68.Friday July 6th – Monday July 9th, 1984.

Keith Smoult, Gary Marshall and myself travelled down to London to attend ‘Marxism 84′ at the University of London.

Keith and myself, along with Yunus Bakhsh were allocated lodgings with a lovely Irish woman called Anne in Holloway (not the prison!) She made us feel very welcome and didn’t complain if we came back late, which we mostly did. Also, we were usually pissed because comrades kept buying us beer. It was a really welcome break from the boredom of Woodside, and I for one learnt a lot.

We attended as many meetings as we could, eager to meet new people and learn loads of things we knew nothing about. The highlights for me were Paul Foot on, ‘From Wilson to Kinnock, The Tragedy and the Farce’, Chris Bambery on ‘Ireland’, Duncan Hallas on ‘The French Revolution’, Ian Birchall on ‘Emile Zola’ (brilliant!), and Tony Cliff on everything!!

Socially it was excellent and it was great to meet up with Ian Mitchell and Steve Hammill again. We had a miner’s fringe meeting where we discussed our fears of a sell out of the strike because of the ‘constructive talks’ taking place between MacGregor and the NUM, and he vapid outpourings of Heathfield, Taylor, McGahey and co. Steve Hammill has drawn up a leaflet that outlines what constitutes a sell out, and what a victory should be, including the divisive Incentive Scheme being scrapped and the average integrated into our basic rate of pay, a minimum 15% pay rise, reinstatement of all sacked miners, retirement at 55, a 4 day week, and no pit closures without consultation. It was just heartening to talk with lads in the same situation as ourselves about positive things instead of the apathy we have to face on a daily basis. We should get together more often!

Keith and me were so broke over the weekend that we had to walk back to Holloway after meetings, and on Sunday had to share a plate of chips between us for dinner. Sheila McGregor noticed, bless her, and gave us £5 each. We celebrated with a takeaway meal and caught the tube back to Holloway instead of walking.

We had to come back on Monday, partly because I am up in court on Wednesda, but also to appease our wives. That’s one thing the three of us do share in common, and iy isn’t getting any better as the strike drags on!

58. Friday June 15th, 1984.

Today we attended a march and rally in Newcastle but it was very disappointing because Paul Foot missed a golden oppertunity to support us.

We left the Armstrong Hall in two double decker buses provided by the TGWU and they were both full, not only with pickets but also the Womens Support Group and children. We assembled at Newcastle Civic Centre and the weather was gorgeous, hot and sunny, and a large crowd was expected. There were Lodge banners from every pit in the North East plus lots of other banners from unions and political organisations. There were also hundreds of new SWP placards with the slogan,’Turn Orgreave into Saltley’ on one side, and ‘Victory to the Miners’ on the other. I was angry to see people ripping off the ‘Socialist Worker’ bit off the top of the placards. Why do these people have to be so childish?

The march was headed by the usual bunch of union bureaucrats and Labour MP’s, followed by the Lodges then the rest behind us. The march was important because it showed the strength of our support to the ordinary people of Newcastle but I was disappointed that at least a one day strike in support hadn’t been called. As we waited for the march to set off I talked to a Northumberland miner about the need to picket Orgreave and steelworks. He surprised me by saying that we shouldn’t picket steelworks because we have no right to put the steelworkers jobs at risk. I explained that the steelworkers had more chance of saving their jobs by supporting us because if we lost it is more than likely that the Tories will close at least one of the steelworks. I also pointed out that we should picket Orgreave because British Steel had reneged on a deal to support the NUM, and if we allowed them to get away with it the Tories would start to move coal stocks from pit yards because they’d be confident. The lad seemed to agree with me and bought a copy of Socialist Worker and promised to argue the same with his mates on the picket line on Monday. This proves that arguments can be won if we take the trouble to have them.

The march set off and we got a great reception from the crowds as the lasses from the Womens Support Group collected with buckets. I was a bit disappointed with the turn out, which was about 10 – 15,000, because we should have attracted at least double that. Gary suggested we should help out with the collecting because the lasses were struggling in the heat.

We entered Leazes Park on the Town Moor and looked for a place to sit. We were knackered and sat down gratefully. One of the pickets came over and told us he’d heard Tommy Wilson and his group were going to beat up anyone selling Socialist Worker. Just then Tommy turned up with one of his lads and asked to have a word with Gary. Gary stood up warily and they moved away a few feet. I heard Wilson threaten to break Gary’s legs for,’Getting that commie bastard gonk Strike off the hook’. Wilson stormed off and Gary returned looking shaken, and who could blame him because Tommy is a real hardcase.We immediately gathered some pickets together and told them what had happened, prepared for a fight if we had to but dreading the prospect. Fortunately nothing happened and we were very relieved when Paul Foot was announced from the stage.

He received a fantastic reception from the crowd, especially the miners because of his revelations about Thatcher and the railworkers. He spoke very well, calling for mass picketing at Orgreave and steelworks. He attacked Kinnock for sitting on the fence and the NUM for having no centralised organisation of picketing. The only thing he didn’t say was that he himself was a member of the SWP and that would have helped pickets like Gary and myself from being abused for selling the paper and being in the party. Like I said, he let us down but he still got a deserved tremendous ovation for his speech.

Mick McGahey followed but was piss poor in comparison and seemed content to mouth slogans like,’No surrender’. Is that why he did a deal with Ravenscraig? he’s living on his past record as a militant but he’s now about as militant as Len Murray!

I did have the opportunity to voice my criticism to Paul Foot himself in the pub afterwards but I didn’t. I wish I had!

Tragically another picket was killed outside Ferrybridge power station and that puts all the other events of today firmly into second place. We can’t give in now because two lads have lost their lives. Nothing is more important in comparison to a life lost.

57. Thursday June 14th, 1984.

This morning’s picket at Woodside was quiet as usual but the pickets themselves were triumphant about what happened yesterday and kept congratulating me. I had to tell them that I had done nothing and it was them who did the hard work. I managed to sell 27 copies of Socialist Worker and pointed out Scargill’s call to picket Orgreave. If we can force the Lodge to reverse decisions then we can also force them to send us to Orgreave.

Paul Foot has caused a real stir in the Daily Mirror by revealing documents which prove that Thatcher told British Rail bosses to make whatever concessions necessary to rail workers to stop a second front opening.I’ve been proudly telling pickets that Paul is a member of the SWP.

28. Sunday April 22nd, 1984.

This morning we went to see Paul Foot give a talk about George Orwell and it was excellent. He recommended ‘Homage to Catalonia’ as Orwell’s best book and I look forward to reading it when this is all over. Strangely enough Kath came along as well and really enjoyed the talk. I say strangely because Kath openly admits to never having enjoyed reading a book. Whatever, I’m glad she enjoyed something political.

We had a great night out with Dave and Jean, Anne and Paul in the Drifter bar. It was nice to just relax and chat with friends. We also had a useful chat with Ian Mitchell’s wife, Mandy, who gave me loads of good advice about fundraising, and she also urged us to set up a Wives Support Group so that wives and girlfriends can get actively involved in the strike because it affects their future just as much as ours. Kath agreed with her but said her job at the Women’s Aid Refuge would mean she couldn’t  get involved. She’s right, but it’s still a good idea.

We checked on the girls then came back to our bungalow. Kath’s just having a quick bath then we’ll turn in.