Around 50 women have turned up in Transport House for "Women of the Waterfront", the support group formed early in November. There's a creche downstairs. The women have been busy singing carols, taking their buckets to Anfield, speaking at meetings, writing to TV stations, planning a kids Christmas party, and delivering a birthday cake in the shape of the ACL ship diverted from Liverpool to the house of Trevor Furlong, Managing Director of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. Mysteriously, the cake reappears tonight. Colette explains:
"After everybody left we said let's see what happens here with these bobbies. I was hiding behind a tree for 15 minutes, shivering. I just ran towards this copper who nearly died. "Where are you going with the cake?" "Well I've been asked to remove it from the property". So I said "There's nothing offensive about this cake, it's a symbol of peace, we'd like the man to see it." And he said "I'm really sorry, would you like your cake back?" So I said "yeah I would like it back."
I took the cards out of their envelopes and put them back through Trevor's door at 4 in the morning. He saw them, he saw Peace letters, he saw "Your birthday's going to be better than mine in December, Trevor". "
Doreen McNally is in the chair. Bobby Morton tries to report on his trip to Bilbao. "Where Doreen mentioned to you about the international delegations, it's not a case of the lads going out to have a good time." Doreen stage whispers: "It is". Bobby does a U-turn. "It is. I went to Bilbao Friday and had a great time..."
Linda Shaw reads the letter they plan to give to every man at the mass meeting to pass on to their wives. It is addressed to the wives, partners, sisters and daughters of Liverpool dockers.
"...The vast majority of us have never before belonged to an organised group of this nature, even those of us who are committee members. Most of us have led our lives on the sidelines, bringing up our families and holding down our jobs. Our men, and probably yours, were happy for us to remain away from the action while they with the help of the stewards fought for reinstatement. They were too proud to ask for help. However we saw the need to face facts, that we must all play our part to end this awful situation...
Some of us have managed to go outside of Merseyside and have been amazed and humbled to find the esteem in which Liverpool dockers are held...
We firmly believe that we'll win this fight because morality and human decency are on our side. Victory will come all the sooner if you demonstrate that you are too."
A woman suggests, to general approval, that the letter be handed out at Friday's benefit so "we could get to the women directly".
Cathy Dwyer urges women to get down to the picket line. "Instead of tying yourself to the bed tie yourself to the railings down there." Irene Campbell comments: "See a lot of the men don't go back and tell their wives. I know for a fact, Cathy and myself, I had a word with Jimmy at 6 o'clock he said "you're not going this morning", I said "I am going this morning", and she says the same and so we're all boxing with our husbands before we be going in the morning, and we don't want to be."
Another woman suggests the stewards take this up with the men.
Bobby Morton replies, "We're entering fresh territory with this dispute. It's an intimidating atmosphere when you're down there first thing in the morning, the lights are flashing, the police horses driving about, and a lot of the men they're actually worried about their partners going down and getting involved. Now we'll follow this up at the mass meeting tomorrow, telling them to back off."
