SUSANNA REID: Could Strictly be this year’s Love Island?!
From red carpet to real life... Reid all about it
My PRobleMS with three teenage boys in lockdown are, I suspect, pretty common.
I nag them about getting out of bed, harangue them about washing their hands when they come through the door and then bug them to do the dishes.
nag, harangue, bug is on daily repeat. I’m sure it must be the same soundtrack in every home across the country that harbours quaranteenagers.
Mine are 14, 16 and 18, and going into lockdown, we had so many good intentions. I even bought a piano keyboard so that we could all become more musical. of course, now it’s sitting like a white elephant in the living room. The PlayStation, on the other hand, is almost worn out.
So it was a jolt to the heart, this week, to speak again to the mother of a teenager — not much older than my eldest — who mourns the loss of all those irritating moments. She is someone who would love to nag her son to get off the PlayStation.
I’m talking about Charlotte Charles, the mother of 19-yearold Harry Dunn who was killed when a car driven on the wrong side of the road by former U.S. intelligence agent Anne Sacoolas, smashed into his motorbike.
Charlotte has been effectively isolating with Harry’s twin brother niall and her partner bruce since well before we went into lockdown. Grief made it hard for them to leave the house, except when campaigning for justice.
The last time I saw Charlotte in person was in our Good Morning britain studio a few months ago, alongside Harry’s father Tim. while no longer a couple, they have battled together for their son, literally shoulder to shoulder.
This week Charlotte joined us again, by video link from home, to talk about a glimmer of hope: Interpol have issued a Red notice for Anne Sacoolas, meaning she can be arrested if she leaves the U.S., which brings the family a step closer to seeing a trial. I feel pleased for Charlotte that her refusal to give up is having an impact.
I don’t doubt this is hard for Anne Sacoolas, too. As a mother of three herself, she must feel regret for her terrible mistake every moment. every morning, the minute she wakes up, she must think about facing justice, explaining what happened, speaking in court and releasing Charlotte and Tim from the agony of imagining what Harry went through. Ultimately, I can’t understand why she wouldn’t want to set a good example for her own young children and do the right thing, however hard. There is something about talking to Charlotte that makes me broken-hearted for her every time we speak. Articulate, dignified, but full of love and sadness for her lost boy, she is a powerful reminder that time spent with our family is precious.
THeRe’S no greater challenge, for most parents, than letting a growing teen go out into the world, knowing he is exposed to risk, but that it is also your duty to let him go.
During lockdown, I send my boys out for their daily exercise on their bikes, knowing that the streets of london have been, until this week, pretty quiet and relatively safe.
I’ve always dreaded the day that one of them wants a motorbike, even before Harry’s sad story. I have only been on one once as a pillion passenger, with a perfectly safe rider, but I found the experience alarming and never to be repeated.
Harry Dunn, too, was a dedicated, safe motorbike rider, and was doing everything right.
For all the difficulties of the past two months, I am sure that many parents have relished the extra time spent with their children, even if they are on that darn PlayStation more than you’d like. Despite the horrible threat of the virus hanging over us all, some of a parent’s normal worries have been suspended.
There will never be another period like this, when we have such time together. I know that once lockdown ends, my boys can’t wait to take advantage of their freedom and spend as much time as possible with their friends out in the parks and streets.
we all fear the agony of the call that Charlotte and Tim received that day, but as parents we will once more have to live with those everyday dangers that we haven’t missed at all.