Sometimes you wonder but this beautiful picture taken by Susie Harkin proves that hope is strong at the moment. Amazing. Is there hope this morning following the dreadful reports coming in from the Middle East?
Jordyn BeazleySun, 8 October 2023 at 1:19 am BST
Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories are reeling after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched its biggest attack on the Jewish state in 50 years. Hundreds are dead after a surprise attack on the morning of a Jewish holiday and Israel has declared a state of war.
Thoughts and prayers to all the people involved, men, women and children.
IRELAND, IRELAND, IRELAND STANDING TALL
No luck involved last night in Paris just a well drilled inspired team, real excitement. I listen on the wireless as it’s immediate, no continual replays just our Jim Neilly MBE giving it what’s for, ‘beezer’ tackles and words to the effect – a player falling over like a man lying down after Sunday lunch and, no magic here, you have to have a rabbit and a top hat for magic and they don’t have a rabbit and a top hat!! What a game and what an exciting time ahead.
BECKHAM AND BORIS
Thank goodness I fell upon two remarkable Netflix documentaries this week – PartyGate and Beckham. The first is a spine chilling account of what went on in Number Ten during three lockdowns. This was enacted by actors but the script was based on the Grey report, news reports and actual people talking about the trauma they went through. It’s about an hour long but it goes very quickly and it’s riveting stuff. Boris broke the rules and was fined £50, a young man elsewhere in England broke the rules and was fined £10,000 and didn’t know where he was going to find the money. I’ve come to the conclusion that those who work in Downing Street are, by and large, very unpleasant, superior, snotty people.
GOLDEN BALLS.
Then beautiful Beckham. A series of four one hour programmes looking at the footballer’s life and what a life. The poor man was hounded, vilified and made miserable from the day and hour he was sent off with a red card during the 1998 World Cup game in France. As he said he was the most hated man in the world but, in his early 20s, he kept his cool and behaved immaculately. He and Victoria had a horrible time and they struggled against public opinion and the crush of fans beating on the windows of their car and giving them an extremely hard time. I have totally changed my view of these two, they are dignified and caring people of talent and I hope they are happy now. So they are worth a lot of money, they worked for it and deserve it, they’ve a lovely family and they make great parents. You can’t always believe everything you see on television but the tv crew lived with them, there was no hiding place and even when the chat came round to David’s ‘alleged’ affair, he was respectful. I’m not a football fan but I found this series riveting and I recommend it.
INVASION OF PRIVACY
He slapped me on my bottom (over my skirt) and announced “Nancy girl you have great child bearing hips.” I was 17, he was a senior member of management in Ulster Television, in my innocence my reaction was – Good! Today I would have challenged him for his invasion of my privacy. Such unacceptable behaviour is now recognised as abuse and in the media it has always been rife. I did a bit of investigation within television and radio companies and talked to women who have grown up with this.
These are typical experiences although certainly not on the scale of Brand or Saville. I’ve a relation who was hounded round a London hotel by Brand and he wouldn’t take no for an answer so she was forced to lock herself in her room until the next day. I know a woman whose life was changed the evening she was told to take some papers to Saville’s room in the Europa hotel during a charity event. What happened there caused her immense trauma from which she never recovered.
The Innocence Of Youth
When I was a teenager we had modesty boards at the front of our desks presumably so men couldn’t look at our legs but they had other ways of making their presence felt as I heard. “When he was leaning over looking at papers on your desk, papers he’d placed there, he would slip a hand down your blouse or up your jumper. We did nothing, we would slap his hand away and he’d laugh, we were very junior and scared to cause a fuss.” At one time a member of the Board of Directors would tour the building after a meeting insisting on kissing all the girls, so when the word went out we all rushed for the toilets. Another woman in another media office told of how a member of the news room pursued her for weeks, he began with phone calls asking her out which she mentioned to someone, when they pointed out he was married it was a definite NO. He didn’t accept it even going to her home where, to save her parents being embarrassed, she agreed to go for a quick drink determined to tell him to get lost. Instead she had a fight on her hands when he parked in a dark place and assaulted her. She had to work with him the next day.
“Old guys in corridors would stand in your way and squeeze you as you tried to get past and on one occasion I was upended so this boss had his face in my cleavage and you can imagine where my face was.” Christmas parties were a danger, too much drink taken and predators on the march. When a colleague touched my breast I slapped him hard across the face – it never happened again.
Women Doing It For Themselves
There was a boys joke in the BBC years ago that if a girl didn’t get groped in the lift she was disappointed – I can tell you it’s not true.
With the ‘Me Too’ movement things have changed – to a degree. “Most men are afraid to take advantage now, with exceptions, but there are ways of bringing their behaviour to light.” Is this so? Think of the young girls on placements or trying to begin a career terrified of loosing their job knowing that men in media are powerful and will close ranks. With the insecurity of short term contracts no one wants to rock the boat.
Of course not all men are like that, for every rotten apple there are dozens of decent, principled males who will protect their female colleagues. I was fortunate, when I was growing up in the media I had a mentor to turn to and she sorted anything I was worried about and there was plenty, she made it easy to talk and she carefully watched what was going on. If you can be a mentor to younger women, or a young man, please do, it makes a big difference.
Over The Bridge In Style
Since coming back to work his phone has been red hot with listeners wanting to see him in action and asking if he brought his prize animals back to Belfast.
He may be Mr. Music in BBC’s Broadcasting House but in London he’s Farmer Yarr who drove his flock of sheep over the Thames across Southwark Bridge into the city. Not everyone gets such an opportunity but Richard Yarr MBE received the Freedom of the City of London for his work with young musicians in 2019 and so was granted this unique experience organised by the Worshipful Company of Woolmen. “I miss my sheep,” he says, “but no, they were happy to remain down on the farm they came from!”
