Ulster Television Make Programme But Are Prevented From Showing It

I borrowed the money to pay for the insurance stamps and Court fine and paid it back over a period of time doing work for the lender. Mr. Adams wrote to Down District Council again on March 23rd 1985 and this letter was put on the Council's agenda for consideration at their meeting on June 3rd 1985.

During April 1985 Ulster Television journalist Maria McCann took up our case and did an in-depth investigation into the whole affair. She even traced Mr. Samuel Conners to Australia and out of her reach. An Ulster Television team of six spent one whole long day filming and interviewing for a complete programme for the Ulster Television network. The programme was never screened. SDLP Councillor for Down District Paddy Baxter told Leo Spence when the latter went to speak on my behalf, that when Ulster Television had approached Down District Council and had been told the truth of the matter it was decided that the programme should not be screened.

I received a Recorded Delivery letter dated June 19th 1985 from the Planning Service in Downpatrick referring to the, quote,

"residential mobile home situated at 11 Newcastle Road, Drumaness, for which you are responsible".

Its siting without planning permission was in breach of planning control and I was required to state in writing within two weeks that I would have the mobile home removed off this site by August 8th 1985 otherwise the Department would consider serving an Enforcement notice on me. It went on, quote,

"Failure to comply with the terms of an Enforcement Notice is an offence and, on summary conviction, can result in a heavy fine with further daily fines for each day on which the terms of the notice remain unfulfilled."

The local press did a good job on this situation. Colin Duncan apologised to Gemma and me because Downtown Radio had failed to expose this unjust situation. Colin Duncan made representations to BBC Watchdog staff in London on my behalf and as a result I received a telegram from one of the Watchdog staff in London asking me to phone him to London and reverse the charges. I made the phone-call but despite sending further files to Watchdog this avenue soon became just another cul-de-sac.

I wrote to the Prime Minister and received an acknowledgement on August 7th1985.

On September 12th 1985 the Republican News in Belfast carried a very well prepared article on my case. The article was prepared by journalist Nuala Doherty and was accompanied by two very relevant photographs. Local Sinn Fein Councillor Frank McDowell was quoted as saying,

"This is the worst case of unfit housing I have ever known. Gerry Rice has been unfairly and unjustly treated and I will be doing all I can to help him in his fight for justice and compensation."

Councillor McDowell is in the building trade.

While they were Sinn Fein councillors on DDC, Frank McDowell and Mrs. Geraldine Ritchie did do all they could for me to try and get justice for my family, and we had the very strange spectacle of the so-called constitutional catholic politicians in the SDLP doing all they could to frustrate the Sinn Fein members' efforts to get us justice. Of course the SDLP had no problem in blocking these efforts as the SDLP greatly outnumbered Sinn Fein.

The committee of the Ballynahinch Community Association had been unable even after two meetings with DDC officers to wring from those officers any straight answers to their questions on my behalf. Mr. Adams had already written again to DDC in the spring of 1985 and this letter caused Councillors to debate my case again at their meeting on June 17th1985. The following is typical of how DDC, or at least a certain ruling clique within DDC, operated. Since nothing had happened following that debate of Mr. Adams' letter at the June 17th Council meeting, Unionist Councillor William Brown who at this time was also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly, wrote to the Clerk of DDC and this is the reply he received from Mr. Peter Curry:

"Dear Mr. Brown, Thank you for your letter of 13th September 1985 on the matter of a complaint raised by Mr. Gerald Rice in respect of a dwelling owned by him at No. 56 Carlisle Park, Ballynahinch.

At a meeting of the Council held on 17th June 1985 following receipt of a letter from the Chairman of Ballynahinch Community Association, it was unanimously agreed that Councillor Kane and senior officers, including the District Chief Public Health Inspector and the Assistant Chief Building Control Officer, arrange a meeting with Mr. Rice to outline the Council's position in the matter. The District Chief Public Health Inspector had a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Rice on Tuesday, 25th June 1985. On that occasion the officer explained the result of the Ballynahinch Community Association meetings with Council representatives, and particularly advised that the District Council could not make a monetary offer. Mr. Rice, in reply informed the officer "that he would only be satisfied if the Council purchased the house for him and recouped his costs". In the circumstances the Inspector is of the opinion that it would be pointless to arrange another meeting with Mr. Rice. I accept that opinion.

