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

Watch…Lincoln (2013)…in the 1860s Manchester textile workers supported the economic blockade of the southern states of America, even though, as the supply of raw cotton dried up, many of them lost their jobs. Lincoln sent a letter of thanks to the people of Manchester and you can see a copy of it on the Lincoln statue in Brazennose Street in the city centre. This film deals with the last months of the American Civil War and Lincoln’s successful attempt, by any means necessary, to pass an amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery in the USA. It is an anti-war film, graphically showing battlefields and injured soldiers. His own personal life is touched by the death of his young son, whilst his older son wants to join the war. Daniel Day Lewis plays Lincoln as a deeply humane person, whilst not underplaying his sharp politicking to get his anti-slavery legislation through the Congress.

See…The Trojan Women, a production by Salford City College. First performed in 415BC, this rewritten and reworked piece comments on modern warfare between the Middle East and West, and how wars in these countries have changed the role of women in their society, forever.
Tuesday 5 February – Friday 8 February 2013 at 7pm
Ben Kingsley Theatre Pendleton Sixth Form Centre Tickets can be purchased at the Ticket Office in the collge or by phoning 0161 631 5000.

Read…. Raised from the Ground by Jose Saramago (1922-2010). He was a Portuguese writer and Communist who wrote novels that reflected his politics, most notably in Raised from the Ground. A novel based own background (his parents were landless peasants) in which he describes the lives of the poor of Portugal. “What kind of world,” it asks, “divides into those who make a profession of idleness and those who want work but can’t get it”? . Buy it from

Support. Freedom Books,.one of the oldest and largest anarchist bookshops in the country. It doesn’t just sell books, but provides essential services such as drop-in sessions on Sundays for people seeking advice on prisoner support run by London Anarchist Black Cross and, on Fridays, advice on the law from Legal Defence and Monitoring Group. Last Friday they were firebombed and need donations to help replace stock and repair the shop. See

Don’t forget….LGBT month at the Working Class Movement Library on Saturday 9 February as they mark both National Libraries Day and LGBT History Month with a talk on Eva Gore-Booth and Esther Roper by Sonja Tiernan, who used the Library for her research. See my review of Sonja’s book at
The talk begins at 2pm, it’s free, and everyone is welcome. Further information see wcml.org

Help save the NHS….. Up to five local A&E units across Greater Manchester are under threat of closure or downgrading under the proposed “Healthier Together Review” of how local NHS services are provided and, or as a result of other cutbacks, or alleged efficiency savings or so-called improvements to NHS services. In order to help prevent this and to better co-ordinate fight to save ALL OUR Greater Manchester A&Es, hospitals, ambulance and other NHS services – GMATUC in conjunction with Greater Manchester Keep Our NHS Public are organising an Open Conference on 16th February in Manchester city centre .Speakers include: Dr. John Lister (Health Emergency Campaign) Dr. David Wrigley (NW GP – Keep Our NHS Public)
The organisers want to encourage all people who are concerned about the attacks on the NHS to attend the conference. It will give people the information and support in order to start their own local campaign. Further details see

Finally a song to cheer us all up……see

Celebrating the Manchester International Brigaders!

Squeezed between the cosy couches and afternoon teas in the Sculpture Hall of Manchester Town Hall is a plaque to those people who dedicated their lives to one of the most important struggles of the 20th Century, the fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Why was Spain so important? And why did some many working-class young men and women from the Manchester area,make their way to the battlefields of Spain?.

Benny Goodman, an International Brigader, explained in 1996 why he fought in Spain;

There were no financial inducements to go to fight in Spain. We weren’t mercenaries.We were idealists.

People like Benny grew up in an era when there was a rise in fascism across Europe. Hitler and Mussolini came to power on the backs of destroying democratic organisations and killing their members. In Britain, the Tory government (and Tory establishment) covertly supported the German and Italian regimes. The rise of Mosley and the British Union of Fascists showed that there was nothing foreign about fascism and its physical force mentality.

Across Britain people organised against Mosley and his armed gangs. On 29 September1934 he brought his Blackshirts to Belle Vue in Manchester. Local trade unionists and communists ignored a police ban on marches and held a protest meetin whilst , some people went into the meeting and shouted Mosley down.

