I don't know what planet Dr Naomi Wolf is living on, but one place in the UK in the 1970's that was the complete opposite of calm, still, restful, natural and peaceful was Belfast. Maybe the 5G in England has got to her after all.
She has since deleted the post
I love this picture of people out on a night out dressed as Beaker, but especially love the fact there's a Goth one. Top marks all round, and a gold star for everybody involved.
Also, l don't know what sex these people are, and there's been a lot of talk recently of how to address everyone so that it is all inclusive and non offensive. I suggest the scouse 'Youse'. Send money to the usual address.
Damn!!! I got this letter about a week ago and knew it was a scam attempt upon closer inspection, but for a brief moment or two on first reading l thought there was a chance l had won shedloads of money, as l had applied to FIFA for World Cup tickets, so knew they had my name and address. Bastards!!!
This poster for Junior Jazz Dance Class looks a bit dodgy. It's got to be a spoof, but real or not, it's well done.
There was an excellent article by Timothy Snyder about the future of American Democracy a couple of days ago, a small part of which is below. lt sums up exactly how l currently feel about the future of the USA, and rather sadly, in a different way, the future of democracy in the UK, the longer the current government stay in power, and continue with their corruption and attempts at voter suppression, with the backing of the right wing billionaire owned press. It's depressing.
Anyway, Timothy Snyder's thoughts are well worth your time, and you can read the whole article here
Toodle pip
Charles Clyde Ebbets was the photographer, on September 20th 1932, who took the iconic photographs of the workmen sitting high up on a girder in New York, building the Rockefeller Centre, especially the much parodied 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper'. Here's a photograph of him on a girder himself, taking the pictures. Good to see he got dressed up and decided against sensible shoes. What l would like to know is who took the picture of him, and which poor sod had to carry all the equipment up there. There wasn't too much Health and Safety about in those days, and those people had nerves of steel.
Here's the most famous shot
Here's a fact that not many people know. Popeye the Sailor Man was based on an actual person. He was a sailor called Frank 'Rocky' Fiegel, who used to work as a bouncer at Wiebusch's Tavern, Chester, Ilinois, where he met Popeye's creator, Elzie C Crisler.
The city of Chester is very proud of this, and more info from them can be found here
An excellent open letter to Keir Starmer by Adrian Phillips in the West England Bylines, that expresses a lot of my feelings but in an eloquent way, unlike my off the cuff idiotic ranting. He puts forward a proposal at the end that would be marvellous if it happened, but there is no way l will be holding my breath for it (and l can hold my breath for a long time).
Dear Keir,
I am 81. I have always voted Labour, or – since I now live in a Conservative/LibDem marginal – LibDem. I was a strong Remainer. My career has been mainly in public service here and abroad in the environmental sector. Now you know “where I come from”.
The Conservative Party has morphed from a centre right party into the English National Party. The name has not changed but its core philosophy has altered fundamentally. I get the impression that the Labour Party has not realised the full significance of this. And perhaps the English have been slow to see it – but it is very apparent to people living in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
One thing ought to be clear: the Labour Party cannot be a second English National Party. Waving union flags and beating jingoistic drums (albeit more softly) will never convince those who want the true thing and will embarrass and alienate those who find this kind of gesture nationalism offensive. And yet the government has been able to define this as the playing field upon which you feel you are required to operate.
Stand back and see what is happening to our politics. The government has attacked key institutions and processes that might stand in its way by illegally proroguing Parliament, breaking international law and aiming to roll back judicial review. It is threatening to restrict the rights of democratic protest. It wishes to make it more difficult for marginalised groups to vote (c.f. the Republican Party). It intimidates and undermines the independence of the BBC (as if it did not already have overwhelming and largely uncritical support from the MSM). It is ready to provoke a series of skirmishes in the ‘woke wars’ designed to keep alive the “anti-elite” resentment that played so well for Johnson et al in 2016 and 2019. It is happy to project a mildly delinquent image of the UK on the international stage in the name of sovereignty.
Many see this as the first steps towards a very British kind of fascism, or at least a drift towards a Hungary-style, one-party state. Even if you are reluctant to describe what is happening in those terms, it is clearly a deliberate and sustained assault on many of our tolerant traditions and democratic ways of working. And it is also an attempt to create the conditions in which lies, distortion and corruption go unchallenged and where our leaders use every device to avoid accountability (for COVID errors, for personal failings and policy disasters too numerous to list).
