As a bit of fun, at the end of last year we were asked to write a 3-minute speech on a given, open-ended topic. I chose "Kept in the Dark", and went on to be runner-up in the Patricia Burgoyne cup.

Although society has moved on into the twenty-first century, there are still suppressed groups in our society. Despite the fact that we have live in a free, democratic and socially supportive world, there is still a silenced population which resides amongst us all. The forgotten are still being kept in the dark, a primordial society where every day is a fight to survive. They are the goldfish. The way we treat our goldfish, despite the …

…is tragic that goldfish today are treated worse than women in the dark ages - ornaments held captive in the worst conditions, goggled at for entertainment, never given a second thought after they leave this world. But Goldfish are living creatures just like us. And so, I think it is time we stop mistreating our goldfish in this completely immoral way; free them from their prisons of darkness and allow them to see the light.