Like today, in the 30s, there was a worldwide economic crisis, leading to mass unemployment and a level of social deprivation that is unheard of today. Walter Greenwood, in his novel Love on the Dole, showed how this poverty ground down every aspect of peoples’ lives. Greenwood knew what he was writing about, he came from Salford and was close to the communities he wrote about. For me the power of this book is the way he showed how people did fight back against the system and incorporated into the book is a real event when the local branch of the National Unemployed Workers Union took to the streets of Salford in October 1931 to protest against cuts in benefits.

The election of Popular Front governments in Spain and France in 1936 gave hope to socialists that there could be opposition to the rise of fascism. But as we now know, although it was Franco who led the revolt against republican Spain, he was supported by Hitler and Mussolini who were playing a bigger game in their plan to take over Europ
A number of countries signed a Non-Intervention agreement, which meant that they would not sell or send arms to Spain. These countries included Germany, Italy, the USSR, Britain and France. Germany and Italy, however, continued to support Franco with aeroplanes, tanks, and troops. Most importantly the American oil company, Standard Oil, with the backing of the US government, gave Franco the fuel to win the war.

In 21st Century Britain it is hard to explain why so many people were outraged at these events. But we are talking about a highly politicised working class who understood history and had been active themselves in many trade union and political struggles.

Organisations such as the Manchester and Salford Trades Council had throughout the 30s informed people about the rise of fascism globally. It now organised a series of events to educate and organise people to help Spain. Meetings were arranged to raise money for the National Council of Labour and the Spanish Appeal Fund. The film Defence of Madrid was shown and meetings and demonstrations were held across the city.

But some young people decided that they wanted to do more and that meant going to Spain and joining the armed forces. They left England, mostly in organised groups (although some people made their own way) and when the frontier between France and Spain was closed, they had to cross the Pyrenees, often at night. We still do not know how many people fought in the International Brigade as many used false names the British Government had passed legislation to stop people joining the Spanish republican forces.

Many people from Manchester went to Spain to work in the medical services. This included 22 year old nurse, Lillian Urmston of Stalybridge in Tameside. Her work meant nursing the wounded in caves, dodging bombing to reach injured soldiers, and fleeing across the Pyrenees whilst still caring for the sick and wounded.

Lillian Urmston

She later recounted;

On the way the Fascists were right behind us and the French didn’t want us so we were interned with the refugees in France.

Syd Booth left school at 14 and became a railway worker. He joined the Communist Party and became a leading trade union activist. As an activist in the anti-fascist struggles he saw the importance of the war in Spain and, like his mates and younger brother, he followed them and joined the International Brigade. He spent many months fighting in Spain until he was wounded and returned to England. Back home he was active in the International Brigade Association and he designed this sculpture which was dedicated to the Manchester Brigaders.

Sid Booth

The sculpture came about because Councillor Mike Hynes felt there should be a permanent memorial to the Manchester men who fought in Spain in the XV Brigade. A Greater Manchester Spanish Civil War Memorial Committee was formed, including WorkingClass Movement Library founders Ruth and Eddie Frow. Financial support for a plaque was provided by Manchester Trades Council, Labour Party organisations, MPs and individuals.

On 12 February 1983, the 46th anniversary of the Battle of Jarama, it was unveiled by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Manchester City Council. The plaque includes the names of the battles where International Brigaders fought and the farewell speech to them by the famous Pasionaria.

For many years an annual commemoration took place in February each year to remember the XV Brigade. Next month on 10 February from 11.30-12. 30 there will be a re-dedication of the plaque. Hilary Jones, one of the organisers of the ceremony said:

We are commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Battle of Jarama -when the British Battalion of the International Brigades first went into action and succeeded in holding back the fascist attack on Madrid . Approximately 150 men went from Greater Manchester ..with 46 killed. We are also honouring the contribution of the men and women of Greater Manchester who helped the Republican cause in the Medical aid for Spain movement.

The event is organised by the IBMT, an organisation that was set up in 2002 which originally included veterans of the IB Association, the friends of the IBA and representatives of the Marx Memorial Library and historians who specialise in the history of the Spanish Civil War.

In March they have organised a conference in Manchester on the anniversary of the publication of George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia.
For further information about the International Brigaders see Bernard Barry’s excellent From Manchester to Spain published by the WorkingClassMovement Library.

