction psychological thriller film based on Iain Reid’s 2018 novel of the same name. It stars Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal and Aaron Pierre.

The Killer: A neo-noir action thriller film based on the French graphic novel series of the same name written by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon. Starring Michael Fassbender and Arliss Howard. Its plot follows the titular assassin who gets embroiled in an international manhunt after a hit goes wrong.

Daliland: A biographical drama based on the true story of surrealist painter Salvador Dalí and his tempestuous marriage to muse and wife Gala during the 1970s. The film stars Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa and Christopher Briney.

A Little Life: Based on the novel by Hanya Yanagihara, follows four classmates from a small US college who move to New York to pursue their careers. It deals with complex themes – ambition, racism, addiction, privilege, sexuality and pride as secrets of the past come to light. Starring James Norton (of Happy Valley fame), Elliot Cowan, Omari Douglas and Luke Thompson.

Still on the Circuit:

Oppenheimer: Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.

Barbie: Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colourful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. Yes, it is still there – but no queues now!

Scrapper: A British comedy about a dreamy 12-year-old girl who lives happily in her London flat, filling it with magic. When her estranged father turns up, he forces her to confront reality. Starring Harris Dickinson, Lola Campbell and Laura Alkman. Still at some independent cinemas.

TV Programmes and Films:

Saturday 30^th September: It is a good night for fans of Tamla Motown on BBC2!

18.20 – BBC1: Strictly Come Dancing – Another week of the entertaining dance show

21.00 – BBC4: Black Snow and at 22.00 – Episodes 3 & 4 of this intriguing and haunting Australian drama

22.00 – BBC2: Smokey Robinson in Hyde Park – The soul and Motown legend performs a rousing headline set, which took place in 2013. With a little help from the crowd in London’s Hyde Park,

23.00 – BBC2: Marvin Gaye Live at Montreux – From a live appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1980. In this highly energetic concert he performs many of his timeless classics,

00.00 – BBC1: The Witches of Eastwick – Excellent Comedy drama starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. Three bored, independent women make a wish for a dynamic man to enter their lives. So, when a charismatic and mysterious man arrives on the scene, strange things start to happen.

00.30 – Channel 4: The Spy Who Dumped Me – A great action comedy starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. A woman’s boyfriend dumps her on her 30th birthday. She and best friend burn all of his belongings. However, it turns out that he is a CIA agent and, he needs to retrieve an important item. The women are plunged into the thick of a high-stakes international incident.

Sunday 1^st October:

19.15 – BBC4: Hamlet – David Tennant is in the title role in this adaptation of the RSC’s award-winning production, with Patrick Stewart as Claudius, and Penny Downie as Gertrude.

21.00 – BBC1: Boiling Point – A TV spin-off from the excellent 2021 film, starring Stephen Graham. In a new restaurant, head chef Carly battles personal demons, while chaos in the kitchen pushes her staff to boiling point. If the TV series is as good as the film, it will be brilliant!

21.30 – BBC2: Miriam Margolyes: Australia Unmasked – Miriam Margolyes embarks on a journey Down Under to explore the unique Australian ethos of ‘the Fair Go”, a core value that promotes opportunity for all regardless of background or wealth.,

22.00 – BBC3: Stronger – Biographical drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany, based on the inspiring true story. Boston worker Jeff Bauman loses both his legs during a devastating attack on the 2013 marathon.

22.30 – BBC2: Ali and Ava – An excellent drama starring Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook. Amiable, Ali lives in Bradford where his marriage is coming to a painful end. By chance, he meets widowed teaching assistant Ava and the two get close. But their own insecurities and family opposition threaten to stand in the way of their burgeoning relationship. You will love these characters! Well worth recording.

Monday 2^nd October:

21.00 – BBC2: Union with David Olusoga – The historian examines the relationship between the UK’s four constituent countries, uncovering a long history of union and disunion that goes back centuries.

21.00 – ITV1: The Long Shadow – Episode 2 of the drama into the investigation of Peter Sutcliffe

22.00 – BBC4: Andy Warhol’s America – Episode 1 of the documentary looking at the history of 20th-century America through the life and career of Andy Warhol.

22.40 – BBC1: The Exorcist – It must be getting near to Halloween? Classic horror starring Ellen Burstyn and Max von Sydow. Repeated Thursday 22.20 on BBC4

23.15 – BBC2: Selma – Drama based on a true story, starring David Oyelowo and Tom Wilkinson. It is still the era of segregation in the United States. Dr Martin Luther King goes to Selma, Alabama, and initiates a series of demonstrations and marches that will change the face of America.

23.30 – BBC4: David Hockney: The Art of Society – A Culture Show special. The artist, at his home in Bridlington and at the galleries of London’s Royal Academy.

Tuesday 3^rd October:

21.00 – BBC2: Rise of the Nazi’s: Manhunt – The final episode of the diehards committed to hunt down thousands of Nazi war criminals, some of whom were living in plain sight.

21.30 – Channel 4: Partygate – Factual drama telling the story of the Covid-19 pandemic through the portal of what was happening inside 10 Downing Street including the lockdown-breaching parties. Based on the findings of the Sue Gray reports. John Culshaw as Boris Johnson – a must see film!

23.15 – BBC2: The Place Behind the Pines – Crime drama starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks. An ambitious cop is determined to bring him to book. Their actions rebound on both their families in the years to come.

Wednesday 4^th October:

21.00 – ITV1: Payback: Money and Power – A business titan and affluent financial capitalist, has been living a life of a recluse in Mongolia. He returns to Korea when his nephew and his late benefactor’s daughter enlists his help. He prepares for war against corrupt powers to protect his beloved family and to avenge the death of a dear old friend.

22.40 – BBC1: Alien – Sci-fi horror thriller starring Sigourney Weaver.

Thursday 5^th October:

21.00 – Channel 4: Taskmaster – A new series of one of the funniest shows on TV

21.00 BBC2: Picasso: The Beauty and the Beast – The second episode on the life of Picasso

Friday 5^th October:

A good night for fans of Elton John with various programmes on BBC4 from 21.00 to 00.30

20.00 – BBC1: Would I Lie to You? This week Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell are joined by Victoria Derbyshire, Rhod Gilbert, Rosie Jones and Jamil Maddix

20.30 – BBC1: Ghosts – Another episode of the popular comedy series

21.30 – BBC1: Have I Got News for You – Victoria Coren Mitchell is tonight’s chair with Carol Vorderman and Ignacio Lopez joining Ian Hislop and Paul Merton

22.40 – BBC1: Graham Norton Show – Tonight’s guests are Elton John’s lyricist Bernie Taupin, Catherine Tate, Ashley Walters and Bill Bailey. Music from Christine and the Queens

23.05 – BBC2: Official Secrets – Fact-based drama about a leaked GCHQ memo in the run-up to the Iraq war. Revealing the devastating consequences for whistle-blower Katharine Gun, who was put on trial for breaching the Official Secrets Act. Starring Keira Knightley and Matt Smith

Saturday 7^th October:

18.20 – BBC1: Strictly Come Dancing – Another week of star-spangled dancing

21.00 – BBC4: Black Swan – The final episodes of this mysterious and haunting Australian thriller

23.05 – Channel 4: Minority Report – Futuristic action thriller from Steven Spielberg, based on the Philip K Dick short story, starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton. In the mid-21st century, a man in charge of a Precrime unit, an elite force that can predict offences and make arrests before the crimes are committed. But his life falls apart when he is labelled a future murderer and forced to go on the run to clear his name.

01.05 – BBC2: So Long My Son – Drama about two married couples adjusting to the vast social and economic changes in China from the 1980s to the present. Starring Jingchun Wang and Mei Wong. In Chinese. Well worth staying up for or recording.

A Few Funnies to Cheer You Up:

I was walking past a farm the other day and I saw a sign that said ‘Duck, Eggs’

I thought that’s an unnecessary comma – and then it hit me!

Boss: ‘Where are you?’

Me: ‘I am on a train heading for the south coast’

Boss: ‘But you should be here at work!’

Me: ‘But you told me that you wanted me in Brighton early tomorrow morning!’

Mick walks into Patrick’s barn and catches him dancing naked in front of a tractor

Mick says, ‘What’s going on Patrick? What are you doing?’

Patrick says, ‘Well me and the missus have not been getting on well in the bedroom lately, and the therapist recommended that I do something sexy to a tractor.’

English is hard to Learn?

The bandage was wound around the wound

The farm was used to produce produce

The dump was so full that it had to refuse my refuse

We must polish the Polish furniture

He could lead if he would take the lead out

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert

Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes

I did not object to the object

The insurance was invalid for the invalid

There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row

They were too close to the door to close it

Some Thoughts to Ponder…….

Why isn’t the number 11 pronounced onety-one?

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhoea…does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren’t they just stale bread to begin with?

If people from Poland are called Poles, then why aren’t people from Holland called Holes?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

If it’s true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, then doesn’t it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

Why, Why, Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Why do banks charge a fee due to insufficient funds; when they already know you’re broke?

Why is it that when someone tells you that there are one billion stars in the universe you believe them, but if they tell you there is wet paint you have to touch it to check?

Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose cruel idea was it to put an “s” in the word “lisp”?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

REMEMBER, A day without a smile is like a day without sunshine!

And a day without sunshine is, like………..night!!!!

Coventry and Warwickshire Humanists Newsletter July 2023

Welcome to the July monthly Newsletter of the Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists. Hopefully, many of you will be planning your activities for the summer. At the time of writing this Newsletter, the weather is hardly like summer and the temporary heatwave of June. However, the horrific scenes around the Mediterranean, especially in Rhodes and Sicily, is frightening. With the temperatures reaching the low to mid 40 degrees the possibility for uncontrollable fires is very apparent. There is no doubt that the issue of climate change is probably the most important problem that we must address. Yet, regardless of the horrific scenes in Rhodes and other Mediterranean islands, it appears that many people in outer London are resisting the expansion of the former Congestion Charge or the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Unfortunately, this has provided the government with the opportunity to cut back on its previous commitments for a ‘Green Economy’. It is a very sad situation when a government considers its own popularity and votes over the pressing issue of addressing the pressing problem of climate change.