This is not politics as usual, nor can it be addressed through politics as normal. Given how our electoral system works, the Labour Party can only win power if it responds to the current crisis for British democracy by adopting a radically different way of working which completely re-sets the political landscape. In short, it needs to be bold in a way that it has – sadly – not so far shown an appetite for.
To grasp the political initiative, the Labour Party should declare that it believes there is now an unprecedented threat to our democracy which calls for unprecedented measures by all who value our democratic traditions: and that you are therefore inviting all other opposition parties – the Greens, the LibDems, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Alliance Party, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party – to join Labour in forming an Alliance for Progressive Democracy, to confront the slide into narrow English nationalism.
Such an alliance, would be confined to democracy-related issues and would be an arrangement for the rest of this Parliament only. Basically, it would be a time-limited political truce – rather like the war-time coalition – with three specific aims:
Just think how such an initiative by this group of parties might alter the political landscape. You would be setting the agenda, not following that of the government. The government would be faced with a combined opposition that would represent 57% of the 2019 vote. Public opinion would be awakened to the real threat to our rights and privileges. Many voters would respond positively to the unusual sight of parties working together. Millions, young people especially, who feel politically homeless at present would have a cause to rally to. And the ground could be laid for a winning alliance at the 2024 election.
Perhaps it is naïve to hope for a bold cross-party initiative like this, but I believe that politics as usual is not up the task of defending democracy against the threats it now faces and that it falls to the party you lead to show a different way forward.
Yours etc.
Adrian Phillips
Ed: Adrian is chair of Cheltenham for Europe.
Toodle pip
Going out in Liverpool is normally a guarantee of a excellent night out, but try telling that to Siouxsie Sioux and Jordan, pictured here at Eric's in 1978 by Ray Stevenson.
Another top notch Cold War Steve, which serves as a reminder of the vitriolic press abuse that Diane Abbott received after having a drink on the tube, compared to the lack of action around Boris Johnson's regular lies, deception of Parliament, affairs, Cronyism, racist remarks, and defence of bullies, amongst other things. I couldn't stand Margaret Thatcher, but at least she had intelligence and (some) morals. Boris has neither, and isn't being held to account, which isn't good for the future of democracy.
I hitch hiked to Leeds many years ago when Def Leppard were just starting out, and saw them at Leeds FForde Green Hotel, a tiny venue which is sadly no longer in use for music. Also chatted to them, and bought an early t-shirt which would have been worth a fortune when they became huge in America, as it had the original title for their upcoming debut lp which was later changed, The band also invited me to their Newcastle show, with an offer to put me on the guest list. Great lads, despite the mauling they received from the British press for their American aspirations. Look at the advert and single, it's not like they were shy of wanting it, and l don't blame them, it's a working class dream. I saw them many times around that time, but the Leeds gig was my favourite, despite some other great nights with them at Newcastle Mayfair (also long gone).
Toodle pip
I don't know if there is a packaging of the year award, but if there is, we have a winner!
From Viz. I can agree with a lot of the sentiment, but l sure miss gong to pubs and gigs.
Another Cold War Steve classic. He's become the modern day chronicler of all that is crap with current Conservative politics
I stumbled upon this ticket a few days ago. It's a gig l always forget l went to, and it's now 27 years ago this week. Therapy at Nottingham Rock City. Wasn't that bothered about seeing Therapy, but it was an excellent night out for the five of us lads who went down to it. Unless l'm misremembering dates, l think Arsenal were in a European cup final the same night, but that could have been a different Nottingham night out. I shall have to go and check, or it will bug me all evening.
I know festival and concert prices have gone up a lot (when they are on), and it's easy to romanticise the past, but l preferred concerts ages ago, when it was for mainly for the alternative culture, prices were low, and you could get tickets all over the place, as most events didn't sell out (if they did) for ages.
Here's the flyer for Glastonbury 1986. Tickets in shops, and only £17 for the full event. Now tell me it wasn't better then.
You don't find these any more - video stores. At first, the videos cost a fortune to hire, and there wasn't much choice, but the price reduced as the stock increased. Then.......All gone.
Toodle pip
It's bad news when a pair of trainers l've just ordered are seeing more of the world than l am at the moment. I obviously knew they were being posted from America, but didn't realise they would be doing a little road trip first, as this screenshot testifies to. I'm now jealous of them, and they haven't even arrived yet.
