[Gayle]

Political correctness is more of a concept than anything else.

Of course, it's just general niceness to be polite to everyone and if we all did that there would be no such thing as PC. Unfortunately, not everyone is as polite as we would hope - think back to the 70s and 80s when no one thought there was anything wrong with Irish jokes and the Black and White Minstrel show - sometimes we're inconsiderate without meaning to be rude but surely most people can see now how these could cause offence.

I work quite often with BME groups and there are a couple of people who I call my 'cultural ambassadors' as they don't mind if I ask them daft questions - they do the same in return. I was once told by a friend that there was no way that I could offend her because she knew that the question that I was asking was out of ignorance and not a desire to offend.

I think we've got to a point where we're so afraid to ask or cause offence that we actually do it unintentionally.

As for Winterfest - devout Muslims I know were just as horrified as Christians were by that because devout religious people, on the whole, accept other religious people as kindred spirits even if it's a different religion.