Friday, April 10, 2009

Holidays, Eugenics And A Little Justice - Or Sometimes You Reap What You Sow!

Ignore the date that this post claims to have occurred on - it's October and we've just been on our hols. Ten days of escape from all the crap that has invaded our lives over the last few years - bliss!

And such fun we had! We didn't go far, no international flights involved - we whizzed off to Cheltenham for the Literature Festival and wore ourselves out attending as many talks, readings and events as we could possibly fit in - whilst naturally leaving a little shopping time for Hari to follow her passion!

There were some amazing events etc. to attend this year - to name a few; Germaine Greer, A.S. Byatt, Micheal Burleigh, John Boyne, Bernhard Schlink, Lionel Schriver, Audrey Niffenegger, Simon Callow and talks on subjects as diverse as Baby Boomers, Emily Dickenson, Frankenstein and Highgate Cemetery, etc. etc. etc.

Then of course there was the one we were sorely tempted to demand a refund on!

Shortly before the festival a certain Virginia Ironside declared on national television that if she had a disabled child she would put a pillow over it's face and that any good mother would do the same.

We had already bought tickets to Ms. Ironside's one woman show at the festival and naturally our initial reaction to her eugenic outburst was to decide that we would return our tickets and demand a refund. Then we realised that this would have no effect and would not even reach her ears - so we formulated another plan.

We decided that vocally disrupting the show would not be fair to others who had paid for tickets, so we simply devised a silent protest for the show itself.

We made certain that the wheelchair space reserved for Hari (and my chair beside her) were in the front row. Hari escaped the wheelchair and sat with me. In her place in the wheelchair was a large white pillow on which we had pinned an A4 laminated photo of Hari and written (in thick marker pen) the words ' NOT DEAD YET!'

Unfortunately there was no question and answer session at the end of the show so I was unable to ask Ms. Ironside the burning questions on her eugenic stance. However, there was a book signing in the book tent and I waited patiently whilst others queued to get their books signed by Ms. Ironside - I didn't have to wait long - it was a very short queue!

Then I took my chance - I threw the pillow onto Ms. Ironside's table and demanded to know how bad a mother I was for not having smothered Hari! That damned woman actually had the audacity to laugh! She soon regretted it ! I made certain that she knew how disgusting her actions had been and that she had caused so much distress. She refused to discuss it - apparently it wasn't appropriate - which is strange when you consider that she had considered it appropriate to demonise the lives of disabled children and the mothers who do not murder them, on national television! It wasn't long before Ms. Ironside fled - and apparently it was some time before the staff could find her again!!!

One question remains..........

EXACTLY how many of the people who have been causing all the crap in our lives over the last few years, are now fully paid up, card carrying members of the Virginia Ironside Appreciation Society?

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