We call this Country civilised. On the surface it seems civilised, but look behind the spin doctored crap dished out by the media and you will see that our civlisation, is, as Gandhi once said, "a good idea" and not a reality for a great number of people who live here.

One way of judging a civilisation is to see how that society treats its elderly. There are many other ways but let us simply look at how we in the UK, this so called 'civilised Country' treat our elderly. Take a look at the facts below then read on.

The UK is the world's fourth richest country yet more than two million pensioners live below the poverty line.

There are 11.22 million pensioners in the UK - 4.19 million are men and 7.03 million women.

A third of pensioner households lived in poverty in 2000.

The basic state pension is £75.50 a week for a single person and £120.70 for a couple.

The last of a Magnificent Generation.

In Kirkby many of us look after our own parents as they get elderly. However, there is a growing number of old folk here practically abandoned by their own families or those who have no-one. It has to be said that English people seem to have become particularly unconcerned by the plight of the elderly, ageism is a reality which leaves pensioners feeling unwanted and of no use to the community. These are the very people who should be the heart of the community, they should be watched over and protected, and their knowledge should be something that is treasured and given a chance to be passed onto the younger generation. The pensioners we have now are the last of a magnificent generation which laid the foundation stone for us to build a Country which was an example to the World. This magnificent generation fought for the National Health Service, for Social security, for pensions and workers rights. They fought in two world wars; they raised us or our mothers and fathers. These fantastic working class people who built this land are now cast aside and left to rot in the Council Estates and Hi Rise Hells of Blair's nightmare Britain. Below, we look at what our old folk have done for us.

World War 1

World War 1 saw millions of young men slain to supposedly keep the peace and better our lives. The arms that were to fuel World War One had been long in the stockpiling; the catalyst for the coming conflict was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. 7,996,888 men were slain 1,979,556 soldiers were simply missing in action. 21,755,196 were wounded, many seriously after the war took its course. These are figures for the military only. For the UK, the numbers killed were 658,700. 2,032,150 were wounded. 359,150 men were 'missing in action'. The men from England who fought may have joined up with a 'pals brigade' where a promise was made that lads of a certain town or village would stay together during the war. Kirkby was a tiny collection of farms back then, but you can see how many lads from Kirkby died so that others may supposedly live in freedom and peace. The First World War ended on November 11th 1918. The so called 'War to end all Wars' was over, but in 1939, once again the Working Classes were summoned forward to die by the million, this time the slaughter would hit us here in the UK as bombs fell on our communities and we in turn burned to death the German Working Class. The best of a generation was sacrificed so that the worse could proclaim peace and grow rich off the deaths of Millions. Many of the soldiers who returned would live to see their sons called forth in the next great slaughter of Working Class people.

Below, a 'Pals' regiment the 'hull commercials' march off to fight. for YOUR freedom.

World War Two

Friday, September the 1st 1939 saw the German Army, now rearmed to the teeth and under the command of Adolf Hitler. They decided to invade Poland, an aggressive act which was immediately condemned. In the UK the politicians demanded Germany withdraw, whilst the USSR lowered the age of conscription from 21 to 18 and mobilized its Army in preparation for the inevitable struggle against fascism. In London, the British ultimatum to Germany expires at 1100 hours on Sept 3rd and at 1115 hours, Chamberlain broadcasts on radio to announce that the war has begun. Another generation of young English lads were sent to foreign lands to fight once again for freedom and peace. This time the threat was more plain and the reasons for War not as complicated as the first war.

Hitler's hatred for the Working Class.

Hitler was an embittered Middle Class ex soldier who formed a tiny political party which grew into the Nazi Party. His hatred for the Working Class, especially communists, was shown when he threw them into concentration camps followed by the Jews and Gypsies and the disabled, gays and anyone not up to Hitler's strict racial guidelines. Hitler had to be stopped, but the Arms dealers helped him to rebuild Germanys Army. Fascism had to be fought and many of the old pensioners here in Kirkby will have played their part in the ultimate defeat of fascism, and we should praise the magnificence of these people who fought in the horror and destruction of those dark days. On 6 June 1944, a second Western front was opened with the invasion of Normandy - The D-day landings. Soon the Russians had control of Eastern Europe and were on the outskirts of Berlin. The Western Allies had driven the Germans back into Germany. The war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945 when Admiral Doenitz surrendered (Hitler having committed suicide a week earlier on 30 April). In August 1945 the Japanese surrendered after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Never Again.

The losses of World War Two were horrendous. A total of 60,000,000 military and civilians dead - at least 20,000,000 Russians alone were slaughtered. The UK saw some 144,000 soldiers killed. The last of this generation lives on still. The survivors who came home, and the wounded, would have hoped and prayed that their children and grandchildren would never have to face a War like they fought. 'Never again' was the sentiment expressed by the politicions. The men who returned knew only too well the futility of war and this generation carried on the fight for better conditions in the workplaces, the factories and in our communities.

Working Class Heroes

These working class heroes should be forever remembered and honored. For those who died, we owe them more than a few moments of silence once a year. To honour them and their sacrifice, we should make sure that all our old folk who are living are treated with as much respect as we can give them. Instead, our politicians insult the memories of the fallen by allowing a third of our Pensioners to live in poverty. We throw these old people in privatised 'care' homes with poorly paid and trained staff. We should be helping them but the UK is run by a bunch of vultures who feed off our elderly, picking at their life savings, robbing their pension funds and treating them like 3rd class citizens.

