IRISH MY ERSE!

BEARS IN THE WOODS AND THE BOW-WOW FACTOR

Once upon a time, in a land where bears frolic in the woods, there lived a man called Aleksei Grigoryevich Stakhanov.

Aleksei Grigoryevich, as his friends called him for short, was a coalminer.Each shift he mined twice as much coal as the previous shift.

He would work one extra shift every day, for half-pay. And on Sunday he would work two extra shifts, for no pay at all.

Aleksei Grigoryevich was much admired by the owner of the mine, who also owned newspapers, radio stations, film studios, cinemas, recording studios,theatres, and acting and ballet troupes. Newspapers, radio programmes, films, songs, plays, opera and ballet united in praise of Aleksei Grigoryevitch. All coalminers, at first, and then all the workers  were encouraged to follow the example of Aleksei Grigoryevich Stakhanov.

Though the Private Finance Initiative did not operate there, the owner of the mine owned all the schools, all the hospitals, all the jails and even all the summer camps in the land where  bears frolic in the woods.

After some years the owner of the mine passed on, and some years later it was revealed that the reputation of Aleksei Grigoryevich Stakhanov did not bear scrutiny. It was a fairy story, part of a campaign of fun and frolics.

Workers in Britain are fortunate, some say blessed by Divine Providence, for they will not be surprised by frolicking bears when they venture down to the woods.

But they are liable to endure a surfeit of bull ordure from some bosses, while at their places of work.In John Bull's Green and Pleasant Land there's a lot of it about.That's not to suggest that the bosses are parsimonious when it comes to frolics.Au Contraire, as they say at polite dinner-parties.

I could name an employer that urges workers to routinely go the extra mile for no extra payment, (try that  on a Cabbie!), and to wag their tails like grateful dogs whilst going it.

They call it the Bow-Wow Factor.

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