...To point out, in case you missed it in the side bar, that Mark Frankland is fundraising urgently for First Base in Dumfries.
Fund raising is a 24/7/52 job. Isn't it heartbreaking that in the supposedly 6th largest economy of the world we feed millions by charity, otherwise they would starve to death. Proud?
I know that some of you have supported Mark in the past and I'd hate you to have missed it. Here's the link to the story, and here's the link to the appeal page.
Aye, well... hard question and I'm only a government minister, not programmed for hard questions from ordinary people. Where's the exit and my ministerial car?
If you can publicise the appeal on social media, it would be hugely appreciated too. Thanks...
For those of you who missed yesterday's post, or got bored reading half way down (I don't blame you), I just wanted to let you know that Mark Frankland's book "The Great Foodbank Siege" is now available on Amazon Kindle. For those unaware of the background to this book, Mark's blog is available here (or in the side bar). Basically, Mark, as well as being a writer, is an independent food bank manager. He runs "First Base" in the town of Dumfries. First Base hasn't got the support network of The Trussell Trust food bank, a national group of foodbanks with the rather dubious slogan "Every town should have one". What they do, they do alone, with the help of volunteers and donors. If you read back through his blog you'll learn about some of the lengths Mark goes to get food to give the people of his town, the contacts he has built and some of the tribulations of his job. It's worth a read. First Base supplies an amazing 5,000 food parcels a year in a town of around 50,000 people. Mark tells the background to the book on his blog far better than I can here, so I'll leave you to read it there. I've bought it and it's a page turner. A ripping good story for the not unreasonable price of £3, which after Amazon's share and VAT will net the charity around £2. Exciting too. I was reading it out loud to Munguin last night and he was hiding under the duvet! We need to do this folks, or the foodbank won't last beyond January. So if you have a Kindle, or you can download to your Kindle App, please give it a look HERE, the Amazon page. And, it would be great if you could tell your friends, tweet it, put it on Facebook or any other media you use, and finally, you might write a wee review on Amazon. These reviews make a difference to sales. I know Mark, and more importantly, his clients, will be incredibly grateful. Thank you.
You will doubtless remember the fracas a week or so ago when the altogether hapless Viceroy of Scotland was invited to open the new Trussell Trust food bank (moto: Every town should have one) in Dumfries. It turned out not to be one of his brighter moves. He had already ignored an invitation from the manager of the existing food bank in the town, First Base, on the basis that he was "one of these yes supporters". Anyway, the day at Trussell went badly for Muddle. Not only was he met by protesters outside the food bank (including out own intrepid reporter, Arbroath), but once inside, having said his few works to the assembled dignitaries and just about to sample the generous fare which Trussell had laid on (''food bank feeds cabinet minister!''), one of First Base's volunteers asked him why he hadn't accepted the invitation to visit their food bank. (I wonder if it was because the food THEY have is for the victims of his government, not its ministers, and he'd only have got a cup of tea and a digestive there.) Anyway, in response he muttered a few words even more incoherently than normal (Aye, well...err...), and did an Iain Gray, but him being a minister of the crown, and there being no Subway in sight, it was oot the door and into a waiting car. Fluffy's day didn't get any better though when it was discovered that the food bank wasn't in his constituency and he had broken various polite conventions on working in another MPs area. Anyway, all this is a preamble to my pitch. Mark's First Base has a funding shortfall of £15,000. Simply put unless it raises that money it will close its doors in January. It doesn't have the national weight of Big Charity Trussell behind it. However, he's not the kind of guy to let stop him, so, wearing his other hat as writer, Mark sat down and wrote a book based on a Secretary of state's visit to a food bank, and his subsequent kidnap. It's not available quite yet, but you can hear a preview here, read by Mark. https://www.spreaker.com/user/franklandmark Warning: There's a good few sweary words in it. Give it a miss if you're easily offended. If your not easily offended by that sort of thing, you should give it a listen... I thought it was hilarious. It will be out in a few weeks, and although I can't guarantee Mark will read the rest of it to you, you will be able to read it for yourself on Kindle for just £3, £1 of which will go to Amazon and £2 of which will go to First Base Food Bank so it can keep going and keep feeding people that this government has let down. With the benefit changes, I suspect that that number will grow and grow in the coming year. I'll unashamedly plug it here till everyone has bought a copy...:), but I know you won't mind.
