Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Trade unionist and General Secretary of the TGWU, outspoken campaigner for workers' rights.
On the island
Eight records
But my record also reminds me of the fateful day when the West Indies beat England in a Test match at Lodge in 1957 for the very first time. And I can just hear the 15 million people or so in the Caribbean just holding their breath and then they just shouted Yes.
But of course, women in my life has been really great. I want to... have a little bit of self-indulgence here, I think. But I want to dedicate it to my grandmother, my mother, my deceased wife, Minetta, and of course my current partner, Eileen.
It is a Bob Marley. Bob Marley was born in Jamaica. He gave international recognition to reggae. I had to be convinced, I have to tell you, that meant my son sitting me down. He said, listen, I did. He said, you've learned, and I have, and now I'm a convert.
One piece of music which I heard there, which moved me a lot, is a piece called Gressford. And Gressford represented a colour in North Wales, where in 1934 there was a tragic incident of 262 miners perished in an underground explosion. I want to remember those men.
Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra
I met Nigel Kennedy when he was playing at a Labour Party concert. And Nigel, of course, is not just an Aston Villa fan, he's an Aston Villa fanatic. And we discovered pretty quickly that we shared something in common, which is the love of this particular football club.
Wind Beneath My WingsFavourite
Before Minetta died, her last words almost were, take care of the children and look after yourself. She was for me the wind beneath my wings.
I'm a very big admirer, too, of Ben Okri. Ben is an artist and a poet, and he's wrote what I believe is his best poem, which is called African Elegy. Jackie Dunkworth, which is Johnny and Clear's daughter, has very skillfully set African Elegy to music
My last record comes from two trips that I made to South Africa since apartheid was was ended. And I was taken to a place where there were trains and carriages. And it was told to me that those trains used to transport workers from the townships... into Johannesburg to work in the coal mines
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:37What was it that you fancied about that job [as a supervisor]?
Well, it brings authority. But I abandoned my supervisory ambitions because I had one occasion when I returned to my department... They had a a burst pipe while I was away. Someone was putting a lot of sawdust. I shouted out, Steady on with that sawdust. It doesn't grow on trees, you know. And the man looked me in the eye and he said, It does, you know. So that was my first mistake of management.
Presenter asks
9:35What did you [feel when you arrived in Birmingham]? It must have felt like a completely alien environment to you.
I woke up very early because I wanted to see where I am and I'd heard so much about England and... there was a sense of anticipation and great expectation for me. And when I drew the curtain back I saw no trees. There were no trees. There were no greenery. There was a s a lot of houses. They've got these little square things on the top. And the whole architecture was totally different. The environment was quite alien.
Presenter asks
10:45How were you treated by the indigenous population? Were they welcoming or were they suspicious, wary?
I remember where we lived, right on the corner of Birchfield Road and Heathfield Road in Birmingham. There was a confectionery shop and... as soon as we walked in the owner of the shop just disappeared into the back rooms... we found that she had an inbuilt aversion to black people.
The keepsakes
The book
Nelson Mandela
Again, this one was easy because on one of my trips to South Africa I did the tourist bit out to Robin Island and that evokes a mental picture of what life was like on Robin Island for Nelson Mandela. But having met the man on a number of occasions, I was struck by his patience, I was struck by his forgiveness, everything about him. And therefore Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Madelea, the autobiography will be my book.
The luxury
Cricket bat signed by Sir Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes (the Three W's)
I've now concluded that the reason why I've never really made it as a cricketer is because my bat was wrong. So I'm ordering, Sue Please, a long handle, mature willow, a six pound in weight cricket bat, to be signed by three of the great cricketers who played in that 1957 Test, the late Sir Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott and Everton Weeks, famously known as the Three W's. I'll have a lot of time to practice my cover drives, my undrives, my square cuts and hook shots. Um but then that's a dream, isn't it? But what else do you do on a desert island but dream?
Presenter asks
14:48I wonder if you mind that people always mention that you're black?
I I only have a mind on one occasion. That was when I offered myself for the office of General Secretary because every time I was interviewed, I had to use at least, you know, 30, 40 good seconds of soundbite time to explain why I was running. Was I going to be, if you like, the black general secretary? And I have to say no, I'm not going to be the black general secretary. I'm going to be the general secretary who's black.
Presenter asks
15:26How much did you suffer from that kind of racial prejudice then [in the fifties and sixties]?
There was no sophistication about it. There were signs which say no black, no Irish, no dogs, and that's not a cliche, that's a reality. And I have to tell you that when I applied for my first post in my union, I was not successful, and I was subsequently told by people who... were part of the committee doing the examination, that I did extremely well. I was the best candidate, but the general view was that the Union was not ready for a black officer.
Presenter asks
24:41What are you saying? She [your wife Minetta] knew death was inevitable and you wouldn't talk about it.
I I wouldn't talk about it, no. Uh I first of all I wanted to give her hope, but I was very fearful that she may well be right and um I just wasn't able to to really sit down, talk about it, plan, enjoy the last days that we could have done much more than we we did. And I feel that um a sense of guilt about that, frankly.
“I'm not going to be the black general secretary. I'm going to be the general secretary who's black.”
“I do not believe that trade unions should be an extension of government. How else can you stand up and argue for the independence and argue for the policies within your organization?”
“The great moment is when I cross the threshold of uh the house where I live in Hemmelhempstead, close the door, I feel safe, I feel protected, I'm here at home, they can't get hold of me now. That's how I feel.”