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For all you Eric Pickles fans, have a look at Keighley News online today. Just having my weekly catch up and the item about HIPS being canned caught my eye. The video runs a minute or so and up pops Eric Pickles, my first look at the man.Cheers.
The Wikipedia article now says Pickles attended Greenhead School in brackets "state comprehensive".Just to give him street cred I suppose. What is clear in all this is that the great EP never ever attended Keighley Boys' Grammar School. More to the point before he became a full-time politician does anyone know what he did for a living?
I read a very recent newspaper column (possibly in the Bradford T&A) in which Eric was alleged to have attended "Greenhead Grammar School" - journalistic licence I assume as, during Eric's schooldays, Greenhead would have been an exclusively girls' school, wouldn't it?
After trumpeting his ministerial appointment, the article went on to describe Eric's metamorphosis from
active membership of an ardent Labour supporting family into the lovable character we recognise today. There may have been a reference to his past employment Tom, but I'm unsure, having "mislaid" the article.
Eric was one of the age such that he was one of the first intake of boys at Greenhead, in the same way that girls started at Oakbank. He went to the Tech first. He is a bit younger than us Brian.
Were the two mixed-gender "grammar" schools still selective or not at that time? My recollection of Keighley's secondary education system since 1965, when I left Oakbank, is vague to say the least.
Seeing Eric today, and having being made aware of our relative ages, makes me feel considerably better anyway Brian!
If you have been listening to BBC Wireless 4 this week, you will have enjoyed wall-to-wall Pickles. His latest appearance is on "Question Time" (radio) tonight. He is fast becoming an amusing wit - approved by the audience - although he did say on "Today" that the interpretation of another speaker about "garden grabbing" was "bloody stu..... oh I nearly sweared then", Nice one Eric, you've nearly succeeded to the Prescott crown already.I have noted that he has slowed down his delivery and deepened his tones - a la Thatcher. More fun to come.
Eric Pickles, former cabinet minister for local government, has a new job working for a Yorkshire offal tycoon whose animal by-products business has been repeatedly fined for safety and environmental breaches.
Brentwood MP Pickles is earning £40,000 a year on top of his MP's salary to sit on the board of Halifax-based Leo Group, according to the latest register of MP's interests.The group has a history of spills,accidents and safety breaches, on one occasion being fined £300,000 plus £150,000 costs.
An ex-government minister and current MP might be useful to Leo's board as ity deals with these regulations and licensing matters, but what Pickles' constituents get from him working for the offal firm is less obvious.
Time to change the nomen-clutter.
No longer EPMP, he is Sir Eric Pickles (SERPS - Thank the Lord for Barbara Castle, we old boys cry)
And clutching a new Excalibur, thither chucked by David Cameron, he becomes the "government's designated anti-corruption champion".
You don't get qualifications like that at KBGS.
Honours exist to massage the egos of those insecure enough to need them, and to create an impression that they are more important than those who genuinely care.