Rosa Parks

I heard the sad news about Rosa Parks dying on the 'Today' programme this morning while in the shower. My first thought was 'who?' and then they talked about sitting on a bus and it suddenly all made sense. What a brave woman and what a world she lived through and helped change.

I've never understood racism or discrimination in any form. What's that about? And what's the point of getting all worked up just because of skin colour, gender, age, haircut, wearing flared jeans, whatever. I can understand not liking individuals for whatever reason, but groups, communities or entire races? No, that's beyond me.

I grew up in a little pit village in north Durham outside Newcastle, a fully white community except for a girl who was adopted by her parents and she happened to be black. She was my friend in my mid teens before we left school and we went our different ways. Then at college in Oxford and Cardiff I met all sorts of people, and even more variety when I moved to London - that's part of the quiet joy of living, meeting different people and, if you're lucky, seeing the world through their eyes.

Rosa Parks was a brave woman who was the catalyst for change, for seeing the world afresh. Others stood up for human rights before her and other continue to do so today in different parts of the world. Let's not forget them.