Kmflett's Blog

Tuesday 16th August 1977 ‘Little bit of sunshine. Went shopping. The rabbit died’ Tony Benn Diaries

Engels was not a cricket fan, but as the letter below underlines he was aware of Lords (he lived quite nearby in Regents Park Rd) and of cricket. He mentions both in a matter of fact way. Sam Moore was the US translator of Marx’s Capital into English. The scorecard from that day’s cricket featured another great Victorian beard wearer W G Grace. Thanks to the Lords Archivist Alan Rees. It was the second day of a scheduled three day match between the MCC and Nottinghamshire. W G Grace was of course playing for the MCC

Harney is gone to Macclesfield yesterday, and arrived safely. He is
a good deal better, intrinsically, but of course the pains do not go all
at once, and as soon as he is a bit better, he begins stirring about in
cabs; he did so for two days before he left, then the journey, and of
course arrived worse. I am afraid he will never get quite over it, part-
ly because the complaint is too inveterate and partly on account of
his inconsistency and listening to everybody who has a remedy to
propose. It has been a hard time for poor Nim, and I am glad for her
sake it has come to an end. Sam Moore had to go to Pumps’, I think
he rather liked it this time as he was bent on exhibitions, picture
galleries, Royal Academies and the like, and so he and Pumps
have a fine time of it. Today they are gone to see a cricket match at
Lords.

Engels to Laura Lafargue 29^th May 1885

Pumps, niece of Engels wife Lydia Burns

August 1848: Chartists meet daily to plan an armed rising in central London

It’s a largely forgotten part of London’s radical history. Frustrated by peaceful attempts to secure the vote, sections of London Chartism decided to try an armed rising instead.

There had been a gradual move towards militant action after the failure of the petition for the  vote which had been presented from the meeting on Kennington Common on 10^th April 1848. There were militant meetings (far from just in London) in June and July 1848. By the beginning of August this had turned into planning for an armed rising in central London, designed to take control of the Capital.

There was a long history of conspiratorial politics in London and elsewhere but the majority tradition certainly represented by the weekly Chartist paper the Northern Star was for open organising and campaigning.

The details below are only part of what was happening in London in the first weeks of August 1848. There were parallel meetings of Irish reformers concerned to protest at a significant State crack down on political activity in Ireland. On occasion the reformers, or repealers, met at the same location and were certainly present at the same demonstrations

Below are the details of where those planning the armed rising (due to take place on 16^th August at Seven Dials) met during August.

We have the details because the meetings were infiltrated by what are now known as SpyCops. A significant and known issue with the conspiratorial tradition. The picture of radical activity in London in early August is likely to be far from complete. The Northern Star didn’t carry reports until the conspirators were arrested and trials took place. Even there we have to rely on what was likely to have been the unreliable evidence of Government spies.

Most of the meetings were in coffee houses, reflecting perhaps the teetotal traditions of some Chartists, but also the reality that such places did not require a licence or official oversight and hence more difficult for the authorities to keep an eye on.

There is more detail in the Past Tense blog:

Today in London’s radical history, 1848: Armed Chartists arrested as they prepare for revolution – LONDON RADICAL HISTORIES (pasttense.co.uk)

Tuesday 1 August, Dispatch Coffee House, Bride Lane, Fleet Street. 

34 or 29 present. Allnutt, Bezer, Brewster, Collins, Donovan, Dowling, Fay, Ferdinando, Fuzzen, Hayman, Lynch, Mullins, Payne, Raymond, Rose, Thompson, Warry, Davis, Powell

Friday 4 August. Cartwright’s Coffee House, Redcross Street 

32 present. Bassett, Bligh, Brewster, Cuffay, Donovan, Dowling, Gurney, Lynch, Mullins, Payne, Rose, Thompson, Davis, Powell.

Sunday morning 6 August. Denny’s Coffee House, Great St Andrew’s Street 

Brewster, Fay (?), Lynch (?), Mullins, Payne, Rose, Thompson, Davis.

