2nd post: Philomena

 I'm currently reading 'Philomena' by the journalist Martin Sixsmith and the partnership that Sixsmith and Philomena Lee had was subsequently turned into a film of the same name in 2013. There's not much to say from me at this point as I read the book except for the fact I'm horrified at how unforgiving the nuns were towards what they saw as 'sin'. Philomena nearly died childbirth (it was a breech pregnancy) and was denied any pain-killers as the nuns saw that as her punishment for having sinned. It's just ridiculous! I'm not a Christian (although I went to two Catholic schools) and even I know that the basic tenet of Christianity is love and compassion. Those nuns, who inflicted so much pain on Philomena, should be ashamed of themselves. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Northern Irish Troubles: The Static Society

The Northern Irish Troubles are barely understood in the UK; I was in my second year at university before I really understood what were they're about. I think it should be mandatory to teach the Troubles in schools if the government were serious about an EU referendum (with the Irish question being an important one). However, alas, the Northern Irish Troubles aren't on the GCSE syllabus as of yet (maybe because it's too complicated). To help me understand the Northern Irish Troubles is the brilliant book by David McKittrick and David McVae which is a clear and short read.  The first chapter in this book is entitled 'The Static Society'. The authors explain how Northern Ireland was divided into two groups: the unionists (the Protestants) who want Northern Ireland to remain in the UK and the republicans (the Catholics) who yearn for a United Ireland. The book further goes onto state how there were two extra elements added to the equation: the British and Irish governm...
Read more

Why I'm (finally) proud to be a Hufflepuff

 "Accept it", said Joanna, my Ravenclaw friend. "You're a puff!" I must have done the Sorting Quiz at least twenty times; however, with each time it came up as 'Hufflepuff'. Most people envisage their dream houses on the coast or abroad; my dream house was Ravenclaw. Most of my friends happen to be in Ravenclaw (as well as my sister) and I wanted to join them. I even bought a Ravenclaw hat (although I took it off in seminars and lectures) in Primark. Failing that, I wanted to be a Slytherin. Two of my best friends (Dharini and Ella) are Slytherins and you couldn't find more solid friends. However, through this journey, which has lasted over three years, I am finally proud to be a Hufflepuff.  Firstly, I reckon it is the most tolerant house. Although Ron once mentioned that there isn't a witch or wizard who didn't go to the dark side who wasn't a Slytherin (although this was before it was publicly known that Peter Pettigrew was working for...
Read more

Addiction

 I think it's brilliant that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are highlighting the issue of addiction. They're right - no one chooses to be an addict.
Read more