VISIT FROM THE VICEROY

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!

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Terrifying mob of middle aged people shouting "shame on you", and plenty of police to keep them away from the sainted viceroy.