Death of a Nightingale: With Buried Treasure in the Digital Age - A Journey from Austerity to Prosperity? ARE GOVERNMENTS OF THE LEFT FIT TO GOVERN? Have they been responsible for unforeseen, self-inflicted pain and suffering that has betrayed those who trusted them? AND GOVERNMENTS OF THE RIGHT ARE NOT EXCUSED The case study in political folly in education, in particular, special education now takes in the 2008 Credit Crunch with more startling revelations. But it points a way forward. A Play in a Book For theatre lovers, a real life drama and a drama from real life. Tracy, a pupil with cystic fibrosis, tells the story of her school as it faces the bulldozer. Why does Margaret, its head teacher, attempt to take her own life? Can her love with John Errington, the English teacher, survive? Act 2 Scene 5 The Gift of Love. For parents of children with special needs, helping to end the stigma attaching to special schools put about by those who thought that what was right for them was right for all. For music lovers, a music lesson. How important is music in education, especially for children with special needs? And it has something to say in the age-old debate between people of faith and the people like Richard Dawkins. For students of politics, a case study in political folly,systemic dysfunction and ineptitude, one reason why Governments of the Left always seem to end in tears; as the Prologue closes: "See the whole as one picture - but see it as a fragment of a very large canvas." For lawyers, academia and educationalists, an abattoir for a herd of sacred cows and a challenge they should not ignore. For bureaucrats, a cautionary tale with some lessons they may want to learn. For the media, a journey of exploration and discovery. If you have the appetite for it, theDeath of a NightingaleWebsite is just Tapas compared with the Seven Course Table d'hôte meal that is this 260 page book, with Alice in Blunderland - The Mad Hattter's Committee Meeting for your entertainment. It tells a human story with a challenging interplay of fact, fiction, satire and commentary. It brings to life dry-as-dust issues important in education and beyond it. Which is the wiser mantra in education – Equality or Equity? How far does declaring a “Right” provide the protection of “a Right”? Is this generation properly mindful of the legacy it is bequeathing? Reviews of the play at the New End Theatre,London 2009 & 2011 BBC LONDON http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_kcMtZU6Iw