ARTHUR SCARGILL - STILL STANDING - STILL DEFYING THE TORIES - A UNION MAN TO BE PROUD OF.

If the Telegraph or “Torygraph” as it’s known is correct when it states that Arthur Scargill tried to make a killing by using ‘right to buy’ to purchase his flat in London then I can’t help but wonder what he did with all the money he was given according to the same sources by the Russians and Colonel Gadaffi? .

I also noted that the BBC said that “it looks like Arthur Scargill may have been right after all about pit closures” this stems from recent disclosures which reveal unequivocally that he was indeed right. All these years later the establishment can’t say the words Scargill was right. The fact that the right wing establishment are still on his case after all this time suggests to me that he should feel proud of his actions. We need trade union leaders today like Arthur Scargill, how much have the bosses and their parliamentary wing in the Tory party spent over the past years to try to discredit Scargill, Benn, Livingstone, Skinner etc.?.    

We are all in this together the Tories and their cowardly Libdem partners tell us, Scargill and people like them knew that we will never all be in this together until we rid ourselves of the rotten to the core capitalist system which allows parasites like Cameron, Osborne, the truly odious Clegg  and Boris Johnstone to thrive. Don’t be fooled by these people this is a class war we are involved in and the enemy does not recognise any rules, in a decent society they would be recognised for what they are, low life criminals.

Reports of our demise are however an exaggeration to paraphrase Mark Twain, we are still standing and we will continue to struggle, we have to it’s a struggle for the future.   

FIDEL CASTRO STILL FIGHTING, STILL DEFIANT AND STILL INSPIRATIONAL.

A happy New Year to the incredible El Commandante himself Fidel Castro who made a public appearance at an art exhibition in Havana Cuba on Wednesday January 10^th. 20 14. At the age of 87 years. More frail than we are used to seeing him but still an impressive and imposing figure as he was photographed among cheering crowds. He was seen chatting with the exhibition organisers and local artists. Reports say that he has retained all his legendary intellectual sharpness and is up to speed with world events and political situations. He was seen to be alert and able to discuss ideas and stories in an animated and vigorous way.

He continues to defy convention and remains an inspirational figure to Socialists and progressive people worldwide, like his close friend and comrade the late Nelson Mandela he is truly worthy of being called a legend. The story of how he, with a handful of poorly equipped comrades one of whom was the equally famous and revered Che Guevara took on the most powerful military power in history America and eventually triumphed against it is indeed the stuff of heroic legend and will live forever. Wherever there is oppression, wherever people fight for freedom and where there is injustice his name will continue to inspire. Along with Mandela I regard it as a privilege to have shared the planet with him for 65 years and I hope we continue to share it for many more years.           

SCOTTISH WORKERS BETRAYED BY SALMOND AND THE SNP. PALESTINE CONTINUES TO SUFFER ISRAELI OPPRESSION AND IT'S CHRISTMAS. NO CHANGE THEN.

Further evidence of snp duplicity and hostility to the trade union movement arrives just in time for the beginning of referendum year. Not that any was needed but this is special, the Scottish government announced that it would legislate against companies who blacklisted Scottish trade unionists and employers who employed Scottish workers on zero hour’s contracts. Unfortunately it was discovered that some large companies who are close to the snp will be exempt from that legislation, yes you heard that right, companies who are friends of the snp will be able to continue blacklisting Scottish trade unionists and employing Scottish workers on zero hours contracts with impunity because salmond and the snp have decided that their friends will not be subjected to the same rules as everyone else.  If this is not blatant anti union bias I don’t know what is. The snp for all their bluster have never been able to make a breakthrough with the trade union movement and the hatred that that has generated from them to the unions is palpable because of this.

Grangemouth provided a glimpse of the real face of the snp when salmond demanded that the union members should in fact surrender to Ineos. He called on them to accept cuts in wages and pensions, a two tier workforce, poorer conditions and a guarantee of a no strike agreement, he deliberately took those union members back a hundred years, it was the act of a vengeful traitor. Now he provides immunity for blacklisters and exploiters of labour. This man and this party are no friends of Scottish workers, unions would be discriminated against under an snp separate Scotland of that there is no doubt, they would be trampled under the snp jackboot as the snp took the side of management against them to settle scores because of their support for Labour. Scotland would become a country of cheap non unionised labour and a haven for tax dodgers.    

