In fact it struck the very essence of awe into me one evening when watching Rep Scotland to see SuperSpud, man of ra peeple, nonchalantly wander into an honest-it-wasn't-pre-arranged vox pop (honest) to give his views on the latest Scotland performance to a beeb reporter.
What concerns me most about Mr Murphy and football, was starkly brought home to me yesterday afternoon when I took my elderly; Alzheimer suffering, retired miner, former trade union leader, former Labour supporting, father-in-law, Tam, for a wee drive in the nearby countryside to marvel at the clear blue skies.
We stopped outside the former Dungavel prison, now home to all these pesky people who believed this to be a land of opportunity, the kind of people who risked life and limb to get here only to find themselves subject to racism, intimidation and a home for them and their children behind, barbed wire fences and bars.
As we parked, near the 'detention centre' a van pulled out, an advert on the back, read, 'ARCO, Britain's Leading Supplier of Personal Protection Equipment'. One can only imagine that what the driver delivered wasn't for the inmates protection.
However, I digress, Tam, came out of his small-stroke dwammy to tell me that when he was captain of Muirkirk Juniors in the 1950 and early 1960's they would often play games against the prisoners at Dungavel. Sounding like something out of 'Porridge', a handful of prison officers would lead the prison team and a couple of hundred prisoners across the road to an immaculate little ground where the lags got the opportunity for a bit of a stretch and some legal assault on the opposition. Nobody ever thought of legging it as they were in the middle of the moors between Muirkirk, Strathaven and miles from civilisation.
The football pitch is still there, albeit it in a less than pristine condition.
Whilst wandering over the field to take the above photo, a thought struck me that this pitch was not being put to the best use. Jim Murphy, nearly two years ago famously claimed that as Secretary of State he was committed to ending the practise of housing the children of failed asylum seekers in Dungavel. Since then there has been a slew of campaigns highlighting this very practise, most recently the on going case of Florence and Precious Mhango. Mr Murphy has yet to either comment or make his commitment good.
Looking at the broken cross bar and the fit to be ploughed field, that was once a beautiful wee pitch, Tam turned to me and said "It's a pity that they cannae let they foreign folk and their weans in the prison out for a wee kickabout on the pitch on a grand day like this." I agreed and we went back to the car and drove home.
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1 comment:
Good post.
Of course Murphy won't say anything in defence of asylum seekers and their children - that would require principle and conviction.
He is, as ever, looking after number 1, and being in a seat that could go Tory and is being targetted by the BNP, he is not going to be giving any hostages to fortune by, err, saying the right thing.
A wee ten minute walk from Murphy's constituency and you are in the heart of Pollokshaws. There are many asylum seekers there, and as with other communities such as Springburn, Cardonald, Scotstoun, and others, when the asylum seekers are taken away it is the local communities who react first. By demanding that they are returned.
There are a lot of decent people who are very concerned about the way that we treat asylum seekers, and particularly their children, but Jim Murphy is not, and will never, be one of them.
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