Free The Mummyfesto by Linda Green

before. As the countdown to air began, all I hoped was that we wouldn’t make complete fools of ourselves.
    ‘Hello everyone,’ boomed Derek. ‘Welcome to Calendar with Derek Masters and Fiona Gould. Here’s what’s making the headlines this Tuesday evening.’
    ‘Saved from the axe,’ said Fiona. ‘The lollipop ladies across Calderdale whose jobs have been saved by parent power.’
    I grinned at Jackie as Fiona and Derek continued with the rest of the headlines. We’d made a difference. We really had.
    ‘Now,’ said Fiona, sitting down on the sofa next to usafter they’d run a report showing clips of the stop the traffic protest and an interview with the council leader who insisted, of course, on talking about school-crossing-patrol personnel rather than lollipop ladies, ‘we have with us in the studio the three women behind this campaign and the lollipop lady who inspired it. Shirley, had you any idea how much you meant to the pupils and parents at your school?’
    ‘Not a jot,’ replied Shirley. ‘I mean they’re all lovely to me and the children give me hugs and that but I were gobsmacked when they told me what they were planning to do. And when I saw the turnout on day of protest, well …’ Shirley’s voice trailed off. She turned to smile at us. I swallowed hard.
    ‘So, Sam,’ said Fiona, ‘it was your sons who gave you the idea for this campaign, wasn’t it?’ I resisted the fleeting temptation to give one of those little mum waves to the children watching at home and attempted to sound über cool.
    ‘That’s right. As soon as Oscar and Zach found out about the plans to get rid of Shirley they said we had to do something, and they were right. You can’t just stand by and watch things like this happen.’
    ‘Now, Jackie, we saw you in the clip there marshalling the troops with your loudhailer. Had you done anything like this before?’
    ‘Not really. I’d been on political protests as a student, but I’d never organised something as personal as this, something where children’s lives and people’s jobs were at stake.’
    ‘And Anna, were you surprised that a bunch of angry mums could actually force the council to do a U-turn?’
    ‘Not really, no. Hell hath no fury like a woman whose child is in danger. There’s no greater motivation to do something and therefore there’s no limit to what parents like us can achieve.’
    Fiona appeared a little taken aback by Anna’s assertion. She wasn’t the only one.
    ‘But you heard what the council leader said in our report. They’re going to have to find the savings needed from elsewhere now.’
    Jackie jumped in to answer before I could open my mouth to say anything.
    ‘Unfortunately this has all been caused by the government cutbacks, but what we’ve got to ensure is that politicians of all parties have the right priorities when making difficult decisions. And I think we’ve shown them that no one puts children in danger without having an enormous fight on their hands.’
    ‘So what next?’ asked Fiona, turning back to me. ‘Having won this battle do you fancy trying something a bit bigger? There’s a general election coming up in a couple of months, do you fancy having a go at sorting the country’s problems out as well?’
    I glanced across at Anna and Jackie, still marvelling at how eloquently they’d put our case. They were fired up, I could see that. Almost as fired up as me.
    ‘Why not?’ I said. ‘I think we could make a damn sight better job of it than some politicians.’
    ‘There you go,’ said Fiona, ‘sounds like it’s a case of watch this space. Well done, all of you. Back to you, Derek.’
    The producer had already briefed us to stay seated on the sofa until they went to the next report. To be honest she needn’t have bothered. I suspected I was not the only one who was incapable of moving.
    Jackie stared at me with a questioning frown. Anna had the scared eyes of one of those passers-by who are caught up