Tag Archives: mary quaile

My review of “Threads of Life. A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle” Clare Hunter

Posted on August 6, 2020 by lipstick socialist

I found this book in a charity shop and it opened my eyes to a different world; the world of sewing and the important place it has in all of our memories. As a socialist I have marched behind and … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, education, feminism, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, North of Ireland, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

My review of “High Wages” Dorothy Whipple

Posted on February 20, 2019 by lipstick socialist

  High Wages is set in 1912 and describes the lives of many young women of that era who had  limited educational and career options. Jane Carter, the heroine of this novel, is a Northern young woman who has to … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, feminism, labour history, novels, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

My review of”Why Women have better sex under Socialism” Kristen R. Ghodsee

Posted on November 20, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  In 1925 Mary Quaile, Manchester Irish trade unionist and one of the first women to be elected onto the  Trades Union Congress, led a women-only delegation to the Soviet Union to investigate the lives of women and children in … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Rising Up; How the MSWTUC worked with the Bakers’ Union to organise women confectioners.

Posted on March 29, 2018 by lipstick socialist

In 2018 the numbers of trade union members is on the decline: many young people do not see the point of joining. Some unions, such as the Baking Food and Allied Workers Union, are bucking that trend and young  people … Continue reading →

Posted in education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, Salford, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

My Review of “The Night Brother” by Rosie Garland

Posted on January 31, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  As the debate around gender recognition in the C21st rages on Rosie Garland’s new novel The Night Brother is a fantastical story of identity and belonging: of sexuality and gender.  Set in late  C19th and  early C20th Manchester  this … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “The Woman Worker” by N. K. Krupskaya

Posted on November 26, 2017 by lipstick socialist

Reading this pamphlet reminded me of the report written by Mary Quaile following the TUC Women’s Delegation to the Soviet Union in 1925.  Commenting on the welcome they received Mary said; “Women were there in hundreds, many of them with … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, feminism, labour history, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Writing up Women’s Trade Union History: The Transcription Project for the Manchester and Salford Women’s Trade Union Council 1895-1919

Posted on September 9, 2016 by lipstick socialist

1895 In this post I am going to talk about a unique organisation, which from the start encouraged working class women to join trade unions and support unions that already exist; collected  information about the conditions of women’s work;  and … Continue reading →

Posted in education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Read my weekly roundup of radical arts and politics..Johnny Guitar,Dare to be Free, People before Profit and John McGahern

Posted on May 8, 2016 by lipstick socialist

Watch Johnny Guitar (Home). A classic film, looks like a western but isn’t. Made in 1954 by Nicholas Ray it reflects on US society at that time, McCarthyism and the witchhunt of radicals in society. Joan Crawford, 49, plays Vienna, … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Catholicism, drama, feminism, films, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, novels, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Keep a diary for the day on 12 May and make your mark on history!

Posted on May 5, 2016 by lipstick socialist

History is dominated by the establishment. In books, television and radio the agenda is one of kings and queens, the First and Second World Wars, and generally the people with power. Where are the people who made this country a … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, education, feminism, labour history, political women, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on April 25, 2016 by lipstick socialist

Watch Dheepan (Home)…how much do we really know about the refugees who escape war in their country and arrive in the west? Few people know about the war in Sri Lanka and the role of militants, the Tamil Tigers, who … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, drama, feminism, films, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, music, novels, political women, trade unions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment