Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…and support Moston Small Cinema….Post Tenebras Lux Juan and his family live in the Mexican countryside and the film explores their lives, their marriage, poverty, gender and our relationship to the natural world. Maybe not the kind of film you would expect in Moston but that is the beauty of projects such as Moston Small Cinema, which is all about bringing cinema to the heart of a community, Find out more…..

Listen to ….author and political activists, Lyndsey German and Betty Tebbs at Waterstones Book Shop on Monday 29 April at 6pm. Lyndsey German’s new book How a Century of War Changed the Lives of Women, explores the history of women’s involvement in the Stop the War Movement over the last ten years and also reflects on why it has brought in so many women to the movement. Betty Tebbs, of Whitefield CND, will join her in the discussion about women’s role in the peace movement over the last 100 years. See

Look at…..the paintings of Brian Clarke at Gallery Oldham from April 20-Sept 14. He was born and trained as an artist in Oldham and is famous for his work in stained glass – see it in the Oldham Spindles shopping centre. His reputation is worldwide as he has been involved in projects from the Victorian Quarter in Leeds to Norte Shopping Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brian is 60 this year and this is a homecoming for him, a reflection on his work and also in the film that accompanies the exhibition we find out more about his family and his love of art. Although famous for stained glass he draws everyday and in the works shown here we see some of his greatest influences, including his early life. I loved his drawings of Oldham mills As he says: My love of architecture began with my love of cotton mills’, he says. ‘I am built of red bricks and covered in black smog

Enjoy……the work of John Crumpton… BAFTA award winning sound editor, film and video maker, writer, trainer, BECTU learning organiser and photographer. In 2005 he, together with Feisal Querishi and Michael Herbert. produced a film about the work of the WCML which is now accessible on his website, alongside several of his other hits including my favourite… I married a Cult Figure from Salford…see

Remember….Alice Wheeldon…on May 1 Derby Peoples History Group will be remembering her life as a suffragist who opposed the First World War. They will be unveiling a plaque to commemorate her life and politics see

Celebrate International Workers Day…on Saturday May 4. Assemble: Bexley Square, Salford 10am and march from Bexley Square at 11am. Bringing together campaigns against the privatisation of the NHS, against the Bedroom Tax and defending jobs in public services…further details see

Listen to,,,, Beautiful Africa by Rokia Traore. I saw Rokia in a small club in Oldham several years ago. Her music is essentially African and in her latest album Beautiful Africa she comments on the war going on in her home country of Mali. Now based in Bristol her music has developed and with John Parish, who produces the work of PJ Harvey, it has a more rocky feel to it whilst mixing in her brilliant voice and interesting African sounds…see

Enjoy…..the angry taxi driver. Who says the working classes are not philosophers? ! See his latest rant when the BBC ask him to take part in a documentary….but there is no payment………classic.. see

Stop! Look! Listen! a weekly selection of some of my favourite films/books/people…

Watch….Down with the Dictator, written by Cameroonian playwright and community activist, Lydia Besong. Lydia is currently fighting a high profile campaign to remain in the UK with her husband Bernard Batey. The play is produced by Afrocats and is supported by Community Arts North West as part of their Exodus Greater Manchester Refugee Arts programme. Holy Innocent’s Church, Wilbraham Road, Fallowfield, Manchester
Saturday 5 May 7.30pm
Tickets on the door / Information: 0161 234 2987Tickets: £5 / £3 concessions All performances are followed by a post show discussion giving audiences the opportunity to discuss the play and related issues with the playwright, cast and others involved in Lydia and Bernard’s campaign.More information about the campaign go here.

Look…..Beyond the Frame Exhibition is aimed at raising the case of the Miami Five. The M5 were falsely accused of committing espionage against the US government . They have been imprisoned for 13 years and their case has been condemned by Amnesty International and several British trade unions. The exhibition includes artwork by two of the M5 as well as UK artists, and the sale of work will contribute to the campaign to free the M5. The exhibition will open at noon on Friday 4 May at the Anthony Burgess Centre, 3 Cambridge St Manchester M1 5BY. Entrance is free. At 7pm there will be a meeting to discuss the artwork and the case of the M5. Entrance is £5&£7 including a buffet at 6pm.
For further details go here

Read…The Solitude of Thomas Cave (2007) by Georgina Harding. the book is set in the 17 Century. Thomas Cave makes a wager with the crew of his whaling ship to stay in the Arctic alone until the next season. It’s a story of one man’s survival in the wilderness and his ability to come to terms with not just the Arctic winter but also his own fears, his past and his grief for his dead wife and child. Beautifullly written and almost biblical in its content and expression.

Celebrate …..May Day, International Workers Day

Red Flag history walk, Tuesday 1 May, starting at noon, Dr Marx and Mr Engels. This walk, led by Michael Herbert, will visit places connected with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Meet at Oxford Road Station, fee £6/£5. For more information about this and future Red Flag walks, go here. For an article by Michael about the first May Day marches in Manchester, go here.
March and rally Monday 7 May. Assemble at Bexley Square, Salford for speeches at 11am , march at noon to Cathedral Gardens, followed by a rally in the Friends Meeting House. Speakers include Matt Wrack, FBU. For more information, go here.