As 2014 approaches I am pleased that the political pendulum is swinging back to Labour and pleased that that applies to Holyrood, Westminster and the independence laugharendum, the NO campaign is rock steady and has maintained a steady and massive lead over the yes camp for well over two years now and I expect it to turn in to a complete rout and humiliation for salmond and the snp crazies.  The behaviour of the separatists is set to worsen as the car crash nears and I confidently predict civil unrest by some of what we used to call the “bampots” in the loony wing of the snp, the streets will not be safe for anyone with an English accent and we can only hope that the “Polis” are ready for it.

At this time of year I always ask people and I do so now to think of the “little town of Bethlehem” and let it remind you of those worse off than ourselves as it nestles on the west bank of the river Jordan in occupied Palestine. A place where inhabitants are surrounded by tanks, barbed wire and check points by the inhuman and brutal bully that is Israel. Offer up hope that it will someday be restored to peace and its people and all the other Palestinians under siege will be granted their dignity and human rights.   

NKOSI SIKELEL' iAFRIKA - GOD BLESS AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICAN ANTHEM - MANDELA R.I.P.

It is impossible to not think back over the life of Nelson Mandela on hearing of his death. My own involvement with South Africa goes back 45 years or more to the time when I was a teenager and a fledgling activist looking for good causes to support. South Africa was a place we knew very little about because it was an embarrassing secret to so called western democracies that were up to their elbows in it through investments. Slave Labour is one of the purest forms of capitalism there is and that was what provided the rich investment opportunities. It also provided a great standard of living with well paid jobs and all you had to do to get your share of this was to have a white skin. The whole stinking edifice was held together by that most inhuman brutal system called Apartheid, unparalleled in its evil and depravity.   

That so many seemingly nice decent people, (relatives anyone?) Yes it’s a horrible admission isn’t it, were able to go there and make themselves a comfortable living is a horrible reminder of how frail our human condition really is. The Jewish Americam writer  Hannah Arendt coined the phrase “The banality of evil” to describe Adolph Eichman when reporting his trial for war crimes and that sums up South Africa under white supremacist rule as they enjoyed the wages and lovely houses provided by the black population who were treated like beasts of burden. Now of course we see the disgusting spectacle of those who wanted Mandela not only to lose but to be executed declaring their admiration for him. Head of that list is the revolting and amoral Margaret Thatcher who declared him a terrorist and vehemently opposed sanctions against apartheid South Africa while conveniently forgetting to mention that her equally wretched husband Dennis had considerable sums of money invested in that corrupt and evil system, as did churches, The city and pillars of our superior society.  Cameron was also an enthusiastic opponent of Sanctions as was Tebbit and the rest of them, a more thoroughly dishonest and revolting bunch would be hard to find in history’s pages.  

To take on these circumstances and triumph was one of history’s greatest achievements and it is true in my opinion to say that without Mandela it would not have been done. His courage and dignity were quite amazing and he rightly became recognised as one of the greatest leaders in history. He was the mighty indestructible presence in the background as we marched and demonstrated and sometimes blundered our way through the Anti Apartheid struggle, I wonder how many times the South African White Supremacists must have bemoaned the fact that they did not just kill him when they had the chance. He became too big to kill and too well known to slip on the soap and fall down stairs in prison nor would the world believe a tale of suicide in prison, he became more powerful than those who jailed him. He was the inspiration for us and millions around the world. Glasgow was the first place to grant him freedom of the city, something to be proud of. I took my daughter Clare to see him in George Square as he thanked Glasgow for its unstinting support over the years, we were both young enough for me to lift her on to my shoulder to see him speak and then delight the crowd with an impromptu display of singing and dancing a precious memory for us both, as a delirious crowd embraced him while mother Glasgow poured down its relentless gentle rain, a memory she still talks about. He is quite simply irreplaceable but for South Africa there is no going back, the racist beast has been slain and so it must stay. There will be plenty of struggles ahead but they will win in the end and, as the legendary murdered American union man Joe Hill said “don’t mourn me, organize” Madiba would agree with that sentiment.      

