Maggs - you obviously saw this in our beloved Guardian this morning, Steve Bell's latest:

75% of the Guardian taken-up with Thatch stuff this morning, plus a special pull-out section. I objected when there was a bit of a spread when Betty Windsor's old Mun croked, I'll go bonkers when they fill the paper with the life & times of Betty when she goes, but for some reason I didn't object to all the Thatch stuff this morning. I read every word and basked in the warm glow of my wide, wide grin.

I read reports on the Beeb site that folks had street parties last night to celebrate ... any in Bedders? Perhaps one should be organised for next Wednesday.

Sadly it is the I today!

Pity would have enjoyed the Guardian, but have not read Sat yet!.

No time, three little horrors to look after.

Going to see the Pitmen Painters with them tonight.

Maggie Thatcher quote

'I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end'

Tony Benn has some good thoughts.

Have not seen or heard Billy Bragg yet.

The reason so called Labour did not undo it is that they were closet tories, all of them. (bar a couple of exceptions). Good grief, Blair was a member of the tory party when he was younger!!!!! No way was he and his cronies LEFT wing, only slightly left of Thatcher. I will not vent my true feelings about her death, I will just keep them to myself. (It gives me a nice warm glow!) I am at the moment and have been for a while, researching with the aim to write a book about the control of power (since the 2nd war) by politicians and companies and how the unions were "used" to destroy themselves. It is so sad that they couldn't see it. But having been on both sides of the fence as an employee and employer running my own engineering company it was so apparent!

I used to work for a firm in Nottingham that provides the concrete security barriers for state and high profile events. Many of you may remember the wagon parked in the car park in Bedlington with a forklift hanging off the back. We would do things such as state visits. (I did the president Bush state visit), state openings of parliament, rememberance parade, we did the security for the G8 summit at Gleneagles, the Queen mothers funeral (twice) etc etc. One of the most upsetting was the 7/7 London bombings, I barricaded off the bus that was bombed (not a pretty sight). Next week they will be called on to provide barriers for the funeral of Margaret Thatcher. I think they will struggle to get drivers to do it, many of them are ex miners from Nottinghamshire, decendants of miners who migrated from the North East. Those who were'nt miners, have family members who were affected by the strike. Memories are long, and grievances still fester away for many. Couple that with the threat of some sort of violent action on the day, it would not be a surprise if there was a shortage of drivers volunteering to go down there next Wednesday.

I would buy a copy of your book Orloff.

People voted the conservatives into power, and your views on The Blair government are relevant.

Does Power corrupt?

Another point to discuss.

Keith you have some amazing life experiences.

Maggie Thatcher in death as in life has the power to divide us all.

Not many wagon drivers get the chance to wait for instructions from the met while actually parked on the Mall. Then nip through the Admiralty Arch to block Traffalger Square off and park the truck up in a side street in Whitehall for a few hours while the Queen goes about her business, good skive for 8 hours or so and geting paid. Also two of us drove fully freighted artics actually INSIDE the Alexandra Palace. That place is massive.

Edited April 10, 201313 yr by keith

Here's today's offering from the wonderful Steve Bell:

but I think this image is nearer to the truth:

After a week of hero worship in the media, I am left wondering seriously about silence!

When something is unfair do we use humour or anger and then is silence a stage beyond.

I put this topic in the History section because that is where I think it should go!

However on the basis that History is written by the victor, is that what we have now.

Anyone who disagrees is made to feel bad because ' we should never speak ill of the dead'

Bedlington has a unique position, our mines were closed before others. The 84 struggle and seeing life change has affected us all.

My memory is of a government saying it made sense to make miners redundant because we did not need the coal.

Then they opened opencast mines.

We all know people who never worked again and claimed whatever they needed to. Ok they could have got on their bikes but that is not easy without help.

In seeing that there are always two sides to any argument, I have very very mixed feelings.

Where did society learn to mistrust?

Who gains!

For a mining community your life depended on your Marra!

One person cannot be blamed.

The life we remember was one where most of your neighbours would help!

After a week of hero worship in the media, I am left wondering seriously about silence!

When something is unfair do we use humour or anger and then is silence a stage beyond.

I put this topic in the History section because that is where I think it should go!

However on the basis that History is written by the victor, is that what we have now.

Anyone who disagrees is made to feel bad because ' we should never speak ill of the dead'

Bedlington has a unique position, our mines were closed before others. The 84 struggle and seeing life change has affected us all.

My memory is of a government saying it made sense to make miners redundant because we did not need the coal.

Then they opened opencast mines.

We all know people who never worked again and claimed whatever they needed to. Ok they could have got on their bikes but that is not easy without help.

In seeing that there are always two sides to any argument, I have very very mixed feelings.

Where did society learn to mistrust?

Who gains!

For a mining community your life depended on your Marra!

One person cannot be blamed.

The life we remember was one where most of your neighbours would help!

What needs to be remembered is the people who lost their lives thanks to Thatcher, my dad knew a few blokes who after the pits shut could not live with themselves because the pit was all they knew and they ended up killing themselves, I am sure many others will also know people who have done that from many other walks of life.