England 2003: A land fit for heroes?

January 2003, Westvale Kirkby. An Elderly pensioner is sleeping in her home, a bungalow, which is a nice place to live if it's secure. This old lady would have been 3 when World War One ended and about 27 when World War two broke out. She'd likely worked all her life. As she lay in bed one of Kirkby's lowlife decided to sneak around in the early hours. He broke into this elderly ladies house, this was the sixth time the lady was reported to have been broken into. The scumbag burglar got lucky when he found the old ladies winter fuel allowance, a payment of £200 to stop our old folk dying of hypothermia as still happens in the UK. The lowlife wasn't content with this money and decided to enter her bedroom; he didn't care that she may be frightened to death. He noticed a ring on her finger, maybe a ring that was given to her by a husband, and this lowlife wrenched it off her finger, adding it to his night's takings. We can almost picture this evil little shit gloating as he bought his drugs later on.

Abuse of the Elderly by our politicians and the powers that be.

Wavertree MP Jane Kennedy recently said that the blame for the closure of care homes in Liverpool lies firmly with the council. This parasite who voted for a 40% pay-rise for herself and her mates in Parliament claims Liverpool has chosen not to invest in the care of its elderly living in the private and voluntary sectors. The Council in Liverpool says that "We have, along with other social service departments across the region, been lobbying the government for more money." Meanwhile as the politicians bicker and pass the buck to and fro, our old folk are dying through lack of care. They are being mugged, burgled, conned and now and again some poor soul is found in the street or in their house, dead. On 17th February 2003, as Liverpool's councillors and the Countries MP's shuffled papers, workmen close to Switch Island in Liverpool discovered the body of John Barrett, 67. He had been suffering mental and physical health problems, but his daughter had so far failed to find him a place in a Liverpool care home. His family feared that without proper care "it was just a matter of time before he would be found dead". Indeed it was. Meanwhile, executives on the council have been awarded themselves pay rises of up to 20% over the next four years. This is justified, according to leader Mike Storey, who told us "If we want the best and want to keep the best we have to pay the best." Storey and the rest of the greedy Councillors on Merseyside, and our well paid and useless MP's, should be dragged themselves to Switch Island where they can hang their heads in shame. They killed this poor man, no matter what they tell you.

Victims of the powers that be.

Here in Kirkby our own pensioners are victims of the stupidity and incompetence of our own Council and Housing Trust. The utter lack of common sense and selfish ignorance of the powers that be has seen pensioners in Kirkby dumped in Hi Rise hell holes and left to fend amongst the junkies and predatory scum who would rob them. Knowsley Council and then the Housing Trust charged the old folk for security and concierge when it clearly doesn't exist.

Below, a CCTV camera burnt by vandals in a Tower Block.



On Friday May the 9th 2003, one of our old folk, a lady in her eighties, was found 'dead in suspicious circumstances' in a Tower Block which can only be described as a frightening and intimidating hell hole. The day of the discovery of the old ladies body, there were maybe 20 Police Officers to be seen. Later that night and the following night, one officer was left on duty outside the flat, likely one of the Police here who knew the woman well and went beyond their duty to try and help her. 2 nights later, the lowlife had pissed in the lifts again and life in the Tower Block was 'back to normal'.

Below, the Tower Block were this elderly lady was left to live in appalling conditions.



No matter how this old lady died. The fact she was left in such appalling conditions at the mercy of the scum who are allowed to roam the block at will is enough to ask for heads to roll among those who were supposed to protect her. More than that, we need to turn our attentions to those at the top who persistently make excuses for not funding the care of the elderly. We have millions of SRB money being leached here locally whilst our old folk are lucky to get a window lock out of it. It's time we put our pensioners first. Any Council staff or Housing Trust Staff who do not give 100% to them should be dismissed. Local community representatives who do not put their necks on the line for them should be dismissed too.

Zero tolerance of Scum

The scum who prey on the elderly in any way shape or form, should be threw in a cell for 25 yrs minimum. The community of Kirkby should make it known that any abuse or disrespect of our elderly will not be tolerated. It's doubtful any such scum would read this website, this message is not for them. It is up to the decent ordinary people here to make sure we create a Town were our old folk can live in peace and where we can give praise to these brilliant people for what they have done. Kirkby Times salutes the pensioners. Many of these people stood up selflessly for their class. We must repay them.

This article is dedicated to all the pensioners in Kirkby and especially those lads whose ultimate sacrifice in the Wars allows this website to enjoy the freedom of speech which we would never have had.

Below the vandalised War memorial at St Chads, it honours the young men of this Town who laid down their lives thinking they would secure a future for their loved ones back home. The politicians betrayed them.



"The water is so deep
The water is so dark
And it's full of harbour sharks
The land is like a rock slowly shattering to sand
Sinking in a sea of calamity
Where fear breeds shadows that lurks in the dark
Where people afraid to walk
Afraid to think, afraid to talk
Where the present is haunted by the past"

Reggae Fi Dada: Linton Kwesi Johnson form the Album 'Independent Intervenshun'

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