7 october 2010, thursday, london

Friday 8th October 2010

Virgin rail has done well out of me these last weeks. Took the 6.43am to london this morning, and aside from a couple of hours putting the kids to bed as soon as I got home, I send my last email just shy of midnight, so work is pretty all-consuming at the moment. Every day though, I see evidence that it’s worth it. Today I spent a great deal of time on child poverty. Can change make a difference ? Even yesterday a new york times journalist reinforced my faith that it does. Drawing on a raft of different studies, his striking conclusion is that life in the womb “allows poverty to replicate itself generation after generation. Pregnant women in low income areas tend to be more exposed to anxiety, depression, chemicals and toxins... [and] more likely to drink or smoke... kids facing stresses before birth appear to have lower educational attainment, lower incomes and worse health throughout their lives.” Traditionally the Chinese count life as starting at conception, so you are born aged one. I think they’re on to something...