On 25th June 1985 Councillor Patrick Kane and the Assistant Chief Building Control Officer were advised of the outcome of the meeting on 25th June. If he has not already done so, I assume that Councillor Kane will advise the Ballynahinch Community Association of the present position. Yours sincerely,
Peter Allen.
Clerk and Chief Executive."

It was the duty of DDC's Clerk and Chief Executive to advise the Ballynahinch Community Association of the 'present position', and in writing. That would have been a little difficult given that the meeting specified unanimously by the whole DDC had not taken place and was not now going to take place simply because Mr Jones had taken it upon himself or had been instructed to call unannounced at our now illegal mobile home eight days after that Council meeting and carry untruthful gossip back to Mr. Allen. Irrespective of what I said to Mr. Jones, and I did not say that I wanted the Council to buy No. 56 for me, this should not have caused Mr. Allen and Mr. Jones to conspire to cause the Council's unanimous decision to be countermanded.

It brought back memories of the December 8th 1977 meeting which did not take place as specified by the Council. The District Chief Public Health Inspector did not have a meeting with Gemma and me nor was this specified by the Council or arranged with us. Jones called to give himself and certain others an excuse to prevent the specified meeting taking place. Now I was beginning to feel better. Were these people so afraid of me? Of course they were not afraid of me. They were afraid of the truth. They knew it. Now I knew it.

Patrick Kane was a member of the Ballynahinch Community Association. Patrick Kane was now an SDLP Councillor Patrick Kane was now high up in the whole Social, Democratic and Labour Party. Patrick Kane was also a senior teacher in our children's school. This is why he was so well informed about the initial findings of the Commissioner for Complaints Report CC 19/78 and felt he could safely give us the information referred to earlier not knowing that it was going to be changed.

On November 4th 1985, I received an apologetic letter from Rev. Ian Paisley MP telling me there was nothing more he could do to help me. To have sent one letter on my behalf would have been remarkable since I was not one of his constituents but to have done the amount of work for me that he did do and especially get me so much documentation that has gone so far to enable me to write this story and make sense of it all does great credit to the man. As the last few words of his letter state,

"...you know I would help if I could."

Another letter to the Commissioner for Complaints saw the Commissioner hiding behind anther legal loophole preventing him from taking up my complaint that DDC did not institute legal proceedings for the unauthorised and dangerous building of 56 Carlisle Park.

I had already contacted the Belfast Telegraph, Ulster Television and the BBC in Belfast about the pressure being put on me by the Planning Service to remove my 'temporary' living accommodation but none of them were interested enough to highlight it. Sinn Fein Councillors and their representatives were now calling quite often and spending a lot of time investigating all the matters involved. Sinn Fein were new to the local Council Chamber.

BBC Changes Its Mind

On October 11th 1985 Paul Clark called with Gemma and me and taped an interview with us for the BBC Consumer desk. He called again on October 14th for more information. Paul was very professional and like other BBC staff who had called before and were to call later, was very concerned, but unfortunately the BBC bosses did not see the story in the same light.

On November 8th 1985 Gemma and I along with our two older boys set off in our old Austin Princess car - we had to sell our good car to get some much needed money - filled up with placards saying '9 years of SDLP injustice', 'SDLP Cover-up', 'SDLP House Fraud', 'Remember Carlisle Park' (How could they forget it), 'Come clean SDLP'. We had an appointment outside the Forum Hotel in Belfast with Father Pat Buckley. The SDLP were holding their annual conference inside the Forum Hotel.

Neither Councillor Kane nor Councillor Jameson spoke to any of us as they passed within inches of us. Seamus Mallon MP spoke but obviously didn't want to, and John Hume MP was driven in past us ignoring the whole affair just as he had ignored my two letters. Father Buckley went inside the Hotel and because Alfie Jameson promised to meet him the picket was called off in a gesture of appreciation. Alfie Jameson later changed his mind and never met Father Buckley.

On November 11th 1985 the Rev. E. O'Donnell, Bishop's Secretary, wrote to me;

"I am, on behalf of Bishop Cahal Daly, acknowledging your letter of 3rd November 1985. The Bishop has noted the comments you have made. With every good wish."

