Michael Gove, the striker on the strikes

I like Michael Gove, he's witty, polite, erudite, a fellow-hack and a proud Aberdonian to boot.

In fact I like him so much that when we were both young men - and he was a striking journalist at the P&J on the east coast of Scotland and I was a staffer at the radical West Highland Free Press - I used to send regular donations to his cause which became an NUJ crusade.

So, when I heard the Education Secretary on the wireless this morning, I nearly choked on my west London muesli mix. (Ach, we've both come a long way haven't we)

Speaking about the simmering prospect of teaching strikes, Gove the Cove said: "I don’t think a strike helps. I’ve been on strike myself, when I was much younger, it didn't solve anything."

Is that right, Michael? Most reporters remember the P&J strike as a principled stand that delayed by a decade the journalistic deforestation of the Scottish newspaper industry.

We can agree to disagree on that if you like Michael, but what's your address, I'd like my money back.