Pope John Paul II's visit to Edinburgh 1982

[aranuk]

One fine summers day in Edinburgh, I was busy working on a refurbishment of an old building near the centre of town. There was lots of waste to remove from the building and to put into skips. I had eight men carrying from the building bags and bags galore of old bricks, lime mortar etc. I was due an interim payment that day which would pay labour & materials and put money into my bank to keep the bank manager happy. I also had two other jobs in progress with tradesmen and labourers to oversee. Some of this group were giving me a hard time demanding all sorts of things I was not able to give. Anyway, I had two skips outside on the street which were full and needed replacement. I phoned the skip company for another two skips and the voice at the other end of the phone line required skip permits from the council. I explained I did have the skip permits for two skips and he insisted on renewing them. Such bureaucracy. I jumped into my truck and made for the council building where I go to get the permits. As I was driving near the centre of town I did notice that the streets were lined with no parking cones everywhere. When I arrived in the High Street (the street that goes to the famous castle) the cones were on the street almost side by side meaning definitely no parking. I drove into the courtyard and parked my truck outside the door for the permits. A man appeared dressed in ceremonial attire shouting loudly at me to move my truck and to get the hell away from here. I needed these two damned permits and who the heck did he think he was with all these stupid clothes on. At that moment out came the Lord Provost in his finest regalia, probably trying to memorise his speech he was going to make later. Seeing the Provost now, I completely ignored the doorman whoever he was and approached the Provost and said "Provost Sir, I only want to get my skip permits I will only be two minutes." The Provost, taken aback, told the doorman to leave the young builder alone and let him get the skips he wanted. When inside talking to the person who was giving me the permits, he asked me if I hadn't heard of the Pope's visit that day. I replied that I was sorry I did not and left the building in a hurry with my two skip permits in my pocket.

Thinking about it all after all these years. The poor Provost hoping everything he had organised go smoothly, when about to get into his big limo, encounters this crazy young builder covered in lime mortar dust arguing with the doorman about his skip permits. He must have thought the easiest way out of this predicament is leave him be and lets get away with the business of meeting the Pope.

Stan

P.S. This is the thing that can happen to anybody who never reads their local newspaper or watch TV. ;)

[araucaria]

I once tried to get across Edinburgh High St when the queen of various countries was passing by. Some people think they own the place.
:)

[Gardener]

That really made me smile Aranuk, truly. I read it with an imagined 'Scotish' accent too.

Seems on that occasion the Lord Provost passed the test and got his Brownie point.....the uniformed minion however well......... failed. lol.

[aranuk]

That really made me smile Aranuk, truly. I read it with an imagined 'Scotish' accent too.

Seems on that occasion the Lord Provost passed the test and got his Brownie point.....the uniformed minion however well......... failed. lol.

Hi Gardener, aye yer right! You may say the average working class Scotsmen do not respect a person who thinks he is mightier than they themselves.
A true story my old man told me about a brickies labourer he knew, who went up to the Duke of Edinburgh, on one of his walkarounds in the city, and had a half cigarette in his mouth and asked if he had a light mate.
Maybe our national bard Rabbie Burns has something to do with all. His poem all Scots people know.

A Man's A Man For A' That


1795
Type: Song
Tune: For a' that. Translation in blue a'-all
Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that; an' - and
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that. Gowd - gold

What though on hamely fare we dine, hamely- homely
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that; hodden - course wool clothing
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, e'er -ever
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord, birkie - brave fellow
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that: coof - Fool
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might, abon - above
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that! maunna fa' - must not fault
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that. bear the gree - have first place
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

A great poem don't you think?

Stan

[aranuk]

Incidentally, The Lord Provost in Scotland is the person who represents the city. He is not elected by the people. He is appointed by the ruling party representatives. I approached the Provost with respect and I appealed to him for some justice, and I addressed him by his title, so he knew instantly I was a respected citizen right away. He also knew that I was not there to assassinate the Pope either. He cared not what I thought of the doorman. He most probably thought of him as an upstart anyway.

Stan