BALACLAVA-WEARING terrorists are amongst the more sinister images in the world today, with the threat of sudden malevolent violence. So this image from Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison in the cold January of 1987 when rioters took to the roof, holding prison officers hostage, to protest at the tough regime, still seems chilling today.
Being Glasgow however there were flashes of gallows humour. The wife of one protester bustled through the waiting press teams while pushing a child in a buggy, and shouted up: "Come doon Ronnie. Think o' the weans!" The headline the next day in a tabloid newspaper was "Come Doon Ron Ron Ron, Come Doon Ron Ron." Comedians would later comment: "Barlinnie Prison, where you get a bed, three square meals a day, and a roof under your feet."
Thankfully the protests ended after five days with no one being injured, although the ringleaders had hefty sentences added to their time inside. Ron did indeed come doon.
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