Tower and Town, October 2024 (view the full edition)EditorialDo you remember Little House on the Prairie, with its rosy portrayal of poverty? The idea that while the poor may lack wealth, they are somehow happier. Reality, however, paints a far grimmer picture. Poverty in our country, our county of Wiltshire, and our town of Marlborough is starkly different. I was brought up in my early years on one of the toughest council estates in the north of England - it was so bad, a girl I went to school with wrote a book about it and it was made into a film, my childhood on screen. We often didn't have enough to eat, but the real poverty of my childhood was the lack of opportunities. The Arts, sports, books, socialisation were either limited or non-existent. Nowadays, it can be even worse. At least I didn't know what I didn't know? Today's world shows everyone what they're missing, what they should have, what they are 'entitled' to, a constant exposure to a world of unreachable wealth. That makes poverty even harder to bear. Do we understand the problem, and what can we do to break the cycle? Please take the time to read and maybe one small action (or a big one) could help in our neighbourhood. Kym-Marie Cleasby |