Ealing North
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Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
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Those who really make the difference June 2003 For over a year Dave South and I were as close as two men can be without being fashionable. He was one of the Mayoral drivers during the time that I wore the chain and we held no secrets from each other. As he still owns a number of tapes of our conversations in the limousine I am anxious never to offend him but I did feel a little hurt when he swept past me in Greenford last Saturday without even a nod of the head. Mind you, the fact that I was wielding a street cleaner’s shovel and wearing a reflective jacket while I cleaned up the gullies at the side of the road may have confused Dave. Plying the road sweepers trade may confer certain anonymity, but it does not fool everyone. Carmel Farrell collapsed over the steering wheel in a fit of the giggles at my pathetic attempts to shovel and sweep. Nikki Drury actually pulled over and asked if she had missed the General Election, and was this the best job I could find now that I’d lost my seat. The truth, as ever, was not quite as dramatic. A young friend of mine from Scouts, Scott Campbell, is one of the rising stars at McDonald’s. Having proved his worth at their premises on the Target Roundabout he was now making his mark at Westway Cross. He had the brilliant idea of a litterpick around the shopping centre and into Paradise Fields and the area that lies at the foot of the towering Horsenden Hill. Scott, and his colleague Dave Leys and the boss, John King, had persuaded the 3rd.and the 4th.Northolt Scouts to take part and also roped in Graham Bartlett and the mighty Larkspur Rovers under eights football team. To lend a little maturity and gravitas to the occasion I had been told to report in jeans and an old Fulham top. This did not please another old friend who was present on the day. “Bing” Bingley loudly opined that I should be suited and booted with – at least – a tie on. As I get to avoid wearing a tie about six times a year (excluding showers) I rather resented this. I resented it even more when I was paired off with Bing as the lead shovel and broom team. Bing may be a retired postman with a few years on me but he was a demon with the broom. I trailed, gasping, in his wake until rescued by the 4th.Northolt. All in all, though, it was an excellent morning’s work. It was wonderfully satisfying to have actually achieved something, and an emotion that few politicians feel. That my achievement was measured in several boxes of fag ends, litter, dirt and weeds is neither here nor there. It was a job well done, and the world – or at least a part of Greenford – was the better place for our efforts. I may never forgive Dave South for not recognising me, but as long as he holds those tapes I will never criticise the great man. It does make you think, though. How often do we see the job and not the person? I’ll always look at the highway heroes in a different light in the future. When the blisters subside that thought will be my abiding memory – and my thanks to Scott and the team for a good job well done. |
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| Disclaimer | Copyright | Designed by Bassam Mahfouz. Promoted by Julian Bell, The Labour Party, Ruskin Hall, 16 Church Road, W3 8PP on behalf of Steve Pound MP |
