Politicising Remembrance - Nothing is Sacred
In our borough of Lambeth nothing is sacred any more. Some of our Labour masters have now applied their rule book to even the most innocent of activities, such as laying wreathes on Remembrance Sunday. The 'Dear Leader' has decreed that at least one Comrade must attend every remembrance service and lay his or own wreath inscribed "from the administration." It seems that the cross party spirit of the Cenotaph no longer travels south of the river into our community.
But, first some advice about the process. The administration Whip must ensure next year that his disciples are sent to the right places, especially to remote places far, far, away such as Gipsy Hill and Thurlow Park. It is also better to lay wreathes with red poppies not white, as some veterans feel strongly about the dangers of pacifism and appeasement
Next, however, the Whip's highly-paid ambassadors need training in when to stand up and sit down in church since some of them are not believers. They also require mandatory A-Z Guides to find their way to places that have never seen Labour councillors in over a decade, such as the Peabody Estate. In these 'no go zones' for Labour it is not always possible to rely on the natives being friendly. Some of them have long memories of how their communities were always by-passed when resources were devoted to Brixton for the 30 years up to 2002.
It was also remarkable how some of these new envoys wanted to scurry away home to Brixton and Clapham without even saying hello to the locals. Perhaps they sense there was less than a warm welcome for people who in previous years had never shown their faces in Norwood on Remembrance Sunday. I stood by as a local man removed the card on which was written 'from the Administration' and put it in the nearest rubbish bin.' To those who we remembered there is no longer any politics, and for those of us who remember them, perhaps that is a good thing.
But, first some advice about the process. The administration Whip must ensure next year that his disciples are sent to the right places, especially to remote places far, far, away such as Gipsy Hill and Thurlow Park. It is also better to lay wreathes with red poppies not white, as some veterans feel strongly about the dangers of pacifism and appeasement
Next, however, the Whip's highly-paid ambassadors need training in when to stand up and sit down in church since some of them are not believers. They also require mandatory A-Z Guides to find their way to places that have never seen Labour councillors in over a decade, such as the Peabody Estate. In these 'no go zones' for Labour it is not always possible to rely on the natives being friendly. Some of them have long memories of how their communities were always by-passed when resources were devoted to Brixton for the 30 years up to 2002.
It was also remarkable how some of these new envoys wanted to scurry away home to Brixton and Clapham without even saying hello to the locals. Perhaps they sense there was less than a warm welcome for people who in previous years had never shown their faces in Norwood on Remembrance Sunday. I stood by as a local man removed the card on which was written 'from the Administration' and put it in the nearest rubbish bin.' To those who we remembered there is no longer any politics, and for those of us who remember them, perhaps that is a good thing.
posted by Cllr John Whelan on Tuesday, November 14, 2006
1 Comments:
I have asked around when the practice of allowing each party to lay a wreath at each of the ceromonies across the Borough started. The answer - it occured during the time when you were Deputy Leader of the Council. In a sense your right, it is quite wrong for there to be three municipal wreaths at each ceremony. But why did you not speak up earlier and why did you intoduce it in the first place?
Reg, Brixton
By
Anonymous on 10:20 PM, January 04, 2007
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home