REMEMBERING ROSA PARKS, A TRUE AMERICAN HERO.

Sunday saw the 58^Th. Anniversary of an event that changed history and it was down to a small, poor, quietly spoken African American woman. She was of course Rosa Parks. She has now taken her place among the most revered people in history because of her courage, her resolve and her great dignity. Her refusal to give up her seat on the bus to a white man kicked off a series of events which would change America for ever, the fire she lit still burns brightly today, for proof of that you only need look at the White House and its incumbent Barrack Obama.

Rosa Parks taken from the bus to prison

The story does not need retelling by me but I will say that Rosa Parks took her place in history and she continues to inspire those of us who struggle for a better world. She gives hope as well as inspiration. The repellent racism which blighted America at that time and still does today was not eventually challenged by armies, it was extraordinarily challenged by a small black woman who was travelling home after doing a tiring day’s work as a seamstress, she let the genie out of the bottle and it will never now be put back in.

Along with people like Mandela and Martin Luther King she has taught us that we should never give up, who would have thought that such a minor incident would go on to shake America and the world?. How many thought that white supremacist rule would ever be overturned in South Africa, how many thought that Mandela would die in jail and be forgotten and Apartheid would always be with us?. We all know now that one man did not give up despite the overwhelming odds and he, Mandela, inspires us still.   When you are ready to quit, when you are tired and exhausted, when you are losing hope, think of Rosa parks and carry on. Think also of the song we associate with her all over the world where people are oppressed and believe that right will prevail and that “we shall overcome some day”.  

1999 Rosa Parks is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton  

IS THE GLASGOW HERALD PLAYING THE GAME WITH THE INDEPENDENCE DEBATE? READ THIS.

The snp/separatist/cybernats have been questioning the veracity of the polls which have consistently told us for over two years that the yes campaign is heading for humiliation. They have constructed a lie around the events surrounding the Holyrood election of 20 07 which the snp won. It goes like this “the polls got it wildly wrong in 20 07 and they will be wrong again in September 20 014”. There is a big lie and a small truth in their narrative, the small truth is that the polls can get it wrong and the yes camp could win but, the big lie is that the polls did not as they claim get it wrong in 20 07. As is often the case their story does not stack up and I took the trouble to check it out. Following an on line argument with an snp separatist who was trying to sell this nonsense there was the following exchange.

Me to him.--- Mr. **** The polls are very sophisticated and mainly accurate particularly when they have been showing a commanding lead for over 2 years. I am delighted with that and of course you would not like to be in the position of the No campaign would you?. You are clearly not worried about making a fool of yourself either are you?.

Mr. X. Replied. -----

"The polls are very sophisticated and mainly accurate " (Terry Kelly)

except when they are clearly absolutely completely utterly transparently fundamentally wrong, like the last time the people of Scotland were asked a political question.

Clutching at straws comes to mind.

I then sent the following.

I assume you are talking about the Holyrood election of May 5Th. 2007. If so this is an snp myth which has been constructed to try to cover up the hammering that the snp are getting in the polls now. The facts do not support your ridiculous claim that the polls were wrong, or as you so bullishly and foolishly put it "clearly absolutely completely utterly transparently fundamentally wrong" no fence sitting there eh?. If you don't want to accept what I am saying I can refer you to the following site. http://www.holyrood.com/2011/05/polls-apart/ 

Notwithstanding your rather fanciful claim about the accuracy of the polls I will assume that you have heard of IPSOS MORI who are probably one of the most famous pollsters of them all. The contact I have given you shows the following information from them based on those who were deemed 'certain to vote' in the Holyrood election on May 5Th. 2013. It is as follows.

Feb. 16Th. 2013 - 48 days before the election snp 37% Labour 36%.

March 22Nd. 20 13 - 34 days later and 14 days before the election - snp 45% - Labour 34% an snp lead of 11% and the result? An snp victory with a lead of 10% not bad eh?. 

I look forward to your reply.

