Don’t mention the T word – NaPoWriMo Week 2

I’d be lying if I said that NaPoWriMo Week 2 has run smoothly.  Margaret Thatcher died on Monday and my timelines have been ablaze with articles, opinions, debates, anecdotes and rants.  It’s been a distracting week.

Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Thatcher or Thatcherism and the news of her death and the ensuing  brouhaha came in the same week that welfare benefits for the working-age poor and disabled were cut by £19bn.  As someone raised in a family which depended entirely on State benefits for income and housing, I know that these cuts will impact significantly on the lives of vulnerable people, especially children.

So, I’m trying to focus on those cuts, rather than on a glut of varying opinions, each backed up with reports and statistics.  I’ll leave the job of mourning Margaret Thatcher to her family.

I’m up to date with my poems – just.  Next week I intend to switch off the internet for part of each day – it’s the only way I’ll stay on course.