Parliamentary privilege
Here I (and my belly) pose with the Member of Parliament for Cleethorpes, Mr. Martin Vickers. A parliamentary Doorkeeper kindly took the photograph. This was our first meeting since 1957. We were classmates in Welholme Infants School, Grimsby.
Some months earlier, I unearthed an old school photograph of us that dated from 1956. I was already aware that Martin was a serving MP so I emailed him a copy. One happy memory I have from those distant days was of Martin’s large toy coach that he generously let me play with. Martin not only remembered that toy, but he also invited me to visit him in Parliament. His assistant Max gave me a full tour, after which Martin and his wife Ann hosted me for coffee in Portcullis House.
It was richly enjoyable to swap the memories of growing up in Grimsby during the 1950s/early 60s. One shared and treasured memory was of watching the trains go past the level crossing that was near our school. We remember the excitement when Britannia-class Pacifics arrived on the scene in 1960/61. I remember the names of most of the locos, but Martin recalled the complete set that was allocated to 40B Immingham shed. (I had overlooked ‘Rudyard Kipling’ and ‘Boadicea’, but remembered ‘Clive of India’ and the others.)
Martin only became an MP in 2010, after several years of serving as a party agent. I retired several years ago, but I salute Martin’s stamina and his hopes to serve his constituents for a further term. As with me and my own career, the two of us remain mildly astonished that our life adventures began very modestly in Grimsby.
Parliamentary privilege
Here I (and my belly) pose with the Member of Parliament for Cleethorpes, Mr. Martin Vickers. A parliamentary Doorkeeper kindly took the photograph. This was our first meeting since 1957. We were classmates in Welholme Infants School, Grimsby.
Some months earlier, I unearthed an old school photograph of us that dated from 1956. I was already aware that Martin was a serving MP so I emailed him a copy. One happy memory I have from those distant days was of Martin’s large toy coach that he generously let me play with. Martin not only remembered that toy, but he also invited me to visit him in Parliament. His assistant Max gave me a full tour, after which Martin and his wife Ann hosted me for coffee in Portcullis House.
It was richly enjoyable to swap the memories of growing up in Grimsby during the 1950s/early 60s. One shared and treasured memory was of watching the trains go past the level crossing that was near our school. We remember the excitement when Britannia-class Pacifics arrived on the scene in 1960/61. I remember the names of most of the locos, but Martin recalled the complete set that was allocated to 40B Immingham shed. (I had overlooked ‘Rudyard Kipling’ and ‘Boadicea’, but remembered ‘Clive of India’ and the others.)
Martin only became an MP in 2010, after several years of serving as a party agent. I retired several years ago, but I salute Martin’s stamina and his hopes to serve his constituents for a further term. As with me and my own career, the two of us remain mildly astonished that our life adventures began very modestly in Grimsby.