CHAPTER 4: Dulcimers in the British Isles since 1800 > Dulcimers in Scotland

Working for a better world

JIMMY COOPER - interviewed by Alan Ward - 5 of 11

I used to be a member of the Anti-Parliamentary Federation. It was against the Communist Party. We had a man called Guy Aldred. He was what you would term an anarchist. Then there was the I.L.P., Jimmy Mackerson's crowd. Aldred's crowd was the A.P.F. And then there vas the Communist Party. And they hated one another. People had a lot of freedom, idle - no job. In fact there were more rebels than there is now. We went to religious debates as well, became anti-religion, atheist. We seen through the whole stinking society when I was young.

And 40 years ago I was put out of a communist meeting because I told them what Stalin was, and they've only found out lately what Stalin was... See Russia to me is state capitalism - which we're gonna be - it's not any better than private capitalism, it's worse in fact 'cause you're only a number. We were always against the state being too powerful. That's where I disagreed with the Communist Party...

There were so many unemployed and we got no dole. I got nothing. My brothers and myself - got no money whatever. There were seven of us in the family and my father got £1 a week to keep seven. It was the Labour government that also brought out the Means Test. And... supposing I was in a family of seven and I got a job. They took my wages into consideration, so the result was that young fellers left the house - it drove people apart...

It was horrible because nobody had any money - you couldn't believe it... the shops were all shutting - people had no money to buy things. I never saw so many shut shops as there was... and things were really cheap, but nevertheless... I can go back when Woodbines were a penny for five - but I hadn't a penny. It was a hard time, and jobs were hard to get...