20th June 2021

 Last night I watched  a 50s film called Flame in the Streets, starring John Mills and Sylvia Syms. Had to keep reminding myself this wasn’t a retro film where you check to see if the cars are accurate. It was made at the time, reflecting 50s attitudes on racism. Accurate? Yes. I remembered that time. Must have been terrible for Windrush people struggling to make a living in this country. On Friday I saw the build up to Eng v Scotland, a different kind of tribal warfare. It was clear: the Scots hate the English to an extraordinary degree, which doesn’t appear to be reciprocated at the same level by the English. I see it on social media a lot, yet we’re all the same nation. United? Don’t think so. It’s not a case of cutting it out by the roots. Such hatred towards those from other ‘tribes’ must be prevented from building up in the first place. How? Education.  Make sure that faith schools aren’t hiding overtly racist books under the guise of a foreign language, and teach all children to love each other. Let’s hope there’s no racist flames in the streets after the next ‘friendly’ Euro match.