I took this picture of the town hall clock tower not because it was special but because the sky was blue. Read that again - BLUE! Yes indeed for much of the day the sun shone and made us smile, well not the lass in Tesco's obviously. Last time she smiled she was off sick for a week. The sun has made the tower a bit brighter than it was in real life, the clock handles ought to be 'golder' in colour, but my laptop does not enable that to show sadly. However the blue is what I want to see, and lots of it. The golden creature on the top, just what is that supposed to be, and what is it doing? In a week or two I am going on a private tour, with a hundred others, of this 1926 town hall and may be able to catch a couple of pictures. It is very noble inside, with interesting murals and doors, staircases and such like. A reflection of town pride and the pride of the man who paid for it so generously. Of course paying a shilling a week more to his workers might have created a better society but he didn't think of that.
The town hall stands where the town market once stood. Jokes about cattle and Councillor's can be inserted here. To the modern mind, who often complain about lack of car park spaces, the idea that cattle, sheep, pigs and the like could be driven through the streets a mere ninety odd years is outlandish. Yet the market square would buzz with the farmers selling their wares and drinking their health in 'The Bull' and other watering houses. People on strike for that extra shilling that built the town hall also gathered around here because they felt they were treated in similar fashion to the beasts. They had a point! before the Great War strikes were common. In the year 1912 the railways, the builders, many major industries were all on strike. Conditions were awful in many places, train drivers and their firemen often driving for the whole day and then forced to do another journey after that. Long hours, short pay, easy sackings, no compensation. Life was tough for many in those days. Then came the war! Well that's a relief, that helped sort the industrial troubles, apart from the strikes obviously. Did you know women munitions workers could make a pound a week working a twelve hour shift? No wonder they took to lipstick, cigarettes and local pubs! Soldiers got one shilling and twopence a day basic, that's eight shillings a week at twenty shillings to the pound!
We still treat soldiers badly. The pay is better, some after care has improved, but the failure of the private company to recruit and train sufficient security staff for the Olympics has meant a further several thousand troops must be brought in for security duties. Three million unemployed, many in the London region, yet they have several thousand staff short? This organisation lacks a wee bit of organisation I think. There again after having received £280 million to provide a service and offer the minimum wage for hard conditions I suspect I can see where their problem may lie.
It is fifty years ago today that the Rolling Stones made their debut at the Marque Club in Soho. While the line up was to change somewhat in the days following before the 'famous five' pictured above became famous, that's how it is with musicians, nevertheless that was the first time this band performed. Fifty years ago? Some of these boys now touch 70, who would have thunk it? One of the great rock and roll Rhythm and Blues bands of our time. This is one of the tracks all aspiring Rhythm and Blues bands played in those days:-
'Scuse me while I reminisce....