That is exactly what Mark Steel said yesterday in the I newspaper!

No one wanted to tell any story, it was as if his audience collectively passed a motion that said ' I think you'd best move on to another subject'.

One woman later told him how hard life had been.

But she said they had been lucky, two close friends had commuted suicide after the steelworks closed.

People prefer to forget.

A story has leaked out from the Ritz hotel. Apparently, her stroke happened whilst she was reading a letter from Atos declaring her "fit to work" and stopping her Incapacity Benefit.

The Guardian today is worth a look.

King Ironsides by Posy Simmonds an exclusive 16 page Grantham fairy tale. Also Thatcher's Britain: the reckoning

Number of Miners in England and Wales

1980 230,000

1990 57,000

2004 6,000

Well the LAST thing on my mind on leaving school was "ganin doon the pit" I never heard ANYONE say a good thing about it, to the contrary even me mates at the time who were there hated the job.

In response to Adam,s comments about folks taking their lives because they lost their jobs, it happens in every industry, we dont know their circumstances one minute your earning and paying the bills etc then its taken away from you it must be a horrible situation to find yourself in and the mental health issues of it all can become unbearable for some, dont forget the miners were on "strike" and not eligable for state handouts, I remember helping with food parcels etc I also remember families at odds with each other standing nose to nose over the rights and wrongs of "ganing back". It was,nt nice but it was an experience and memories that will live with me forever.

The strike was futile there was only ever going to be one winner, I remember saying that in the "Terrier" one night and I was sitting in the company of striking miners, they also knew but felt obliged to "stay oot".

I remember thinking well I admire your blind loyalty but its not putting bread on the table.

The rest is history and a lesson learned the unions would no longer be in a position to pull down an elected government, thats up the majority its called democracy.

I will reiterate my pesonal opinions I am not nailing my colours to the mast here to the contrary I dont think any of the political parties have the ballsMrs Thatcher had I think Tony Blair should be tried for genicide along with Bush, Gordon Brown should be done for robbery and deciete and the bxxxxr who is in charge now has,nt a clue and the only thing the labour lot have is balls by name and not nature.

God rest you Maggie for the courage of your convictions alone, if we had another Maggie regardless of politics I think we would ALL be better off.

Edited April 13, 201313 yr by Malcolm Robinson

if we had another Maggie regardless of politics I think we would ALL be better off.

Bet this fella does'nt agree.

Bet this fella does'nt agree.

Yes I remember that day well. I was helping put up food parcels for those who needed it, as he was chauffeured away apparently.

Bet this fella does'nt agree.

Did not know that Uncle Arthur ever went to Bedlington Miners Picnic, Learn something new everyday.

Bet this fella does'nt agree.

Well he is conspicuous by his silence is he not.

I actually, honestly thought Scargill had died!!! (Did he have a stroke or something?)

Excellent post Cyril.

Yes I remember that day well. I was helping put up food parcels for those who needed it, as he was chauffeured away apparently.

In retrospect I apologise for my poor attempt at belittling him or the topic.

We respect others viewpoints even if we disagree in principle. Sometimes we act hastily.

A well argued opinion is valued.

Bob Dylan sang

'You are right from your side and I am right from mine.

It's just one to many mornings and a thousand miles behind.

I wasn't around the NE when Maggie was doing her dastardly deeds (but I did see some of the striking miners when I travelled on the motorway coach to London) but having read some of the views of what happened I'm not sure what her objectives were! Yes the unions were getting too big and powerful which was not the intent of forming unions! Yes the coal mines were heavily subsidised but were producing a usable, saleable product, but to close the mines and pay the workers to stay home, collect benefits and pay no taxes and have no saleable product seems to be short sighted. Yes she broke the unions who went back to doing what they were supposed to do, looking after the working conditions, rights and benefits etc, (not run the country) I was a member of the EETUPTU when it was run by the communist party! (best wages ever!) Now you have half the country working to pay the other half not to work!

Subsidizing work is a very debateable point! foreign countries see it as being unfair competition, locally it stimulates work and the economy.

It is a weird thing - regarding respect / disrespect of Margaret Thatcher's demise, because I have never known so much hatred towards a British PM. What do outsiders make of all this. Someone in another country is seeing people in England celebrating her death; they see people having street parties. Doesn't this tell you something about how a vast amount of people, here, feel towards this woman. She was our prime Minister and yet she was / is loathed by many. How the **** did she ever last three terms? What happened to democracy? If the people hated her so much then how did she last so long? It eventually took her own party members to get rid of her but her legacy rolls on with the present government. It just makes you wonder why we vote at all. Labour is a waste of time, thanks to Gordo, so who else is there to vote for? No one. The term a rock and a hard place springs to mind.

Edited April 13, 201313 yr by keith lockey

What happened to democracy? If the people hated her so much then how did she last so long?

It was democracy that kept her there for so long. She won 3 general elections, unlike the present lot.