I apologise for the lateness of this months Newsletter. I have been busy with helping with the graduations at Warwick University. Two weeks of long days. But, it is an enjoyable event to see so many students and their families and friends enjoying the occasion and celebrating the achievements of the students. It does indeed give one a hope for the future.

Brian Goredema-Braid

Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire Humanists

Tel: 07977996363 Email: briangb@sky.com

Meeting Thursday 20^th July:

This was a very different meeting to previous meetings. The main issue centred around where we are as a group. To question whether we are happy and content with where we are as a group and if there is a need to develop? To also consider the format of our meetings? How do we see our future as a group? Recognising the general age of most of the members. There was an interesting discussion. Issues that were suggested including updating the website and the Facebook page; seeking attendance at Freshers Weeks at Coventry and Warwick Universities; and sending out a questionnaire to seek members views on the current meeting format and suggestions for the future.

The meeting also discussed the recent issue of Kent County Council to have acted unlawfully by refusing Steve Bowen, Chair of Kent Humanists, a place on group A of its Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE). Every local authority in England has a SACRE and it is responsible for overseeing RE and collective worship in community schools in the area. Kent County Council will not appeal the landmark High Court judgment that found it unlawfully refused humanist Steve Bowen membership of his local religious education (RE) committee. The Bowen judgment will therefore now stand as UK case law. Humanists UK, which facilitated Steve in bringing the case, welcomed the news.

Adrian Davis provided a summary of Uganda Humanists Schools Appeal. As a result of Uganda’s new anti-gay laws, many countries have made large cuts in their aid to Uganda. The government is trying to offset this by raising taxes and Isaac Newton School has a bill for £12,000, half of which needs to be paid immediately and the rest by September. Anyone who would like to help them through this latest challenge can donate here: https://ugandahumanistschoolstrust.org/donate/.

I also raised the disturbing news of thousands of children from 76 Church of England schools across Coventry and Warwickshire being bussed in to mass evangelising ‘worship’ concerts in an out-of-town arena last month. These events were organised by the ‘Alive Praise Party’. More about this later in the Newsletter.

John Goodfellow mentioned the book “Humanly Possible” by Sarah Bakewell. She gave the 2023 Rosalind Franklin Lecture for Humanists UK, which was based on the book, and it is available on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/y7ZPCvbruw0.

Future Events:

As usual, there will not be a meeting in August

Thursday 21^st September – AGM – The AGM is due in September. Further information will be sent out nearer to the date.

Social Event – Saturday 23^rd September: This event will be held from 12.30 pm at Kenilworth Cricket Club, Warwick Road, Kenilworth. We welcome members to invite family and friends to join us with this event. Please contact Andrew Ireland asap to confirm your attendance

Email – andrew.ireland70@gmail.com or telephone 07719545403

Thursday 19^th October: The main item at this meeting will be a talk from ‘Hope at Home’ a voluntary organisation that runs a hosting service for people escaping from modern slavery. This should be a very interesting meeting

“SHOCK AS 76 ANGLICAN SCHOOLS SUBJECT CHILDREN TO ‘ALIVE PRAISE’ WORSHIP CONCERT’

Yes, I was quite surprised when I saw this headline in a recent Humanist UK Newsletter. Especially as it concerned children in Coventry and Warwickshire.

‘Thousands of children from 76 Church of England schools across Coventry and Warwickshire were bussed in to mass evangelising ‘worship’ concerts in an out-of-town arena last month. We stated that such events are wholly inappropriate activities for state-funded schools to be carrying out’. (Humanist UK)

Thousands of children from 76 Church of England schools across Coventry and Warwickshire were bussed in to mass evangelising ‘worship’ concerts in an out-of-town arena last month, in a series of American-style concert shows. The ‘Alive Praise Party’, which took place from 15-16 June during the normal school day, saw the schools in the Diocese of Coventry send 9,000 children aged between 7 and 11 to four events. Humanists UK, which campaigns for the phasing out of state-funded faith schools, said such events are wholly inappropriate activities for state-funded schools to be carrying out.

Who’s behind this?

Alive Praise is run by Imagine Ministries, a charity producing evangelical material – resources designed explicitly to convert children to Christianity. A video summary of the event shows thousands of children in a large arena while musical acts and preachers ‘entertained’ by happy-clappy singing and dancing performers from the stage.

Is this kind of thing even allowed?

Disturbingly, even openly evangelical events – intended to turn non-Christian children into Christian disciples – are likely to be lawful, as they come under the banner of ‘collective worship’.

The UK is the world’s only country to require compulsory Christian worship as standard in all state schools. This practice originates in an archaic law from the 1940s which says every state school in England and Wales must hold ‘daily’ acts of ‘broadly Christian’ collective worship, or in the case of faith schools lead children in ‘worship’ that matches the school’s religion.

