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p18
It was a tough choice. Should I go to watch a German professor
cutting out the entrails of a corpse or was it my duty to hear local politicians trying to
breathe life back into Hackney's economy? Professor Gunter von Hagen sawing through the
ribs of a dead man or Councillor Eric Ollerenshaw telling rib-tickling jokes? Public
autopsy or council meeting? I chose the grimmer option and headed towards the Town Hall.
It was not a night to be out. Rain lashed down and a pale moon flickered behind the heavy
clouds. Cold and wet, I decided to stop at the village inn for a warming jar of grog.
Surly peasants looked at me suspiciously as I entered. I asked a bent-over crone if there
was anywhere I could park for free at that time of night. She cackled with laughter, as if
I was some sort of madman, and whispered in my ear to warn me not to go near the Town Hall
after dark. Apparently an old hermit who had lived in the building for hundreds of years
had been evicted recently. He had damned the place and all who went there. It was called
the 'Curse of Lobenstein.' I pressed a euro coin into her outstretched hand and strode
through the doors, wrapping my cloak around me.
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The stone mausoleum that houses the council was quiet as I entered. Above
the platform of council chamber, the picture of Her Majesty the Queen was slightly askew,
perhaps reflecting the current fortunes of the royal family. Council meetings are now
chaired by 'Madam Speaker' not 'Madam Mayor,' although it's the same person nice Sharon
Patrick. That's because Jules Pipe has become 'Mr Mayor,' since his recent election
victory. His new power has not changed him, and he was dressed as usual in his sober
three-piece suit. No mild-mannered Clark Kent transformed into Superman for Jules; Hackney
is now ruled by Modestman.
There were two main items on the agenda: books and money. Barbara Gray of the Hackney
libraries users group made a well-argued plea for the council to get off its collective
backside and settle the dispute with the library staff that has closed the establishments
on Saturdays. The council is refusing enhanced payments for Saturday working. She referred
to her unanswered letters to the councillors responsible and the attempts to break the
strike by bringing in 'sessional' workers (at a cost of £90,000 over twice the cost of
the regular staff) on a Saturday, the busiest day. Morale was low and there was a 25 per
cent yearly turnover of employees. Councillor Schneur Odze, a young Conservative, made the
helpful suggestion that perhaps the strikes could be held mid-week, during the less busy
periods. Jules Pipe rose, pointed dramatically at the Press table, and said: 'there will
be no library closures unless they are replaced by a new one!'. Obviously intended as a
reassurance, it unfortunately had a 'read my lips' sort of resonance.
 Eric Ollerenshaw, Conservative leader, got to his feet. Looking fit and
trim is he a candidate for the forthcoming Hackney Youth Parliament? he seized his
chance. Why was it, he asked, that there were always strikes when Labour was in power?
Didn't they listen to their friends in the unions? Eric didn't get an answer. Perhaps it
was because Labour was employing Conservative policies but neither side wanted to admit
it. He did a bit of tub-thumping about bad management and started to sound like a militant
shop steward. His key point was that the new Central Library was sucking in resources from
the outlying libraries like Clapton and Stoke Newington. Guy Nicholson replied to the
debate and stressed that the council would make every effort to end the dispute. He also
said that the Central Library was overstretched and the staff overworked.
The next item caused deep embarrassment. Just about every speaker said how embarrassed
they were. Why? Because it concerned their allowances currently £2,400 a year a
pittance by any standard. An independent committee, chaired by Professor John Gabriel, had
made recommendations that would raise the basic allowance to £8,500, rising through
various levels of responsibility to £65,000 for the Mayor. After questions to Professor
Gabriel, Jessica Crowe, a rising star in Labour's bright firmament and new Deputy Mayor,
proposed on behalf of her group that it should be reduced for the next year due to the
council's financial problems. This would mean £5,738 for councillors and £43,875 for the
Mayor. That was agreed unanimously
As I walked down the steps of the Town Hall, I thought I saw a vampire bat fly over my
head towards Stoke Newington and Abney Park Cemetery. |
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