Be Not Afeard

On Friday, July 27th 2012, the world watched with wonder as the image of a warm and accepting country spread itself across living rooms all over the world. As the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony burst into full flight we observed with awe as a nation celebrated what made it great. It didn't look back on its self-inflated sense of empire and importance – but on its modern achievements, in the name of peace, tolerance and aspiration. The Danny Boyle-directed ceremony was entitled 'The Isles of Wonder', and it provided us with a joyful glimpse of what Britain had become.

1948 was presented as a pivotal year in the history of modern Britain. That was the last time London played Olympic host, but also the year that saw the founding of the free National Health Service as well as the arrival of the Windrush, the ship bearing the very first Caribbean migrants, who would help change the face of Britain. Tender moments were plentiful as the nurses of the NHS tucked children of all backgrounds into bed in the Olympic Stadium as dusk gave way to twinkling night. They did little to prepare them for the cold light of 2016.

The reason behind the vote is multi-faceted. It was an electoral outburst of rage at years of austerity with cuts to all services providing help in communities, and the ideological criminalisation of poverty. Like the result of the recent US election, it shows a people fed up with a world of wealth and power that has forgotten about them. However, Brexit was not the cure for their woes; in fact it will hit the ordinary person hardest as factories and businesses plan to relocate along with investment and jobs.

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