The great thing about Newsnight was that it provoked all sorts of emails - some written in the cyber equivalent of green ink and some very funny. I received this from Stephen Glenn, who has kindly agreed to me posting it for your delight and delectation...
I thought you might enjoy the following anecdote that my late wife, Anna, used to tell of John Prescott in his National Union of Seamen days. Anna encountered him because she was PA to one Charlie Dreevor, an ex-trawler skipper who was both a director of the Marr trawler company in Hull and the representative of the Hull Trawler Owners' Association who had to deal with Prescott as the NUS rep who was trying to unionise the trawlermen and pursuade the trawler owners to switch to paying wages rather than operate on the share system. This was fiercely opposed by the trawlermen themselves, who -- at least at the time -- were doing far better on a share than they would do on wages and who had little time for Prescott after a rather unfortunate speech he'd given in which he compared their share system with the Cunard stewards' pooling their tips.
Marr's at the time had two reception areas at their main office on the Docks, one of which was reserved for trawlermen. This wasn't snobbishness on their part; the only time you could be sure, apparently, of getting a trawlerman into the office when you needed to see him was straight off the boat after she landed, and after a month or six weeks at sea on one of Marr's freezer vessels the men tended to be a bit whiffy, having spent a lot of their time gutting fish. Charlie Dreevor knew that Prescott had a very short fuse and he and Anna concocted the following way of exploiting this.
Anna gave instructions to Reception that Mr Prescott was always to be directed to the Seamen's Reception Area, on the argument that he reckoned he was their representative so he'd probably want to meet them. She'd always keep him waiting for at least 20 minutes, so he could get the benefit of their views on his proposal -- as they saw it -- to cut their pay, before showing him into her boss's office. Dreevor, for his part, never lost the opportunity to remind Prescott that, as an ex-skipper, he knew a damn site more about trawling and trawlermen than did some jumped-up Cunard bar steward.
Anna was under instructions to leave his and her office doors open, to listen out and to bring in the coffee only when she heard them about to come to blows. Unfortunately, at least from Charlie Dreevor's point of view, though probably fortunately from Prescott's since Dreevor, as an ex-skipper, was pretty handy with his fists -- he once laid out, with one punch, a drunken trawlerman who'd tried to lay hands on Anna in the office during an argument about his pay -- she always managed to get there before Prescott tried to take a swing at him. She reckoned she never had to wait more than 10 minutes before taking their coffee through, and frequently she was worried whether the kettle would be boiled in time! Anna, for what it's worth, hated Prescott in a way that had nothing to do with politics. She said that, as a very attractive blonde working on Hull Fish Docks (and, at the time, supplementing her salary with a part-time bar job) she was well used to dealing with men who thought she was a dishy bimbo, but Prescott was in an entirely different league.
25 comments:
and you publish unsubstantiated stuff like this? Can I send in my anecdote about you having sex with sheep?
As usual John Prescott's supporters retain the cloak of anonymity. I can certainly understand their growing reluctance to disclose their membership of this increasingly exclusive group.
Not so sure about this story - something about the writing style makes me think "fabricated" - but if true, I tend to think it makes Prescott look good - man of action, fighting for his cause. What's the beef here?
Wonderful story!
Who is this anonymous? How sheep-like not to have the balls to give his name. In my experience those people who accuse you of doing or being something disreputable are accusing you of the very thing they are or are doing themselves. On that principle, anonymous who acts like a sheep, is probably having sex with sheep himself.
Anonymouse 1:01. Unsubstantiated??? There are several names who appear happy to go on public record about it and it has a pretty solid ring about it to me. Your anonymous sheep thing OTOH - well why not come out of hiding and try publishing the little 'anecdote' yourself?
Anonymous 1:01am
"...unsubstantiated stuff like this..."
Yes, technically it's hearsay evidence but it's almost as good as straight from the horse's mouth. I doubt it would take too much for the witness herself to give the evidence.
Now, what about your sheep-shagging story; "I've got a friend who knows a bloke who was told in the pub..."?
But Francis that's excatly what the Union movement and hence the Labour Party is - a decrepit cabal of despots exactly like the former governments of places like Lithuania.
Mr Dale, this petty and vindictive campaign makes you look unprofessional and, frankly, foolish. It risks building support for the man you obviously dislike. Pointless.
Is it the lingering fish smell that still makes him attractive to so many women?
Well there's gotta be something!
Are you referring to Prescott or Anonymous, Francis?
Perhaps, anonymous, that might be why Iain has published it under "Tales of John Prescott ..."? My late father was a Hull trawlerman in his youth. He worked for Marr's, amongst others, and the general scenario certainly rings true.
The Hull connections are interesting. Prezza has tried to cover his tracks by reference to William Wilberforce (a Hull MP in his day) and the Parliamentary Commissioner, Sir Philip Mawer, also hails from Hull.
It got me wondering if Prezza has ever tried to woo one of his lady friends with the writings of yet another of his predecessors as MP for Hull - Andrew Marvell, the metaphysical poet. (I have to say, I find it difficult to imagine.)
Suitable titles by Marvell might include: 'To His Coy Mistress' and 'The Unfortunate Lover'. Chipolatas don't seem to figure in Marvell's oeuvre, though there are some references to eunuchs!
Lithuanians and Letts do it.....
Of course, for defamation to work in any event, you have to have show (to summarise heavily) that your reputation has been diminished in the eyes of the world. It's very hard to see how that could be the place with John Prescott.
