During the time that I worked for Instant Libraries’, one of the tasks that I was entrusted with was the closing of the main offices of the Barnsley Co-op (circa 1996).
Travelling up the M1 motorway twice a week, I
attended the old offices on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Each visit required an overnight stay in a
slightly run-down B and B close to the centre of the town.
A couple of the retained Co-op staff had been
detailed to help me as I boxed up paperwork going back years. Each day these
items formed a van-load shipment to a new home in Manchester. Lunch was something that I had to go out and
find, as the original facilities in the building had been closed as part of the
shut down.
After a few days one of the ladies enquired how was
I managing for my midday meal and was my accommodation proving suitable? Her kindly enquiry also extended into comments
about the length of the journeys I had to undertake, and how had I managed to
find employment in such a niche job.
Some time later I was to learn that her name was
Mrs. Scargill, and, yes, she was the wife of the now famous Arthur Scargill. Whatever you may have come to think about the
big Coal Strike, the Thatcher government and all the associated issues, for me
one thing remains: my lasting take on these Barnsley people will be one of
expressed kindness and consideration to a total stranger.
David Taylor,
01/03/2021
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