Have you seen it? I think it should be compulsory!
I saw I, Daniel Blake in the cinema when it first came out. I like to think I’m pretty socially aware so although none if it surprised me, I was still shocked.
If you haven’t seen it, it was shown on BBC2 recently and is now available on iPlayer here.
The film follows a carpenter, Daniel Blake, who has recently suffered a heart attack and needs to claim benefits. He is a widower living alone and his assessment deems him fit for work. His consultant has made it very clear that he cannot work and we see Daniel negotiating his way around the system with little success.
Daniel befriends a young woman, Katie, after meeting at the Job Centre. She has been living in one room in a homeless hostel with her two young children for two years in London waiting for accommodation. She is finally offered a flat in Newcastle, hundreds of miles away from her friends, family and the children’s school where she has to start again from scratch. She is an amazing young woman of seemingly boundless energy, hoping to get back to her Open University studies as soon as she is able. She is a brilliant mum, willing to starve herself to ensure that her children can eat.
Please, please watch this film and see what ordinary people have to go through in this country day after day. It is brutal, sad and embarrassing. We are a rich country and can more than afford to share. Why do we continue to let this happen? The ones who care are too exhausted and the rest just don’t.
I am a woman of a certain age (not 60 yet!) who lives in Bristol. I’ve lived almost my whole life in Bristol, with a short sojourn in Cornwall in my teens. I am trying to lead my life in an ethical way in all areas and hope to explore what this means.
I have four passions and several interests so I hope I will have plenty to write about. My passions are my family, knitting, cricket and St Peter’s Hospice. My other interests are volunteering, the environment, reading, TV, films & theatre, fundraising, chronic fatigue, mental health and eating. My non-interests are animals, housework, football, rugby and cooking.
I come from a family of four – two sisters and a brother. Our parents dies a few years ago. I am married to my soulmate Colin, an amazing man who tolerates my funny ways and supports me in everything I do. We have three children and two wonderful granddaughters. I am so proud of my family – we must have done something right as they are all good people. I have two sons-in-law who I love like my own and together we all make up a family unit where everyone loves and respects everyone else.
I am a total hypochondriac but do have some genuine problems, some of which I may talk about at a later date. At the moment I am overweight and have just started to eat more healthily, which I think is the answer to weight loss. We were on holiday last week and enjoyed puddings and cakes every day.
I work part-time and Colin is recently retired. This means that we have been able to spend much more time together doing some of the things we’ve been meaning to do – some planned and some spontaneous. I love this period of my life – I just wish I had the energy to match the time and the opportunities available!
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Ethical Knitting Nana 