Sunshine on Greenock.

Suddenly, it arrived. Out of nowhere. The promise of things to come. A week of summer in the late spring. Just enough to keep the eternal optimist section of our Scottish character alive. Of course, it couldn’t last and we were all nervously glancing over our shoulder, knowing it would be stolen from us.

Hollywood arrived too, in the shape of a reboot of Highlander, the movie from 1986. There was the odd non starry looking Star kicking about the place but the real stars were at the auction mart. My job as chief loo cleaner suddenly got glamorous. I got to say hello to the horses every day.

This is Jack. He is the one the actors want because he makes them look like they know what they’re doing even when they don’t know horses. I’m assuming he will be the one that we see our rebooted Highlander astride when the film comes out. Most of the horses have stunt doubles for whoever is doing the tricky stuff. Pinocchio was being dishonest because he looked black as night but was actually grey. You could just see his real colour round his eyes. His stunt double was also a grey that was dyed black. 2 of the horses I met had one job - to rear up. That was it.

I had a soft spot for the ginger among them….

If it wasn’t for enterprising friends who drag me out of town, I’d never have made the effort to go to Glasgow town last Saturday to see Stand and Deliver at The Tron theatre. Thank goodness they did, because finding inspiration in the shape of the past, can shape the future. Even if it’s just in how our wee hearts felt when we left the theatre. What a magnificent show. About the sit-in by the (mostly) women of the Lee jeans factory in Greenock in 1981. I was 17 that year and oblivious.

When it transpired that the American company was going to move its production to Northern Ireland, the 240 workers barricaded the doors of the factory and refused to leave. They risked their livelihoods and refused their redundancy because without work they had nothing. All they wanted was to go to work every day and earn a living for their families - many of whom had husbands who’d already been laid off. No one was looking for a glamorous life or increased pay.

At the Chrysler factory in nearby Linwood, where the Hillman Imp was produced, the workers protested in the same year but lost the fight with between 4,800 and 6,000 jobs lost. This is referenced in The Proclaimers Letter from America.

The (mostly) women in Greenock didn’t give up though only 140 lasted the full 7 months. And saved their jobs when there was finally a management buy out from the Americans. They did it with dignity, determination and discipline. No bad behaviour from anyone.

https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/stand-and-deliver-the-lee-jeans-sit-in

The talented actors played and sang the music of the time. They made us laugh, cheer and weep. There was a feeling in that room that many of the audience had been close to the action. On the opening night, the main activists of the time were there to see their story unfold on stage. The play moves around the country now and will be at Eden Court in June. The last show will be in Greenock. That will be one to experience!!

It’s a long old journey on the West Highland Line. But with the sun setting at around 9pm, it was a glorious run home.

I’d like to thank my booking agent for her encouragement to attend the play, and my travel agent for booking the train and ensuring we had seats.

Thanks Curly & Kaz. Great company.