Kate Taylor

By Kate Taylor katetaylor

This weekend saw the English Defence League and Lincoln Against Racism & Fascism march in the city centre from their respective corners. The former starting out from the Blue Anchor pub, the latter originating in St. Martin’s Square. Take that irony however you like, readers.

Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

This year’s protest was admittedly on a much smaller scale from last year, which saw many anti-Islam protesters settling down for a lunch time pint and not moving much from there on in.

Donning a variety of facial coverings including balaclavas and scarves. You can take that irony however you like, too. The EDL did manage to maintain a peaceful march though and for that they are to be congratulated.

Organisers have been quoted as saying the latest protest was not solely based around Lincoln’s first mosque; but raising awareness of sex offenders from Asian origin that could ‘become a problem’. ‘Are our children safe?’ citing the issues with gangs in Manchester as a prime example.

FullFact, a great website that rounds up an unbiased view of the statistics behind the headlines, shows that the stats on sex offenders’ ethnicity is time and time again predominantly white. How then can anyone be justified in spreading fear mongering misinformation?

Groups such as the EDL or the East Anglian Patriots that marched through our streets last year argue that they are mistaken for being racist, thuggish rent-a-mob characters, when all they want to do is promote our great and glorious ‘Christian’ nation.

As everyone knows, Jesus Christ our saviour was originally from Nottinghamshire. Oh, no that’s Robin Hood.

Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Nick Parker and the Anti-Racism group are to be congratulated too. They stated that they’d rather not be doing it, instead pointing out the real issues facing this country — namely poverty and its twisted roots — but they will always be there in the name of freedom.

No one, and I mean no one, has the right to dictate who believes in what. Islam is not to blame for terrorism, or domestic violence, or any other horrific crime. The Koran promotes love, peace and tolerance.

Anyone that fancies pointing out any of the outdated cultural references whilst defending the Bible should first check they’re not wearing mixed fibres or letting their ‘unclean’ wife into the house whilst she’s on her period.

Everyone has the right to free speech, including the far right; but if they genuinely want to promote their views, alleviate their fears and such, then we need free, open discussion. Two hundred people standing on their soapboxes, hiding their faces and shouting falsehoods and in some cases, promotion of violence, is no way to change society.

And if a secular society was really an appropriate option, who would be left?

Kate Taylor is a sociologist, mother and tea and cake lover. When not working in sociological and marketing research with her company, Galilee Research, Kate can be found talking about political philosophy on the school run.

By Kate Taylor katetaylor

And they’re off – children around the city and indeed county are pretty much all done with school for the next six weeks. What about us; the parents, the guardians, loyal grandparents and brave childminders alike?

Let us not forget the heroes manning nurseries, soft play areas and tourist attractions. What are we supposed to do with this band of over excitable hobbits for over a MONTH?

Last year my children delighted in spending hours on our giant trampoline, this year and a couple of ripped tendons later… not so much. As I type this my four year old son is… well actually it’s gone quiet. Ah, a jigsaw. I suspect that’s aided by the chocolate spread on toast he’s got to munch by his side, mind. My daughter meanwhile is watching Netflix on her tablet.

Yes, the well versed technology debate. I’ve met people who proudly declare their kids have minimal contact with technology, and good for them. They usually have a child under three, part custody or a lifetime supply of valerian root. I’ve seen many set specific times for their wee one’s tablet/computer/television usage, which personally I think gives the best of both worlds.

Children need to be tech-confident, and for the next six weeks, gives them a chance to find out about the world around us and stop us turning to Pimms every evening.

For example, my youngest has decided he wants to go to every park in Lincoln, finding them with a combination of Google maps, hearsay and good luck. This sounds like the perfect mystical adventure to me.

His big sister on the other hand has plans to take us geo-caching; if you haven’t heard of this, it basically involves an app on your phone that uses GPS to find your location. It then gives you a list of all the ‘caches’ nearby, and you can go track them down – like a treasure map. Some are merely pencil and paper in a well-hidden Tupperware box, other’s contain little gifts that you must replace.

Hiking boots shall be donned then, I think. Aside from this we’ve sorted out the vegetable patch recently, a few hundred seeds turns into one tomato plant; actually four in total. Four saplings drowned in water from a monkey cup each morning and evening, which actually provides a good amount of fun with the daily photographs, diary entries and wildlife watch.

Lists are also your friend if you’ve children under 10, writing things you want them to find whether a nature hunt, bear hunt or which furniture came from Ikea hunt.

When all is said and done though, at some point they will get bored, everyone will get tired and grandparents may or may not answer the phone. At those points… well at those points we must remember that though they may be small, they still just want to have fun and explore. As William Mill once said, ‘Make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.’

Kate Taylor is a sociologist, mother and tea and cake lover. When not working in sociological and marketing research with her company, Galilee Research, Kate can be found talking about political philosophy on the school run.