The Iron Lady: Meryl as Margaret

From BBC News:

Film fans have been given their first glimpse of Hollywood actress Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in upcoming film The Iron Lady.

Shooting has just begun on the film, written by Sex Traffic's Abi Morgan and directed by Mamma Mia's Phyllida Lloyd.

The film follows Baroness Thatcher as she broke through class and gender barriers to become prime minister.

The film also stars Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher. The cast also includes Richard E Grant and Anthony Head.

Margaret Thatcher & the Indian Mystic

From the Telegraph:

The Iron Lady, who was renowned for her no-nonsense direct approach, conversed with self-proclaimed faith healer and preacher Sri Chandraswamy in 1975 in her Commons office.

And the future Prime Minister was so impressed with his apparent powers that she agreed to his request to wear a special red dress and a battered talisman around her wrist to a second meeting.

There, it is claimed the bearded guru correctly predicted that she would come to power within four years and remain there for more than a decade.

Details of the extraordinary meetings were revealed by former Indian Foreign Minister Shri Natwar Singh, who was present when they took place.

In 1975 he was India’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK when Mr Chandraswamy arrived in London and apparently demanded a meeting with Mrs Thatcher.

Maggie Thatcher: 30 Years On

From the Guardian:

Margaret Thatcher is preparing to mark the 30th anniversary of her ascent to power as Britain's first woman Prime Minister.

For 11 years the grocer's daughter from Grantham held sway in Downing Street in one of the most turbulent eras in recent political history.

It was a period that was marked by momentous events at home and abroad - from the invasion of the Falklands to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In that time she reshaped the political landscape of Britain in her own image, while dividing opinion like no other premier before her.

To her supporters she was the woman who restored the country to greatness, while her critics said that she sowed conflict, exacting a devastating price in human terms for her reforms.

Her own downfall was equally dramatic - ousted in a Tory Party palace coup.

She left behind her a legacy that continues to permeate British politics to this day.

Also from the Guardian, Andrew Anthony's article "The Iron Lady still casts a long shadow"

Margaret Thatcher

The following is an article on Lady Margaret Thatcher, former-Prime Minister of Britain, who still today, is a much castigated figure, despite many calling her one of Britain's greatest leaders since Winston Churchill.

A.N. Wilson's article on the Times Online: "She's hailed as this country's saviour. So why, 30 years on, do the Left still hate Maggie so?"

"She was the first woman to achieve that office. She had done so largely because of the excellent education she had received, which was crowned by a science degree.

Her tutors at Somerville College recognised that in those days the daughter of a grocer in Grantham did not get to Oxford without outstanding intelligence and a great deal of grit.

But when Margaret returned to her old college to receive an Honorary Fellowship, these same hateful old Left-wing tutors would not even consent to meet her.

Margaret Thatcher took over from him as Prime Minister to find a Britain in 1979 on the verge of bankruptcy. Britain was a by-word throughout the world for sloppy standards, economic chaos and appalling labour relations. We counted for nothing in diplomatic and international affairs.

But within a very few years, Margaret Thatcher turned that around. She brought in trades union legislation which no man would have dared to enact. She was prepared, moreover, to fight for it - and in effect waged a war against Arthur Scargill's communistic tactics.

When the Falkland Islands were invaded by a fascist dictator from Argentina, Margaret Thatcher amazed the world by having the courage to send a task force of British ships and soldiers to fight. They would never have won without her personal courage. "

Use the link above to read the full article.

Links:

Wiki - Margaret Thatcher

Time 100: Margaret Thatcher

BBC History - Margaret Thatcher