Scribbles of a Scatterbrain

I wrote this for a specific group, but I’ve been asked to share it. A lot of folks are just waking up to activism and are heading into intersectional feminist spaces with some trepidation. Hopefully this can help keep you on track. I’ve already been reminded that I missed code-switching, appropriation (which is a whole post, frankly, but TL;dr if a living group exists that can be mocked for the thing you think is cool and that you want to do, don’t), and a few other things. I’ll try to pick those up at a later date, but in the meantime this primer will help you get your feet wet without making a damn fool of yourself. Much. It’s all lessons I learned the hard way, so do better than me and remember we’re all works in progress.)

Hey, crew. If this isn’t your first exposure to intersectional feminism you…

Dylan Seabridge died in Pembrokeshire age 8 in December  2011. At an inquest in January 2015 the cause of death was found to be scurvy. The Seabridge family  had lived in Pembrokeshire since 2001.  

The Concise Child Practice Review  into Dylan’s death was published on July 8th 2016. (These replaced Serious Case Reviews in Wales a few years ago) Quotes  from the Review appear below  underlined in italics.

The Review makes it clear that the family was not “hidden” but that information was not evaluated  appropriately and was not shared with the relevant professionals. The Review also finds that procedures were followed.

“in following the correct procedures there was nothing any individual agency or practitioner could have done differently to avoid this outcome”  because “vulnerable adults were not routinely seen in relation to their role as parents.”

I can’t put my finger on exactly when it happened but something awoke inside me to say, “I want to work for Society.”

And the idea won’t let me go.  I have to find a way.

Spiritual practices call this wanting to “serve”.  There is definitely an element to that in how I feel, but on a more basic level – I see such need all around me and I can’t bear to see people suffer.

What stops me from doing this?  Nothing.  Apart from not knowing how I will pay my rent and electricity, food and travel costs.

And that distraction of earning money dispels expansion.  Not just my expansion, but the expansion of so many people I have yet to meet but could help if I’m free of my own need to earn money.

For the past two years I’ve worked in the community as an independent career and employment coach…

Before you read this I should clarify that I am not back on my Twitter account. My blog and Instagram accounts both automatically link to it and publish new posts, so this may publish on my account but I am not going to access it to delete it, because I have deleted the app and do not want to go into my account, and apologise for any confusion.

Dear readers,

I have always tried to strike a balance between keeping you all updated with any major twists and turns in my frankly unusual life, without bombarding you with so much extraneous detail that the recipes get buried beneath an amateur imitation of a weekly glossy magazine. So, while there may not be red screaming circles of shame around my dark baggy eyes or shock horror headlines at being caught without any makeup on, I do feel I owe it to…