Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and Michael Palin launched the Michael Palin Centre’s Stammering Information Programme DVD “Wait, wait, I’m not finished yet…” on Tuesday 20th October.
Over 130 people attended the event which was hosted by Thornhill Primary School in Islington. Matt Chappel, the Lead Learner, and the children on the School Council welcomed the principal guests. These included:
• the Mayor of Islington, Councillor Anna Berent
• Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury
• Paula Kahn, Chair of NHS Islington
• Travers Reid, Founder and Life President, ARSC
• Bryan Dutton, Chair, and the Trustees of ARSC
• and lots of the children who starred in the DVD
The DVD has a short introduction by Michael Palin (he joked afterwards that he doesn’t get much film work these days so he was glad to be offered the part!) and shows children of all ages telling teachers very clearly what they would like them to know and understand about stammering. The showing of the DVD was followed by Michael Palin speaking very eloquently about his personal experience of his father’s stammer and the importance that he places on providing specialist help for children who stammer. Ed Balls also spoke with great sincerity about the difficulties that these children face and his desire to expand the services for them, both in London and in other parts of the country, beginning with Yorkshire. He spoke about his Department’s plan to provide capital investment to back this. In addition he announced that a charitable appeal, with HRH the Prince of Wales as patron, will be launched early in 2010 to benefit young people who stammer in the North of England as well as those at the Michael Palin Centre in London.
