The Unorthodox Website Blog

Today was the last day of my working life. It didn’t come as a great shock as I made my decision over a year ago, and it was a phased retirement. Starting 6 months ago I’d been gradually reducing my working week till I was only in one or two days a week.

I can’t say I’m sorry or sad. I’ve not been happy with my job, or my place of employment, for years. In fact things have just gotten worse and worse as time has gone on.

First my chosen career, that of Telex Operator, went down the drain, overtaken by newer technologies such as fax and email. This meant I was no longer using any of my keyboard skills. Then I was given work to do on the phone system, for which I showed neither any interest nor aptitude. The fact that training was totally inadequate did not help.

 MaryJean was unable to appear, but Wee Willie Harris stepped in to headline and put on a great show, dressed in his famous red drape with his name on the back. Other artists performing were Corliss Randall from New Orleans, Rockin’ Gerry Champion, Pete Baxter, John Hills, Ralph Edwards, Jaron and his brother Rolen, and other musicians.

 The great thing was how everybody enjoyed it and said what a fantastic night it was.

This is the title of a series of programs BBC TV is screening. The first one last night concentrated on Jimi Hendrix. Whilst it had some interesting clips, not least of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Richard, it is absolutely ludicrous to describe Hendrix as being in the first Age of Rock.

By my reckoning he is way, way back in the 5th Age of Rock. The first being the Louis Jordan/Sticks McGee/Fats Domino/Ike Turner era of the late 1940s/early 1950s. The second being the peak of popularity of rock’n'roll/rockabilly with white and black performers of the music, which swept the world. People like Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Eddie Cochran, etc. The third (best forgotten) Age of Rock was when the Establishment tried to tone it down and make it more ’acceptable’ with what Jerry Lee refers to as the ‘flock of Bobbies’ – Bobby Vee, Bonny Vinton, Fabian and all those other squeaky clean, good looking All-American boys.

I was way up at the back of the balcony for this, and despite the microphones and my hearing aid turned up to full volume, I had difficulty hearing the proceedings.

However it was most interesting to see how Colin and Tony work before a ‘live’ audience. With TV you are never sure what has been edited out. Having seen them ‘live’ I can confirm they are very accurate with their messages, just occasionally the wrong person will initially ‘claim’ the message. Since there were probably thousands in the Fairfield Halls, this is understandable. Must be very difficult to work under such conditions.

The very first message Colin gave seemed to apply to me, but nobody could see my hand up way at the back of the balcony (I hesitated so was a bit late putting my hand up).

The Labor Party has had some dreadful rightwing leaders, but Tony Blair is by far the worst. He never seemed to belong to the Party – an out and out Thatcherite Tory who somehow infiltrated the labor movement. Socialism is totally alien to the man.

Most people say his legacy as Prime Minister will be the illegal Iraq war, which Blair took us into based on lies to please his friend, the rightwing idiotic President George W. Bush. This is certainly true, but the other legacy, that of the Blair Labor Party leadership, was the elimination of Clause IV of the Labor Party’s Constitution.

Part 4 of this Clause was printed on every Labor Party membership card, and read as follows:

‘To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.’

This was the basic Constitution of a Marxist Party, who’s basis was Marxist Socialism, who’s anthem and symbol was the Marxist ‘Red Flag’. It is the Labor Party which I joined, and subsequently left for the Communist Party when I realized Harold Wilson and other Labor leaders had no intention of establishing Socialism in  Britain.

Yesterday I took my mum to Bounds Green, where we lived 50 years ago. I actually knocked on the door of an old schoolfriend in Whittington Road, and met his mother, who still lives there. She put me in touch with Peter, my schoolfriend who is now a lorry driver living in Walthamstow. I’m inviting him to my Retirement Party, but unfortunately his wife said they’ll be away on holiday. Never mind, perhaps we can meet up some other time. Over 40 years since I last saw him.

 The area around Bounds Green/Bowes Park hadn’t changed that much, but seemed totally different to my mother and I. All the familiar shops in Myddelton Road had long gone, save for one Gents outfitters which had obviously been there for years, but which I didn’t remember. Bowes Park station wooden footbridge had long been demolished.