Despite 4 attempts to have this printed the Herald still refuses to print it. I was advised that their refusal might be because they do not advertise other companies or ‘links’ to other sites. I then resubmitted the post minus the reference to IPSOS MORI and removed the link to the other site. They still did not print it!.  In terms of the referendum debate, I’m sure you will come to your own conclusion as to whether you can believe what the Glasgow Herald says.   

CENSORED BY THE HERALD AGAIN.

The late Jimmy Reid has now taken on the mantle of an snp secular saint. This has been achieved by doing two things, 1/ dying, and 2/ dying while an snp member with a once illustrious history. He is often referred to lovingly by snp sycophants who hate the trade unions with venom as the great working class leader and heroic Scotsman. Contradictory? absolutely but, this is the snp we are talking about here. He lends his name now to a so called 'think tank' which is nothing more than a nationalist glee club "The Jimmy Reid Foundation". They are trying now to make it sacrilegious to be anything other than obsequious to his memory, needless to say, with me and a great many other Socialists of my generation it will not work. The best they can hope for is a grudging silence out of respect for what he once was but, the snp being what they are are not content with that they want to use him against the Labour Party, the Unions and anyone who does not follow their brand of narrow racist tinted nationalism. 

A recent exchange on the Glasgow Herald's comments net page led to some nationalists comparing him favourably with Arthur Scargill and in doing so chose to besmirch the ex NUM leader. I decided to mention his less than noble behaviour to balance the argument and I wrote the following. The Herald refused to print it.  ___________        

"Under Thatcher the unions and the working people of this country were under unrelenting attack by the Tories and the fight put up by Scargill and the miners was nothing short of heroic. 

When they needed support and solidarity they were let down. People who should have been 100% behind them betrayed them, none more so than Jimmy Reid who attacked Scargill and the NUM. 

When they were crying out for help and comradeship he stabbed them in the back. This was at the height of the dispute and he did great damage to their cause and their morale. 

We have always had to suffer at the hands of "flinching cowards and sneering traitors" and attacks from one such as him were hard to take considering his background. We are still standing though, still carrying on the struggle and despite the behaviour of such people we will eventually prevail. 

The people who stood firm, those who fought the hardest. the ones who did not shirk, they are the ones for whom Scargill was a hero and has remained so to this day. Today we see history repeat itself as leaders like Bob Crow and Len McCluskey get the same treatment as Arthur Scargill got. These men are cut from the same cloth as Arthur Scargill and I hope we see more like them emerging in the future, we are going to need them". 

SEPARATION 7/1 AGAINST THE UNION 1/9 ON.

I have just done my regular laugharendum check with the experts.  The ones who are non affiliated, the experts who cannot be accused of bias, not even by the rug chewing separatists who are becoming even more desperate as doomsday approaches. The man I spoke to smoked a large cigar, wore a fur coat and drove a jaguar, most of you will have guessed by now that this chap was a 'Turf Accountant' or 'bookie' as he is colloquially known.

A genial and prosperous chap, he was happy to offer me odds of 7/1 against a yes Victory and 1/9 on, on a No victory. He kindly volunteered the information that no one, not one f*****g punter as he delicately put it had placed a bet on a Yes victory despite the very generous odds, and very few had betted on a No victory because of the very ungenerous odds. He wondered aloud if the authorities would consider following the example of the "sport of Kings" and handicap the red hot favourite. He kindly suggested a system where a Yes vote counted twice while a No vote counted but once admitting that this would still see a convincing No triumph he thought that the more patriotic separatist might be encouraged to have a go. This he said would enable them to boast that they had in the face of great odds backed the cause of bonny wee Scotland the Brave.

When I report these findings I am immediately tackled by the cybernat crazies who remind me that the crazies won the Scottish election despite the opposition being favourites then as well. Very few though were brave enough then to try a wager so "win lose or draw" as the old song says they won't be effected in the pocket this time either. So we have a situation where some very large wagers have gone on the No campaign but not much by the way of the usual modest amounts normally seen changing hands in the local gambling den. I reckon it's down to a mixture of feartiness and the famous traditional Scottish reticence associated with opening the moth infected sporrans where the 'bawbees are tightly imprisoned. It's looking like Red Rum against the horse that pulls the milk cart.

 

  

THE SHAME OF THE ONCE MIGHTY "THUNDERER" THE SUNDAY TIMES.