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

Watch…….films about Iceland and hear some short stories from author Agust Borgpor Sverrisson. Agust has worked as a journalist, copywriter and translator and is a well-known blogger and commentator in Iceland on literature and politics.
He is an acclaimed Icelandic author and the two films are based on short stories by Jon Atli Jonasson and Agust’s own short story Disappearing into the World. See them on 24 January at 7-9pm at Madlab. Further info see

Look…….new exhibition by Maurice Carlin First… Next… Then… Finally... Castlefield Gallery solo show, Preview 6 – 8pm on Thur 7th February. The show continues until 17th February. Maurice says….This is my first solo exhibition in Manchester. I’ll be showing a series of new work consisting of print, performance and film works plus a specially commissioned essay by Philip Auslander. More info about the exhibition is available on Castlefield gallerys website. I’m really excited about this show, it would be great if you can make it along!

Read…. about the history of the cooperative movement in a fabulous graphic novel The Co-operative Revolution. The movement started in Rochdale in 1844 and has now spread across the world making a real difference in countries such as Argentina during their economic crisis in the 90s. People took over bankrupted businesses and ran them as co-ops. An important lesson for us at the present time. The story in the book continues and takes us to Rochdale in 2044 where co-ops are now an important part of the economy of the country. The illustrations by Polyp are beautiful and engaging and certainly turn an important story to an inspiring one.

Join the campaign to sack Nick Griffin…….In 2009 Griffin won his seat in the European Parliament by a whisker – under 5,000 votes. Hope Not Hate want to ensure that in 2014 Griffin and the BNP in the north-west are ejected from the parliament once and for all. They say Sack Nick Griffin will be a positive and exciting campaign spread across the region. It will bring together a broad progressive coalition of trade unionists, faith and community groups and individuals all with the one aim of unseating Nick Griffin. Also, with the BNP in major financial trouble and Griffin funnelling money to the party from his post in the EU, when we take him out in 2014 we remove one of the BNP’s last major sources of income. This could be the campaign to bankrupt the BNP. Now that’s worth signing up for! See

Sign the petition…to get Amazon to pay their taxes…independent booksellers Frances and Keith of Kenilworth & Warwick Bookshops are asking people to sign the petition: In our book, that is not a level playing field and leaves independent retailers like us struggling to compete just because we do the right thing. And that is why we’ve started a petition see a petition on Change.org calling on Amazon to pay their corporation tax in the UK. Click here to join us. see

Celebrate…. LGBT month at the Working Class Movement Library on Saturday 9 February as they mark both National Libraries Day and LGBT History Month with a talk on Eva Gore-Booth and Esther Roper by Sonja Tiernan, who used the Library for her research. See my review of Sonja’s book The talk begins at 2pm, it’s free, and everyone is welcome. Further details see

Challenge the cuts….Greater Manchester Community Union have organised a meeting on THE CUTS, HOW THEY AFFECT YOU AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
Tuesday 12th Feb Tuesday, 7.30pm, Friends Meeting House, Manchester.

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

Watch….Community It’s a US series set in an adult education college with a collection of unconventional students and the script one long satire on sitcom tropes and popular culture from Star Wars to zombies. The leader of the gang is Jeff, a lawyer, who lost his job because he didn’t have a degree, he lusts after another student, Britta, who was a political activist and is now trying to get an education. They are joined by Shirley who is into Christianity and is a surrogate mother to the group; Abed, a Muslim young man who is obsessed with film and TV and has Asperger’s; Annie, who looks like the archetypal good girl but is a recovering drug addict; Troy, an ex-high school football star; and Pierce, an older man who is a millionaire and who is always on the outside of the group trying to get in. Some of the dialogue is just unintelligible to non-Americans, but it is extremely funny and becomes more bizarre as you watch each of the episodes.

Read.…..In the Sea There are Crocodiles (Vintage books) by Fabio Geda. Fabio is an Italian novelist who works with children who have problems. When he was doing the launch of a previous book, which was the story of a Romanian boy’s life in Italy, he met Enaiatillah Akbari. Ena approached him and told Fabio his story, and this book is the culmination of those conversations. Fabio says the book is a work of fiction because he has had to recreate Ena’s experiences from those conversations and some of the names have been changed. Having read many stories of refugees I did not expect to be shocked and horrified by Ena’s experiences; but I was. He is a Hazara, who are a minority community in the province of Ghazni in Afghanistan. Life is very difficult for Hazaras, and they are badly treated by the Taliban and Pashtun, so Ena’s mother decided when he was 10 years old to take him to Pakistan. When they got to Pakistan she left him, and he had to make a life for himself. The novel is the story of his journey to Italy, a story of scraping a living, making friends and trying to make sense of this new world. Alongside his incredible story is that of all the people who help him along the way, the strangers who give him food, clothes, bus tickets etc and make his escape possible. The really sad aspect of the book is that he had to leave his family and the place he loved to lead a safe life, an indictment of the way in which the West has destroyed countries such as Afghanistan and the hopes of children such as Ena.