On November 28th 1985 I went to court again for non-payment of rates. I had been reading a few old law books in my possession and among other things I told Magistrate Wishart Mills that since the Department of the Environment by their own admission in writing did not have a duty in law to provide me with the services which had been refused to me by DDC, the same Department of the Environment did not have the right in law to seek from me payment for those services. Mr. Mills as usual would not listen to me, well not until, as he put it, I would talk some sense. I may not have put the matter to him as accurately as I might have, but I still think I did have a point.

On November 30th 1985 the Down Recorder published an interesting article entitled,

"TUMBLING".

This article, by journalist Gary Law, was about the fact that house prices in mid and south Down had fallen well below the Northern Ireland average and by an average of £3,500 per house in the past six months. I found this very interesting. I continued picketing DDC meetings and putting out signs at No.11 into 1986.

On March 12th 1986 two DOE Planning Service Officials called at No. 11. One was Edward Bailie who came from the same area as Gemma and whom we knew personally. Almost apologetically Edward explained to me that he had to serve me with a Statutory Notice from the Planning Service because I did not remove my mobile home when I was told to do so. I took the papers off Edward and looked through them, and, just as in the cast of the libel papers I had good reason to smile to myself. I told Edward that I would have a little surprise for him when I met him in the court.

On March 28th 1986 DDC Clerk and now Chief Executive wrote me,

"I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 14th March which contains numerous inaccurate and misleading statements. Accusations contained therein against the Council, its officers and myself are denied without reservation."

The front page story in the Down Recorder on March 26th 1986 opened with the sentence,

"Court eviction orders are being sought as the Housing Executive steps up its efforts to wipe out a £435,000 rent arrears total for Down District."

If tenants could have told subsequent court hearings that they were not only being ripped - off, but the largest landlord in the United Kingdom was actually abusing the judicial system in actually charging rents for illegal housing and using the power of the court to enforce either wrongful payment of money or eviction. I tried to make some aware but the press would not go as far as I needed them to go.

Inside the same issue of the Down Recorder, journalist Paul Symington reported on the 180 days I had been given to remove our living accommodation under the large heading,

"GERRY'S BATTLE".

The following day the Mourne Observer also carried the story. The Irish News, Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Press did likewise.

On April 3rd 1986 the Irish News reported on the fact that Alfie Jameson the SDLP spokesmen on the Environment was to host a, quote, "major conference", on, "Sellafield and the threat to Ireland", in the Abbey Lodge Hotel just outside Downpatrick. A number of hi-tech guest speakers who had been invited to attend were referred to in the article.

I wrote to as many guest speakers as I could get addresses for and received some replies. The conference went on as scheduled but I was told afterwards that it had not all been plain sailing for Alfie Jameson inside. Gemma and I along with some of the children protested outside the hotel for nearly eight hours at Alfie Jameson's great concern at environmental pollution which was outside his jurisdiction as a District Councillor while at the same time he completely ignored a serious case of environmental pollution which was within his jurisdiction as a District Councillor. Alfie Jameson had been condemning pollution from Sellafield Nuclear Plant for some years and continues to condemn it. It had more political mileage of course than trying to expose the shortcomings of the Council of which he was a member. Condemning Sellafield to the extent that he condemned it was to a large extent responsible for his becoming a Member of Parliament soon afterwards. His new status thus gave him the excuse to retire from DDC.

Patrick Jennings wrote to Alfie Jameson on April 4th 1986 requesting a meeting. Alfie Jameson replied to Patrick on April 8th 1986;

"I refer to your letter of 4 April and would be willing to have a discussion with you but in the circumstances of having had to take High Court action to protect my own character, you will appreciate that I am somewhat doubtful of getting involved."

Too late, Alfie was already involved, and very deeply. He was willing to have a discussion but two lines further on he was not willing to have the same discussion. If he had protected his own character by his 'High Court action' referred to in chapter 17, what was there to be afraid of?

I was actually summoned to court on April 17th 1986 for failing to pay income tax. I did not even bother to go to the court.

On May 12th 1986 Leo Spence met with Councillor Baxter in Castlewellan and Baxter again went over the same old story of council lies and cover - up.

On the same day another incident took place in St. Colman's High School involving one of my girls who did not have a proper physical education kit at school on that day. In punishment she was put unsupervised into an empty room, empty, that is, except for a well-known glue sniffer. A short time later my daughter was found unconscious.

