Over a month into my sabbatical.

Sorry for not posting for some time but having arrived back home and having been away nearly three weeks there were lots of things to get sorted.

What have I been up to?

Apart from trying to process all that happened while I was away I have been travelling around the UK visiting friends, reading up on slavery and trying to sort out my visit to Ghana.

So, lets begin with my reading. There are three books that have struck me over the last few weeks.

Firstly, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham's book Head North.

What struck me about this book was the intense personal interest the two mayors have in the north west of England. They both tell their stories of how they were both deeply influenced by the Hillsborough disaster. Not just the disaster itself but from the ensuing cover up and blame game the media played with the people who attended the event. These events have driven the pair of them to seek justice for the Northwest and indeed the North of England so that living standards, transport links and educational institutions may improve and so continue to attract more people to discover the joy of the north of England.

The main feature of the book for me was the attempt to lay out a framework for governance across our nation. The pair of mayors share their experience of Westminster and conclude the system is rigged to facilitate the continuing flourishing of the South East of England while the North is left to drift into obscurity. Their response is one of decentralisation with more power devolved to the regions, creating if you like a United States of UK. 

The book was a good read and had lots of creative thinking peppered throughout. How much of it will be taken up I do not know but with two men so committed to their regions I can only think that together they can make a real difference for communities and the people of the North West.

The second book is Theresa May's book The Abuse of Power.

In this book she shares her extensive government experience to shed light on situations both at home and abroad where power has been abused and corruption has been uncovered.

Like the previous book, Hillsborough played a significant part in the authors understanding of justice, power and the responsibility that comes with public office. She even mentions Andy Burnham in her description of how the Hillsborough events unfolded.

The book is divided up into chapters around specific issues including chapters such as Greenfell, Windrush, Brexit (Remember that?), Human Trafficking, Salisbury Poisoning and Ukraine. 

From a literary perspective it is quite an easy read but from an intellectual one I found it quite disturbing. To have all these abuses of power condensed into one book makes you realise just how much abuse there has been in all sections of society in my lifetime.

One of the takeaway reflections is that much of the abuse has happened in order to protect an organisation or institution at the expense of individuals who those same institutions are supposed to be helping.

If there was one down side to this book it would have to be that we don't get much of an insight into the character and life of Theresa May. She comes across as a person who wants to stand on the side of those who have experienced injustice and writes as a responsible MP whose role it is to serve and not seek a career out of the political system but it falls short of revealing much of her own feelings about the situations she describes.

The book made me angry for all the right reasons and it also highlighted the shortcomings of humanity to truly love our neighbours.

And finally the third book ....... 

• Being Human: A New Lens For Our Cultural Conversations - Jo Frost and Peter Lynas

Have you ever wondered what it is that sets us apart from the rest of the universe? What makes humans different to animals, fish, insects etc? Indeed what does it mean to be human? Depending on who you ask you will get a different answer, it may be our biological make up, it may be our ability to construct complex societies, it may even be our ability to love.

This book has so much to do with the subject I am exploring and was a joy to read through the lens of someone thinking through the idea of slavery and human trafficking.

As the title says, Jo Frost and Peter Lynas look at what it means to be human.

They approach things from a fourfold understanding looking at being human from the idea of Significance, Connection, Presence and Participation.

As I've stated before in this blog my understanding of how people can treat other humans as commodities and sell them into slavery depends on dehumanising the individual so that they are no longer seen as human. With these four categories it is possible to not just understand the darkness of slavery and indeed abuse of any kind but it can also help and enable us to deepen relationships and understand one another more on a deeper level.

You may or may not agree with the authors findings but it is hard to disagree with one of their reflections that 'to be human is to be profoundly and deeply affected when the world is not as it should be'.

I've got plenty more books to read and will look forward to posting some reviews of them as I go on with my sabbatical.

Thanks for getting this far ;)