School evangelism is baked into UK law

Humanists UK campaigns for collective worship laws to be replaced with inclusive assemblies – free from evangelism or attempts to persuade children into (or out of) particular beliefs.

While in some schools the law on collective worship is ignored, or interpreted sensibly as only a vague mandate for school assemblies covering moral topics, when schools do choose to follow the letter of the law (and even when they lead children in acts of nakedly evangelical religious coercion) the law is frequently on the side of those schools, not parents. And regrettably many schools do just this – particularly primary schools, of which around two-fifths are Christian.

However, parents do have strong rights in this arena, and Humanists UK has been actively promoting its comprehensive Guide for Non-Religious Parents on religion in schools, in order to provide helpful advice for navigating the often complex system.

In 2019, Humanists UK supported two Oxfordshire parents whose child was isolated and stigmatised because of the school’s approach to so-called collective worship.

In current law, parents in England have the right to withdraw their children from collective worship. However, many see this is a ‘nuclear’ option as it sees the child effectively excluded from part of the school day. That can lead to children feeling left out or even victimised by their peers. Meanwhile some schools have been known (quite inappropriately) to frown upon parents wishing to withdraw their children in this way. All of this means that collective worship in church schools is still likely to be attended by a significant number of children from non-Christian families.

What can we do about it?

Cases like the ‘Alive Praise Party’ underline that parents have to jump through hoops, even in the most outrageous cases of schools manipulating young minds.

Humanists UK is urging a change in the law, and the abolition of ‘collective worship’ as a requirement in schools. It is also campaigning for an end to faith-based schools and faith-based admissions, as evidence shows these reduce parental choice as to local state schools. Studies show that many families are forced to attend religious schools despite their preferences. Parents then have little recourse when the school imposes highly sectarian collective worship or one-sided RE on their child.

Concerned parents should contact Humanists UK who employs a dedicated campaigner working full-time to address issues around collective worship and faith schools.

Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Robert Cann said:

‘No child should be evangelised by their state school, much less 9,000 of them at once. This is an appalling use of public funds and a complete denial of the freedom of belief of these unfortunate pupils and their families.

‘Just this past week the Church of England has announced that it plans to use its schools to “double the number of children who are active Christian disciples” and here it is already trying to put that plan into action. The Government must urgently repeal the laws allowing state schools to behave in this way.’

If you know or are aware of a parent whose child attended this or similar events, please contact Robert Cann or Richy Thompson at press@humanists.uk who will provide support.

It would help if local Humanists could keep us informed of any future events.

Understanding Humanism – where do we come from? – With Alice Roberts

Humanists UK has teamed up with broadcaster and scientist Professor Alice Roberts to tell the scientific story of our origins in a brand new animation aimed at primary school children entitled Where do we come from? The video officially launches online today, and is the latest resource from Understanding Humanism, the charity’s programme supporting learning about humanism in classrooms across the country.

In the video, Alice Roberts, who is Vice President of Humanists UK, describes the scientific account of the evolution of the universe, stars, planets, and life in an enlightening and accessible way. The animation should support young people to understand where humanists find wonder in the scientific story of where we come from and in our capacity to look for and find the evidence to back it up.

It also reveals why humanists see something to be celebrated in how such ‘simple’ ingredients can lead to such wondrous results – our ‘thinking, feeling, choosing, caring, dreaming, wondering’ selves.In the video, Alice Roberts, who is Vice President of Humanists UK, describes the scientific account of the evolution of the universe, stars, planets, and life in an enlightening and accessible way. The animation should support young people to understand where humanists find wonder in the scientific story of where we come from and in our capacity to look for and find the evidence to back it up.

The short film was animated by OOF Animation. It will accompany many other resources and activities on Humanists UK’s Understanding Humanism website, designed to raise awareness and understanding of the humanist approach to life. Humanists UK supports teachers and schools to deliver engaging lessons about humanism as an example of a non-religious worldview as part of an inclusive education about religion and worldviews. Its resources are downloaded tens of thousands of times every year.

Director of Understanding Humanism Luke Donnellan commented:

‘Primary teachers often tell us that while an abundance of resources exists on the religious creation stories, it can be harder to find good material on the scientific story of our origins – we wanted to help correct that. We very much hope it will be of value to teachers and parents.’

‘We wanted to create something that didn’t just present the scientific facts, but brought alive the grandeur that can be found in this story of life. That we are all made of stardust; that we are connected to every other living thing on the planet; and that we are lucky to be here and to have the capacities we do. It’s a story that is not yet complete. But as the film acknowledges, the humanist, scientific approach is to keep looking for natural answers to our questions. It may be the children in today’s classrooms who help us to find those answers.’

“Poor” by Katriona O’Sullivan

John Goodfellow brought this exceptional autobiography to our attention at a recent meeting. I am pleased to say, that I also found it to be a fascinating book, especially as it concerns a woman raised in Coventry. Pregnant at 15, and soon to be homeless, O’Sullivan never expected to succeed – but became a leading academic. The author of Poor talks about everything that conspired to keep her down – and her ‘miraculous and rare’ ascent. Since John bought this book to our meeting, Katriona O’Sullivan has been interviewed on BBC ‘Woman’s Hour’ and ‘Book of the Week’ and an article in The Guardian. Raised by addicts, abused, neglected, broke: how Katriona O’Sullivan escaped her fate. This is taken from the article and interview with Emine Saner of The Guardian.

