Watch
…. Manchester in 1973 North West playwright Jack Rosenthal wrote a sweet drama about two young people called The Lovers which was filmed in Manchester in 1973. There really was a George Best boutique and many young women would hang out there. I love the clips of Belle Vue with its background of terrace houses and of a Manchester long gone. Paula Wilcox and Richard Beckinsale played the lovers, Beryl and Geoffrey, in one of Rosenthal’s most perceptive dramas.
Make some art.
…….the Moston Miners are putting on Life Drawing and Still Life Drawing Art classes starting Thursday 27 November at 7-9pm. And it costs only £4 including materials.Further info see Owner Lou Beckett is a fine artist: see my article about him here
Read
…Boys on the Blacklist by Derek Pattison and Brian Bamford.It is a story that needs to be told that will give inspiration to all workers across the country. The pamphlet tells the story of how large building companies operated a blacklist against trade unionists. The blacklist was created and run by a secret organisation called the Consulting Organisation which held 3000 files on construction workers as well as academics, lawyers and enviromental activists. It wasn’t just the use of a blacklist but the complicity of the trade unions with the companies which is outrageous. What is inspiring is the campaign by the men to expose how this happened and their continuing fight for justice. Of course it is the men and their families who have paid a high price both in terms of not being able to get work for years and the consequent mental and physical ill health. Quite rightly the book asks the question; why do we have a inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World which affects mainly well heeled celebs and no inquiry about the widespread blacklisting by some of the major building companies in this country who have benefitted from public sector contracts. See my interview with one of the blacklisted, Steve Acheson at
Buy the book Tameside TUC 46 Kingsland Road Rochdale OL11 3HQ
Go to a talk
… about the men who refused to fight in the First World War and who became known as Conscientious Objectors. Courage Of Conscience on Saturday 29 November at 7pm at Chesterfield Labour Club, Saltergate, S40 1NF. Chesterfield was home to several of these men and had connections to many more. The motivations, experiences and opinions of Engineers from Calow, Coal Merchants from Newbold, Socialists, Quakers and even Chesterfield’s (other) famous Post-War MP make a fascinating collection of sometimes odd, often passionate and always interesting stories of resistance and dissent.
For more information contact Sue Owen at sue.owen37@gmail.com
Boycott Amazon at Xmas
…it is a lucrative time for them but they still are not paying the Living Wage to their workers or paying their taxes. Sign this petition at There are alternatives including buying from left wing co-op News from Nowhere see and Five Leaves Bookshop see
Buy.
..a Modernist badge from the Manchester Modernist Society. I love the design and it is a worthwhile organisation to support. They remind us of our local architectural treasures through their magazine, talks and website. They say: We dedicate ourselves to the bold, beautiful, brutal and sometimes beleaguered architecture of the 20th century. See
lipstick socialist 