Sadly, this Christmas in particular, there are many people worse off, and we should always keep them in mind, writes David Knight.
As I write, it’s early morning and I am propped up in bed under our duvet – wearing my dressing gown, flat cap and scarf.
It’s -6C outside, and the place is like an igloo. But, we are sticking grimly to our energy rationing plan, and doing without in the mornings.
I tell myself others are worse off in this cruel festive season, with the cost of living crisis and multiple strikes.
As if I didn’t know Christmas Day was hurtling towards us, Mariah Carey provided a reminder. She and her daughter treated us to a duet, performing the UK’s second most favourite carol, Away in a Manger, at a concert in Toronto. It was a sentimental serving, as sweet as golden syrup.
Quite a coincidence, because, around the same time, I was asked to sing the same carol at the P&J Live arena in Aberdeen. I think I can hold a tune, but I’m not a singing star, even though it’s an easy mistake to make.
It was a group effort by relatives at a wonderful kids’ concert. Not as glamorous as the Careys’, but more traditional and equally heartwarming. A chance to escape from the big bad world of strikes and misery for an hour or so.
Is public service doing a great public disservice to the rest of us?
Is there anyone left in public service who is not on strike or actively contemplating it? I hope parking wardens get in on the act soon; I’d be fully supportive.
So, is public service doing a great public disservice to the rest of us? They have a case, but the people they serve are always singled out for punishment.
With their zeal for disrupting everyday life when they are needed most, should there be new employment laws to curb the most damaging action?
I heard an interviewer put a postal workers’ leader on the spot on behalf of the rest of us. “What have you got to say to all the people in the private sector who might be looking at a 2% pay rise, when public service unions are demanding inflation-busting increases?”
The point being that private workers would watch tiny rises burn away like snowdrops on a hot stove of roaring inflation, while saddled with increased taxes for fat public services pay deals.
He was stumped, so stammered something about “expressing solidarity with all oppressed workers”.
Recovering his composure, he hailed postal workers as “heroes” – for delivering our Covid tests during the pandemic. In other words, doing their job.
Food workers are unsung heroes
The real unsung heroes for me are workers in food stores, who reported for duty with no protection in the early days of Covid, when nobody knew what this invisible killer was going to do.
People might limp by without a subsidised health service – probably dying early, as they did before the NHS – but they can’t live without food.
Food workers are in the private sector, so you won’t find them on strike
Food workers are in the private sector, so you won’t find them on strike. But, luckily for striking public service workers, they provide nourishment to keep others’ strength up.
A lot has been said about the military being brought in to keep things going across strike sectors.
When they said Maca was taking charge, I knew Sir Paul McCartney would fix it.
But they meant deploying the last resort Military Aid to Civil Authorities (Maca) service. I listened to an army general explaining that they had the expertise within their ranks, but – surprise, surprise – they lacked numbers and adequate investment.
It strikes me that we can keep spearhead battalions up to strength to fly to any conflict in the world. So, why can’t we invest more in massed, multipurpose, specialised units – always at the ready to prevent industrial action from bringing us to our knees? It would stop us being held to ransom by union bosses.
We saw glimpses of Maca in action, with army nurses and frontline troops supporting Covid vaccinations.
Remember everyone in need this Christmas
The marvellous kids’ concert I mentioned was run by P&J sister paper, the Evening Express – and was also a shot in the arm for those of us privileged to be there.
Youngsters from theatre groups and schools, and from all sorts of backgrounds, came together for a common purpose: to sing for the sheer pleasure of it.
And around 2,000 relatives stood as one to join in with Away in a Manger. The lyrics about Jesus’s birth and vulnerability of children were uplifting; they stay with us for life, if we believe someone up there is looking after us.
“Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever,
And love me, I pray.”
I felt waves of love and support all around the venue for these talented children.
But I paused to think of other children; those in dire straits this Christmas. Kids gripped by fear in wretched homes – wondering when they’ll next be abused.
David Knight is the long-serving former deputy editor of The Press and Journal
Conversation