Anita Sethi will be in conversation with author Kerri ní Dochartaigh at Bristol Festival of Ideas on 19 May. For details visit bristolideas.co.uk While I am fairly certain that Ms. Sethi is an fine public speaker and I would like to hear her in person sometime, to my personal sensibilities, she writes like a teenaged girl. It's awful. Somehow she manages to take something incredibly important and, again - in my personal view, whine about it to a degree that was impossible for me to overcome. The book begins well while Ms. Sethi is describing what happened to her on the train. The writing is strong, clear, and purposeful. Then the whining begins. It is one thing for an author to explicitly explore how they felt and how they were impacted as well as how their view of the world was altered by an experience. It is another thing to write as if the author is writing in her own diary about the cute boy in homeroom who won't give her the time of day. I was expecting the book to be mainly an account of being in nature, of the restorative power of rebuilding the relationship with the landscape that many of us have lost in our busy lives, and of rediscovering a sense that we are a part of nature and thus have a place on earth. And it sort of is that, I suppose. But it failed to grip me, and I’m afraid I gave up about halfway in. I Belong Hereis a glorious book, presenting curiosity and exploration as a magnificently defiant response to the brute pettiness of prejudice. It opens the reader’s eyes to triumphant effect.’

As part of the partnership, Anita Sethi, author of the book I Belong Here is running nature writing workshops with various community groups in connection with the Woodland Trust. The groups range from City of Sanctuary, Bolton GP Federation and the Woodland Trust’s volunteers. These walks are taking the groups out into the glorious countryside of northern England, including Smithills Estate, owned by the Woodland Trust, and exploring the power of nature and walking and Woodland to the physical and mental well-being and why it is crucial that we all care better for nature.Restored and enlivened by the wonders of nature, Anita finds the courage to embrace her vulnerabilities and strengths and to claim her place in the world. Brave and life-affirming book.’ When you feel you don’t belong anywhere, it can feel like a complete rejection of who you are because if nobody likes you for who you are or ‘gets’ you, it’s hard not to take it personally. A journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, brilliantly exploring identity, nature, place and belonging. Beautifully written and truly inspiring, I Belong Here heralds a powerful and refreshing new voice in nature writing. Sometimes we may just be going through some temporary hard times where we feel we can’t really relate to anyone. We at the IOC believe we are at a pivotal point in time for our organisation and our relationship with our fans. Our ability to be relevant to our audience will in part determine the direction and success of the Olympic Movement in the future.

Next paragraph:"I ponder the term 'woman of colour'". From here she moves to discussing the multiple colours in the nature around her and how they mingle. "In such context you see how foolish colour discrimination is. Does the purple thistle tease the grass about its greenness? I look down again at the grass. Can you imagine a blade of grass having low self-esteem, being made to hate its colour or shape?" No, of course I can't -- it's a blade of grass. How did we get to "Flowers aren't racist, so we shouldn't be either"?A profound read, weaving a sequence of immense concepts into a beautiful, unique and uplifting story about a walk. It’s also a superb study of the wildlife and wildness of the Pennines,and the words that northerners have found to name and describe them. Walkers may recognise many sights within Anita’s journey. But rarely has a writer brought so many strands of social and cultural history into the concept of walking.’

When you experience true belongingness, it feels like a warm, welcoming acceptance of you as a person. You feel appreciated for what you bring to the group or community you are a part of. But you are also valued as an individual, aside from what you can contribute.There are many names for people who do not fit in: misfit, nonconformist, loner, outcast, outsider, and individualist are just a few. In the Penny Pot cafe I sip sweet tea while looking at maps. A volunteer from the National Trust tells me that this part of the countryside is all about the right to roam, as it is here that the Kinder Scout mass trespass of 1932, which helped to open up access to the countryside, happened. Hundreds of walkers, mainly from Manchester, trespassed on what was then private land by walking from Hayfield to Kinder Scout, asserting their right to exist in places from which they were excluded. Kinder Scout was at the time used to keep grouse for rich landowners. The walk was celebrated in the folk song by poet and folk singer Ewan MacColl, who joined the protest and knew that walking could be a radical and political act and lead to change; that walking could be a way of saying: I belong here. You must be willing to put yourself out there if you want to accomplish anything, whether that is making new friends, finding acceptance, learning something new, or developing a career. The IOC is working closely with our Worldwide Olympic Partner, The Coca-Cola Company, to create a campaign that makes a stand for diversity and inclusion, which are important shared values of both organisations.