Ellee Seymour

Three times in the last hour I have walked into my son David’s bedroom where he was supposed to be deeply engrossed in his studies only to find him feverishly excited about a computer game. This is not an isolated incident, it is a very common occurrence. He needs to study and get good A’level passes for his university admission next year.
With this in mind, I send my hearty congratulations to Sammy Gitau, 35, described as a Kenyan slum child who from the age of 13 was the family breadwinner after his father’s murder. He sold drugs and battled addiction before turning his life around.

However, a chance discovery on a rubbish tip of a Manchester University prospectus transformed his life and, against all odds, he has just graduated from there with an MSc degree in international development project management.

It makes me wonder if our kids have the same hunger and passion to succeed, if it is all too easy for them, that they take education for granted and whether they value the importance of a good education.

David’s brother James is just as nonchalant, telling me on a Friday night that his homework for the weekend has been competed during snatched breaks in school - and he goes to an excellent school.

I do despair, remembering how I loved studying at their age. Is it just a boy thing? Or does a background of hardship give a child extra grit and determination to succeed? I think it does.

I fear for the safety of our British hostages in Iraq following their evil captors’ impossible demands for Britain to pull out of Iraq. We know that this is not going to happen. If the 10 day deadline started from the date when Jason’s appeal was broadcast, then it is due to expire tomorrow.

This kidnapping of the Britons snatched six months ago has been unlike any other in Iraq as it was followed by such a long period of silence. Why did we hear nothing from them before? And why, only now, are Gordon Brown and Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, appealing publicly on behalf of the anguished families for their release?

Obviously, there must have been very intense efforts to resolve this very distressing abduction. But I do not suppose paying a ransom has been negotiated, which could be the most effective way of ensuring their freedom. And, of course, it is the least desirable option.

It has been questioned whether ransoms were paid to secure the release of these two Frenchmen, these two Italian women aid workers, an Italian journalist and possibly even these South Koreans, while tragically, Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan were not so lucky. The governments, of course, do not admit to it.

Who wouldn’t pay a ransom if it was their beloved who was captured? I would sell my house if it meant anyone I loved in this situation could be freed, even though I know it’s wrong to deal with terrorists, to give them money to further fuel their atrocities.

This really is a terrifying scenario, and I’m really fearful of the outcome.