Mentioning politics at the end of that last comment of mine has opened a can of worms. It reminded me of the most shameful thing I have done in my life.
Can you remember the 1974 General Election in Blyth when John Ryman was elected as MP? That was when Eddie Milne, a very good constituency MP, fell out with the Labour Party. At that election Eddie stood as a principled Independent MP. The Labour Party selected an Oxford University barrister, John Ryman, as their candidate.
I was a close friend of the step-son of Peter Mortakis, who was The Labour Party agent in Blyth. I met Ryman before the election. In those days I was new to photography and was flattered to be asked to take some photographs of Ryman for his election campaign.
When I met met Ryman, before the election, he struck me as a pompous person who was utterly out of touch with people of Blyth. However I wanted to prove myself as a photographer, so I accepted the challenge.
Peter Mortakis's son & I took Ryman around Blyth. We produced a superb set of photos to promote Ryman. We took him took building sites, the market, even to the river where we showed him with a proud granny, (with power station in background), who was watching her grandson fish. They were a superb set of photos. I can't claim all the credit, my accomplice, Peter's stepson, was brilliant. He could talk to all the Blyth folks with great sincerityand get them to co-operate.
My photos were very good. They made Ryman look like a man with a sincere involvement with the people pf Blyth. Ryman won the election by a very small margin. His winning, acceptance speech was the most nauseating I have ever heard.
Shortly afterwards Ryman & Mortakis were taken to court for not complying with laws on electoral expenses. They had overspent. I was a witness for the prosecution. I reluctantly had to amit that I had received a small payment from the agent. This resulted in Peter Mortakis being found guilty and barrister Ryman being found not guilty. In my mind, Peter Mortakis was a simple guy who was easliy manipulated by Ryman. The police never returned the negatives of the photographs that were used in the leaflet to promote Ryman. Fortunately I have a single copy of the flyer which we produced. It is very good. It was too good.
Eddie Milne was a very decent guy, and a good MP. His wife and my mother were friends. Yet I had been the key element in promoting Ryman and destroying Milne. The last that I heard of Ryman, many years ago, was that he was in jail for defrauding an old woman, or two. I have to be carefull what I say on this as it is secondhand onformation. I suggest that you Google "John Ryman", and see what you find.
So there it is, "the most shameful thing I have done in my life"'.
Yes, by now I have exceed my drinks limit, but feel better for my confession.