OK it’s only my blog but I can’t pass up the chance to publicise the behaviour of The Sunday Times. I am reminded of the words of the great Irish writer James Joyce who described The Dublin Times a “The arse wipers weekly”

Statement by Unite the union on the report today by the Sunday Times

03 November 2013

Today's Sunday Times carries an extensive attack on Unite the union, apparently based on emails given to the newspaper by Ineos or its agents.  The Sunday Times submitted a list of questions to Unite yesterday, in response to which the union sent a statement to reporter David Leppard, well within the deadline he had imposed for receipt of answers.  Not a word was carried in the Sunday Times today.  Attempts to secure an explanation for this from Mr Leppard have been ignored. 

We release below the statement sent to Mr Leppard, in order to place Unite's response to the allegations on the record and also to draw attention to the debased standards of journalism now practised at the Sunday Times, little more than a mouthpiece for Lynton Crosby's Tory agenda. 

"This report is a rehash of issues already investigated by Police Scotland and the Labour party, both of which found that Unite had done nothing wrong, and had broken neither the law nor the party’s rule book as it stood at the time. 

“Specifically, Unite entirely denies any involvement in or knowledge of the forging of signatures on application forms or of any documents whatsoever; the coercing of individuals to join the Labour party – however that might be accomplished; the recruitment of individuals to the party without their knowledge or any other breach of Labour party rules.  Unite called for an independent public enquiry into what happened in Falkirk, and we remain entirely happy to assist such an inquiry – and draw appropriate lessons from it if necessary – should one be established. 

“Some of the questions submitted, however, appear to relate to conduct by third parties, about which Unite cannot comment.  Unite would also point out that once individuals join the Labour party they can involve themselves as much or as little in the party’s business as they choose, but Unite would certainly encourage any of its members to play as full a part in the party’s life as they can.  

“On the separate matter of Mr McCluskey’s call to Mr Grant, Unite entirely denies that he used the words cited.  Unite has never made any secret of its support for Stevie Deans, nor does it now, but the suggestion that Mr McCluskey was threatening unlawful industrial action is entirely repudiated.  It is for Ineos to explain its handling of Mr Deans’ case.” 

STICK WITH THE UNION BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

WHOSE SIDE ARE THE GLASGOW HERALD ON?

24/10/13 - "Broken workforce fight for jobs"

The above is today's Herald headline on the Grangemouth dispute, it is designed to destroy the morale of the workers. I have written to their comments site and suggested the following:-

How about, 

"Courageous workforce still standing with heads held high 

and the fight goes on, the message is boycott everything to do 

with this revolting company and join the Union"

Are Ineos paying the Herald? 


Will they print it though? 

SALMOND SHOWS HIS TRUE COLOURS AS HE KNIVES THE GRANGEMOUTH WORKERS IN THE BACK.

“The trade union should accept the no industrial action demand from the company with no strings attached” (Alex Salmond) 20/10/13 speaking live on ‘Sunday Politics’ show.

Here is the snp’s anti trade union agenda red in tooth and claw, he wants a servile toothless trade union movement where the bosses can do anything they want without having to worry about industrial action and the workers will be no better than slaves. Can you imagine the management regime at Grangemouth tomorrow. Monday morning; faced with a work force whose trade union is completely emasculated? That is what salmond is demanding, a nice place for shop stewards and conveners who have stood up to managers before to work eh? How long would they last without the protection of industrial action when they need it? This statement could only come from a reactionary anti union Tory, in this case one who calls himself a nationalist, Alex Salmond. Will any snp members denounce his treachery? I have heard of an ‘snp trade union group’ but I haven’t heard ‘from them’. Have they nothing to say about this blatantly pro management anti union stance from their toadying leader, he is a disgrace to the Scottish people.     

8 MONTHS TO BRAZIL AND ENGLAND AND POLAND REMIND US THAT THE “BEAUTIFUL GAME” IS BACK. WELL DONE TO OUR NEIGHBOURS.

Brazil in 8 months time and it's the world cup, we can at last put aside the diversionary activities of tennis players, golfers, rugby players, cricketers and people running round in circles etc. and enjoy not the greatest game in the world but the 'ONLY' game in the world but first there was the small matter of England having to qualify. 

