Do you realise, 2 The E U. One of the most serious, far-reaching, and controversial revolutions was when we joined the European market. A large number of us could never see the reason why, even when people suggested that it would improve trading. If we were producing products that were better than those produced elsewhere,… Continue reading Do you realise, 2, and,3
Author: jp
Do you realise? – 1
Do you realise that you are part of a vast revolution, which has changed, and is still changing the way we live? We are partly responsible, because we are influenced by razzmatazz, spurious advertising, and laziness on our own part. Shopping The corner shop has almost totally ceased to exist in the main conurbations, and… Continue reading Do you realise? – 1
The Northen Ireland Troubles, 8
THE IRISH CONCEPTION OF THE ENGLIS I have already told the story of not being able to buy black market eggs because, with an English accent, I was thought to be the ‘Ministry Man’. An accentless, or near accentless speech was, in my experience generally the trigger for suspicion. I remember when I first joined… Continue reading The Northen Ireland Troubles, 8
The Northern Ireland Troubles, 7
THE SOLDIERS IN BELFAST Any right thinking person had to be sympathetic to the young men who were sent over here, whether they wanted to come or not, to become potential targets for hidden snipers. The result was that they lived as we had in the warships, something which we accepted because times were harder… Continue reading The Northern Ireland Troubles, 7
The Northern Ireland Troubles, 6
The Royal Ulster Constabluary, Part 1 She was married, she was young, she was pretty and she was a clerk, she was also a police woman. What she was not was a threat to anyone, any more than the poor old cleaner of a police station who was also killed just because he was unsuspecting… Continue reading The Northern Ireland Troubles, 6
The Northern Ireland Troubles,5
The Royal Ulster Constabluary, Part 2 At that time I was a member of Fortwilliam Golf Club, and not entirely innocent of drink driving. We, a mixture of Regulars and Reservists, would shoot off in the Land Rover and at the whim of the Sergeant in charge, we would stop, set up a control point,… Continue reading The Northern Ireland Troubles,5
The Northern Ireland Troubles, 4
THE THEFT OF THE DRAWINGSAt the time I was tendering for a large contract, worth enough to bring contractors over from the Mainland to consider pricing. The drawings for the job ran into two rolls of between thirty and forty drawings a roll, and these I permanently kept in the boot of the car so… Continue reading The Northern Ireland Troubles, 4
Northern Ireland Troubles, 3
THE LUDICROUS GIFT I have referred to the ‘liberation’ of articles by the terrorists. One which happened on a contract I was engaged on, took place a day or two before we stopped for Christmas. We had a gang laying pipes down a main road in the City . On the morning men arrived in… Continue reading Northern Ireland Troubles, 3
The Northern Ireland Troubles, 2
THE CASE OF THE FARCE AT THE BARRIER One day in the 70’s I was faced with yet another typically Irish question, equally stupid, but highly charged, It was at the height of the bombing campaign by the IRA. I was telephoned from Head Office to be told that bombs were ‘on all the bridges’.… Continue reading The Northern Ireland Troubles, 2
The Northern Ireland Troubles, 1
ANOTHER IRISH QUESTION In the 40’s, you would have thought Ireland was nearer Australia than Britain for all the majority of the residents of Britain knew about the place and, I’m afraid, I fell squarely into that category too, when I was dispatched there by the Navy in ’42. In fact I knew more about… Continue reading The Northern Ireland Troubles, 1