Listen to…. The Anti-Capitalist Roadshow double CD: Celebrating Subversion. Twenty nine songs and one visionary poem on 2 CDs from singers & songwriters Frankie Armstrong, Roy Bailey, Robb Johnson, Reem Kelani, Sandra Kerr, Grace Petrie, Leon Rosselson, Janet Russell, Peggy Seeger, Jim Woodland and socialist magician Ian Saville. Eleven different voices with one aim – to oppose the ideologically driven austerity programme imposed by this millionaire government on all but the elite and to challenge the narrative that says there is no alternative. Release date 26 November but available now from Fuse Records. Send a cheque for £16 (inc. p.&p) to Fuse Records, 28 Park Chase, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 8EH. Make the cheque out to Fuse Records. Don’t forget to include your address.

Go to….the next talk in the Invisible Histories series on Wednesday 14 November at 2pm at the Working class Movement Library. Michael Herbert recounts the story of the Women’s Freedom League (1907-1961), an often overlooked suffrage organisation, whose members included Charlotte Despard, Hannah Mitchell and Teresa Billington. All welcome, admission free. Michael will also be doing a talk on the same day at 6pm in the Lydia Becker Room, City Library, about his new book “Up then Brave Women” Manchester’s Radical Women 1819-1918. More details here

Celebrate….A free event at the People’s History Museum. Celebrate the Luddites’ 200th Anniversary  on Sunday 18 November from 2pm  to 5pm. 2012 is the 200th anniversary of the Luddites’ uprisings against the  machinery which was destroying weavers’ livelihoods. This cultural celebration will include music by One Accord, talks, exhibitions and artwork. It is organised by the PHM and Luddites200 – a network of historians, scientists, artists and activists, which has been organising events to celebrate the Luddites’ 200th anniversary. Booking advised: please contact 0161 838 9190 or info@phm.org.uk

Get involved….derbyfiftythousand peopleclub  are organising a meeting about the cuts and privatisation agenda at the Quad in Derby on 15th November at 730pm. more details at derby50k.co.uk

Book review; A World between Us by Lydia Syson

 

A World Between Us by Lydia Syson
Hot Key Books ISBN 978-1-4714-0009-4

Taking part in the march on the 75th anniversary of Cable Street in October 2011 made me feel very proud of the history of working people’s opposition to fascism, whether on their streets in 1936 or in the protests against fascist groups such as the English Defence League. As the economic system nationally and globally goes into decline there are some similarities with the 1930s in Britain. Unemployment is rising, we have a Conservative government that is cutting the benefits of the poor in its strategy to pay off a decifit caused by the monied class. Unlike the 30s we do not have a vibrant political organisation such as the Communist Party which provided working class people with not just a political way forward but in its actions in areas such as the East End of London took the class struggle to the street. It is this context that Lydia Syson has set her new novel.

Lydia Syson’s, A World Between Us, explores some of the most important issues about how and why people ( and young people in particular) get involved in political activity. Her book is set in London in the 1930s, at a time of a worldwide economic crisis and the mirroring rise of fascism. Her grandparents were involved in the Communist Party and were part of a movement that organised against the growing rise of fascism in this country and abroad, particularly in Spain:

I wanted to write about the Spanish Civil War and its effects in this country because my children didn’t know about it. It was important on many levels, not just in terms of people going to fight in Spain but in the whole political culture of that time.

Like many people in the 30s, and particularly in the East End of London, her grandparents took part in the large political demonstrations such as Cable Street:

I wanted to show in the book how people got swept up into the street politics and how different life was for them. Being a communist now is seen in a negative way so I wanted to show why people did become communists and that it was a response, a gut feeling, about the political and social situation they were in.

The novel begins with the Cable Street demonstration when the British Union of Fascists attempted to march through a largely Jewish and working class area of East London:

Missiles kept flying overhead-saucepans, bottles, rotten vegetables, god knows what. It was like a tide on the turn, with banners and placards dipping and rearing. There were all sorts here, not just East Enders. Even the side streets were packed with protestors.