What was funny, but also difficult, says O’Sullivan now, “was that I was struggling at that time with: ‘Who am I?’” She had completed her PhD at Trinity College, Dublin, where she was lecturing in psychology and working in its access programme to encourage people back into education. “There’s a uniform of the middle classes,” she says, and she was wrestling with it (a colleague had even suggested she dress more like them). “I just wanted to be myself. I want to wear my hoops, and my tan, and I think it’s important that we see people who are diverse.” She smiles. “So, I was being brave, going: ‘I’m going to be me.’” The student read that look and saw a cleaner. “That’s the vision they have of a person from the underclass, or a working-class background. I got up and taught my class, and I was amazing, because I’m a good teacher.”

We meet in a hotel bar in Dublin. O’Sullivan, 46, is warm and direct, her accent somewhere between her Midlands upbringing and her Irish home. Her book, Poor, is one of the best I have read about the complexities of poverty and drug addiction. Looking back, you can see how all the elements that enabled O’Sullivan to get out of poverty clicked into place, like the combinations on a lock being turned to free her: teachers who had time to help her, youth workers who had money to support troubled teenagers, education grants, an access programme that encouraged her, and state-funded childcare and counselling. All things that, she points out, either no longer exist or are not sufficiently funded. She puts her motivation way down the list, making the point that it’s a myth that if you only work hard enough, you can achieve anything, because the system works against you – although I think she underestimates her awesome resilience and will.

The individual, she says, “is small in the decisions of their life, and we don’t like that because it suggests we’re powerless. But choice is a myth that’s perpetuated by the middle classes – only a few people really can choose.”

It is almost an accident that her life took this trajectory – it has not been the same for her siblings – and even though her climb brought her to a place that is preferable to where she was, it comes with sacrifices. It can be lonely, she says. “There’s loss that goes with not fitting any more with your family and friends, and not being able to go back and be at ease in whatever shit you were living in.”

At 15, O’Sullivan had left school and was pregnant and homeless; later, she struggled with addiction. Writing the book, she says, “has probably been the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. We live in a world that says: ‘You can be, you can do, you can achieve.’ I knew that wasn’t true, but somewhere, deep down, there was a part of me that blamed myself for failing.” When she was writing, her editor told her she was being far too hard on herself. “It really challenged me to think about how women end up the way I did.”

Amid all this chaos, neglect and abuse, school was an escape, and often the only place where she ate. She would like to see universal free school meals now, and recognition of “the fundamental need for kids who are in poverty to be fed in order to engage in education”. But it goes further. “We underestimate the impact of teachers, and we don’t pay enough attention to ensuring they can provide care. You have lack of funding for teaching, lack of time, lack of resources. In the UK, 22% of children are living below the poverty line, which means that there’s a lot of kids, in a lot of schools, who are probably feeling like I did.” In fact, Child Poverty Action Group says 29% of children were living in poverty in the UK in 2021-22.

Poverty has layers. We were probably the most extreme – no food, not washed, nits. Kids don’t want to play with you

One of O’Sullivan’s teachers, Ms Arkinson, showed her not only love, but practical support. O’Sullivan often wet the bed and would come to school smelling of urine: she didn’t have soap, a towel or even a toothbrush at home. Arkinson taught her how to wash every morning in the school bathrooms and kept a stack of fresh pants for her. “She changed my life,” says O’Sullivan, and her eyes well up. “What she did for me lived on for ever. In a child who was really empty, she made me feel OK in myself and that was life-changing.”

At secondary school, it was another teacher, Mr Pickering, who reached her; he saw in O’Sullivan someone who was bright and loved reading (he brought her Jane Austen and John Steinbeck to read). “I really believe that when I was ready, and the supports were in place, the things that I’d experienced in secondary school from him, and in primary school, were part of the reason why I was able to participate in higher education in the way that I did.”

But there were also the people – children, and adults, too – who were repelled by poverty. “Poverty has layers. We were probably the most extreme – no food, not washed, nits. Kids don’t want to play with you, so it’s horrible because not only are you suffering at home, I was also going to school and being on the outside. Sometimes, teachers would treat me that way as well, or expect me to perform in a way that was just beyond me because of what was going on at home.”

There were glimpses of other lives. At three, she remembers her friend next door being given a hug by her mum, and wondering why her own mother didn’t hug her like that. For a short time, she and her siblings were taken into care, where she “got food, and washed”. She always believed she deserved more, but over the years, she says, “hope and belief get eroded”. The effort of survival was exhausting. “As a kid, I was hopeful, vivacious. All kids are – some are quiet, some are loud, but we all have potential. And then as a teenager, with all the shit constantly, in the end, you just lean into it.” There were people, she says, “trying to keep me hopeful, but it’s very hard to battle against a lifetime of poverty and belief within a family. Eventually, it’s like your light goes out.”