England V Poland, it was for real and the chips were down. The superb setting of Wembley stadium; jam-packed and intense with expectation and not a little trepidation saw the evening start with an emotional tribute to the Polish airmen who fought with the RAF in WW2. As the Polish fans unfurled a massive banner depicting the Polish emblem which adorned their fighter planes when they took on the Luftwaffe, their English hosts paid tribute to the indomitable spirit and heroism of our Polish allies, a wonderful and poignant moment and the match turned out to be superbly entertaining as well. Sometimes the pressure and expectation of the fans can ruin such events but this was always going to be a cracker.

I promptly found myself wondering how England could all of a sudden become such a force after suffering such mediocrity for so long. Players like Rooney, Baines, Townsend and the phenomenal Danny Wellbeck swept forward with strength and skill and threatened to finish the game in a matter of minutes such was their dominance. The Poles however are no makeweights and they started to break forward with skill and the kind of speed that would alarm any defence, after 20 minutes both teams could have had a couple of goals each, pulsating stuff. The camera cruelly honed in on the elderly England manager Roy Hodges every time their goal survived a scare and the poor guy looked like he was ready to faint away, was it my imagination or were his minders keeping a particularly close eye on him?

The longer the game went on the more England started to dominate, a mixture perhaps of their resolve and the fact that psychologically the Polls were handicapped by the fact that they could not qualify but they bravely gave everything until the second goal went in late in the game from the determined play of Gerrad, the first was a classic overlap by Baines and a trademark Rooney finish with his head. Make no mistake about it this was a tremendous show by England against very talented opponents and it augers well for their World Cup hopes.

Mr. Hodges has 8 months to polish up the team and he will be aware that in players like Rooney, Wellbeck, Baines, Townsend, Sturrige and the re-emerging Wilshere he has a bunch of talented young players who would get a game with almost any team in the world. This is the time though when he has to be ruthless if he wants to triumph, there are some players still around who should be replaced such as Cole who is no match for Baines, Milner and Carrick who are strong and willing but can't cope with the skill and pace that is likely to be waiting in Brazil, Gerrard alas no longer has the wherewithal to dominate the midfield at this level and Lampard who in my opinion has become a liability as wily foreign coaches now prepare for breakaway attacks every time he smashes a free kick against the defensive wall and they pounce on the rebound some 40 or 50 yards back to form an attack.
It would be great to see England bring the world cup back to Britain and I'm sure that everyone in the UK would celebrate that. It would be a great party here in Scotland as well, how would wee Eck cope with it though?

IS IT RODNEY? IS IT DEL BOY? NO IT’S WORSE THAN THAT IT’S WEE ECK, SOMEBODY COUNT THE SPOONS QUICK.

Alex Salmond and the snp at his behest lied about EU legal advice. At his behest also they spent £20,000 of tax payer's money trying to cover up that lie hiring lawyers to keep it out of the public domain. They have finally failed in their blatant attempt to cheat the Scottish people whom they claim to care so much about, that care though does not stretch to telling the people the truth.
How much longer will the snp sheep allow this spiv and political shyster to use them like cannon fodder? What does he have to do to for these poor people to realize that he is a wrong un? Half a million pounds to go and see the Ryder Cup in America for Salmond and his pals! Another half a million pounds for Salmond and his pals to go to the Olympics. What will it take for the snp members to get off their knees?
Could the "affair of the tartan breeks" be the final straw for a long suffering Scottish public? On top of his football hooligan behaviour at Wimbledon, who knows? £20,000 is a lot of money to throw around especially when it isn't your money, in fact it's our money, it's even worse than that FFS it's my money, well a wee bit of it is kinda, and the tiniest wee wee bit of my money going to that baw faced wee bampot rips ma knittin, so it does.
This sum could have bought wee Eck 80 pairs of tartan breeks at £250 a pair, if you are going to be a fraudster and a crook you are as well doing it right, who pays £250 quid for a pair of troosers anyway and come to think of it who would wear such an outfit in public, tartan strides? He looked like Fran or was it Anna. There are weans running about in my ward with the arse hinging oot of their troosers and he's poncing about wearing £250 tartan breeks and trying to skip paying for them. It just isn't good enough.

