🧵 on all this opera stuff..
I've read a lot of excellent pieces and letters and tweets about the defunding of ENO and the argument has come around again to 'elitism', this catch-all word that appears to mean quite a few different things to people interested in the debate /2 2. These articles (and over the years I must have written scores of similar ones) are not saying anything new. How long have we been making - and proving unequivocally - that opera is not an 'elitist' interest? That it appeals to every kind of person?

A 🧵 on Grenfell's 5th anniversary. It is quite long I am afraid.

I have never told the story of our friend and colleague Debbie Lamprell and how that first morning and following days unfolded. After five years, I feel it is time to tell it 2 Her story and how she perished have been told at the Inquiry, but our small realm of the Grenfell tragedy gives, I think, an idea of the extent and reach of the disaster. But I still see hate and ignorance aimed at the survivors and victims.

The NI Protocol and GFA issue that will raise its head again today is as strong as any of the indicators as to the nature of this government but which so many continue to bury their heads in the sand over. Johnson and the extremists who control him are nihilists /2 2/ They simply do not care if - and I would venture, welcome - the destruction of the GFA. The only people they consult in NI are other extremists. If the men of violence returned, they would be happy - it would solidify their belief in the 'protection of the Union'.