Later that year on October 15th my same daughter was pulled out of her seat in the school bus for no reason and beaten unconscious on her way to school. The lady teacher mentioned before, brought her home later and instead of having some sympathy for her, the teacher was highly critical of our daughter. When I had found out all the circumstances of this latest incident I had to warn my children of what I believed was now happening. They were now the target of very unscrupulous people and they had to be very careful. There was very little I could do about it. Nobody was going to listen to me, least of all anybody in any position of authority.

Leo Spence rang Patrick Jennings on May 13th 1986 and Patrick said that he had sought the latest report on 56 Carlisle Park from Councillor Kane unsuccessfully for three weeks. Patrick stated that Councillor Sloan had told him that he (Sloan) would attend any meeting to get the matter settled and that Sloan had telephoned Alfie Jameson but Alfie would not talk about the case.

On May 18th a meeting was held in the Ballynahinch parochial house of the parish priest Fr. Smyth. At the meeting with Fr. Smyth were Councillors Baxter and Sloan, local curate Fr. Hamill, Patrick Jennings, Leo Spence, Jimmy McMullan, Eugene Savage who is a building contractor and Stephen Campbell the Administrative/Finance Officer of DDC.

At the beginning of June 1986 the Down Recorder and Mourne Observer reported on Down District Council's recent meeting and the fact that Sinn Fein Councillor Frank McDowell had called for a full investigation into my claims that Down District Council had treated me unjustly. He was supported by the only other Sinn Fein Councillor Mrs. Geraldine Ritchie. Councillor Sloan proposed that Councillor McDowell defer his motion so that the council's viewpoint could be considered, SDLP Councillor Baxter said the problem was more complex than might appear at first sight. SDLP Councillor Kane shared Councillor McDowell's concern and said that a small committee of councillors could be set up to consider all the information relating to the case.

SDLP Councillor Curry said he wanted to see justice done initially but had simply given up after seeing the files. He also said, and this is most interesting, that every man is entitled to safeguard his investments but equally every other person living in Carlisle Park is entitled to get value for their property. Councillor Curry and every other Councillor knew that every householder in Carlisle Park and many others elsewhere had made very bad investments and the only way they could get back their equity was to stay silent and sell off the he next unfortunate buyer. The councillors were not helping those unfortunate buyers with their silence. As the song says, "Silence is Golden". Here in Down District, silence, a corrupt and depraved silence, was literally financially golden and had to be protected at all costs. Councillor Sloan's amendment was unanimously accepted.

DDC's Chief Admin/Finance Officer Campbell wrote to me on August 22nd 1986;

"At the request of Fr. Hamill I have made arrangements for you to meet Councillor Kane; Messrs. Clarke Acting Chief Building Control Officer; Milligan, District Building Control Officer and Jones, Chief Environmental Health Officer, at a meeting in the Committee Room, Down District Council, 24 Strangford Road, Downpatrick, on Wednesday, 27th August 1986 at 2.30 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to outline the Council's position in relation to the alleged problem at 56 Carlisle Park, Ballynahinch."

This meeting was specified by Down District Councillors in June 17th 1985 and now after fourteen and a half months it was to be held. On my side at this meeting I had Gemma, Leo Spence, Jimmy McMullan and Presbyterian Minister the Rev. Cecil Adams. Patrick Jennings was also in attendance but I had not made up my mind exactly where he stood such was his involvement in parish matters.
Fr. Hamill was asked to act as chairman of the meeting by Stephen Campbell when we were all assembled in Down District Council's Committee Room, which, as I stated before, is built with terralux blocks.

I knew that the Council officials were going to serve up their usual load of waffle. This was confirmed to me by the fact that Councillor Patrick Kane who was supposed to be a watchdog for the Council did not attend. This brought back more memories of the December 8th 1977 meeting when the owner of No. 54 Carlisle Park, who was meant to attend, didn't.

I questioned why this was and asked if in the circumstances the meeting should be adjourned. Of course I was only making a point for the benefit of the minutes being taken. Much was talked about, but two events dominated the meeting. I was determined not to waste this unique opportunity in the presence of a number of witnesses to get something out of this meeting and having made up my mind beforehand what I needed, I set out to get it, and I got it.

