Watch…..Louie (only on DVD) written by American real life stand-up comedian Louis C.K. He is the star of the show, playing a middle aged man going through a crisis about his life. We see him performing on-stage, off-stage with his male friends, with his children and in increasingly surreal encounters with women. It is American sitcom at its best, Louie is a likeable guy and he has all the characteristics of men of a certain age. We watch him in his bathroom as he examines his body, we squirm as he talks about his divorce and his (mis) adventures with new partners. And, unlike most British sitcoms, there are some politics thrown in, in one episode he is playing cards with his buddies and a macho man gets into conversation with a gay guy about the gay club scene. As a writer Louis really captures the underlying tensions that exist between men whilst they desperately try to achieve emotional support from each other. Highly recommended.
Listen again…last years International Women’s Day events were recorded on a podcast by local radio journalist Sanne Bury. It’s an opportunity to catch up with an amazing variety of events, in particular (and I admit bias) our event at the Working Class Movement Library and Ruth Eversley’s talk on asylum seekers. See
Celebrate…..Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (1896-1962) and working-class women’s writing: A centenary celebration on Saturday 7th September at the Working-Class Movement Library, Salford
This event will celebrate the life of local working class writer and political activist Ethel Carnie. She wrote ten novels which spoke about her life and those of the working classes. Unlike most modern novels, she was concerned about the important aspects of life, including poverty, unemployment and working class life. She created characters that reflected the complexities of people’s lives in a positive way.Ethel didn’t just write novels, she also produced the first anti-fascist newspaper Clear Light which the WCML has several copies of. Her novel Miss Nobody has just been republished and the day school will include readings from the book, music written by Ethel and an opportunity to view some of the WCML’s resources on Ethel’s life. Further details see
And for my article on Ethel see
Go see….local writer and director Joe O’Byrne’s new production Diane’s Deli (26 – 30 August, 7.30pm, Kings Arms Salford), a world première production that follows O’Byrne’s series of plays and films: Tales from Paradise Heights. Joe has used a photo taken at the battle of the Bogside in Derry N.Ireland in 1969 as the flier for the play which is “a tale of blackmail,murder,obsession and breakfast specials”. tFurther information see
lipstick socialist 