{"id":8977,"date":"2022-08-01T07:20:57","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T07:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/?p=8977"},"modified":"2022-08-01T07:20:59","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T07:20:59","slug":"good-guys-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/?p=8977","title":{"rendered":"Good Guys 5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an effort to dispel some of the doom and gloom that prevails at the moment (how could it not?) and that the Tory leadership race is doing nothing to alleviate, I thought it was time for a return of the occasional Good Guys series, to focus on three men who, each in his own way, lightens the load for others on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seckou Keita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Seckou Keita\/Spotify<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard Seckou Keita\u2019s music for the first time: driving along Mitcham Lane listening to the then Welsh poet laureate Gillian Clarke on Desert Island Discs<\/em>. She introduced a track featuring a thrilling combination of African kora and Welsh harp<\/a>, a collaboration between Malian Seckou Keita and harpist Catrin Finch. It was enchanting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several CDs and live appearances later (his, not mine, obvs!) and I\u2019m still enthralled. Keita has literally added to the gaiety of nations. Although a virtuoso solo kora player (as if the instrument were not complicated enough to master already he has developed a double-necked version of it), he has chosen to collaborate with musicians from all over the world: Cuba, Brazil, Italy\u2026 (and with the International Committee of the Red Cross on various fundraising projects). He is also a member of Spell Songs, the group that formed in response to Robert Macfarlane\u2019s book The Lost Words<\/em>, which sought to reclaim the nature words that Oxford University Press omitted from its children\u2019s dictionary. Their songs are hymns, prayers and blessings<\/a> for Britain\u2019s rural environments, and in his participation Keita dissolves national boundaries to connect with our universal tie to the land. In these songs, however briefly, freedom of movement is restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Martin Lewis\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In one of those strange moments of synchronicity, minutes before I started writing this profile I turned on the radio and heard the unmistakeable voice of Martin Lewis, incisive and passionate, calling on Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson to sit down now and work out a plan to ease the misery of millions before winter bites and energy prices soar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His \u2018Money Saving Expert\u2019 persona, purveyor of direct and practical financial advice to millions over the years, has morphed into a caustic crusader, taking on injustice and promoting the cause of the most vulnerable wherever he sees the need. Energy bills, bank charges, student loans, and, latterly, the impact of debt on mental health are among his many campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True, he is worth millions, having sold his Money Saving Expert website for \u00a387m in 2012, but he has also given way millions, to Citizens\u2019 Advice and the Trussell Trust among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the Cabinet members he seeks to influence, he retains a vivid insight into how it feels to be on the breadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Jonathan Shepherd<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Professor Jonathan Shepherd\/ResearchGate<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If I say that in my wildest utopian dreams I fantasise about a benign global dictatorship run by Jacinda Ardern and Professor Jonathan Shepherd, it will give you some idea of the regard in which I hold this man whom most people have never heard of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ostensibly he is an emeritus professor of maxillo-facial surgery at Cardiff University and a professor at the university\u2019s crime and research institute, which should give you some idea of his range \u2013 as should the following letters: PhD, DDSc, MSc, FMedSci HonDDSc, FDSRCS, FRCS, FRCPsych, FFPH, FRCPsych! With Professor Shepherd, one thing just leads to another and he doesn\u2019t know when to stop. Noting the impact of violence on his patients and how many were injured in \u2018glassing\u2019 incidents not reported to the police, he began researching the issue. This led him to establish the \u2018Cardiff Model\u2019, involving police and licensees in measures to reduce assaults. As an ardent believer in evidence-based policy, he went on to propose a College of Policing, to make the case for a Chartered College of Teaching, and to support the founding of other professional associations. He has also worked with cyclists and F1 driver David Coulthard to design helmets offering more face protection. You get the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In person, Professor Shepherd is open, engaging, and generous with his time and knowledge.  Perhaps it’s because his monumental achievements lie in preventing things \u2013 terrible facial injuries, accidents, medical mishaps, malpractice and misconduct of various sorts \u2013 that he is not more famous: no one notices what doesn\u2019t happen. In fact, he\u2019s a quiet colossus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In these songs, however briefly, our freedom of movement is restored.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[297,132,55,276,171,62,307],"tags":[478,383],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8977"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8986,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8977\/revisions\/8986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}