Speeches, etc.

Margaret Thatcher

Remarks visiting Bristol

Document type: Speeches, interviews, etc.
Venue: Bristol
Source: IRN Archive: OUP transcript
Editorial comments: 1215 MT arrived at Longwell Green Community Centre, Bristol; lunch at 1315; departed 1345; 1400-1445 Messrs, Bristol Erickson, Ltd, Tower Road, North Warmley (Machine Tool manufacturers).
Importance ranking: Minor
Word count: 840

IRN Journalist

For the journalists it was a coach trip to Bristol while Mrs. Thatcher arrived by helicopter before transferring to her campaign coach for the first visit to a community centre where Mrs. Thatcher met Ted Hunt, a Falklands war veteran who's celebrating his 88th birthday.

MT

I am especially thrilled today to help Mr. Hunt cut his cake for his 88th birthday and you know he's just reminded me that he was in the first battle of the Falklands in 1914–1915. [applause] A very happy birthday to Mr. Hunt and we look forward to his 90th birthday when we'll have an especially big party. Now, he's going to blow his candles out again. Now that television camera's there.

Now are we going to cut it, Mr. Hunt? Right. There we are.

IRN Journalist

Clearly impressed with a real Falklands veteran, Mrs. Thatcher proudly pointed out:

MT

… and then he went and volunteered and went to France and unfortunately got some bullets and some shrapnel in. The bullets came out but the shrapnel stayed there. And he's 88.

IRN Journalist

And from 8+-year-old Mr. Hunt it was time to meet +-year-old Martin Wale, [phonetic] a leukaemia sufferer. He was presented with a bravery award by the Prime Minister.

MT

Martin, may I pin this on you, this medal for bravery, which you so well deserve and which it's my pleasure to give you today. Uh, now where shall we pin it? Right up here, well we don't want to conceal that do we, right up here. I heard all about you and I'm very happy to write you a letter. There we are and I want to say that the nicest and the happiest thing that I've done this election campaign, and I'm … [inaudible; cameras clicking]

IRN Journalist

Mrs. Thatcher was clearly impressed with the seven-year-old and he was duly impressed with her.

Martin Wale

Well, she was nice and I thought she was going to be different than I thought she was going to be. [end p1]

IRN Journalist

What do you mean different, what did you think she was going to be like?

Martin Wale

I don't know really, but I thought she was going to be different.

IRN Journalist

So you found her quite nice.

Martin Wale

Yes.

IRN Journalist

And I gather you wished her luck, did you?

Martin Wale

Yes.

IRN Journalist

You hope she gets re-elected?

Martin Wale

Yes.

IRN Journalist

If she does get re-elected, I hear she's invited you up to London?

Martin Wale

Yes.

IRN Journalist

You'll be seeing her again then?

Martin Wale

Yes.

IRN Newsreader

At No. 10 or the House of Commons, do you know?

Martin Wale

We don't know. If it isn't No. 10, then it's going to be the House of Commons.

IRN Journalist

Mrs. Thatcher stayed at the community centre for lunch for the elderly folk before moving on to a nearby engineering factory where she was met by a small but vocal demonstration.

[screaming, clapping, booing; “Maggie Maggie Maggie, Out Out Out” and “Jobs More Jobs” ]

IRN Journalist

Inside the factory Mrs. Thatcher showed a keen interest in the computerized ordering records.

MT

Orders are coming in here and then you allocate them to particular groups of machines? [end p2]

Factory Worker

That's right, we do, yes. And these are things that we must produce by a certain date.

MT

And you have information about which machines and people are free, will be free?

Factory Worker

Um, we haven't got that free on-line at the moment but that's our next aim.

MT

You try to call that up immediately?

Factory Worker

That's right, yes.

MT

And orders are coming in all right are they? That's good news. Very good news. Thank you very much. Goodbye.

IRN Journalist

And there was an embarrassing moment when Mrs. Thatcher noticed …

MT

[inaudible] … do it by the 20th. So that presumably is done?

Factory Worker

That's overdue.

MT

That's dead unlucky, isn't it?[laughs] Dead unlucky.

IRN Journalist

Outside the factory the demonstrators kept up their chants and indeed there were one or two red faces among the organizers of the trip when it was discovered that over the past year the company had been forced to cut 120 jobs.