As a teenager, she was arrested for fighting and stealing, and was involved in drugs. When she was 15, she got pregnant; the moment she found out, “just knowing that it’s over – any bit of hope, any dreams”. She wanted to finish school, but felt she couldn’t go back, that all the teachers who expected her to fail would be proved right. After she had her son, Pickering turned up at her door and convinced her to sit at least one GCSE, English.

Her parents, although not angry about the pregnancy, told her she could not continue to live in the house with a baby. So, for several months she squatted in an abandoned flat, which became a teenage hangout for drinking and drugs, until social services found out and she was moved to a mother-and-baby hostel, then later to a council flat.

The next couple of years were difficult, dealing not only with the trauma of her own childhood, but also with a baby. We normalise the struggle of life with a newborn for older, middle-class mothers, she points out, “but young mothers are punished for the same thing”. To her horror, O’Sullivan found the pattern of her childhood repeating itself: it was easy to forget the trauma of her life if she was out at pubs and clubs, drinking and taking drugs; desperate for love, she confused it with sex.

O’Sullivan and her son outside their Birmingham council house, 1996

Her father was sober by this point. He had gone to Ireland with her mother after skipping bail following another arrest, and he arrived one day to take her son back there with him. “He rescued me. This man, who in some ways was responsible, actually rescued us.”

Not long afterwards, O’Sullivan moved to Ireland, too, to be with her son, believing that if she could escape her surroundings, she could escape her trauma. It didn’t work and eventually she went to a recovery centre. It was the start of getting better, though it would take some years. She was, she writes, “convinced of my ‘place’ in society and I believed that my place was with the underclass”. She couldn’t see further than surviving on benefits, cleaning toilets at a train station for extra money, and finding a man to live with; an occasional holiday might be nice. But one day, O’Sullivan bumped into a woman she knew – also a single mother, who had grown up in poverty – who was studying law at Trinity through an access programme. O’Sullivan marched straight over to the university and asked how to apply.

If getting into Trinity College sounds like a fairytale ending, it was, but it was also difficult. O’Sullivan lacked confidence, and nearly dropped out the week before her exams. Her parents – although her father was sober, her mother was still drinking heavily – relied on her, and she was a lone parent to her son. But she did it, and after passing the access course, she did a degree in psychology and got a first, and a PhD, focusing on addiction.

“It’s like I lived two lives,” she says. “A life up to the point where my mind was opened by education. Prior to that, I had no idea that you could be anything different.” She is furious at the rhetoric around poverty – during the past decade especially – that if someone is poor, it is their own moral failing, and if only they worked harder, they could drag themselves out of it. “What I’ve done is miraculous, and rare, because we don’t have investment. If I was in that situation now, I wouldn’t be here.”

Because I’ve been empowered, I have been able to change my life, my children’s lives. I’m not costly any more to the state

It is society that loses, she points out. “We’re missing talent, vibrancy and creativity. Because I’ve been empowered, I have been able to change my life, my children’s lives. I’m not costly any more to the state. I’m not doing all of the things that happen when you live in poverty. The people who are making decisions are clearly very educated and yet they don’t seem to have the long-term lens on what investing in reducing poverty can do.”

Addiction, too, is seen as a personal failing rather than a complex issue. “There’s nobody I know who is addicted to drugs who planned that,” says O’Sullivan. “Especially for women with addiction, we do not provide enough support and services. My mother was judged so harshly, more than my dad, for being an addict. We need to look at how we moralise around addiction, and poverty.”

Her memoir has transformed how she feels about her mother in particular. She loved her parents, she says, and when they weren’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, they could be wonderful. “I’ve been able to see her in a different light, and re-find her,” says O’Sullivan. In viewing their painful lives as a whole – both had traumatic beginnings, and both are now dead – she found compassion for them. “My dad was sick; my mam was sick. They were mentally unwell. I’m more angry at the way the system treated us than with them.” The healthcare workers who roughly handled her unconscious father or told her drug-addicted mother, who had just given birth on the bathroom floor, that she shouldn’t be allowed to have children; the police who raided the house and treated the children not as victims, but as “vermin”; the social services who sent the children back home to be abused and neglected.

She knew, intellectually, that she wasn’t responsible for her neglect, or the abuse, but the feeling of shame stayed with her. “As if it’s something to do with me. As a kid, when you’re not loved by your parents for whatever reason – and I do believe they loved me, they weren’t able to show it – it becomes: ‘It’s because there’s something wrong with me.’”

For the people who can’t recover from that, it is no surprise that patterns repeat themselves. Even for O’Sullivan, who by any measure is a huge success – happily married with three children, an impressive research career, an expert on access to education, and one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet – that voice is still there, but quieter now. “There will always be a small part of me that just wants to be loved by my parents,” she says, and she apologises for the tears that spring to her eyes. “I think we carry our childhood with us. That’s the long-lasting residue from mine.”