Sunday afternoon 6 August. Dispatch Coffee House, Bride Lane 

24 to 30 present. Allnutt, Bligh, Brewster, Cuffay, Fay, the two brothers Granshaw, Hammond (= Hayman?), Mullins, Page, Payne, Rose, Warry, Davis, Powell.

Monday 7 August. Denny’s Coffee House, Great St Andrew’s Street 

About 30 present. Allnutt, Bassett, Brewster, Cuffay, Donovan, Dowling, Fay, Lynch, Mullins, Payne, Ritchie, Rose, Thompson, Warry, Davis, Powell.

Wednesday 9 August. Lord Denman, Great Suffolk Street, Blackfriars Road 

28 present. Allnutt, Bassett, Bligh, Brewster, Cuffay, Donovan, Dowling, Fay, Flanagan, Fuzzen, the two Granshaws, Gurney, Horn, Lynch, Mullins, Nash, Payne, Pedley, Ritchie, Rose, Davis, Powell.

Friday 11 August. Perry’s Coffee House, Church Street, Shoreditch 

Cancelled

Sunday morning 13 August. Hopkinson’s Coffee House, Saffron Hill 

Allnutt, Bligh, Brewster, Fuzzen, Mullins, Payne, Ritchie, Salmon, Davis.

Sunday afternoon 13 August. Breedon’s Beershop, Shouldham Street, Crawford Street, Marylebone 

26 or 30 present. Bligh, Cuffay, the two Granshaws, Hayman, Mullins, Nash, Payne, Ritchie, Warry, Davis.

Monday 14 August. Orange Tree, Orange Street, Red Lion Square 

25 or 30 present. Allnutt, Bligh, Brewster, Cruikshank, Cuffay, Fay, Fleming, Ford, the two Granshaws, Gurney, Hayman, Mullins, Nash, Payne, Pearce, Ritchie, Scurrey (or Scurry), Simmonds, Warry, Davis, Powell.

Tuesday 15 August. Lord Denman, Great Suffolk Street. 

30 or 40 present. Allnutt, Brewster, Cruikshank, Cuffay, Donaldson, Dowling, Fay, Ferdinando, Fleming, the two Granshaws, Gurney, Lacey, Mullins, Page, Payne, Pedley, Ritchie, Simmonds, Davis, Powell

Farage addresses Farage Fest in a field near Clacton in the early hours of Friday morning

Everyone in England and Wales received a mobile phone alert about wild fires on Friday evening.

Some Councils had already issue warnings including Tendring in Essex, which covers Clacton

Farage did not attend the Count for the By-Election he called in the early hours of Friday morning. He was at a Clactonbury party elsewhere in Essex celebrating Reform’s campaign. As Reform are climate change deniers the Council warning on wildfires was ignored.

The event has been little reported- the Guardian was refused entry- but Reform friendly GBNews and the Telegraph did carry reports. An extract from the Telegraph report (14th August) is below. Fortunately it does not appear any wildfires resulted

He(Farage) was speaking at “Farage Fest”, a pop-up Reform festival in the Essex countryside, half an hour away from the official count. Earlier in the day, Tendring district council had issued a statement reminding people there was a high fire risk. “Residents and visitors are reminded that fires and barbecues should not be lit on open land.”

Ignoring those jobsworth local authorities, Reform put firepits everywhere – along with live music, bars, festoon lights and giant Jenga. “Clactonbury” even had rows of glamping tipis. Given the last hotel room in Clacton was going for £1,285 on Wednesday (and people say Farage doesn’t do enough for the local economy), they might have been needed.

Nigel Farage won the Clacton By-Election on Friday morning. The result was announced at 6.30am. He was not there.

As often with Farage there were several explanations. He claimed he didn’t want to share the stage with ‘nobodies’. But then he also claimed there was a, not detailed, security issue. The police did not agree.