The architect for Carlisle Park, Mr. Cyril McKee, could not give me a copy of the Specification for the buildings.

The building contractor would not give me a copy.

Even Dr. Ian Paisley MP tried to get me a copy and failed.

I knew that there should be a copy in the large Council file and there was that file sitting across the table from me. At the first opportunity I enquired about the specification after there had been the usual argument between myself condemning terralux blocks and the Council officers pleading their acceptability in house building.
I asked the officers to produce the specification and put an end to this stupid argument. I stated that the specification would, as the architect has told me, settle the matter.
I was told that I was going to have to take the Council's word for what was in the specification as there was professional etiquette involved which denied public access to such a document .
I stated that I was not the public, but the purchaser of a dwelling which had been accepted by Building Control officers as conforming, according to a Parliamentary Written Reply, "... to specifications and plans which the Council had approved under the Housing (Owner Occupation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1956." Surely I had a right to see for myself what was in that specification.
I was already in possession of these 1956 Housing Regulations and knew that the structure of my home did not conform to those Regulations. Was the reason that I was not being shown the specification because the specification, drawn up by Mr. McKee and passed by the former East Down Rural District Council Building Control officers now employed by Down District Council, did not conform to those Regulations also?
After much deliberation and hesitation the specification was passed around the table. I was delighted. I glanced through it to see what standard of brick should have been used in the structure of 56 Carlisle Park, Ballynahinch, and I wrote down the British Standard in full view of all there. I now had what I had come for. The British Standard was B.S.3921. It was obvious to the Council officials what I was doing and Mr. Clarke made much of an offer to write to Fr. Hamill to explain in technical terms how terralux blocks or bricks fulfilled the requirements of the specification.
A short time later the meeting ended with tea and I didn't mind drinking it and having a bun. Gemma refused it.

We had just started chatting as we had our tea when the second major event of the meeting happened.

I probably made a little too obvious my satisfaction in wringing the information I wanted from the officers, but for whatever reason, DDC's District Building Control Officer launched into a bad-tempered personal verbal attack on me which continued for a considerable time despite the attempts of Fr. Hamill and Mr. Adams to stop him.
I tried my best to hide my satisfaction at such a tirade which only abated when Mr. Milligan announced that he had taken legal advice about the accusations I had directed at him in my letters to the Council. When he stopped I just stated very quietly, that others in the Council had already taken me to court but had paid a very high price for doing so. I was referring to Councillors Jameson and Sloan who took me to the High Court for libel.

I received a long letter from Fr. Boyle PP, Gargory, on September 2nd 1986. It was studiously written and obviously a lot of work had been put into it. It came at a very opportune time as I was again finding it difficult to believe in the rightness of my struggle when everyone else in any position of authority were doing everything to contradict me. On November 18th 1986 the Acting Chief Building Control Officer T. Clarke wrote to Fr. Hamill;

"In accordance with my commitment at the meeting of the 27th August 1986, I now present to you writings with reference to the comparable British Standards used it the walling of Mr. Rice's house at Carlisle Park. The delay in making this available to you was caused by having been presented to Council for agreement."

The "writings" enclosed with this letter read as follows;

"Comments and Comparisons of the standards specified for wall components in the Carlisle Park Development, Ballynahinch.

The blocks were dimentioned length 327mm, height 140mm and thickness 103mm. Crushing strength is stated on Trade Literature as being in accordance with B.S. 3921.
There is no reference in the job file to the substitution, by the developer, of Terralux blocks for that which could be said to have been by inference the original specification of concrete blocks.
It is assumed, however, that the use of Terralux would have been viewed as being quite normal and acceptable by those charged with judgement, being the Council, the Department of Housing (Subsidy Branch) and the N.H.B.C.
There is widespread evidence of the acceptability of the blocks which were used by various Housing Authorities not the least of which was the former Northern Ireland Housing Trust. The Trade Literature refers to the compliance with B.S. 3921 which was the standard in vogue at the time of supply for the Carlisle Park Development and the blocks were originally constructed to B.S. 1190-1951.
If concrete blocks (as defined by dimension with the B.S.) had been used the relevant standard at the time of approval would have been B.S. 2028."

Nothing was done about this load of rubbish, this official evasion and this load of official lies.

