oh dear ....

All over Bristol there are posters begging that Cadburys at Keynsham be 'saved'.

This is ridiculous. It is closing because it is uneconomic. A factory doesn't exist as some sort of social club for losers. It exists to make money for its owners and shareholders. Workers choose to be workers. They choose the easy option. They fail at school, get married young, have idiot kids early, slump in front of the TV eating KFC and envy those that have made something of their lives. There is no security in employment and neither should there be. Workers should not be cossetted.

What they should be is harangued by their superiors. They need to be told in no uncertain terms that unless they educate themselves, constantly reskill themselves and learn the basics of decency and culture then they will always be nobodies. That doesn't mean they should be ill-treated, but they need to know their place. Closing their little factory reminds them sharply that the world is a harsh place, that nothing should be taken for granted and that uncertainty and discomfort remind you that you are ALIVE. Not a cog in a huge machine, but a thinking individual that should have aims in life beyond working in the same job forever and being able to remember the name of Elsie Tanner's first husband.

So let's celebrate the fact that Cadbury's are leaving Keynsham to move east. Let the ex-workers find that there's more to life than a bar of Dairy Milk, that there's scenery and animals and swimming and walking and reading. They may just rediscover themselves in the process ...