IRN journalist
Mrs Thatcher may not like traveling by train but coaches are a different matter, which is just as well since she's likely to be spending time on the roads of Britain over the next three weeks. So this morning in Smith Square, the home of the Tory Party's headquarters, it was an occasion for Mrs Thatcher to meet her coach. It's the sort that traveling football teams normally use with armchairs, coffee machines, a fridge and a television with a few extras that Spurs, Celtic or Manchester United wouldn't normally bother about, an electric typewriter, two-way radio, and telephones.
And with the Prime Minister safely aboard, Thatcher Tours got off to a slow start, twice round the block to be precise, just for the benefit of the cameramen. Then for those of us traveling the length and breadth of Britain with the Prime Minister, a chance to take a look inside and find out what Mrs Thatcher thought of her mobile office. For a start, how about a name? David Steel calls his campaign coach his battle bus. What's the Tory version?
MT
The robust bus. [laughter]
IRN journalist
Well, not bad. It might have been called the Conquering Coach and no doubt by the time the campaign is over, Mrs Thatcher will hope it is. But how is she going to use her mobile home?
MT
Once we're out traveling from village to village, we use this, we can get a tremendous amount of work done between one stop and another. We can deal with the questions of policy, we can deal with the correspondence, uh, we can start speeches for the evening and so on.
IRN journalist
It's really a work bus, isn't it, you're not going to have time for resting?
MT
It's a work bus. Oh good heavens, no, we have this bus, we have it set up like this so we don't waste a moment, not a moment and we haven't a moment to waste. Uh, we had one last time, we know it works.
IRN journalist
It's not going to get stuck in the mud is it, this one, in Cornwall? [end p1]
MT
You remember. No, it wasn't this one, no, we had to hire some right out in the north of Scotland and it was really very, very wet and we got out of the helicopter. We got out of the aircraft and the press bus got stuck. We had to push it, didn't we? [laughter] We had to push it, yes.
IRN journalist
You were on it!
MT
No, we got out to push, don't you remember, weren't you with us?
IRN journalist
Yes, I was.
MT
And we went through then along [inaudible] all the towns and villages in the north of Scotland. We had a great day there.
IRN journalist
Veterans of Thatcher Tours of 1979 well remember the occasion we got bogged down, but to put the record straight, not everyone helped push. Mrs Thatcher stayed on board directing operations while her husband Denis and daughter Carol were instructed to lend a shoulder. With all the recent rain, we're hoping for no repetition. The campaign tour itself gets underway tomorrow. And for almost three weeks Mrs Thatcher will travel the length and breadth of Britain by plane and coach.
MT
We like to get out fairly early on in the campaign, we like to start to get out to the places that are a long way away, they mustn't feel that they're neglected. You know so much goes on in the centre that you sometimes find that your south-west and your north and your Wales feel that they're being neglected. And so very early on in the campaign on Friday we go down to the South West. I think we're going to go to Scotland the second week, Wales the first week, Scotland the second week.
IRN journalist
In fact the only break from campaigning will be at the end of the month and that won't be a rest for Mrs Thatcher. She's flying to the United States to attend the Williamsburg economic summit.