Being the Story Live is our immersive storytelling event providing a platform for people who don’t normally have one, to inspire new ideas, challenge perceptions, and stimulate conversation on issues. Think social sector meets TedTalks. sounddelivery hosted our very first online edition of Being the Story live on the theme of ‘Life in Lockdown’. At Being the Story 15-year-old Alex Rush shared what it means to be working class to him. Alex’s parents are both key workers, working on the frontline. His dad worked in a wholesale supermarket while the rest of the country locked down. But has enough been done to ensure that key workers, like Alex’s parents, are seen as the indispensable workforce they are? Read Alex’s script and watch his talk below.
Define Working class:
Making ends meet on a fiver for the week till your mum gets paid.
Grafting at the local corner shop at 15.
Saving for months and months for a new game because you don’t want mum paying.
Meeting your dad at the local after work asking about the man he met about a dog.
Running to the shop because you have run out of electric.
Friday night Chinese from Jenny’s every month.
The shopkeeper letting you off 20p.
Going to nans after school for your tea because she’s the best cook.
Hugging mum after an argument with her boss
Not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve.
Listening to an argument out the window of your council flat.
Your mum getting a call from school even though You’ve done nothing wrong.
Winding up your brothers and sisters and getting chased through the house.
Babysitting the kids around the corner.
Mum calling you down for tea
Just 5 more minutes let me finish this game.
Asking mum for money to go to the shop with her last quid.
Knocking on for your best mate next door
And not going in till 9. ‘o’ clock.
A Mexican standoff with your neighbour that everyone hates.
Kicking the ball over into next door’s garden for the 78th time this week.
Pretending to be the footballer you idolise.
Getting a good grade at school and making mum and dad proud.
Now let’s define the word ‘indispensables’ and what it means to me.
How does it link to working class life through the time of Covid?
An indispensable is absolutely necessary. Like butter to bread.
They are real life heroes that risk their lives and families to keep the nation going and provide help and support to all classes and communities.
So let’s think about The Incredibles.
Each family member has a super power and they use them together to create bonds and change lives.
Now imagine my mum gets home after a stressful day at work wearing a sweaty hot face mask. She has had a long 8 hour day supporting young people.
She gets through the door, a brew being poured, a bath being run and I have told her that I have smashed my first citizenship test and her face lights up for the first time today.
My Dad gets home after being sworn at for just doing his job and trying to protect his family from Covid.
After a long day’s graft providing food to the public, how would that make you feel?
He turns on the news and the Cummings has broken the rules because from his ivory tower he is above all of us.
No work for the weekend. It’s Thursday night and the eldest has just got home from work travelling around Manchester in a van in the roasting weather. Providing joys to the take-aways to dish out happiness to the public.
It’s 8.00 o’clock time to clap, Time to reward hard workers with a clap.
I’m there with my family and neighbours. We’re clapping, the cars are beeping and the spirits are high. I’m feeling proud. This is what being a key worker should feel like.
The importance of Key workers isn’t appreciated enough, what a clap?
Not enough, because some don’t even clap.
These people are out risking their life for us all, we need to just stay home, lie in bed eating pot noodles and watching Netflix. Yet some of us fail to do so but why should we if the cummings fails to do so?
Pour a glass and talk
Scrolling through Social Media
Seeing well known people moan about lockdown,
Whilst they’re sat in one of their 8 bedrooms staring at their pool.
Since the start of lockdown I’ve known my parents were indispensable.
I could see they were needed more than ever. The appreciation and love for my mum and dad have always been there, but throughout the pandemic there have been times where we have had to help keep each other going. I love everything they do for me. They are my number 1 and them being at risk from the virus really worries me.
There have been many highs and lows in the pandemic and I will say it has been an experience like nothing before.
There were days where I didn’t even get out of bed and days where we were all laughing in the garden.
I will take respect from the pandemic and I will appreciate life more.
I feel that the Government need to focus on helping young people with extra support to boost moral and confidence.
We need more than a clap, we need to make these people feel proud.
We need to reward these people we need to make these people feel like the hero’s they are
because as John Lennon once said “a working class hero is something to be!”