It is at this march that the two main characters meet, trainee nurse Felix (Felicity) and young communist Nat. He is about to go to Spain, and explains to her why he thinks being a communist is important:

It’s changed my life really. I can see everything clearly now. It gives you hope, doesn’t it? When you realise how things could be much better, so much fairer? And that you can do something about it.

One of the reasons Lydia chose to write about this era was to show young people now how the SCW did motivate young people of that generation to not just become politically active, but to go and fight in Spain:

When I was writing the scene about Cable Street I wondered if my audience, young teenagers, would understand what it meant to be on a demonstration and being threatened by police on horses. But at the same time I saw on the news the student demonstrations and it struck me that this will make sense to a different generation of young people.

One of the startling aspects of British people going to take part in the Spanish Civil War was their age, like Nat and Felix in this book, many of them were teenagers when they made that decision. Lydia captures the horror of war, and for me reading Felix’s story as a nurse on the frontline gave it a potency that is quite different from reading about a battle:

Leaning on the doorjamb, Felix began to tremble. She couldn’t go any further anyway: a body lay at her feet, blocking the way. She had nearly stumbled onto it. She bent to apologise, but as she put a hand on the man’s arm, she could feel that already beginning to stiffen….There were bodies everywhere.

In AWBU Lydia is writing fiction, but her motivation in writing the novel was to remind her readers of the importance of the Spanish Civil War in the history of Europe in the 20 Century:

I used the history of the war as a framework but I was committed to making the novel mainstream. I wanted it to work on different levels in terms of its romance and its politics. I hope the politics will seep into readers’ consciousness so that later on the significance of the SCW will be understood.

AWBU is published by Hot Key Books for young adults but I think it is a book that can be read and appreciated by people of all ages. The love story between Felix and Nat is beautifully written and shows how political activity can bring people together in loving relationships. The novel finishes in 1939 and one of the reasons why it is important to understand the politics of the SCW is that the defeat of republican Spain led onto the Second World War. Lydia’s book is well researched and is a good beginning for further reading and studies in what is a crucial history of Britain and Spain in the 30s.

To buy it see
See Lydia’s blog for links to SCW It is also published as a Multi-touch iBook2 from Apple iBook store with lots more info on the SCW.
See wcml.org for more info on SCW
See IBMT for more information and activities regarding the International Brigadiers see

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

Watch..Big Flame by Jim Allen, Tony Garnett and Ken Loach. It was made in 1969 by the BBC when trade unions had some political as well as militant credibility. Jim was a Marxist and his politics reflect the subject matter and drive behind the script; that strike action for political ends is a legitimate democratic strategy. There are few images on tv or film that show working class people engaging in politics, particularly the politics of the workplace. That is only one of the reasons why this is such an important film. It gives back to working class people a belief that they can make change, that they have the power, and that collective action is the only way to achieve equality in society.

Read…Malkin Child by northern writer Livi Michael. Livi has written 12 books for children and 4 for adults. Many of her stories encompass the history of the north and her latest book is about the Pendle Witches. On the word of a nine year old, Jennet Device, her family and friends were arrested, put on “trial” and hung as witches in 1612. you can read my interview with Livi here

Celebrate…one of the most important events of the Second World War when Hitler was defeated at Stalingrad. This autumn  is the 70th anniversary of the Nazi onslaught on Stalingrad. The siege of the city and the eventual defeat of the Nazi war machine marked the beginning of the end for Hitler. An epic moment, the turning point of the war, a great anti-fascist victory that inspired millions all over Europe resisting the Nazi occupation. Philosophy Football have produced an anniversary range of teeshirts which are inspired by Anna Akhmatova’s poem the designs are based on a medal, a fuselage, a propaganda poster, a book title from the time and the slogan with which the Russian people greeted their eventual victory. Nobody is forgotten. Nothing is forgotten! Here is the poem

We know what’s at stake and how great the foe’s power,
And what is now coming to pass.
The hour of courage has struck on the clock
And our courage will hold to the last.
The bullets can kill us, but cannot deter;
Though our houses will fall, we shall remain.
Anna Akhmatova, 1942

Listen…to Sarah Gillespie at the Manchester Peace Festival. Finale concert with Sarah Gillespie
Saturday 6th October, the Night & Day Cafe, Oldham St, Manchester ‘Sarah Gillespie’s eclectic mix of Beat poetry with jazz, folk and Middle Eastern elements is a sonic reflection of the London street.’
Tickets cost £10 and £5 concessions more information here