When I wrote to the British Standards Institute they had never heard of Terralux blocks, so how could it have a British Standard?

How could it comply to the standard if it was never tested? The thickness was not as Mr. Clarke stated, 103mm. The external dimension was 103mm but the thickness was one and a half inches or 38mm.

Of course it was quite normal for terralux to be used at that time by rogue building contractors, but the 1956 Housing Regulations called for good thick solid brickwork to be used on both the inner and outer skins of the walls, so if Terralux was so acceptable to all the authorities named by Mr. Clarke, why were Terralux blocks only used on the inside walls where they were covered up by the good thick solid bricks visible to all on the outside skin of the house. Why were Terralux blocks not used on the outer skin of the front, rear and end walls of these houses? The simple answer is that nobody would have bought the houses because they would have been a disaster even to look at.

In November 1986 I parted with £37.50 for an aerial photograph of 11 Newcastle Road. I had to spend this much needed money in view of the fact that I might have to go to Court over the determination of the DOE to remove our living accommodation.

I cut a letter written by a Mr. Roddy Quinn out of the Irish Times on the last day in 1986.

It was a very impressive letter and the first and last sentences reminded me of Alfie Jameson. The letter began,

"I'm as keen as the next man to see Sellafield closed, but the various politicians and others who are falling over each other in an effort to grab the high ground leaves me appalled."

The last sentence began,

"Barking only at the traditional foe may win votes at home."

Alfie Jameson barked long and loud about Sellafield and it did win him votes at the Elections. His bark was silent about this matter of mine which he had allowed to fester under his nose for years and for which he had a responsibility.

Remarkably in the same issue of the Irish Times there was a report headed, "Jameson attacks 'dictators'", which included the remarkable sentence,

"Mr Jameson also said that the 'deafening silence from the responsible minister's office highlights the near complete inactivity by the Department of the Environment in the face of the anti-democratic attack on local government.'"

This had nothing to do with housing.

The banner headline on the front page of the Mourne Observer on January 29th 1987 read,

"£1.3m extension for Ballynahinch school".

So, I thought, the mobile school classrooms my children had to study in were to be replaced.

I suppose with all that money on the way it would have been difficult for local administrators to get involved in an argument with the government, local or central. The banner headline on the front page of the Mourne Observer on June 17th 1987 read,

"Jameson's historic win".

To my delight on the same page was the headline,

"Ballynahinch smoke problem - new probe."

The report read;

"Down Councillors agreed on Monday night to reopen an investigation into Mr. Gerry Rice's smokey house problem at 56 Carlisle Park, Ballynahinch. The saga has now lasted more than ten years during which time Mr. Rice, who now resides with his large family in a mobile school classroom outside Drumaness, has stood for local government and Parliament to highlight his allegations against Down District Council.

The move towards another investigation was initiated on Monday night by Ballynahinch councillor William Brown, who said the sight of Mr. Rice's boarded-up house was 'a disgrace to the park.' He declared, "The council has not tried hard enough to solve the problem. Mr. Rice got a shady deal, even though he may have handled his complaint clumsily. He is determined that it should be rectified. The council should show some humility and see if he can be helped in some way," Mr. Brown added. Mr. Gerry Douglas seconded the proposal. Mr. Frank McDowell stated:

"There's a genuine complaint and all councillors should be concerned."

Mrs. Geraldine Ritchie -

"There should be a full investigation and the problem should rectified as soon as possible."

Mr. Paddy Baxter said not only the council, but many other bodies had tried to solve the matter, but had failed. "When someone takes up Mr. Rice's case his hopes are raised and then dashed," he said. His suggestion that a sub-committee should be established won the support of Mr. Patrick Kane. The latter stated: "If fresh minds were brought to bear on it, then perhaps they might succeed where others like the Ballynahinch Community Association failed."

Mr. Brown - "There has to be a willingness on the part of the council to find a solution to the problem.

Mr. Danny Sloan (chairman) -
"We did all in our power to help Gerry Rice; I am afraid he was the stumbling block."

The move to reopen the investigation won unanimous approval. The first step will be a committee meeting which interested councillors will be invited to attend and the files on the case will be made available to them. Mr. Cecil Adams founder chairman of the Ballynahinch Community Association said he was delighted at the Council's decision - "at long last" - to give Mr. Rice another hearing. "I feel there was an injustice and I have seen ample evidence to substantiate this belief," he told the Mourne Observer from his Ballywalter home."

