Live webchat with Fiona Millar, Tuesday 3rd March, 1-2pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Fiona Millar will be visiting us at Mumsnet Towers for a live webchat on Tuesday 3rd March between 1 and 2pm. Her book The Secret World of the Working Mother: Juggling Work, Kids and Sanity will be out on Thursday 5th March. Fiona is a well-known journalist, educational campaigner and mother of three. If you can't join us on Tuesday, post your questions in advance on this thread.

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but tbh I think it is a useful default position to reject non-experts' work (esp if in the mass media) rather than to blithely accept it

But how does that further the cause, when the people are rejecting are the people who are being listened to because they are gifted communicators?

I think I find this particularly painful when you are talking about educational campaigning and working to further education - and directing this sort of statement to a website full of mothers, who care passionately about those issues, but 99% of whom are by definition non-experts. I think it is one field where - almost by definition - listening to 'non-academics' is essential (much like mental health actually). Surely the opinions of people at the grassroots cannot just be swept aside so easily?

(sorry I may have caught Boffinmum's paranoia)

Morningpaper

'But how does that further the cause, when the people are rejecting are the people who are being listened to because they are gifted communicators'

I'm staggered by this comment.To praphrase, gosh, even if people are talknig crap they do it soooo well that it must be worth something.
If that is the case, then hey, let's bring on Hitler, Mussolini, Jim Jones and all the other nutter oraters.

Anyway,I'm off for a day of advanced level juggling (Sunday school, visit to view my neighbours' pigs,swimming, birthday party, ironing and preparing for work tomorrow) so I look forward to catching up with this one later on.

Oh - and I am one of mp's 'haven't posted for ages' - this thread has pulled me out of retirement as the repartee is just too damn fine to ignore, on both sides.

Fwiw, I agree with Moondog, btw.

moondog's position seems awfully popular so I want to tease out why exactly. Her points seem to be:

1. Webchats shouldn't be stickied.

1. There should be a blanket ban on author webchats if people are promoting books (even if those people might be interesting and some MNers might actually be GLAD of the opportunity to ask them questions).

1. High-profile campaigners shouldn't be listened to if they fail the test of academic rigour (I'm not sure how Millar fits into this exactly, I'd be awfully glad if someone could perhaps list her credentials and then say how they have fallen short of the required level before which her opinions are worth listening to?)

But participating in the webchats are free. It's quite insulting to mners to assume that anyone who might be interested in what she has to say is also absorbing uncritically and being sold to.

The idea that she can't be worth engaging with if she is privileged is just inverted snobbery. I am in a very low income family, I don't limit my reading accordingly. I have yet to see a webchat where the guest's opinions are just unquestioningly absorbed by the majority, that's what makes them interesting - it sparks debate and shared experience. Or it should. Or could.

I love Boco.

PMSL at this thread. I assumed it would be full of MNer swooning at the thought of Alastair Campbell. I have a huge crush on him since reading the diaries.

I say hats off to you Fiona, not just for snagging such a sexy bastard, but for staying true to your principles while all those about you were losing theirs.

I can't speak for anyone else about why they agree with Moondog but it just isn't relevant to me to hear how someone with a six figure income 'juggles' working and children. It's just not that hard given a decent income. That's not 'juggling', that's delegating with style (to paraphrase Buzz Lightyear)

I think this debate has got out of hand, really. Fiona Millar is not pretending to be a human rights activist or a blue-stocking, is she?

She's just a woman who has written a book which she wants to publicise - are you all going to another launch party?

Are we still posting questions for Fiona here?

I have a couple.

1. Do you think the whole "choice" debate has got out of hand, and that private schools being discussed in the media as if they were just another "choice" out of many equally available to all parents is deliberately misleading and skewing the debate? (Given that an extra £10-15K a year really isn't a realistic issue for the vast majority of normal people.)

1. Should all children go to their local catchment school? Would this improve things or just exacerbate the selection-by-mortgage problem?

I still want to know how many lengths per day she manages. Other than that I am not remotely interested in anything she has to say.

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I havent just cropped up from anywhere.

Winehouse - I dont think anyone (except Morningpaper) had suggested that FM was anything other than a journo who is selling a book. If I thought we'd get a good chat that didnt have "well if you read my new book" or "I've covered this in my new book" smattered across each reply, I'd not mind so much. If I thought her experiences were based on the average Mumsnetter's lifestyle, I'd be interested.

I just dont think this live webchat will appeal to many, or bring anything to most of us. (Except potential book sales for FM). It seems like she has few fans tbh (except for Morningpaper, who compares her with Rosa Parks , and anyone who fancies AC).

Is it fair on your kids not to do that, if you have the money though, Betadad?

Oh, has this kicked off? I must read it when DS is in bed.

How is FM going to manage to be so irrelevant and of no interest to mnetters while simultaneously boosting her books sales? I would be interested then in her hypnotic powers - and will be wearing my tinfoil hat for the webchat!

I don't know if her book will be relevant to me, I don't know much about it, but am maybe the general discussion could be useful and interesting.

Just questioning Moondogs post of Fri 27-Feb-09 00:14:47 and the use of "we"...hmm

Some interesting female intra-sexual competition on here and attempted derogation of rivals - Go Fiona!

MiTochondrialEve I thought you only had eyes for Ms H Harman?.
Oh! and by the way why did someone extrapolate I was speaking from a personal point of view re shift worker down a mine, rather than a professional point of view of parents I have come in contact with through work!

Actually I think Moondog has a point. And its one that authors should be prepared to answer.

I have 3 kids aged 9, 7 and 4. I work full time but my eldest son is severely autistic (non verbal and with severe learning difficulties). There is no out of school or school holiday childcare available for him, so despite being unable to receive carer's allowance I have to stop work at school bus time and make up the remaining hours once he's in bed. During school holidays I struggle enormously to find the time to work. My life isn't about juggling really - juggling involves having some choices.

So my question is:

Is there any point at all in me buying this book or would I be better off spending the £12.99 on a nice bottle of wine to share with my husband?

No Star, I am a fan of many great pro-active women who veer from the dark side of cynicism!