Saturday 18 January 2014

A Gove fit for Heroes

I've been directed to a fascinating article on the 1919 Luton riots, an event I confess I was unaware of.

I am impressed with the place of my birth. When the war was over, and the "boys" came back home to Luton, the council decided that the best way to celebrate was for the Mayor and Corporation to have a banquet and not invite any ex-servicemen. The hungry people, short of work, rioted. After days of rioting and the drafting in of police from London, they finally settled down and went back to hoping to get jobs making straw hats.

The mayor, who spent a while barricaded into the Town Hall, later emigrated - the most marked man in Luton. You know, Michael Gove is right. We should celebrate, not just commemorate.

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