I don’t usually quote the BBC’s Chris Mason who has been something of a Farage fan, but this underlines Farage’s vanished status

The Clacton by-election has been unorthodox from the start – and results day has been no different, with winning candidate Nigel Farage choosing not to turn up to the result of a contest he himself triggered.

Not only that – I got up this morning anticipating being in the audience, on your behalf, for a Farage victory speech, here in Clacton, and then doing an interview him afterwards.

Neither of those things have happened. The Reform UK leader cancelled all of the interviews he had planned, with the BBC and others.

Again there are several alternative stories. Firstly and most obviously Farage wanted to avoid questions about his £5m. The Parliamentary Inquiry has re-opened. Secondly as the Guardian revealed. Farage had been at an all night Farage Fest in the Essex countryside. Perhaps he was just sleeping off the hangover.

Even so its odd behaviour to promote a By-Election and then vanish when you win it.

A bottom line is that Farage got 22,000 votes. The campaign against the racism and bigotry he is stirring up must not vanish

Andy Burnham has told LBC that his favourite Greggs item is the sausage, bean & cheese slice which costs £2.20. As an occasional consumer of the item Burnham is right in my view.

It won’t please the unnamed advisors who complained that a clip of Burnham and John Healey rating pub snacks was ‘laddish’.

In my experience both women and men like pub snacks and Greggs.

Nigel Farage who promotes his man of the people image by posing with a pint in a pub (he drinks fine wines) has not commented on his favourite pub snack of Greggs item.

London bus drivers, members of Unite the Union, have started a series of strikes over hot working conditions on 14th August.

The summer of 2026 has seen record temperatures and London buses, with inadequate cooling, have meant intolerable conditions for drivers and indeed for passengers.

Managers at Arriva which runs a large number of TFL routes in North-East London, have refused to act and the dispute is also about bullying and victimisation of union reps.

The TUC has demanded that there should be a maximum working temperature, as there is a minimum. So far the Government has failed to act.

The bus strike will cause inconvenience for thousands but if employers will not act on the impact of climate change ultimately industrial action is a way of focusing their minds

Arriva North London drivers strike over roasting buses as capital sees fifth heatwave

Nigel Farage called a By-Election in his Essex Constituency of Clacton and then didn’t bother to show for the announcement of his victory. He also cancelled a victory speech scheduled for Clacton on Friday morning. Farage claimed there were security issues (perhaps the same ones that means he has never held a surgery in the Constituency). The police confirmed there were not.

Ace BBC reporter Chris Mason could not discover where Farage was but the Guardian did. He was at an all night Farage Fest bender in a field somewhere else in Essex. Presumably he is now sleeping off the hangover.

After a 25-minute or so drive from the count, at an airbase far away from the heart of Clacton-on-Sea, a lone guard sat in complete darkness beside a sign that read Farage Fest.

After getting through this initial security checkpoint and parking up, there was a trudge through a dark country lane. Soon, the festival came into full view, with a lit-up ferris wheel, tents and Farage himself at about 3.30am, visible through a gated fence.

But after reaching the entrance, undercover security guards intervened and said it was a ticketed event. They asked the Guardian to leave and trailed behind while leaving the premises.

This post is not about The Hundred as such, of which I’m no fan, but the impact of the franchise takeover in 2026.

It has been as can be seen negative when it comes to crowds. Perhaps less freebies are being offered. Perhaps the change of identity and players has had an impact.

Notable that Sofia Gardens Cardiff has seen an increase. The Welsh Fire were the worst performing Hundred team. So in this case a change of players, womens and mens, is not a negative but a positive. Secondly unlike other venues ticket prices have been held, mainly £20/£25 not £40 or £50. Thirdly reportedly the new franchise partner has worked with Glamorgan rather than imposing an existing franchise model.

The title line is of course from Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a Changin’

My thoughts on the Hundred are here

A Day at The Hundred….