Rust Never Sleeps: Margaret Thatcher, nee Roberts

Chimney sweep, Dartford, 1951

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Alfred Roberts, a grocer, and his wife, Beatrice.

 

Her father, a Methodist lay preacher and local councillor, had an immense influence on her life and the policies she would adopt.

"Well, of course, I just owe almost everything to my own father. I really do," she said later. "He brought me up to believe all the things that I do believe." [read more]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.
But mercy is above this sceptered sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute of God himself;
And earthly power doth then show like God's
When mercy seasons justice.   Portia The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare      

Dennis & Margaret 4 May 1979  

 

Mark Anderson, head of the primary school Thatcher attended, said: "It is quite an honour to have a former prime minister at your school and be able to say to children: 'This lady sat on the same floor as you and she had gone on to be a significant person in history.' We frequently talk about past pupils and what they have achieved and she is the most significant past pupil we have ever had.

"We have an ethos of respect, expect, aspire, care and be honest. Many of the values she had can be interpreted through that as well." [read more]

 

 

 

 

Lone Daffodil, Milwaukee, IL May 2009

Image source soul-amp

 

 Tributes have been paid to the former prime minister Baroness Thatcher who has died at the age of 87.

Perhaps her most visible legacy in Wales was the virtual disappearance of the coal mines and the birth of a new economy of service industries and technology.

 

It could be argued that Wales' coal industry was already in decline when Thatcher came to power. But for good or ill, she presided over the most dramatic transformation of the Welsh economy since the industrial revolution. Her time in office saw the demise of an industry and, some would say, a way of life.

It can be easy to forget that other aspects of Welsh life got a leg-up from the Thatcher government.

[read more]