stuart kidd @stuartkidd18 - Twitter Profile

I’ve written an open letter to Stephanie Mander - Headteacher of Norwood Primary School in Hampshire, who has taken the sad decision to basically cancel Easter Parade and Easter Service with the mistaken belief it encourages ‘religious inclusivity’. Here it is - I have sent it to the school. “Dear Ms Mander, I, along with millions of other Christians in this country am saddened, and frankly worried by your decision to cancel the Easter celebrations at your school this year. It is not only an insult to our country’s basic religion, it is also a spectacular blow to our core Christian values. You are, in effect, teaching your children Christian faith has no place on our lives, which forms the basis of moral compass and kindness in our society, and has done for millennia. You are, by your very actions, teaching children that religious INTOLERANCE is acceptable as you are attempting to cancel, or even worse, apologise for our own faith. Are you planning to cancel Christmas too? Are you planning to ignore every other religious festival in the calendar? Will you refuse to recognise Ramadan - EID - or any other religion which forms the wonderful and varied segments of our society that make this country so great? Part of being Christian is to tolerate others, yet you are teaching your children to not tolerate themselves. This cannot be right. Easter celebrations are an incredibly important part of our year - I am no religious nut, I rarely go to church, but the sacrifice of our Lord, to atone for our sins should never be overlooked, or worse, cancelled. It is the most important date in our religious calendar - and to remove that right from your children, for the sake of a woke decision is deeply misguided, and I along with millions of other people would urge you rethink it. Easter parades and bonnets are all part of the fun - and through fun and joy we teach our children the very basics of human nature - kindness, tolerance, inclusivity, and love. However, by making this decision, you are teaching them to be ashamed of their religion, and that is a sinister step in this world where so much of what makes us what we are is being cancelled, due to over sensitivity and wokeness. Would this happen in other countries, where other religions are based? Would they cancel say, Ramadan, to avoid offending Christians who are resident in their countries? No - and nor should they, it would be unthinkable - and nor should we in ours. Please do not be that person - have the children decorate their bonnets - have them celebrate the Easter Bunny - have your Easter service with all its astonishing bravery and sacrifice for others - and let them eat their own body weight in chocolate - and through that delight, that experience, teach them the Easter message - to give oneself to others, in kindness, love, and above all respect, it is what life is all about. Again, I beg you to rethink this sad decision. Don’t be a part of the erosion of our country - embrace it and teach the kids to include ALL their friends in this celebration - from ALL walks of life - from ALL backgrounds - ALL cultures - ALL religions - ALL beliefs. Because by experiencing others lives and religions, we become better people and from that your children will learn. And THAT is inclusivity. They will not learn a thing from cancel culture, except intolerance, unkindness, EXclusivity and the ability to hate. Thank you. Sincerely, The Countess Bathurst” If anyone else feels compelled to write, they have a website.