Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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School children in a classroom
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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IT was the summer of 1989. I was 16 and leaving school. This was a time when you could walk out of school and into any job. I left school with no qualifications. I went on to sixth-form college, but I was more interested in the “university of life” and wanted to work.
I did all kinds of jobs, waitressing, shop work, and even delivering newspapers to make ends meet. I became a single mum to two, at a very young age, but didn’t want to live on benefits. When my youngest started nursery school I set out to get a job that fitted around them.
I first volunteered at my children’s nursery, three days a week. While there, I was offered a cover role for a month as a midday meals supervisor — dinner lady to you and me — and this was the beginning of my journey into education.
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