Farage in the wings

 I really don't understand how you can be working class and support right wing politics. My parents were hard working working class people. In the 1970's they brought the Daily Mirror. I am pretty sure my mother voted Liberal. She would tell me with great affection about her father, who was a Tory but was the head of some trade union or other.

There was a sea change in the house hold when Thatch took over and started selling of the silverware to pay for her mad economic plans. That was the right to buy your vote...I mean council house. As soon as that happened she was Tory through and through. Cut her in half she would have died instantly and bled all over the floor. On examining the remains post mortem she would have had TORY tattooed through her marrow. Which meant my mum ditched the Mirror and brought THE DAILY MAIL!

The toxic true blue news spunk that pored into my mums brain slowly turned her into a bitter woman. Although I must say "Peanuts" the Schulz cartoon was 10 out of 10. I loved it, Schultz inspired me to become an artist. Which is nice.

Behind the funny beagle the bile spewed. This was a few years after my brothers left the nest. I was 8 and suddenly an only child, soon to be an uncle. 

So what happened to them?

My eldest sibling Heckle was just a opinionated unapologetic Tory. Born one. I think it might have been an eclipse. Tall blond hair, tall, looked like my mums dad, blue eyed little bigot. Then Jeckle who presented himself as a working class lad, to be fair to him, he was. He then adopted a mockerny accent. Started saying "GEEZ" in later life and "BRUV" to people who were not his brother, which was a blessing, because if he said it to me it would have made my blood freeze.

Although we were a working class family we all talked fairly standard Estuary English.

He was definitely waiting in the wings to be charmed by the puffy face City commodities trader. Jeckle was all for the trade unions. I think mainly because they protected him. Although Jeckle was very bright and funny, very handsome. The girls thought he looked like David Cassidy with a little sprinkle of the young David Essex. 

I thought he was great when I was growing up. He was my hero. Unfortunately he had a drinking problem and zero ambition which I think he thought made him some sort of working class hero. Our neighbourhood was full of men.

However. Although he was an advocate of the trade union movement, he was racist and homophobic for certain. Ripe fruit for the snake in the Tree of Post Truth. He wasn't alone. The angst of the area I think bred this poisonous hate and yearning to strike out blaming others for their short comings.

I noticed a real difference when I left the area, when I was dating my girlfriend, now my wife. I visited and later lived in Gravesend. The sense of community was wonderful. Vibrant people. Funny. The Indian culture there was such an eye opener for me. I got to know many more folks there. You'd stop in the streets and have a natter. Neighbours knew each other. Compared to Orpington the Gravesend community were laid back Jamaicans.

The whole vibe from a town that had been born by the river Thames over 1000 years. They had roots! 

I think it's tragic. More needs to be done to bring communities together in that area that's for sure. It won't happen if Reform get in, coz that's where the bastards grow their voters!