This week we
completed a further stage of the Thames Path which included a brief visit to
Tate Britain and a wander round the Victoria Gardens beside Parliament. It was on this last stretch that we came
across the statue to Emmeline Pankhurst located just under the Victoria Tower.
Isn’t it odd how so called villains can become national heroes – even in their own lifetime?
Mrs Pankhurst’s achievements have just been immortalised in the excellent film Suffragette – a movie with a punch if ever there was one.
This formidable and visionary woman died in 1928 and the statue to her honour was unveiled by Stanley Baldwin in 1930. The New York Times made this observation: While the transition from martyrdom to sculptured memorials is familiar, the process in Mrs Pankhurst's case has been unusually brief.
It’s happened to others of course – perhaps most notably to Nelson Mandela, transformed from reviled terrorist to revered President of a Rainbow Nation.
The truth is we can so easily get it wrong – linger with the status quo – and it takes a maverick and someone who thinks outside the box to show us that a different way is possible, even right.
Jesus was undoubtedly such a figure. Loathed by those who longed for stability and political calm, he taught a way of compassion with a radical and cutting edge. This is the Jesus who disturbs – he did that two thousand years ago and I think he does it still today!
With best wishes,
Isn’t it odd how so called villains can become national heroes – even in their own lifetime?
Mrs Pankhurst’s achievements have just been immortalised in the excellent film Suffragette – a movie with a punch if ever there was one.
This formidable and visionary woman died in 1928 and the statue to her honour was unveiled by Stanley Baldwin in 1930. The New York Times made this observation: While the transition from martyrdom to sculptured memorials is familiar, the process in Mrs Pankhurst's case has been unusually brief.
It’s happened to others of course – perhaps most notably to Nelson Mandela, transformed from reviled terrorist to revered President of a Rainbow Nation.
The truth is we can so easily get it wrong – linger with the status quo – and it takes a maverick and someone who thinks outside the box to show us that a different way is possible, even right.
Jesus was undoubtedly such a figure. Loathed by those who longed for stability and political calm, he taught a way of compassion with a radical and cutting edge. This is the Jesus who disturbs – he did that two thousand years ago and I think he does it still today!
With best wishes,
ps Blog holiday until September!
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