> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.changeout.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Walking round and round - URL: https://www.changeout.org/walking-round-and-round/ - Published: 2021-01-29T08:49:56.000Z - Updated: 2025-06-03T14:56:33.000Z - Description: Englishness and never forgetting - Author: Lucy Caldicott Walking round Warwick Racecourse is an excellent exercise ritual for the moment. In another life, as a handy 5km circuit, [it was a popular Park Run venue](https://www.parkrun.org.uk/warwickracecourse/course/?ref=changeout.org). Now Warwick people amble round. It’s good to see the big sky and breathe for a while. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/57/d9/57d97f92-56a7-4c97-8c12-ac77d809cbf1/content/images/public/images/8d466dae-7fb0-4c3d-a62e-eb2c7db3bbf1_3020x2118.jpeg) What constitutes “Englishness” means different things to different people. It’s something I’ve been chatting about with friends recently. I came across this 2012 interview with the late [Stuart Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart%5FHall%5F%28cultural%5Ftheorist%29?ref=changeout.org), [We need to talk about Englishness](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2012/08/stuart-hall-we-need-talk-about-englishness?fbclid=IwAR1MSEma0BYcntIrbvEddrAbUEiJ2pk2wud8mMLclJvBRwSHgBPNC8XMeCo&ref=changeout.org), a few weeks ago. > I do think Englishness is something we need to talk about, but it’s contested terrain that is structured powerfully against a contemporary radical appropriation While I was growing up there was an active conversation about whether you felt British or English. But this was decades ago. Post-Brexit, as the clamour for another independence referendum in Scotland grows louder and [polls suggest 42% of Northern Irish people want to see a united Ireland](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/union-in-crisis-as-poll-reveals-voters-want-referendum-on-scottish-independence-and-united-ireland-wwzpdlg7b?ref=changeout.org), what England is all about - or what it could and should be - becomes an important conversation to explore. Something else that loomed large in the 1980s of my youth was the AIDS pandemic so I’ve been hoovering up [It’s a Sin](https://www.channel4.com/programmes/its-a-sin/on-demand/68719-001?ref=changeout.org) this week. [Here’s](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jan/03/russell-t-davies-i-looked-away-for-years-finally-i-have-put-aids-at-the-centre-of-a-drama?ref=changeout.org) its writer, Russell T Davies, interviewed about it earlier in the month and [a Channel 4 podcast interview](https://waystochangetheworld.libsyn.com/russell-t-davies-on-the-gay-roles-debate-censoring-pornography-and-his-new-series-its-a-sin?ref=changeout.org). It follows a group of gay men coming of age in 1980s London. I turned 18 in 1986 so I’m slightly younger than them but I well remember the moral panic and fake news that swirled around at the time. It’s a really good watch although [Davies has stated](https://divamag.co.uk/2021/01/22/its-a-sin-writer-russell-t-davis-i-wish-i-could-have-paid-tribute-to-the-lesbians/?ref=changeout.org) that he wishes he’d been able to pay tribute to the role lesbians played in supporting our gay brothers through this time. I wish he had too. **Interesting and useful links** 🔗 [This article](http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/sanjiv-lingayah-year-funders-serious-racial-justice/policy-and-politics/article/1705251?ref=changeout.org) from Sanjiv Lingayah calling for funders to “make an explicit long-term commitment to investing in racial justice and to do so with real purpose and with strategic intent”. [Some useful resources and links on mental health and wellbeing during Covid 19](https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus-resources-and-information?ref=changeout.org). A summary on the role of story telling in creating positive change: [Change is all about the narrative](https://views-voices.oxfam.org.uk/2020/12/change-is-all-about-the-narrative/?ref=changeout.org) [And, a rather beautifully executed rant about newsletters and the internet](https://www.robinrendle.com/essays/newsletters?ref=changeout.org). **Learning points 🎓** There were so many learning points at [Pizza for Losers’ event](https://twitter.com/PizzaForLosers/status/1354694075941859328?s=20&ref=changeout.org) this week. I loved [Beth Crackles](https://twitter.com/BethCrackles?ref=changeout.org)’ quote: > Don’t compare your behind the scenes to other people’s highlights reel **Day of the Week 📆** It was [Holocaust Remembrance Day ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2021/jan/27/holocaust-remembrance-day-in-picture?ref=changeout.org)on Wednesday. My grandfather’s father’s family were Dutch Jews who came to London in the nineteenth century. At a visit to [Anne Frank’s House](https://twitter.com/annefrankhouse?ref=changeout.org) some years ago I looked up his surname in the book of pre-Second World War Jewish Amsterdam that’s in the archive there. Every single Soesan listed died in Auschwitz. **What am I watching?** 👀 I loved [Lemn Sissay’s Winter Walk around Dent in Cumbria](https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000qftx/winter-walks-series-1-lemn-sissay?ref=changeout.org). Such a gentle, joyful 30 minutes. **What am I listening to?👂** I haven’t been listening to music much but I did listen to this the other day. It’s from the Blow Monkeys’ 1984 first album and it used to cheer me up when I was a melancholy student. > There's no reason to be sad > Or wallow in your misery > Somewhere in the city > Far away from here > When the light of life turns sour > We can spend our final hour > My melancholy friend The Blow Monkeys are better known for their chart hit [Digging Your Scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no5XeOJHxK8&ref=changeout.org) which is all about the shame associated with HIV and AIDS in the mid 80s. **Joy-giving things 😍** [Angela Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela%5FDavis?ref=changeout.org), who celebrated her birthday this week, always lifts me 👑 "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept." Have a good weekend, everyone. Keep going. Lots of love Lucy x --- I write this newsletter because I believe in sharing progressive ideas that help us work towards a truly equal world. Share it with your friends so they can read it too 📣 [Subscribe](#/portal/signup/free) Thank you! --- **ChangeOut* is created by Lucy Caldicott. You can find more about my work at* [*ChangeOut.org*](https://www.changeout.org/)*. If you’re looking to have a chat about culture, leadership, purpose, equity, or a facilitated team discussion about any of those things,* [*get in touch*](https://www.changeout.org/contact)*. You can also find me on* [*Bluesky*](https://bsky.app/profile/lucycaldicott.bsky.social?ref=changeout.org)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/queenofthewestmidlands?ref=changeout.org)*, and,* [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucycaldicott/?ref=changeout.org)*.* If it’s your first time reading this newsletter, find out more [here](https://www.changeout.org/about).