M.C. Newberry

THATCHER - IN PASSING

by M.C. Newberry

Monday 8th April 2013 5:08 pm

The Lady wasn't always right,

Not all would take her side,

But as we headed into the sight

Of war, we found our pride.

The fifty pound travel allowance we knew

That brought us ridicule

Was forgotten when we claimed the due

Of new found North Sea fuel.

But our once great motor car concerns

Were lost to union attacks;

Red Robbo and others taking turns

To stop them in their tracks.

The miners, led by another man

Of the same political sort

Saw their jobs go down the pan

And their futures come to nought

For by that time the mind was set

The time had come to stand

No further demands could be met

To fill a greedy hand.

Now she is gone and some say good

(They never cease to blame her)

They hate her (well, of course, they would),

And never cease to "name" her.

However, when history makes a note

Of how far this country fell

Before she won the winning vote,

It may show: Didn't she do well!

........................................................................

Thatcher

◄ LIFE'S A RISK!

St. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL - APRIL 17, 2013 ►

Comments

Ged Thompson

Mon 15th Apr 2013 03:27

Firstly after reading the feedback o this, I'm very disappointed that poets are insulting one another. Our aim is to act as social barometers, we will not all be of the same level of calibration as we all dwell in different social climates.

I Try to look at that work and not the persons stance on a matter. As a piece of poetry it is really good. I can see how on such a hot topic there will always be emotion involved and this is part of what we do. Emotion fuels poetry and in doing this the end result is it incites it in others. Such a strong reaction to it is actually a compliment to the writer I believe in a paradoxical way.

The writer gave his opinion and was true to his beliefs and this I respect although my own opinion of Thatcher is lets say it nicely....Well she wasnt someone I'd like to have round for dinner. But saying that, I doubt she'd care very much for me and would probably view me as scum.

He also showed us retrospectively the conditions of the country before her coming to power which we do have to admit where very bad. Hence her popularity in the poles.

People so often blame society, we are society, and when we argue we dissolve society.
I believe that it is possible to take understand another persons view point and treat their opinions with respect without necessarily agreeing with it or taking it as our own.

Maggie was unfortunate enough to never find heart connection, compassion or humility while in power. Rather than hate her I pity her greatly. We all owe a debt which must be paid in this life or the next and that woman carries a heavy debt.

I was a good poem, well done, it fueled debate, your task as a poet is complete MC

Regards

Ged

Kenneth Eaton-Dykes

Sat 13th Apr 2013 11:05

It's sad to see the negative`reaction to Maggies medicine and its side effects on the sick man of Europe.

It would have been (inevitably) administered sooner or later, by what ever party in power.

I saw one grateful ex Miner on TV recently
who is now a Nature Warden, saying, "It's the best thing that could have happened to me"

Chris Co

Fri 12th Apr 2013 19:20

Thatcher's greatest strength was her greatest weakness M.C. She led on her convictions. That made her dynamic - be that dynamically right or dynamically wrong. The poll tax was dynamically wrong like most of her social policies. Politically speaking she lived by the sword and died by the sword. The poll tax is as much hers as anything - she would not have been pushed into anything - both of us should know that truth.

The Lady wasn't always right - to me and many others that could be one of life's greatest understatements. I have to laugh ironically.

Politics aside - you've put your thoughts together well and the poems rolls along quite well. You've always got a very good musicality to your verse. You clearly have a ear for the line.

One thing I do feel quite strongly about, is that people should not be subject to verbal personal abuse on the basis of their political convictions. Debate should always remain on point politically or in this context speak about poetics.

Blogging a poem should result in critique and feedback on the poem and not if at all possible stray into the personal. If people stray beyond they will find themselves in arguments that generate more heat than light.

We can disagree - totally disagree politically even. Though I see your politics as moderate right rather than anything extreme and I'm a left winger. What I wont do is call you a bunch of crap. On that note Mike who I probably politically have much agreement with; needs to apologise to you or leave the discussion - which ever he finds the easier on his conscience.

Best

Chris

M.C. Newberry

Fri 12th Apr 2013 15:31

The poll tax was certainly a source of fierce debate, not to say resentment, not least from the likes of those we witnessed smashing up the place around Trafalgar Square and trying to impale police officers (members of another union, by the way) with metal poles. Recalling Thatcher's stance over the swelling self-importance of the pro-Brussels faction, I retain the suspicion that she was encouraged in its imposition (despite the lesson from an unpopular trial in Scotland) by that clique in her cabinet who saw it as a way to force her out of their way. That much succeeded with her resignation - and we've now got a political dictatorial EU.
DW - why not refrain from abuse and retain some rational view that sees beyond the coal fields? The boon of North sea oil wasn't won by stay at homes in their "communities". What HAS to be regretted is that the government didn't implement a back-up plan to reduce the necessary but hurtful social effects that occurred as the country moved to join and compete with the rest of a rapidly expanding world... to leave behind that mocking but undoubtedly true tag -"The sick man of Europe". Those of us old enough will remember a lot more than the mines from those long-ago days.