The book helped. She likes herself now. “I think I’ve always liked myself, though. What’s really sad about growing up is that I can clearly remember being a young girl, alive to the world, inquisitive and bright, like all kids are but, unfortunately, I was born in this community where I wasn’t given an opportunity to flourish.” She feels now, nearly four decades on, closer to that girl, before the weight of neglect, predatory men, fear and low expectations crushed her. “Like, I’m alive again.”

(Poor is published by Penguin (£14.99).

Film Preview:

Oppenheimer: Much anticipated and sought after. Almost 3 hours long. During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history. Starring Cillian Murphy (of Peaky Blinders fame), Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. At most cinemas

My Name is Alfred Hitchcock: A documentary of the ‘Master of Suspense’ re-examining the vast filmography and legacy of one of the 20th century’s greatest filmmakers, Alfred Hitchcock, through a new lens: through the auteur’s own voice. Mainly at Warwick Arts Centre (WAC)

Baato: This documentary film is a deep dive into a way of life that is in the midst of a slow and chaotic, yet inexorable transition. Hoping to sell medicinal plants in urban markets, a woman and her family travel deep into the Himalayas of Nepal as construction of a new motorway starts to transform the mountain landscape. At WAC and Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)

Lady Bird: A re-release of this excellent 2017 coming-of-age films. As senior year comes to an end, Lady Bird must strive to navigate through the ups and downs in her relationships while trying to get into a prestigious college and become popular. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein. Mainly at WAC and MAC and some main circuit cinemas

Paris Memories: Three months after surviving a terrorist attack at a bistro, Mia is still traumatized and unable to recall the events of that night. In an effort to move forward, she investigates her memories and retraces her steps. Starring Virginie Efira. Mainly at WAC & Mac

Haunted Mansion: A woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. All star cast including Jamie Lee-Curtis, Owen Wilson and a cameo from Danny De Vito. At most cinemas

L’immensita: A family drama with a transgender subplot set in Rome in 1970. A preteen girl, moves into a new apartment with her family. While her parents struggle in their unhappy marriage, she rejects her name and identity, ultimately deciding to convince everyone that she is a boy. Starring Penelope Cruz and Luana Giuliani. Mainly at WAC & MAC

Joy Ride: Reviews say this is very, very funny! When a woman’s business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the help of her childhood best friend, and 2 other friends. Their epic, no-holds-barred experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are. Starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu. At most cinemas, but mainly at WAC & MAC

Talk to Me: Personally, I am not into horror films myself, but this film has some great reviews. When a group of friends discovers how to conjure spirits by using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill — until one of them unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. With Sophie Wilde and Zoe Terakes. I expect it to be at most cinemas and WAC & MAC.

Kakome City: A documentary of four Black transgender sex workers telling their life stories in intimate and candid interviews. At WAC & MAC

Theatre Camp: An American comedy where eccentric staff members of an upstate New York theatre camp must band together when their beloved founder falls into a coma. Mainly at WAC & MAC

Andre Rieu 2023 Maastricht Concert: Love is All Around: I know that many people like this? André Rieu will again stage his glorious annual summer event in the iconic Vrijthof Square this year. The concert will be a musical feast with heart-warming pieces lovingly chosen by André, covering classics, popular sing-alongs, and delightful waltzes that make you want to dance. Everywhere!!

Exhibition on Screen: Leonardo: The Works: Emphasis is placed on Leonardo da Vinci’s unparalleled drawings and paintings and his universe, especially his life and his time. Several masterpieces will be explored in detail by the experts. At many cinemas including WAC & MAC

Exhibition on Screen: Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition: In the spring of 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opened its doors to the largest Vermeer exhibition in history. This was on recently and has returned at some cinemas and WAC & MAC

Still on the Circuit:

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against a former Nazi who works for NASA. Starring (80-year-old) Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge of ‘Fleabag’ fame.

Asteroid City – Yes, it is a Wes Anderson film, so don’t expect a strong plot line. Just look at the photographic images and enjoy its splendour and colourful images. A comedy-drama of world-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town circa 1955. A stellar cast including Tom Hanks, Scarlet Johansson, Steve Carell Brian Cranston etc. This excellent film will be shown at MAC during September – Don’t miss it!

Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. The 7^th Mission Impossible starring Tom Cruise

La Syndicaliste – In 2012, the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse becomes a whistle-blower, denouncing top-secret deals that shake the French nuclear sector. Alone against the world, she fights government ministers and industry leaders to bring the scandal to light. Starring the excellent Isabelle Huppert

TV Preview:

Monday 31^st July:

20.30 – BBC1: Extraordinary Portraits – Extraordinary Portraits is an uplifting series that celebrates modern Britain. Bill Bailey matches NHS workers with some of the UK’s best artists.

21.00 – BBC1: Wolf – A new serial. Obsessed with the neighbour he believes murdered his brother in the 90s, DI Jack Caffery finds himself trying to right the wrongs of others. Meanwhile, a wealthy family in Monmouthshire are the victims of a psychopath’s cruel games.

