'Where exactly does one become a second class citizen?'

When I first heard this song, it seemed featureless and grey - nothing special, no energy. But it was memorable, somehow struck a chord.

So I came back to relisten today, and now it has grown on me, and seems incredibly beautiful in its bleakness.

I am always suspicious about generalisations, and the people who make them.

So Gareth Malone’s comment below made me immediately sceptical:

I am so inspired by this TED clip. Robinson’s idea is that education and the arts in society perform a vital function in facilitating creativity, and that we should use divergent thinking to restructure education, so that people have better tools to reconstruct their world as it changes ever faster.

... 'We love innovation, we love technology, we love creativity, we love entertainment. But ultimately those realities are shadowed by suffering, abuse, degradation, marginalisation. And for me it becomes necessary to integrate the two ...'

Singing heals people. It creates community. It gives singers an opportunity to express themselves and let stuff out. It helps them find their voices as human beings.

... the essential first step in changing the world is telling the story of connection instead of contrast and potential instead of poverty.

No job is ever what you expect, and the leadership challenge of rebuilding an arts organisation has been a revelation

My insight is that above all our work has to connect with people.