Recession - lite for some

It’s not all gloom.

One Welsh industry is booming because of the coming recession. Supermarkets shoppers have recently moved to buying their tomato soups in attractive sachets. Flushed with cash they are tempting impulse buys.

Now the recession-sensitive shoppers are checking the prices of the tins, which are about a third of the price of the over-packaged sachets. It’s great news for the Welsh Tinplate industry which ahs been having a lean time lately.

Admiral insurance is opening a new office to employ 500 new staff next week. Other firms are booming. A new Welsh body set up by WAG this week brought together industry, business and unions into a team to shield us from the worst of the recession.

It’s worthy initiative that strives to keep our recession a shallow one.

Ymlaen Cymru.

Jim Waggett 1922 -2008

On a pavement in South Africa in the early forties a British soldier saw a pregnant women walking towards him. She stepped off the pavement to give way to him which was what she had to do. She fell into the road. The soldier ran to help her. A voice barked at him ’Leave her on the ground.” It was a white South African policeman who was pointing a gun at the soldier. 

The soldier protested that the woman was pregnant and continued to pull her to her feet. ‘If you don’t stop that’ barked the policeman ‘I’ll shoot you dead.’ That was Jim Waggett’s unforgettable brush with Apartheid. His son Geoff said that it was only recently that he learned why his father hated apartheid so much.

Geoff lovingly recalled his father’s distinguished life as a soldier, a church deacon at St Cadoc's Caerleon, a father and a politician. It’s the small things that evoked sweet memories, Jeff recalled, like the treat of  ‘lemonade and crisps at the Greyhound Inn at Christchurch ‘ and the ‘bedtime stories that Jim made up.’

Corruption
Twice Jim served as Chairman of the fondly remembered Caerleon Council, now absorbed into Newport City Council.  Jim was the father figure of Labour in Caerleon and transformed a nominally Tory area into a safe Labour haven for decades. His son recalled the days of soft corruption in south Wales politics that are happily gone and did not infect councillors of integrity like Jim.  A well known personality in the life of Caerleon approached Jim with a request to sign a shoal of planning papers. The promise was that 'They'll be a house in it for you.' Jim sent him packing.

As a trade union leader in one Civil Service Union he led the first strike ever in the DHSS office in Newport with the help of the secretary of another civil service union who is now my wife.

His funeral today as St Cadoc’s was a proud occasion. Hundreds of his friends recalled his full rich life with appreciation and gratitude.

Newport People First

Pictures of the first visit of this group to Parliament. They are pictured after a lively question and answer session in Portcullis House.

Comments

[M Rogers]

I only knew Jim in the 1970s via the local party but he was a solid and decent chap who always thought of others and what he could offer.
What would he think of the state of things now?

[Paul Flynn]

Dear Geoff,

Please forgive my hijacking of my husbands email. It was lovely to be reminded of your Dad.

Jim was my supervisor when I first worked at the DHSS in SovereignHouse. I was a stroppy but idealistic teenager - foolish enough to take on the chairing of the Civil Public Servants Association at the office. Jim was a grade higher than I and was a strong voice in the Civil Service Union. Bearing in mind that this was during the early 70s and we were at war with Sir Keith Joseph, I almost certainly owed my job to the fact that I had a wonderful and protective supervisor. They tried to get rid of me later, but thats another story.

Anyway, I just wanted to say he spoke of you a lot and was very proud of your work in the Church and in politics.

Best wishes,

Sam Flynn.

M.P.Newport West,
A.S.Casnewydd,

01633 262 348/ 0788 792 5699/ 020 7219 3478

Twitter: @paulflynnmp

www.paulflynnmp.co.uk

Blog: paulflynnmp.co.uk

[Paul Flynn]

Delighted that you read the tribute even though its nine years late.
Bycoincidence I blogged one today about a close friend and a fellow clergman of yours.. I have not published his name because the family have yet to publish it. It is no secret as everyone knows but you cannot be too careful.

Very best wishes,

Paul
M.P.Newport West,
A.S.Casnewydd,

[Geoff waggett]

After all these years I have just come across this, I'd like to thank you for such a lovely blog and kind words about dad.
Geoff Waggett

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks Jolly Roger. I'd be happy to try living on your income which I presume is basic pension plus. That's £90 a week plus???

I live frugally and my needs are modest. The difficulty - possibly - impossibility is accounting for things like accommodation and transport when I have no bills for paying for items bought years ago. Dividing up the fuel bills would be artificial.

When Matthew Parris did this about 25 years ago, he had a team of people from a TV company calculating the bills.
I do not think it's practical unless some body is willing to make the calculations and the judgements at the ened.

[Jolly Roger]

As I'm permanently out of the loop,
I'd describe myself as a Mug in a Soup,
With my doubled tax and inflation too,
I'm puzzled as to what I should actually do.
I shop most carefully and I can tell you,
That packet soup's cheaper, my dear fellow.
Tesco's Value, that's for me.
None of your Organic muck for my tea.

Presumably, you've no idea,
Of the pensioner's plight, right by here.
Organic bloody Soup, my arse!
Not on my money, it's too damned sparse.
And before I get somewhat over-heated,
Here's the challenge, oft-times repeated.
Step right up, Paul, me old honey,
You try living a month on my money.