Look….Music & Liberation, an exhibition about Women’s Liberation Music Making in the UK (1970-1989) shows how feminists used music to entertain and empower women during the 1970s and 1980s. Featuring the work of Jam Today, the Northern Women’s Liberation Rock Band, Feminist Improvising Group, Ova, the Fabulous Dirt Sisters, Abandon Your Tutu, the Mistakes and many others, the exhibition brings together a diverse collection of women’s cultural heritage. Visit it from 1-14 October at Bureau ‘off-site’ Three Piccadilly Place Manchester M1 3BN

Get active
Monday 1 October Demonstration supporting Pussy Riot in London, , from 11 am till 1 pm, opposite the Russian Consulate at Bayswater Road.

Tuesday 2 October; Fighting Further Cuts…Manchester Coalition Against the Cuts. 7pm at NUJ. Further details;

On 4 October the trial begins in Turkey of 69 trade union leaders all of them women, from the public sector union on trumped-up charges of “terrorism”. See Labourstart. Please send a message of protest and support for the women.

Volunteer…for  Love arts festival in Leeds this month. The aim of the festival is to develop the role of the arts in health and social care, whilst enabling people who may feel excluded to take part in the rich cultural life of Leeds. Love Arts harnesses the power of the arts to explore mental health issues such as identity, stigma, social justice and even happiness! Further details contact fran.limbert@nhs.net and see website http://loveartsleeds.co.uk

Drop in…to Firebox in London..a new left wing café offering more than coffee and cakes. Launch party with Tony Benn on 6 October. Further details here

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

Watch Woman in a Dressing Gown, a film made in 1957 and set in London, it is the story of Amy and Jim. They live in a council flat, have been married for 20 years and have a teenage son, Brian. Amy is a housewife, spending most of her day in her dressing gown. Her world is the flat, trying to get to terms with keeping it tidy, making meals for her family and counselling a new wife and mother who is not so happy with the job description. Unbeknown to Amy, her husband is having an affair with his young secretary and is about to announce that he wants a divorce. Women’s lives have changed so much in the years since this film was made that it could be seen as archaic, but it’s the performance of Yvonne Mitchell as Amy that makes the film so interesting. Amy is like a hamster in a cage, going round and round on a wheel and never getting anywhere. She doesn’t even change from her dressing gown because she doesn’t leave the flat. Her life sums up the lives of many women of that era, a stultifying, small world where women lived for their husbands and children and were not expected to want or make their own choices. The film is a reminder of how much life has improved for women and by that change also allowed men to escape the repressive role that many of their fathers had to play.

Look…Ghosts; Disappearing Histories, an exhibition at the People’s History Museum . The exhibition is curated by Commonword and, according to them, “celebrates the Moss Side and Hulme nightclubs of the 1950s to the 1980s and the role they played in building and sustaining the community, from the early days of the Reno to the last days of the PSV.” It uses various artefacts to recreate this era; from clothes of the day to the recreation of a living room and a TV. I particularly liked the photographs, which included people in the clubs as well as scenes from the local streets and the annual Moss Side Carnival. Unfortunately many of the photos do not have the names or contexts of where the photos are taken. A key feature of many of the photos is the number of mixed race and white (Irish) people. Although the exhibition is mainly about the black community, I think few of the audience will realise the high numbers of black men who married/lived with white (predominantly Irish) women. This exhibition is a slice of the life of the area of Moss Side and Hulme and for those of who lived there at various times but it is just one aspect of a very vibrant and highly political community.

Listen,..Banga by Patti Smith. She is another Mikhail Bulgakov fan and her latest CD is named after Pontius Pilate’s dog in the novel,Master and Margarita. This is Patti’s 11th album and is as unique and one-off as she is. She is a performance poet, born out of the 60s, with all the weirdness that goes with that but her voice, songs and music are unique. This is an album that makes you want to listen to it over and over again. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know who Tarkovsky and Bulgakov are, it’s the songs that count..well, apart from the really bad rendition of Neil Young’s After the Goldrush. You can listen to an interview with her about Bulgakov here

Remember..each year the Red Cross commemorates those have disappeared in armed conflicts and gives support to their families. This year in Manchester they have organised a Community Arts Exhibition which includes artistic contributions from the community on the theme of “The Disappeared” or “The Missing”. It takes place Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 August at Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick Street, Ancoats, Manchester M1 7HR 9-5pm.

