Been busily trying to avoid singing, "Ding dong, the witch is dead" on the grounds it is (a) bad taste in general and (b) offensive to pagans to call Thatcher a witch.
On the other hand, such a catchy song, and once you see people posting links to it, or just that particular line ...
JD ~~ Thanks for the link - it's an excellent piece.
Towards the end of it he wrote:She has died having already been out of office for twice as long as she was in. People have already voted in a General Election who were not born when she left.
That's something I hadn't quite appreciated, so deep was the feeling I held against her policies that it has remained clear and strong over all these years....Yet other PMs, good and not so good, have come and gone with hardly any memories left in my mem-bank. She left a mark for sure. :-(
What has surprised me is the injunction by her supporters to desist from criticism of her regime: both impossible and unlikely regarding any political figure IMO. Analysis of her chart by many astrologers has highlighted her ability to divide (and conquer?!) and it appears she will continue to generate extreme reactions on either end of the political spectrum. One point missing from much of the discussion is the fact that she was not a dictator and did not act alone nor was she unsupported. The entire planet is still in the throes of the handiwork she and Reagan instigated. Personally, it was Ian Jacks' piece in Granta 25 years ago that broke this camel's back. Reprised here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/mar/08/northernireland
She didn't act alone, of course, but she certainly came over as more dictatorial than most other PM's I recall. I used to get the impression that, in her mid-years as PM, her cabinet members were afraid of her.
Thanks for the link. Those were dark times indeed. I read another Guardian link today, too
Commenters to that piece are still bitterly divided today - I had to stop reading their words. Living through it all back then (and with a companion who was born in NI was enough!)
Been busily trying to avoid singing, "Ding dong, the witch is dead" on the grounds it is (a) bad taste in general and (b) offensive to pagans to call Thatcher a witch.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, such a catchy song, and once you see people posting links to it, or just that particular line ...
Vanilla Rose - Quite so!
ReplyDeleteWe might just sing in a whisper.....
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low Let them know....
;-)
"Within 48 hours of the former Prime Minister’s death, the song has entered the official UK chart at number 10."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-closer-to-number-one-spot-as-it-reaches-midweek-top-ten-following-margaret-thatchers-death-8566042.html
Anonymous ~~ Goody! :-)
ReplyDeleteWonder if it'll make Number One by the weekend? That'd be a turn up for the books!
David Lindsay sums her up perfectly with this line-
ReplyDelete"the middle classes were transformed from people like her father into people like her son."
http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/get-over-her.html
JD ~~ Thanks for the link - it's an excellent piece.
ReplyDeleteTowards the end of it he wrote:She has died having already been out of office for twice as long as she was in. People have already voted in a General Election who were not born when she left.
That's something I hadn't quite appreciated, so deep was the feeling I held against her policies that it has remained clear and strong over all these years....Yet other PMs, good and not so good, have come and gone with hardly any memories left in my mem-bank. She left a mark for sure. :-(
What has surprised me is the injunction by her supporters to desist from criticism of her regime: both impossible and unlikely regarding any political figure IMO. Analysis of her chart by many astrologers has highlighted her ability to divide (and conquer?!) and it appears she will continue to generate extreme reactions on either end of the political spectrum. One point missing from much of the discussion is the fact that she was not a dictator and did not act alone nor was she unsupported.
ReplyDeleteThe entire planet is still in the throes of the handiwork she and Reagan instigated. Personally, it was Ian Jacks' piece in Granta 25 years ago that broke this camel's back. Reprised here -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/mar/08/northernireland
Anonymous (@11.38 AM)
ReplyDeleteShe didn't act alone, of course, but she certainly came over as more dictatorial than most other PM's I recall. I used to get the impression that, in her mid-years as PM, her cabinet members were afraid of her.
Thanks for the link. Those were dark times indeed. I read another Guardian link today, too
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/09/thatcher-legacy-bitterness-north-ireland
Commenters to that piece are still bitterly divided today - I had to stop reading their words. Living through it all back then (and with a companion who was born in NI was enough!)
Like you, I preferred not to comment, but found it hard. (Well, you know me!)
ReplyDelete;-)
RJ Adams ~~~ Well, at least we didn't hold a party and dance in the streets RJ - that's restraint ain't it?
ReplyDelete