I've just read through the entire text of Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech (actually he was alluding to Virgil's Aeneid, "I seem to see the Tiber foaming with much blood")

It's astonishing how far we've come in UK from that viewpoint. His racism is almost laughable in its intensity. 'Piccaninnies' indeed!

My parents lived in a quiet suburb in West London, and not long before they moved to Norfolk in their retirement, their whole street was inhabited by Pakistani immigrants. My parents got to know them all, and my mother became much-loved for her home-baked buns and cakes which she often gave to the children. They hadn't an ounce of racism in them, and really missed their Pakistani neighbours when they came to Norfolk to be nearer me.

That's why I think Powell's speech is important as a warning. Racism can be created and encouraged by such stuff. Pupils should study it in order to be made aware of its dangers.