Join…the demo against Atos on Tuesday 28 August at noon at Albert Bridge House organised by Disabled People Against the Cuts.  Atos are the government’s agent to throw 500,000 disabled people off benefits. They are also a sponsor of the Paralympics – how ironic is that?? Personally I do not understand why people feel the need to prove that they can run faster, lift heavier weights and perform better than other people, particularly as nowadays it is about who can access the right training to do so. It is interesting that the Proms are on at the same time and, although they get lots of publicity on the BBC, it would make a change for all people to be encouraged to understand and enjoy classical music. Maybe that would be encouraging people to think? Cannot have that. Back to the Paralympics then. Join us on Tuesday to show that we oppose the government’s decision to destroy the lives and civil rights of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

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

Watch…..Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)…we are not used to artists being politically active in this country. Weiwei is a superstar artist in his home country of China, at first  loved by the party apparatchiks, for whom he designed the Birds Nest in the Chinese Olympics. But Weiwei has proved to be more of a politician than an artist. He challenged the Chinese state and took the side of the victims of their corruption. He championed political prisoners such Liu Xiaobo

In this documentary we are shown how Weiwei has been increasingly harassed by the Chinese authorities as he uses all forms of the digital media to expose the increasing human rights abuses of the regime. His home is watched by government agents and a cctv camera is placed outside his front door. Weiwei responds by watching them watching him, so we see every move against him, leading to his detention in 2011 for 81 days. Bravely, he responds to this harassment, by continuing to oppose the regime. The Chinese authorities want him to shut up or leave the country. He is doing neither of these things. This documentary is a fierce rebuttal by him to a regime that is facing increasing opposition in the country.

The Echo of Pain of the Many..a film made in Manchester about human rights abuses in Guatemala. Showing at On The Eighth Day Thursday 30 August at 8pm. see a video clip

Read…Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth. A northern writer, this book tells the story of three working class teenagers as they are on the edge of womanhood, their families and school life. It is hard being a teenager and the book recreates those feelings of loneliness, friendship, hatred and fear. It’s a brilliant evocation of how many young people feel, but this has a dark element of impending doom. It’s a scary, spooky book that will keep you firmly gripped as the lives of these young women go into freefall. Brilliantly written, my only criticism of the book is its lack of humour and hope. Life is tough for the working classes of all ages but they still have some sense of community, where people help each other and care about each other, which is harder to find in the more affluent areas of this country.

Eating…one of my favourite hobbies and no place better to do so than at the Topaz café at the Mind Centre in Ashton-u-Lyne. A hidden gem of vegetarian food in a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere. Topaz has won awards for its food, which is bought and grown locally.

Agitate……….Disabled People Against Cuts and UK Uncut are protesting against  Atos sponsoring the Paralympic games. Atos “test” sick and disabled people on behalf of the Government to drive them off welfare benefits. Some people have killed themselves because of the harassment. But DPAC and UK Uncut are going to expose this hypocrisy on Friday 31 August, they will be shutting down Atos’ London HQ for the Closing ATOS Ceremony. Please join them. Further details here

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

Watch.… Salute..these days Olympic sportspeople are no different from celebrities and little is left of the ethos of the Olympic message. But in 1968 three men used the winning stand to express their opposition to racism and discrimination. The 1968 Olympics are now famous for the host country Mexico killing 2000 students in the city, whilst in the Olympic arena two American black athletes gave the black power salute. This film reminds us of the third man on the podium, Australian Peter Norman, who went along with the protest and, like the Tommie Smith and John Carlos, put his life at risk by doing so. In Australia at the time, like in America, Aborigines faced racism and discrimation, and there was a “white Australia Policy”. But a campaign raged in the country, waged by Aborigines, students and liberals, to demand equality for the original Australians. As the “white man” on the podium Norman represented all those people who opposed injustice across the world. After returning to Australia he was blacklisted by the sporting authorities and many people forgot about his role in the protest. His nephew, Matt Norman, made this film in 2006 which reminds us of the importance of standing up what is right and as Matt Norman says “ALWAYS STAND AGAINST INJUSTICE!” See