Jameson's win was reported on the front page of the Down Recorder but did not make the front page banner headline story although there was an eight-page election pull-out. The Recorder's front page story was about the proposed closure of British Telecom operations in Downpatrick. This was repeated in the Down Recorder's leader column, "RECORDER COMMENT", where there were three items discussed.

The top item was about the British Telecom move. The third item was about Jameson's election win, but there in second place above the item about Jameson was the following under the headline,

"Welcome review of an old case";

"Down councillors are to be applauded for re-opening the controversial case of Ballynahinch man Mr. Gerry Rice. This long-running saga is overdue a conclusion and perhaps now it will be finally resolved.

The two sides have been at odds over responsibility for incorrect use of building materials which caused smoke damage at Mr. Rice's home. He believes the council is at fault for not detecting a fault while the council believes it is not.

What is important is that, despite previous reviews of Mr. Rice's case, the council has decided to once again examine the problem. So much water has passed under the bridge in this affair that the public have become confused about the issues which are involved. That's why this review is to be welcomed."

I was very pleased to read this and it most likely took a tiny little bit of the shine off Jameson's victory. He was to get his own back, as they say here in Ireland. The Down Recorder also reported the council decision in the ordinary way on one of its inside pages under the heading,

"RICE CASE SET TO BE REOPENED"

and began;

"Down Council is to reopen an investigation into one of the longest running housing disputes in the area..."

On July 7th 1987 Alfie Jameson MP made his maiden speech at Westminster. This speech lasted sixteen minutes. I just had to laugh as I read it especially where he said;

"I have noticed how often one social disadvantage leads inexorably to the creation of another. I know that many Hon. Members share my concern that those who have no jobs or who earn very low incomes should not be further isolated and deprived by cuts in the social welfare programme.

They find themselves faced with a double-edged sword which, on the one hand, denies them the means by which to support themselves and raise their families and, on the other, chops away the benefits that could help them enjoy even a basic quality of life."

Has I not laughed I would probably have cried.
This same man as my former accountant had added up my little bit of bookwork to show the government that I was in need of Family Income Supplement.
This same man in a short time, in his other role of Down District Councillor, was a party to a motion at a secret Council meeting which was passed to the effect that my case was never to be brought before Down District Council ever again.
This was the meeting which was welcomed in the newspapers and was supposed to have been convened for the purpose of getting me justice.
This was the case which was one of the longest running housing disputes in the area.
This was the case where, according to Councillor Sloan, I was the stumbling block.
This was the case where Councillors Baxter and Kane felt that it was no big deal for DDC not to have sorted this matter out when other bodies like the Ballynahinch Community Association had failed to sort it out.
How absolutely pathetic for two educated men, two teachers, to compare their deliberate and premeditated refusal to implement the remedy for this situation which they as members of DDC alone had in their power, with a powerless group of people who were there as advocates to practically beg DDC to do what they were elected to do.

Nothing of all this came to light in the newspapers.

By a remarkable co-incidence, my site map of Carlisle Park went missing at a meeting I had with the sub-committee of the Ballynahinch Community Association.

The Belfast Telegraph did report on July 30th 1987 that a meeting of Down Council the previous evening to discuss the "long running saga of the Ballynahinch man's smokey chimney" had been adjourned. The fact is that the meeting was held in the absence of Councillor Brown who had asked for it.
Councillor Brown was on holiday. Such was the efficiency of the Down District Council administration, or maybe it was too efficient for its own good and actually caused the meeting to take place in Councillor Brown's absence as had happened before.
The Telegraph also stated correctly that the meeting was held 'in committee', in other words it was held in secret. On October 14th 1987 the Mourne Observer reported under the heading,

"COUNCIL MEETS ON RICE HOUSE"

as follows;

"Down District Councillors held a special meeting last Wednesday night to discuss Mr. Gerry Rice's 'smokey' house problem at Carlisle Park, Ballynahinch, and his allegations against the Council. The meeting called by Ballynahinch Councillor William Brown, was held 'in committee'. However, it is known that a report with recommendations will be put before next Monday night's full meeting of the Council."

I must check up on minutes of Council meeting around October 29th 1987