Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms 'Meet the Rees-Moggs'

Oh god, I hate all this political stuff BUT …as someone who has been around many years, I have experienced life under many PM’s and governments. Politics brings out such strong divisions in people. People become tribal, polarised and sometimes unpleasant. If someone says I like Trump, JRM or say Starmer, I never extrapolate that to ‘I know what they must be like or think in general’. I don’t judge people, I accept we all have views which may or may not reflect mine. Freedom of speech is a right for all of us and this non criminal hate crime nonsense worries me.

My daughter was at an event yesterday with Sir Keir Starmer , no doubt highly choreographed but I look forward to hearing what she thought of him and his entourage .
I have a friend whose daughter works in government She worked for a well known but probably unliked by the public minister and the insights are the opposite of what I might have believed. Hence don’t judge on simplistic or visual things . She has now moved to another party’s minister and she hates occasionally being a “‘runner for dresses” !

Perhaps Politicians have always been the same, even 60 years ago but today I’m unsure if it is the 24/7 rolling news and media that sets the agenda. In the old days PMs were heralded, rarely seen and decisions seemed to be thought out, not made on the hoof, let alone discussed on social media.
Best from MM
PS I used to drive my car and my first Morgan into Downing Street …..you could spin round, say hi to the Bobby and drive off.
This was often after a night out. Things have changed somewhat . Anyone else remember doing that in the late 60s early 70s ?

Yep, my now wife was at Trinity College of Music in Mandeville Place just north of Bond Street London. On Wednesdays I used to drive there, park outside and go to meet her. Sometimes I would go to a lecture. There was no security that we see these days.

I remember once being in London as a kid and walking up Downing Street. Now it's more like a film set. Well I suppose it is a film set. As a Northerner, walking around the big landmarks always seems surreal. I used to enjoy that on my working days in London, but it was always a relief as we pulled out of Kings Cross.

When we had to go to COBR briefings we bypassed Downing Street by going underground my wife worked for the Foreign Office and has some interesting tales too.

I'm sure the televising of Parliament and from time to time their inappropriate reactions, the often petty political points scoring did nothing to improve the standing of MP's. Often made worse by 24/7 rolling news and media coverage making it far more visible to the general public. People seeing how Parliament really worked, did it and the MP's no favours regarding their standing with the electorate....for example in a debate the number of times basically the same question would be asked having been previously answer,ed by different MP's to just get their question recorded in Hansards is pathetic.

DaveW , I’m sure it was Euston that took you back to Gods County of Lancashire !!! My & some friends parents would have been locked up now,(re Kirsty and her 15 year old), as they used to let us, at probably 13 years of age get an overnight train
( or very late). to London to Trainspot. We were armed with the Ian Allan shed guide, and that told you ways into the various BR engine sheds. Yes trespassing Trainspotting ! The Roundhouse housed wonderful Coronation, Jubille uclass locos, South London Battle of Britain and Old Oak Common, Castle and County engines.
We always carried a letter from parents to give to a policeman saying we had their permission to be in London ! It’s been funny visiting the Roundhouse in later life for music but I will always remember the sights, sounds and smalls of the engines.

Whilst Lancashire is still ‘home’ I became a Kings Road type of guy with a Morgan - I recently saw a Morgan brochure that features a ‘burgundy coloured (?) one on the Kings Road.
Gosh the 70s were so much fun and now I’m 70 plus, I want to relive those days but in the country with my plus 8 or a new Morgan. Hopefully just as much fun !? Turn of the tv, turn off politics and hide away from the rat race.
Best from MM
PS Don’t you think Steam appreciation is very much like Morgan appreciation ? Perhaps you have to be old but young at heart

Not Euston Mike, and not Lancashire!!!!!. The East Coast main line from Kings Cross through Doncaster can get me home in a shade over 2 hours. St Pancras to Sheffield is nowheree near as fast. Euston goes too far west and to Birmingham.

Most of my family were railwaymen, and most were LNER, although one ended up as Stationmaster somewhere in London with an flat overlooking Lords.

My best memories are the annual trip to Bournemouth from Bath over the Somerset & Dorset. Very happy times. It was the Midland Region down to Bath but then a lot of Southern stuff on the S&D.

It surprises me that more Morgan oldies are not into the era of steam. I get my fix mostly from You Tube.

(Thread drift)

Mike

With your comment about Morgan enthusiasts and steam enthusiasts; if you ever find yourself in Devon, make a trip to Berrybrook (just south of Exeter).
They are both Morgan dealers as well as having a significant steam business, (both sales and workshops).

Well worth a visit. They’ve looked after my 4/4 for nearly 20 years.
Very often, when I visit, there will also be an engine in steam.

Fantastic

Bud
4/4 - Stanley

I'll second Simon's comments. Have seen some splendid steam engines of various scales

Mike,

The world is unfortunately not egalitarian its full of haves and have nots and the politics of division and jealousy seem to thrive in such environments. In the UK without question we have a better standard of living, and support infrastructure than eg those people living in war torn parts of the world or in areas of rising desertification or threatened to be engulfed by rising sea levels.

Yet we don't count our blessings and instead indulge ourselves in the politics of division and jealousy, a simple example the current attack on Public schools and charging of VAT. An objective individual might say thank you to the parents of such children, as not only have they paid for their child's education saving the state having to fund it, but also through their taxes contributed to the education of others. By also reducing the size of the funded state educated population they have also made the finite state funds available go further on a smaller state school population, Of course this also further ignores the contribution that private sector a makes to the education of special needs children. But no IMHO the politics of jealousy and political dogma currently takes centre stage.

It becomes worse when one looks at the 'right to buy' your council house, the advocate of change of this policy, a fierce opponent of it has taken advantage of it and profited from it.....yet they are preparing to deny others that same opportunity. An objective person may point out, the only thing that changed under the right to buy policy was the ownership of the house, it didn't disappear from the housing stock and someone is still living in it. Where the current failure IMHO is in not building replacement social housing.

I only tend to make a contrary political view point, often pointing out other political party failings/failures, when I see others attacking a differing point of view to themselves. I know its a little pathetic, but I've yet to find any political party that has a proven track record of delivering equality for all, with a few exceptions like the 1870 and 1944 Education Acts and the 1946 NHS Act.

I understand there are many people in this world who are better off then myself and I say good luck to them. There are also many people who are far worse off than myself and I say what can we do to create the opportunities for them to prosper. I don't subscribe to trying to drag those better off than myself down, however I do subscribe to them needing to bear a greater contribution of providing for others less fortunate than themselves, but not at the risk of killing the goose that lays the golden egg. . I wouldn't attack the very fabric of the infrastructure than can create the opportunities to better one self, on some cross of political dogma and often seemingly jealousy and creating division driven.

It's a very unfair world, but which is the better way forward, dragging everyone down or trying to lift everyone up, I subscribe to lifting everyone up.