Mr. Citirine ……. and his ABC guide to life … the universe ….. and chairing a meeting

I have to admit that I turn away from those conversations about “the book that most influenced my life”.

Solidarity, 1887

It’s partly because I came to reading late by which time much of who I was and how I saw the world had already been set in stone, or at least slow setting concrete.

My comic heroes, Dan Dare of the Eagle, and the Bash Street Kids from the Beano could hardly be described as role models for a lad from south-east London and when I did discover books and poetry what I read helped me understand better the world around me but none of them offered me that moment like Saul’s blinding light on the road to Damascus.

Still, plenty of those I have come to know during my 57 years in the Labour Movement singled out the book The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell. 

It is set at the beginning of the last century and focuses on the exploitation of a group of working men and the degree to which some of them couldn’t see the nature of that exploitation, and hence the title.

By the time I came to read it in my late teens I had figured out the rottenness of an economic system which was predicated on injustice and inequality. 

If there was a book it was no searing indictment of a system, but a practical down to earth guide on how to chair a meeting.  

Citrine's guide, 1982

This was “Citrine’s ABC of Chairmanship”, first published in 1939 and with revisions was the book I fell across. 

As ever it is pointless just getting angry and more about how you direct those feelings in a way which gets things done.

And so like countless other young men and women drawn into the Labour Movement, the knowledge of what went on in a meeting was a vital tool in getting over a point of view and influencing others.

So much so that when I began chairing meetings Mr. Citrine accompanied me and was always there as a last resort to fall back on.

Not that I ever needed to mug up on the night, I devoured the fourteen chapters on things like a quorum, an agenda, five types of amendment and voting and elections at just two sessions.

The application of which kept meetings as varied as small local ones to large public events running smoothly and ultimately allowed everyone to participate and make a difference in debate.

Now I did come up to Manchester and did do a degree but for me and thousands who didn’t the Labour Movement offered opportunities organise events, speak with confidence, and understand how thigs worked, and at the centre of that learning curve was Mr. Citrine.

Speaking at a public meeting, circa 1994

Pictures, Solidarity, Walter Crane, 1887,cover of Citrine’s ABC of Chairmanship, 1982 edition,   Freedom of speech, circa 1994, from the collection of Andrew Simpson