We knew there were elections in May but that demise sounds rather sudden. So concerned are EIS officials to follow written union statements at all times that we swear we heard general secretary Ronnie Smith repeat the phrase in a media interview.

On further investigation we were assured the mass obituary was somewhat exaggerated. It was not a Freudian slip, merely a typographical error. The death being celebrated was, of course, the management side proposals of August 1999.

The EIS, it goes without saying, wishes the employers nothing but the very best, even former bosses like Ross Martin whose views (Platform, page 22) are unlikely to evoke choruses of “For he’s a jolly good fellow” in Moray Place.