<Deleted User> (4172)

Fri 12th Apr 2013 08:44

Of course you'd vote for him - you're a brain-washed, right-wing, fascist tory who's probably done okay for himself on the backs of others. Is your only argument in defence of thatcher her persecution of the unions? What about her destruction of entire community's? The poll tax? Most of our industry? Her ordering of the cover-up for all those innocents whose lives were taken at Hillsborough? The list goes on and on and on. The fact that these debates are going on all around the country and the amount of anger and energy aimed at her just prove the fact that she was hated and her legacy is still being felt today.

Kenneth Eaton-Dykes

Fri 12th Apr 2013 04:01

Hi MC

The Countries finances are a little out of sorts just now. but nothing to equal the mess when greedy union Despotic leaders brought the the country to its knees demanding higher and higher wages. Miners wages were already subsidised from taxes of lesser paid working people. Maggie was a tough nut, but with hindsight I prefer to suffer the consequenses of her period in office. God forbid if the unons had won I shudder to think of the bitter, blinkered, Arthur Scargills and red Robbo's of that era, leading a Mao-ist type march back to the misery of subsistance farming.

Which would eventually, no doubt (after many generations) evolve into a similar restless mess of a Society we enjoy today.

Younger people,some not even born in this period, seem to be the fiercest critics of Thatcher. whilst taking for granted the Welfare State they are most fortunate to have been born in.
I might add some observations in these comments are seemingly made from the limited aspect of tunnel vision,and unable to appreciate the bigger picture.

Half the Worlds population would kill for the opportunity to suffer our level of deprivation,
under the governance of any democratically elected political.party be it labour, Conservative,or Raving Loonies.

I'd vote for you M.C.

<Deleted User> (4172)

Thu 11th Apr 2013 19:42

You are blinkered and boring and i can't be arsed with you and any of your kind anymore, you are the epitome of blind ignorance and SHAME on you.

M.C. Newberry

Thu 11th Apr 2013 17:18

MW...
The problem - and I recall those bitter days
you mention - was an entrenched POV meeting
an entrenched POV. The country had the
last word.

<Deleted User> (4172)

Wed 10th Apr 2013 18:10

After the Hillsborough revelations she should have died in jail. You seem to forget how she and her policies destroyed entire communities, as well as creating an 'I'm alright, Jack' culture, but as long as you did alright M C, fuck everyone else. I find your poem, mawkish and terribly naïve, but i'm sure your friends on here will love it.

M.C. Newberry

Wed 10th Apr 2013 13:04

No one doubts the individual hardships that the huge industrial changes caused but there is nothing new under the sun in the area of human aspiration and disappointment. In a world that was rapidly evolving - with emerging countries possessing literally billions of cheap labour on wages we could never match, it would have been remiss of the UK government not to recognise the reality and the threat, and adapt our economy accordingly. It is no accident that despite the virtual disappearance of coal (if it was so viable, where was the private investment that found its way into power and utilities?), and our former glories of ship-building and steel (ditto - re.private investment), our inventive genius and merchant venturer skills have ensured that our economy has survived - even to the extent of paying billions in benefits! Other countries ally their huge resources to our historical creative reputation and the results can be found across the spectrum of global industrial life. I cannot subscribe to the idea that our society is that bad when, despite all, it can supply more charities, trusts and do-good organisations than any other country and still survive in its own right as a go-ahead centre of invention and investment.

Ian Whiteley

Tue 9th Apr 2013 15:41

tell that to miners and other production workers who had their lives dedstroyed by her policies and stubborn refusal to recognise the 'working' class. Very difficult to look after your family or others when your livelihood is smasshed in front of you. Unfortunately too many people took her literally in 'looking after themselves' at the exclusion of others - I'm happy that you didn't MC - but the majority DID and that's why we have the society we have today.
Ian

M.C. Newberry

Tue 9th Apr 2013 15:28

Maggie Thatcher was vilified for her comment about "society" but how much attention was given when she went on to stress the value and importance of the individual taking control of and responsibility for his or her life. This was mendaciously commented on as "selfishness". Bilge! It is common sense that if you look after yourself and your future, you are in a position to look after OTHERS...a point so conveniently missed by critics. I started work at 16 and now I can help family (and others) because of early sacrifice and foresight. In bygone days, this was expected as a part of wider "family responsibility", something that many in modern times, by their own chosen life-styles, have moved away from, encouraged by the something for nothing culture that has emerged in my adult lifetime.

leonidas

Tue 9th Apr 2013 10:14

At last the Iron Lady's days are over
Shed no tears at her departure
For all the good she did, she left as bad
Don't be mournful, don't be sad
Speak no evil of the dead,
Just remember what she said.
There's no such thing as a community,
The selfish gene seeks its immunity
From the problems of society;
We live in fear of Thatcher's legacy!

<Deleted User> (4172)

Tue 9th Apr 2013 09:41

She did do well, for herself and all of her millionaire friends. I wouldn't be surprised if she's already closed down half of the furnaces in hell and that she'll privatize the others. Still her legacy lives on with Cameron and his cronies still doing her work by trampling on the less fortunate in our society.

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