Diary has always liked the Professional Association of Teachers, ever since going to its Llandudno conference many years ago and realising that the mainstream event was even wackier than its fringe. There’s an unabashed naivety about the union that warms a journalist’s heart - and it has been displayed once more, in the union’s magazine.
Like other recent issues of teacher union mags, the PAT’s features an article by Ruth Kelly, who was strangely much more approachable during the election campaign.
Most unions appeared pleased with this windfall and handled the Education Secretary with care. None risked her wrath by making references to her Catholicism or her links to the hardline sect Opus Dei, both still sore topics.
None, that is, except the PAT. The subtle front-page headline? “OPUS KELLY”. Bless them.