 

 

 

 

 

“COME TO THE CABARET” THE snp, 1 LIBDEM AND 1 INDEPENDENT APPEARING REGULARLY AT RENFREW DISTRICT COUNCIL.

October 3 rd. 2013 08.50 am, fortified by strong coffee and an unshakeable belief in our just cause I approach the chamber of Renfrewshire council with trepidation,
a full council meeting is about to start and with it the now commonplace 3 ring Circus provided by the assorted opposition members. The snp, + a single Tory, a malevolent pompous Libdem and an independent who has been practicing all his life for the moment when the actor playing Iago is taken ill and the public announcer asks if anyone in the audience knows the lines. As they assemble opposite my world weary gaze, I momentarily think I have wandered in to a casting session for extras in "Pirates of the Caribbean part 3" there are some rum characters here and no mistake, big bruisers, heavily bearded angry looking deviants, rough hewn and foul spoken and as aggressive and mean as Kilkenny Cats who have been on the gargle all night, and the men folk are every bit as bad.
We settled in for the long haul as the agenda was loaded with dim-witted spurious motions from them designed to waste time and cause the meeting to be chaotic. We have some interesting characters in the opposition benches, not I hasten to add interesting in a nice way but interesting in the way we find impossible to train dogs and members of the 'tinned people for cannibal's society' interesting. All above board never the less and it has to be suffered in the name of democracy, although one sometimes feels that Al Capone had his good points.
The meeting promptly descended in to a rabble of low degree largely orchestrated by the snp, they clearly had a game plan which was to see how far they could push the boundaries of decency and normal behaviour without being locked up and in some cases sectioned. Most spectacular was the orchestrated outburst by Cllr. A Doig ( a difficult man to like ) one can't help but sympathise with his good lady wife Audrey notwithstanding the suspicion that she is able for him. He got himself in to a synthetic rage and leapt to his feet roaring and bawling like a fighting mad drunken navvy, gesticulating with a handful of papers and pointing menacingly in our direction, this went on for some time and; by the time he had twisted himself in to a black knot and then sat down we all had to go for a pee such was the sustained laughter in the chamber. As a side issue I took the trouble of asking my comrades and no one heard a word of his incoherent rant let alone had a clue what he was on about but at least he knackered himself with his efforts and slipped in to a kind of nebulous tranquil state for a while. This behaviour was replicated by other snp brave hearts but their efforts were not as funny or indeed so loud, he is clearly a rising star in the snp.
The other side show at such meetings is now being staged by a couple of old codgers who have been round the block a few times and who now present a most entertaining if sometimes sad diversion for our entertainment, I refer of course to our one Libdem who is a she and our one independent who is a he, a more contrasting couple would be hard to imagine as they fight shoulder to shoulder and gaze devotedly in to each other eyes, it's a mutual admiration society as they face the world together from the furthest pitch out at the very end of the pier. The Libdem is a living legend and the independent isn't but as a team they can raise a chuckle, the former is convinced that she matters and cannot be convinced otherwise while the latter knows that he doesn't matter hence the resentment harboured by both. The independent is indeed so needy and meretricious that he is incapable of speaking without littering his discourse with tortuous quotes and references to great writers, poets and people that he has decided are worthy of his praise. It's a cry for attention and a plea for love. Some rather churlish people have started referring to them as the "Chic and Maidie" of the council with the sexes of the great Scottish comics reversed, a cruel taunt I know but it takes all kinds. This show is well worth a visit and it's free which is most remarkable in Paisley.
Finally a sombre note for you the taxpaying public to mull over, due to the self indulgent antics of this crowd of political clowns this meeting ran for 6.5 hours. Based on my own investigations through the council's finance department we have a ball park figure of £2,000 an hour to hold these meetings, any other council in Scotland would regard 3 hours as a marathon but the snp/Libdem/independent opposition here in Renfrewshire (the Tory does not get involved in this) are happy to see in this case 'which is not unique for Renfrewshire' approximately over £6,000 of your money wasted so that they can indulge in this puerile behaviour. Perhaps some people will feel the urge to ask them why they are doing this.