John
Ross 1955-2011
An appreciation for John Ross's funeral:
I am proud to be able to say a few words about
my friend of over 25 years. I am sad that I
have to say them today.
A union stalwart, a dedicated Labour politician
– described as a ‘great politician’
by Norman Murray - a dad, granddad, brother
but also a friend to so, so many.
And someone with a great sense of fun. Sometimes
his jokes were funnier to him than the rest
of us, right enough, but he was the master of
the one-liner. I wouldn’t dare share most
of them here but I’ll be glad to regale
you later.
On one side, John had a command and control
approach that would make the best of control-freaks
look positively laissez-faire.
On the other, he was gentle, sensitive and
genuinely interested in other people, their
lives, their sorrows and their achievements.
He cared deeply about people, even those he
was in conflict with at times.
Many of us will know just how far he went out
of his way on so many occasions to help us in
his political, union and personal life. We also
know the difficult things we asked him to do
on our behalf because people would ‘take
it from Rossi’.
People confided in him. He had a way with him
that people would open up, would seek out his
help and would remember his warmth. He was the
same with the cleaner or the chief executive.
Many of us here have been wishing we could
have done more to give some of that back to
him and influence him in recent years. But we
also know we couldn’t have. He was private.
He was his own man.
He used to rejoice in saying, “I have
no friends, just adversaries”. He knew
he was joking and the testament to that has
been the many, many people last week who have
been so affected by his passing.
John was committed to working people, to their
right to dignity. He was a proud socialist.
Other people’s hurt gave him pain. Other
people’s achievements gave him joy. He
wanted a better life for everyone.
Of course he didn’t always get it right.
But there was always a scheme being planned.
There was always some wheeze that would improve
the lives of people in East Lothian as a councillor
or in Edinburgh as a UNISON member.
He would stand at the bar in deep thought,
then snap his fingers, thump me with not inconsiderable
force on the back and shout, ‘I’ve
got it!” as he launched into some cunning
plan or another – some more realistic
than others.
You were often not quite sure what he was up
to. But you could at least be certain he was
up to something.
I remember a long negotiation trying to resolve
a dispute when management agreed to come back
to the table if we dropped the overtime ban.
What overtime ban? It was the first I’d
heard of it. I looked along the table to Rossi
and saw the familiar wave of the hand and ‘shoosh’
expression I got to know so well.
And there were the other schemes. The discounts
he negotiated for UNISON members, the student
card he unbelievably managed to wangle for both
him and me.
He had a substantial intellect. He could read
and analyse a document in seconds flat. He could
calculate your pension by mental arithmetic.
He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of music
with the most eclectic taste I’ve ever
come across. He was an ardent Elton John fan.
He once fell asleep at the front of an all night
queue for tickets for an Elton John concert
only to find himself waking up way down the
line.
But he reserved the deepest of his wisdom and
knowledge for Heart of Midlothian football club.
Sitting up in the Wheatfield Stand with David,
analysing every move, fine-tuning tactics and
sharing his analysis as he gubbed everybody
at pool after the game.
And it was following the Hearts that led to
the surreal and now legendary journeys abroad
with David and the late Jocky Mulgrew.
Flights to Majorca that took longer than it
would take to get to Australia with a stopover.
The great adventure to Stuttgart when Jocky
cut his finger and when getting it bandaged
by a barmaid, Rossi made the now legendary comment,
“Ach for you Jocky, ze war is over’.
I learned never to ask Rossi the score of some
game in the past because you wouldn’t
only get the score, you’d get the team,
the subs, the weather that day and which teams
all the players had transferred to.
He wasn’t totally reconstructed as we
all know, with that old-fashioned chivalry that
worked for him but wouldn’t have worked
for the rest of us.
A friend one day accused him of patronising
her. He took her hand and said, “If I
was patronising you darling, you wouldn’t
have noticed”. Only Rossi could have got
away with that.
And that is because it was the same man that
put together one of the first motions to UNISON
Conference on discrimination in pension schemes
against non-married partners. He put through
motions on disability leave, on rights for same
sex partners and many other equality issues
alongside the pay and conditions stuff. In fact,
without him, we would rarely have put through
policies to Conference at all.
John lived in a point in time before computers.
He was the master of the glazed eyes whenever
you mentioned anything technical. Yet he would
speak to others authoritatively about websites
and email (although he sometimes got the two
mixed up) when we all knew his familiarity extended
only as far as watching the staff do it.
This was the man who used to print out emails
and post them to me!
However, I once thought I had a breakthrough.
He phoned me to say that the report he wanted
me to check was on his computer and I could
access it when I got into the office.
“Yes”, I thought. At last he’s
using the computer. Imagine my disappointment
when I got into the office to find the report,
in hard copy, sellotaped to his computer screen!
He often said he was ‘unelectable’
as a branch officer. We never had to test that
because in 15 years, even at the high points
of political tensions, no-one ever stood against
him. They knew, like we knew, that the branch
would struggle without him.
In recent years, John had not been well but
the drive and passion for justice remained.
The fun remained even through the pain. The
caring remained and the planning and scheming
remained. Most of all, the dedication to working
for our members remained.
He had immense pride in his children and grandchildren.
One of the few parts of his personal life he
would readily and voluntarily talk about.
He was known wherever he went. He rose to great
positions in local government and the union
both locally and nationally. NALGO Scottish
vice-chair. Vice chair of Lothian Region committees
and a member of the Police Board, Chair of East
Lothian’s environment and education committees;
the first chair of COSLA's development forum
and a board member of Lothian and Edinburgh
Enterprise.
He created things that made a real difference
to people’s lives but so often preferred
to stay in the background in the media. He leaves
a legacy of many things being better in the
union and in East Lothian’s communities
that few will actually know he was responsible
for.
But he was known most because of how he engaged
with people. So often his name opened doors
for us. So often he was relied on by those who
would otherwise have opposed him. So often he
was there when we needed him.
He leaves a legacy with so many of us of fun,
of frustration at times, but most of all, of
wise counsel and warm friendship. For many people
and communities, he made a difference. Not many
people can boast that.
For all that, thanks Rossi.
John Stevenson,
Branch President
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