Saturday, June 11, 2005
Knitting needles at dawn
My absence in Scotland has delayed this post by a few days but I felt that it was important to record one of the more touching moments of Wednesday's Plenary. Recent statistics have shown that the most popular A-level subject in Wales is history. This is a reassuring sign that civilisation still flourishes strongly here. As if to underline that fact, Kirsty Williams opened her speech on the merger of Welsh Quangos into the Labour Assembly Government with an historical analogy:
On 14 July last year, the First Minister decided to stage his own storming of the Bastille, but rather than saying ‘Off with their heads’ to the aristocrats, he decided that it was the quangos that he wanted to send to the guillotine, with Andrew Davies, in the supporting role of Madame Defage, knitting by the side of it.
This mutual affection between Kirsty and the Economic Development Minister has never been apparent in the chamber before. I understand that it was followed up by a tongue-in-cheek e-mail exchange complete with suggestions as to how he could best use his knitting needles.
On 14 July last year, the First Minister decided to stage his own storming of the Bastille, but rather than saying ‘Off with their heads’ to the aristocrats, he decided that it was the quangos that he wanted to send to the guillotine, with Andrew Davies, in the supporting role of Madame Defage, knitting by the side of it.
This mutual affection between Kirsty and the Economic Development Minister has never been apparent in the chamber before. I understand that it was followed up by a tongue-in-cheek e-mail exchange complete with suggestions as to how he could best use his knitting needles.
