Plus ca change ...

Last night my nearly-sixteen year old daughter came with me to the London Socialist Party 'How We Beat The Tories Last Time' public meeting. I feel some conflicting emotions at this.

Firstly,  pride: that she's definitely on the 'right' side; that she gives a toss about what's going on in the world;  and that she has sufficient energy to get up and do something about it. Something must have rubbed off.

Secondly, frustration: I was about the same age when I first got involved - and never would have dreamt that 25 years later we would again be facing another period of doom and gloom recession -  and with so many defeats from Tories and betrayals from Labour behind us.

But also lastly - a sense of getting old: The meeting started with an excellent  short film of news clips from the 80's and early 90's - featuring a fresh-faced Tommy Sheridan and a youthful Derek Hatton, surrounded by comrades sporting  the shell-suits and mullets of that era. And  I could vividly recall all the events featured - the meetings, the demos, the strikes, the lobbies ... and the headlines.

Fucking hell - I've become a part of history.