He didn’t look like your average
Marks&Spencers checkout operator I
think it was the huge sausage roll fingers
on the tiny keyboard keys and the gnarled
knuckles that gave it away.
‘Have you always worked here?’ I asked
already knowing the answer as he kept
shoveling the load along the conveyor
belt without answering ‘I was a miner Sir!’
he reluctantly replied as he tallied up
the tonnage.
‘Orgreave?’ I for some reason asked
wishing I hadn’t, as he looked me in the eye,
a silence fell between us. ‘Yes I was at Orgreave’
he said as he handed me my receipt.
We both knew the answer. Suddenly
I could see horses, a man
was hanging upside down from the reigns
men were being bludgeoned metal
was being thrown screams and shouts rang
out into a summer’s afternoon
blood and bones were exposed to the air
‘Here is your change Sir!’ A voice brought
me back to reality, as I packed my bags
and lifted them from the counter.
‘I’ll take these to the car Sir’ the miner
said, as I tried to remonstrate. ‘No… No Sir…
This
is MY job Now! SIR… No SIR…No SIR, I’ll take
your bags to the car Sir! No Sir. No Sir.
This is my job now!’
.
James McLaughlin
.