It was the first day of summer holidays and new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown's third day in office. It was raining.... then the flaming jeep plows into the main terminal at Glasgow Airport and a terrorist attack puts the city on alert. It's a miracle no one was hurt.
For the past year we have been working at Glasgow Airport talking to cleaners who get paid a measly 10 pence above minimum wage. We've been saying to them that they don't work in a safe place anymore and worse, they are the lowest paid airport cleaners in the country. Any one of them could have been working on the footpath where the car hit the other day. Cleaners are so often front line and so often forgotten about. I've been looking at the photos of the attack and thinking - I walk that footpath every week. But somehow, it doesn't feel real, maybe because innocent people were not killed.
And now today we find out that a doctor in Australia has been arrested over the failed terror attempts. Surely this should bring it home to me - that my adopted city and home country are clearly under attack. If only I had my fridge magnet with me...It still doesn't feel real. I don't feel alarmed.
Eeeuuch... Alexander Downer is on BBC Radio 4. One of the pleasures of living here is I don't have to listen to Howard ministers. Downer is blaming Beattie for the Indian born, Liverpool trained recently arrested doctor... I blame Victoria for sending all their retirerees to Queensland puting the health service under pressure.
We've organised a meeting next week with the airport cleaners' bosses. The cleaners are in the union now and we're hopefully going to gain union recognition and a pay increase. They bloody well deserve it!
For the past year we have been working at Glasgow Airport talking to cleaners who get paid a measly 10 pence above minimum wage. We've been saying to them that they don't work in a safe place anymore and worse, they are the lowest paid airport cleaners in the country. Any one of them could have been working on the footpath where the car hit the other day. Cleaners are so often front line and so often forgotten about. I've been looking at the photos of the attack and thinking - I walk that footpath every week. But somehow, it doesn't feel real, maybe because innocent people were not killed.
And now today we find out that a doctor in Australia has been arrested over the failed terror attempts. Surely this should bring it home to me - that my adopted city and home country are clearly under attack. If only I had my fridge magnet with me...It still doesn't feel real. I don't feel alarmed.
Eeeuuch... Alexander Downer is on BBC Radio 4. One of the pleasures of living here is I don't have to listen to Howard ministers. Downer is blaming Beattie for the Indian born, Liverpool trained recently arrested doctor... I blame Victoria for sending all their retirerees to Queensland puting the health service under pressure.
We've organised a meeting next week with the airport cleaners' bosses. The cleaners are in the union now and we're hopefully going to gain union recognition and a pay increase. They bloody well deserve it!
2 comments:
Excuse me - I thought that the terrorists were hurt in the attack (and probably very hurt indeed that they cocked it up so badly...)
djk
er...yes Mr Diamond, you are indeed correct. I will write a hundred times "this blog shall not turn into the Daily Mirror".
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