21.00 – BBC3: Life and Death in the Warehouse – Drama inspired by real events telling the story of young Welsh worker Alys, who begins to fall behind at her warehouse job after becoming pregnant.

Tuesday 1^st August:

22.55 – BBC4: The Trials of Oppenheimer – Quite timely with the Christopher Nolan film being shown in cinemas. A documentary on the rise and fall of scientist J Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the project that developed the first atomic bomb. He later tried to prevent a nuclear arms race in his role with the Atomic Energy Commission. His stance made him many political enemies and he was later put on trial for supposed communist sympathies.

23.15 – BBC2: Molly’s Game – Excellent drama based on a true story. Following a career-ending injury, a skier discovers the world of high-stakes poker, and builds her own gambling empire, which makes her rich – and attracts a major federal investigation.

Wednesday 2^nd August:

22.40 – BBC1: Dreaming Whilst Black – An excellent new comedy series. Kwabena has been stuck in his dead-end recruitment job for way longer than he initially planned. He spends the majority of his time in reveries of accomplishing his dream: to be a filmmaker. Next episode at 23.05

22.45 – ITV1: The Silence of the Lambs – Oscar-winning psychological thriller starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins

Thursday 3^rd August:

21.00 – BBC4: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – Musical comedy starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.

22.30 – BBC4: Brief Encounter – Classic romantic drama starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. A chance meeting in a suburban railway station brings together by 2 married strangers.

22.40 – BBC1: Schindler’s List – Steven Spielberg’s multi-Oscar-winning drama starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.

Friday 4^th August:

21.00 – BBC2: Reframed: Marilyn Monroe – The final two episodes of this 4-part documentary about Marilyn Monroe. Next episode is at 21.45

21.15 – BBC4: Neil Diamond: Radio 2 In Concert – The singer-songwriter performs songs from his album Home Before Dark produced in collaboration with Rick Rubin

21.45 – BBC4: Elkie Brookes in Concert – The singer performs in this two-part TV special. Songs include Pearl’s a Singer and Fool if You Think it’s Over. From 1987. Part 2 is at 22.25

21.50 – BBC3: Pride – London-based gay and lesbian activists lend their support to striking miners in 1984 Wales. Excellent film

Saturday 5^th August: It is a good night for fans of the late great Tony Bennett

21.00 – BBC2: Tony Bennett at the London Palladium – A 2011 concert in which the singer marked his 85th birthday by drawing on a repertoire spanning 60 years.

22.00 – BBC2: Arena: Tony Bennett’s New York – Documentary taking a look at the man behind the silky voice as Tony Bennett – civil rights activist, jazz enthusiast, painter and New Yorker – takes a tour around his native city and the world of American music

23.20 – BBC2: Tony Bennett Sings – The singer performs a selection of his favourite songs. More sessions at 23.50 and 00.20

21.15 – Channel 4: Becoming Elizabeth – Another episode of the serial of a young Elizabeth 1

22.00 – ITV1: Irvine Welsh’s Crime – The final episode of the gritty thriller written by Irvine Welsh and starring Dougray Scott.

22.20 – BBC1: When Harry Met Sally – An excellent romantic comedy of a chance encounter between two graduates culminates in a short-term friendship. But when fate brings them back together five years later, they are forced to deal with how they feel about each other. Yes, and there is ‘that’ restaurant scene!

Sunday 6^th August:

21.00 – BBC1: World on Fire – Another episode of this intriguing World War 2 drama

21.00 – ITV1: A Spy Among Friends – The penultimate episode of this serial about the defection of Kim Philby to the USSR

22.30 – BBC1: The Kings Speech – King George VI tries to overcome his stammering problem with the help of a speech therapist to make himself worthy enough to lead his country through World War II.

23.00 – BBC2: Ali – Based on real events,a young Mohamed Ali reaches new heights of fame as a boxer and through his conversion to Islam, and his refusal to fight in Vietnam and other controversial actions. Although short of Ali’s physique, Will Smith provides a good performance.

A Few Funnies for a Smile:

I rang the Council the other day to ask if I can have a skip outside my house.

The man from the Council said, ‘You can cartwheel all around the block for all I care!’

Apparently, owls can’t mate when it is raining?

It’s too wet to woo

I hate it when people act and talk all intellectual about Mozart -when they have never seen one of his paintings

A genie granted me a wish, So, I said, ‘I just want to be happy

Now I am living in a cottage with 6 dwarves and working in a mine

The police are hunting for the Knitting Needle Nutter who recently stabbed 6 people in the backside.

They believe that the attacker could be following some kind of pattern

A man from Wolverhampton goes to Antiques Roadshow with a very rare vase

Fiona Bruce asks, ‘How did you acquire this vase?’

The man says, ‘It was handed down to me’

Fiona Bruce says, ‘Where from?’

He replies, ‘An upstairs window!’

Cyclops says to his wife. ‘How do you spell Hawaii?

His wife says (biting her lips), ‘Well you need two I’s’

Cyclops puts his pen down and says, ‘My life is just a joke to you isn’t it?

Coventry and Warwickshire Humanists May 2021 Newsletter

Happy May time!

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