On Saturday evening, on my way to Edlington Top Club near Doncaster to do a spot at their strike anniversary commemoration, I saw a sign for Goldthorpe and deliberately drove through what used to be a thriving mining community and is now one of the most devastated places I have ever seen in this divided country. Goldthorpe is the place where the national news filmed former miners burning the effigy of Thatcher on the day of the funeral. Goldthorpe, Edlington, Easington (where I was that day) and many other places like it are full of decent people who wouldnt normally celebrate anyones death but, one year on, wont be making any apologies today for celebrating the death of Thatcher. Remember that speech on the day she was elected in 1979? She quoted St. Francis of Assisi. ‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony; where there is error, may we bring truth; where there is doubt, may we bring faith; and where there is despair, may we bring hope’. Harmony? Orgreave. Truth? Hillsborough. Faith? Wapping. Hope? Goldthorpe. Scars that will take generations to heal, and will only be healed by a government committed to real social justice.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 08:41:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015