Mum’s the word

16 July 2026, The Tablet

Nicola Wilding: understanding and tenderness

PROFILE BOOKS

Mum shows some gumption when confronting a group of Provisional IRA supporters shouting abuse at her. “Aren’t you the big men mouthing off at a lone woman?” she yells. “Cowards!

WHAT PROMPTS someone to join Tommy Robinson and the extreme-right English Defence League? Reading Nicola Wilding’s family memoir, an old phrase comes to mind: walk a mile in another’s shoes before you judge.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

Subscribe for unlimited access

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login

Article end