Look..Demon Drink, Temperance and the Working Class, an exhibition at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. We are used to health messages telling us that drinking is dangerous, whilst at the same time the government makes it easier and cheaper to buy and consume alcohol. I wonder why…something to do with the economic decline and keeping us quiet? This exhibition shows us that there is nothing new about people drinking excessively and other people trying to stop them. The north-west was the birthplace of the Temperance Movement in which people took the pledge not to drink alcohol although few people know of this history. In Demon Drink we can see why people were concerned about drinking and what the Temperance Movement did to promote abstinence including providing a culture and social activities based around enjoyment without alcohol, such as temperance beauty parades,lessons,games and sporting events. There were even trades unions such as the Dockworkers and Railwaymen that had temperance sections. It is a fascinating exhibition and, whilst you might think some of the ideology is based on middle class people stereotyping the working classes as the drinking classes, there are some interesting points made that are as relevant today as during the heyday of the Temperance Movement.see

Read..The Manchester Man by Mrs.G.Linnaeus Banks in 1876. One of my favourite books and I have bought this for many of my friends and visitors to the city. It is a book that is much loved by people in the north-west. It is a story of 18th Century Manchester, and of those who benefitted from the prosperity of the development of the city and those who gained little. It is a very moral story and a real adventure story. Some of the names are still familiar today eg Jabez Clegg, an orphan who becomes an apprentice, and then rises through society to become an important figure in the new commercial life of Manchester.

Know about..Shaker Aamer…he has been in Guantanamo for 10 years. He has been tortured,imprisoned and detained without trial. Although now cleared of any crime he is still stuck in Guanatanamo in a nightmare limbo. Spectacle have made a film about Shaker to promote his campaign see video on Shaker Aamer and sign the petition

Book review; All That I Am by Anna Funder

For those of us who are active in anti-fascist struggles, whether in our community, in the workplace or on the street,  the spectre of the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the late 1920s is always there. It is the reason why many of us feel that opposing any aspect of fascism is important in our lives. Few of us can imagine what it must have felt like for  socialists, when Hitler did come to power in 1933.

In this fictionalised account, based on real people, Anna Funder has recreated the lives of the women and men who opposed Hitler, and,  most importantly,  were part of a movement that decided to fight  one of the most ruthless regimes in the 20th century. The novel  tells us about four close friends and comrades as they react to a politics that drives them first  underground,  and then out of their own country. The story is told through Ruth,  an elderly woman, living out her last days in Australia and through Ernest Toller,  who escapes to New York after five years in prison in Germany.

For me Funder’s recreation of the 20s and 30s Germany is fascinating, and in particular,  the role of Dora (based on the real activist Dora Fabian),  as she gets involved with the socialist movement. At 17 she is leafleting munition factories to oppose Germany’s involvement in the First World War. By  1925 Dora is speaking at a meeting to defend abortion rights. Through Toller we hear her words; “A law which turns eight hundred thousand women into criminals every year is no longer a law. …You are looking at the face of an outlaw.”

Dora, her cousin Ruth, Hans and Ernest Toller are members of the socialist movement which briefly took power in 1919. But as the right wing take back power they find that they are now the target. Toller says about Hitler; “He’s made a list and he is working through it.”

Ernest Toller  looks back at his life as he sits in a New York hotel in 1939. He recalls how in 1919, when  a  communist government is elected in Bavaria,  he saw Hitler watching them; “this man seethed at Germany’s defeat,denied the Kaiser’s responsibility for the war and its loss. Instead he blamed progressive Jews, pacifists and intellectuals for bringing Germany to her knees.”

Eventually all four comrades are forced to leave Germany and live the life of refugees in England. For middle class socialists it is a shock; ”We had all spent years talking about the working class,but as I looked around this little place with its low, plain ceilings and tiny rooms I realised that we hadn’t ever, really known how they lived.”

In the 30s several hundred German activists fled to England,  but were only allowed the right to stay on the basis they did not take part in politics. This  meant  they were not meant to raise  uncomfortable issues such as Hitlers’ persecution of opposition activists and his plans for war. Through the four characters we learn how they did in fact  carry  on this political work, although constantly  fearing deportation back to Germany and certain imprisonment and death. They become in effect  prisoners in their flat and eventually end up fearing each other as their flat is raided and they are hounded by Nazi supporters. Their friendships  fray as the political situation deteriorates.

In All that I Am Funder has reminded us of the tremendous struggle that German socialists put up against Hitler, both at home and abroad. It shows how cowardly the British government was in the face of Hitler’s plans to wage war,  and that far-seeing intellectuals such as Fenner Brockway were marginalised and derided in their attempts to tell the truth about what was happening in Germany. Although this book is written about a specific point in history,  it is a reminder to all of us of what the consequences can be if we allow our democratic rights to be destroyed.