Mrs Thatcher has died

[Workingman]

Clearly no entrepreneurs in pit lands then?

Entrepreneurs? Course there were entrepreneurs, every man wi a pick were an entrepreneur. The' were so thick on't groun' there weren't room fer a pot t'piss in.

No! What there were were tens of thousands of men who knew what a hard day's graft was. They earned their money from digging up the Earth's latent energy so that millions of others could also make a living. They were not takers, they were providers. Then one day someone turned the lights out, and even worse, stole the light bulbs as well.

I admired Maggie for many of the things that she did, but not that, not the way it was done.

[KateLMead]

Well she is going to have a good send off, the behaviour of those lefties leaves a lot to be desired, and makes one imagine what the country would be like if Miliband ever gets into power...I cannot invisage B'Liar being accorded the same respect when and if he kicks the bucket...Wonderful that our Queen and Prince Philip will be attending her funeral. God Bless Maggie Thatcher, and God Save our wonderful Queen.

[cromwell]

I heard an item on Radio 4 this morning interviewing people in an historic, defunct mining village after pit closures where the miners who defied the strike and those who did strike still drink in different bar areas in the same village pub. After all these years?

Yes, after all these years. The strike was a very bitter thing Fugi; people went without pay for a year. Many regarded it as a badge of honour not to givein until the end. For some miners who were driven back before the end of the strike, in some cases only a couple of weeks before the end of the strike, the consequences in terms of human relationships could be grim. Lifelong friendships broke up, "scabs" had slogans daubed on their houses and were abused in the street.
Some ex-pit villages only ever existed because the pit was there. When the pit went all the money went too. Some of them now are bleak in the extreme. No work and riddled with drugs and crime.

[victor]

£8,000,000 ? for a funeral? that is totally out of order

[debih]

I don't believe a word the papers say.

How can they know that it is going to cost £8 million.

Pluck a figure out of the sky and print it keep their stories going more like!

[TheOstrich]

Sorry, I had little sympathy for the miners back then, and that's a view that endures even today. The vivid memory of two coach-loads of Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire miners touring the Birmingham city centre at the height of the blackouts, jeering at office workers on the street (including myself) has had a rather lasting effect on me, I'm afraid.

Scargill (and others of his ilk like Derek Robinson at British Leyland) effectively waged war on this country, and I'm glad they were categorically defeated.

As for Margaret Thatcher, she had good points and bad points; her legacy is that she shaped and moulded this country in many different areas. Whether this country has, thanks to her legacy, morphed into a good thing or a bad thing is a very debatable point.

[KateLMead]

My son was attacked by miners when he was delivering goods, his wind screen was smashed and he was badly cut with the glass I think the mob would have killed him had they got him out of the lorry..
He drove straight for the mob who were blocking his path
and hit one of the miners, he was taken to court and the mob won.. My Uncle a staunch Trade Unionist and a shop steward and a Communist to boot after 30 years resigned in disgust..

[Aggers]

There can be no doubt that she was one of the best Prime Ministers this country has ever had, although one can understand that opinions of her will differ. I was pleased to see that Vocal Voices members did not resort to some of the obnoxious comments that have appeared elsewhere.

She deserve to have an appropriate funeral. As well as being an excellent and fearless leader, she did so much to further the cause of equality for women.

RIP Margaret.

[pederito1]

A little bit tougher and she could have been known as a Steel Lady Probably the only PM in recent times worthy of the title, a true leader unlike the other useless lot including the present incumbent.

[Rodo]

I was glad to see that the Queen is going to the funeral.

On the subject of the riots, many of the people taking part were quite obviously not even born when she was Prime Minister. They were probably just the usual rent-a-mob who will join in any riot regardless.