I breathed a sigh of relief when Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in 1991. She was a divisive politician and I couldn’t stand the woman, as much for her style as for her policies. I hated her Churchillian posturing over the Falklands crisis, her gloating over the decline of the trade unions, her school-marmish lecturing of our European partners, her bullying of her cabinet colleagues, her stubbornness and inflexibility over the poll tax, and her ridiculous rhetorical constructs, such as “you turn if you want to, this lady’s not for turning”.
But on hearing of her death today at the grand old age of 87 [what's that they say about only the good dying young?], I learned something I didn’t previously know about the woman. I have discovered that before entering politics, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put her Oxford chemistry degree to good use with a research job at food manufacturer J. Lyons and Co.
Tasked with whipping more air into ice cream, she produced a type of ‘soft-scoop’ cream which could be pumped through a machine. It heralded Mr Whippy vans and the ‘99’ cone and her lengthy career of blowing a lot of hot air every time she opened her mouth!
So to paraphrase Violet Elizabeth Bott in Just William, it’s no wonder she made me scream and scream till I was sick!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