Anna's no longer with us to confirm the story, but I assure folks she told the story often enough and that I have every confidence it's true, which is why I included the name of the company and the other chap concerned. If 'i spy strangers'' father had any dealings with Marr's back in the late 70s/early '80s, he may be able to confirm that Charlie Dreevor was then their Charter Director; he may even recall that Mr Dreevor had a tall, rather dishy blonde PA called Anna who sometimes also worked behind the bar at The Land of Green Ginger pub (I think that's what it's called -- it's the one with the Plotting Parlour, anyway).
What's it about my writing style that makes anonymous (8.54) think it's fabricated, then?
My dad's been dead a good while so, short of a seance, his memories of J H Marr & Co are irretrievable. In any case, his time around the Fish Dock was a good deal earlier (though I did work there myself as a student in the 70s).
I suspect the Plotting Parlour might be in the Old White Hart?
In response to Steveg, I suppose I was sceptical because of the nice flow of the story, really quite a professional if patchy telling - the sort of thing a good spin-meister in a hurry at one of CCO's ad agencies might come up with for example - but Iain Dale has already assured us on Paxman no less that no such thing happens on his blog. That's good enough for me! Not that I'm not prepared however to believe Prescott's a bumptious womanising egotistical prat - just that I'm not sure I quite accept your story damns him to hell. The casino thing is far more damaging. Problem with Prezza is that his man of the people act does play well with many, and that's why Blair keeps him on as we know; evidence that he womanises and hits people is actually a plus for that audience. Evidence that he's bent please, not a sex god.
So...um....er...what are you saying? That Prescott is addicted to caffeine?
a propos Prescott's growing reputation as a "ladies' Man" I'm reminded of the occasion when the tv prankster Steve Penk doorstepped Cecil Parkinson at the time of the Sarah Keyes scandal with the question: "Is it true you've done more to get women into Labour than the Labour Party?"
Steve Glynn is a well known fantasist from uk.politics.misc. This anecdote (he's got a million of them) is almost certainly complete toss.
Anon 3:14 (looks vaguely biblical, that) -- I never meant to suggest the story damned Prescott; I just shared it with Iain Dale because I thought it would amuse him and he asked me if I minded him putting it in his blog. I rather assume he wanted so to do because it made him chuckle, too.
Certainly my late wife was highly amused by how Prescott really resented being made to wait with the trawlermen -- and he couldn't say a thing about it -- and both by how easy it was for her boss to make him blow his top and by how he fell for it time after time. That's what rather surprised me about it; getting the other chap to lose his temper while you retain yours is a pretty standard technique in hostile negotiations, after all, and one that most decent union negotiators are pretty good at.
Thanks (I think) for the slightly back-handed compliment to my writing style. I can assure you I'm not a spin-meister, neither in a hurry nor otherwise, and I was, at least until the invasion of Iraq and this lot's wholesale assault on civil liberties, a life-long Labour supporter. Heavens above, I even persuaded Anna to vote Labour on occasion.
PS. How gratifying to see I seem to have picked up my very own stalker (the very latest fashion accessory, or so I'm told), though not one who uses a nom-de-plume with which I'm familiar.
Glynn also appears to be a holocaust denier, hardly a recommendation for probity.
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.politics.misc/browse_frm/thread/4f9a267766e9cab8/8c7b39d4f5448fe8?q=&rnum=49#8c7b39d4f5448fe8
A general search however on uk.misc.politics shows he mostly re-hashes news stories and doesn't seem to write many "personal recollection" mini-essays. I am still sceptical though on his recollections of Prescott the fighting sex maniac of the Hull Waterfront - I feel this would have come out before what with the legions of Sun journos on the case, etc.
Anonymous seems to have a different view of holocaust denier to me
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.politics.misc/browse_frm/thread/4f9a267766e9cab8/8c7b39d4f5448fe8?q=&rnum=49#8c7b39d4f5448fe8
hardly seems to be denying the holocaust
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.politics.misc/browse_frm/thread/4f9a267766e9cab8/8c7b39d4f5448fe8?q=&rnum=49#8c7b39d4f5448fe8
nor does that
or this
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.politics.misc/browse_frm/thread/4f9a267766e9cab8/8c7b39d4f5448fe8?q=&rnum=49#8c7b39d4f5448fe8
I'm up for smearing the messenger as much as the next man - but it helps if you do it properly and don't get muddled up between a holocaust denier and one who's actually saying it happend and is disagreeing with real denier.
The author of the story has been a long term poster over many years on the newsgroup uk.politics.misc, and is one of the more respected posters.
He has a reputation for down to earth honesty in his postings, and when others lose their mind, he often acts as a rational point to a thread.
He is very good at checking out the 'facts' of others.
He is one of those people, who if he says something is true, you believe it.
I am not sure who Stephen Glyn would vote for, he isnt a natural tory, but has a lot of respect for Ken Clarke.
what a coward, to accuse him of a 'holocaust denier', a classic nulabour tactic, to blacken the name of a good man.
Steve doesnt take things at face value.
See how Peter Tatchil went after Magabu because he was anti-gay? When most others wouldnt criticise him because he was black.
Well, Steve is willing to champion criticism and unfairness on both sides, something few people are willing to do.
He has had runins with companies who promote racial discrimination via illegal quotas, he has criticised human rights organisations for not standing up for the rights of freedom of expression for people who deny the holocaust, none of thse because he denies the holocaust himself, or he himself is racist, but that he dislikes unfairness, and is willing to have a go.
Good on Steve.
Hang on I was trawling through mentions of my name and found this.
Iain it appears you may ahve got your Stephen G's mixed up in the content of the entry. If this quote was from Stephen Glyn could you please correct it. If there is a different Stephen Glenn (the less common Irish spelling) I wonder what ar the odds of that.
Post a Comment