So, yesterday the ever-inept David Mundell (Fluffy Muddle as Munguin calls him), having accepted an invitation from Trussel Trust, turned up to open their new food bank in Dumfries. There are so many stories about the bold boy's disastrous day, I don't know where to start.
But I'll direct you to this account of his visit and its background written by the manager of First Base, the independent food bank that operates in the town. I'd urge you to read it. Mark writes very amusingly! I also urge you to read the "Scottish" Daily Mail's account of the event, which is literally quite unbelievable. And if your blood pressure with stand it, some of the comments from their readers. Clearly these people swallow the lies that their chosen newspaper lays out for them on a daily basis. Here's an example:
Strange how the SNP take no responsibility as normal. They
are the Government here not Tory party. . They have the power in Scotland. This
is their core support out their [sic] Everybody's fault in the world apart from
themselves. The true face of the nationalists. Bitter angry and full of hate.
These people need to take a look as [sic] Ms Sturgeon and Co. That is [sic]any off [sic] them
can leave London for 5 minutes and visit their constituency. At least Mr
Mundall [sic] has the courage to show his face.
Erm, yes, if only for a few minutes! The Mail's headline screams that the Scottish Nasty Party (yes, it says that... It's clearly competing to take over where the "Daily Sport" laid off) strikes again.
By the time you get down to the sub headlines (the bullet points for the hard of thinking) it has admitted that it is anti-austerity campaigners who were responsible, although it can't help but add, yet again, for the benefit of the dim, that that includes the SNP. I'd take being anti-austerity as a badge of honour, but it seems that being against people starving is a bad thing in the eyes of the good Lord Rothermere's Mail. The account goes on to say that these activists (again stating that they included SNP people, without saying who else was there) forced him (Fluffy) to flee by the back door. But the video shows that what appears to have forced him to leave the place in such a hurry, was a polite question from a lady who was in the building, asking why he had accepted the invitation from Trussel Trust to be involved in this food bank, but had refused a request by First Base to visit their food bank. (See mark's story for all the details.)
According to the Mail Mundell looked visibly shaken. It's not my place to offer advice to the great and the good...or indeed Fluffy... but, if a polite question like that has the effect of visibly shaking you, then maybe politics, or any other job which is public facing, is not for you. Our own Arbroath was at the event, and has provided Munguin with links to some of the articles that covered the story. She was herself interviewed by numerous organisations including television! As she points out in the comments of the last story (linked above), it seems that Mundell is not even the MP for the location of the food bank, and that that may be a protocol faux pas. Maybe some of you can help in this matter. I've a dim recollection that MPs are not permitted to take part in public affairs in any constituency other than their own, unless invited to do so by the member for that constituency. In the case of ministers (which by default, if not merit, Fluffy is), whose jobs clearly involve national or pan national responsibility, whilst they can appear officially in any constituency, it is considered good manners to get permission from the serving MP and to invite him or her to join them at the event.
It would be interesting to know if that's true or it I dreamed it. And of course, if the MP was invited to come along...
Oh, and it's worth noting that in Mark's story he points out that there was a spread laid on for the people at the launch. How ironic is that? Can't help feeling that a food bank should have been saving every bit of it food for people who needed it, not for overpaid MPs and thier retinues, with ministerial salaries and expenses to keep them in ice cream.
Incidentally, for those of you who didn't read the whole of Mark Frankland's article, he goes on to talk about the perilous financial state of First Base. In order to survive it needs another £15,000 before January, and it has no obvious way of raising that money. So Mark, who is, as well as being a food bank manager, an author, has written a novel "The Great Food Bank Siege" which will be published on Amazon Kindle in a few weeks time at the price of £2,99 to raise some money. Munguin will be buying a copy! ++++++++++++++++++ Terrifying mob of middle aged people shouting "shame on you", and plenty of police to keep them away from the sainted viceroy.
