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RMT activists from Yorkshire, the north east and Cumbria attended the funeral last month of Probyn “Charlie” Farr (centre of picture) who passed away on October 7 2004. Charlie may have talked with a London accent and went to school in Wandsworth but it was in the North Yorkshire town of Skipton and across Arriva Trains Northern that he will be known for his loyalty and work for RMT. Charlie was a key figure in the 14 month Arriva Trains Northern conductors, station and retail pay disputes. He was a familiar sight on the picket line at Skipton and further afield. He was a keen traveller and recently visited Cuba. Charlie’s funeral at St Mary’s Church, Carleton, nr Skipton was attended by work colleagues, managers, company councillors and staff reps from across the north. RMT’s Union Learning Fund project manager Scarlet Harris (centre) visited Italian railway workers and trade unionists as part of a TUC delegation last month. The visit was hosted by CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Workers). During their stay the delegation visited the central signal station at Termini station. Considering the heavy traffic at the station (600 freight trains and 800 passenger trains passing through the station every day), Italian signal workers were justifiably proud of their 88 per cent punctuality record. When in Rome.... The late Probyn ‘Charlie’ Farr TURKISH Transport Workers’ Union TUMTIS president Sabri Topcu called in at Unity House last month for discussions with RMT general secretary Bob Crow and president Tony Donaghey. A tribute to Paul Foot 1937 – 2004 “The great are great only because we are on our knees. Let us rise!” Camille Desmoulins Paul Foot, one of the finest socialist journalists writers/speakers of our time, sadly died on July 18 2004. A member of the Socialist Workers Party and ex-editor of Socialist Worker, Paul was more than a brilliant writer, he was a campaigner against injustice and a class fighter. As fellow journalist, trade unionist (NUJ) and friend John Pilger said at Paul’s Memorial in October “Paul was all of these things because of his politics not in spite of them”. Paul contributed to a vast range of publications (Private Eye, Daily Mirror, The Guardian, London Review of Books etc) and was the author of many significant books, including Harold Wilson, Enoch Powell, Hanratty, Colin Wallace, Red Shelley, and more. In 2000 he was voted Campaigning Journalist of the Decade. The What the Papers Say Awards described Paul as “a journalist who stuck closely to his principles and, to the chagrin of the authorities, has been proven right time and again”. The Daily Mirror acknowledged “There are more people walking the streets of Britain who have been freed from prison by Paul Foot than any other person.” Paul’s combination of passion, anger and humour in politics was only matched by his honesty. Once Paul was attacked from the floor of a meeting, accused of being middle class, he replied: “I’m ruling class. I choose to be a traitor to my class because they disgust me.” The feeling was mutual, his significance however, they could not ignore. That is why the Economist, the bosses’ magazine, clearly recognised the political tradition in which Paul stood: “The tradition of radical journalism goes back a long way in Britain, to William Hazlitt, William Cobbett, Tom Paine, John Wilkes and beyond. These 18th and 19th century essayists and pamphleteers were not self-described neutral observers who meticu- lously separated facts from opinions, discarded the opinions and then left readers to form their own judgements. They were committed campaigners who had a point of view and made no apologies for expressing it. Mr. Foot was in that tradition.” Paul used his journalistic skills to bring the spirit of the struggle into every article and speech he made, exposing the machinations of the upper classes, and conveying socialist ideas in a language that was accessible to people who had never come across them before. At Paul’s funeral, whilst many of us mourned the death of such a significant and brilliant contributor to socialism, you could almost hear Paul complaining, quoting Joe Hill: “Don’t mourn, Organise!” The final words must, however, go to Paul’s favourite poet, Shelley Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number - Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you - Ye are many - they are few. Unjum Mirza Activists’ corner Dispatches IIIIII 29