Posted on 11/03/2012 11:05:07 AM PDT by billorites
Former Prime Minister and "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher had a motherly side, cleaning dirt from her bodyguard’s shoes and putting up Christmas decorations to make staff feel at home, her former protection officer has revealed.
History and popular literature has depicted former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a formidable Iron Lady, putting politics before her personal life and not suffering fools gladly.
But a new account of her life, written by her bodyguard of 20 years, has claimed to shed light on a caring, motherly side hidden from the general public.
Special Branch detective Barry Strevens told a newspaper his heart “sank” when he originally discovered who he would be protecting.
But from first meeting, when Baroness Thatcher “fussed” over him following a minor motoring accident, he claims he was won over.
Mr Strevens claims he was “taken aback” by her “motherly” concern, as she sought to put him at ease and look after his welfare.
Once, he claims, she even kindly wiped dog dirt after a police sergeant inadvertently walked it into her apartment on his shoe.
Writing in the Sun, Mr Strevens describes how Baroness Thatcher decorated the bleak outbuilding at Chequers he was living in for Christmas, tidying up the mess left behind by a previous shift of officers and putting up tinsel and leaving him presents to cheer him up
Saying she left a tin of biscuits, a flask of hot coffee and a miniature bottle of whisky for him, he added: “On the mantelpiece was a Christmas card with a message inside thanking me for ‘all that you do’.”
He said he was “incredibly touched” by the gesture, which comforted him while he was away from his own wife and children over the festive season.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
the Prime Minister reassured him with the words "Never mind, we're in the country now," before getting on her “hands and knees” to scrub his shoes and carpet with soap and water.'
Ask yourself, "What would Barry do?"
God bless the Lady Thatcher.
Nice story!
What a contrast. Hillary Clinton used to try to make the Secret Service scrub the unremovable stains from her industrial knickers!
It’s what you do when no one’s watching, and there are no photo-ops to be offered or taken, that is what really takes the measure of you as a man or a woman. I am not surprised by this story, just delighted all these years later.
She was the real thing.
Motherly? I would say DECENT —she treated her subordinates decently.
This article has this amazed tone because a core liberal assumption is that conservatives are not simply misguided or wrong but are seen as consciously choosing EVIL over good —a very simplified view.
I’m not a big W fan, but he treated them this way also. And so did Reagan.
Ever hear the SS talk about CARTER? Or Hillary? She once hit her limo driver in the back of his head with a Bible for NOT running a red light during a drive following church during the Monica Mess.
Wish Maggie was ours. GB was lucky to have her. WOW, What A Lady! Dang, I’m Gonna Claim Her for America. God Bless You, Maggie!
“popular literature has depicted former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a formidable Iron Lady, putting politics before her personal life and not suffering fools gladly”
*****
Literature written by a bunch of liberals who no doubt resented her for her convictions, courage and class.
These anecdotes about Lady Thatcher mirror those of Secret Service agents who’ve shared their experiences working for Democrat versus Republican presidents.
They uniformly praise and fondly remember their days with Republicans, while recounting horror stories of their times with Democrats.
SAVE
Barry would walk out front like he did after the Beer Summit. Attorney General John Ashcroft shoveled snow for his neighbors in DC.
She is a conservative. Conservatives are just good, decent people who take care of themselves and do their best for others. Makers, not takers.
Given the constant load of crap she received for decades from the BBC, the Guardian, etc., she was not thrown off by the incident.
Thank you for posting this. I have always adored her.
Lady Thatcher was truly noble.
Same here.
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