Kmflett's Blog

In the summer Westminster Council published draft regulations covering licensed premises in the West End of London.

They seemed to suggest that pubs and bars should focus on seating and discourage drinking at the bar. Standing in pubs, (at may age I do prefer a seat btw!)is a key part of its social context. A chat with a friend or a stranger as you wait to be served or after you have been part of the shared social fabric of society.

The proposals were not well received. Indeed it might be said that when a campaign gets the backing of the Mayor of London and 10 Downing St it should succeed.

It has but the wider protest from rank and file drinkers was also key.

Westminster Council (Morning Advertiser report) have now produced some updated regulations where they claim earlier references to standing were just ‘technical jargon’. Of course.

Now they are focusing on better night bus service and extending the night tube to Thursday. They also want more not less Met Police because they say licensing applications are often refused on the basis that the police don’t have the resource to keep an eye on them.

Modest progress in history.

I sometimes fear that
people think that fascism arrives in fancy dress
worn by grotesques and monsters
as played out in endless re-runs of the Nazis.
Fascism arrives as your friend.
It will restore your honour,
make you feel proud,
protect your house,
give you a job,
clean up the neighbourhood,
remind you of how great you once were,
clear out the venal and the corrupt,
remove anything you feel is unlike you…

It doesn’t walk in saying,
“Our programme means militias, mass imprisonments, transportations, war and persecution.”

Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen: When fascism arrives as your friend…

Timothy Taylor’s who produce one of the UK’s best known cask beers, Landlord, has rebranded its pump clips.

Cue of course much chuntering on social media and Andy Twelves has written in The Spectator, not normally an outlet associated with its comprehensive beer coverage

My view of beer pump clips is quite simple:

1 It should say who brewed the beer (& preferably where)

2 It should say how strong it is (& again preferably the style i.e mild, best bitter, stout)

3 It should NOT feature any image of a young woman in a state of partial dress

Timothy Taylor’s have replaced the long standing image of a bald man rotund man (i.e the Landlord) with a younger man with a beard. Obviously I like beards but putting one on a pump clip will not get me to buy the beer which, btw, is exactly the same as it was. I do of course drink it regularly, pump clip regardless.

Timothy Taylor claim the rebrand is to appeal to a younger audience and as the Sunday Times Business News (6th September) reveals other companies are doing the same. Who the consultants are who are pushing this idea is not revealed…

Andy Twelves in The Spectator

This week, there has been a brutal murder. I speak not of one in the many wars in faraway lands, but one that has happened in every decent pub in this country. Timothy Taylor’s brewery, in their eternal wisdom, have decided to kill the Jovial Landlord that adorned the pump clip of their famous Landlord ale. This was apparently part of a wider campaign to attract Gen Z to the real ale scene, but I, a member of Gen Z that actually drinks Landlord, am furious about it. 

Beer writer Melissa Cole has suggested that TT do a one of pump clip featuring a woman (not as 3 above) for International Women’s Day 2027. A positive suggestion to counter what she rightly calls the ‘virtual pub bores’

Reform ‘conference’ ,the End of Days & the stench of fascism

I did not of course attend Reform conference. For one thing I have an aversion to the NEC (which is arguably in Solihull) having spent years representing union members on the adjacent business park.

I did however check the livestream and read (some) of the media comment, not including BBC Chris Mason.

It was not of course a conference (the actual conference season kicks off with the TUC at the Brighton Centre on 13^th September). Rather it was a rally and those attending were more like a mob than delegates.

Witness the roughing up of hecklers on the Friday. Heckling is a democratic tradition but less tolerated in recent times. Even so the ejection of hecklers is handled by accredited security people not a chance for a general melee.

The speeches were the usual bombastic bullshit from the main stage. The fringe which seemed to run through all sessions may have been more useful but it was not livestreamed.

Most of those attending seemed to be of a senior type (like me) and could take time off during the week. The fringe where evidence appeared seemed to have some younger people. Looking at the (entirely) men who did contribute at one fringe that was livestreamed one got the impression of people who might thump you if you disagreed. Still one shouldn’t judge by appearances.

Where there was a message in the speeches it was the ‘end of days’ rhetoric, familiar from the US MAGA and indeed JD Vance himself. The rapture is coming and if Matthew Goodwin is to be believed (he isn’t) there is one last General Election to sort it, or it will happen.

There was the impression, which you can find detailed in E P Thompson’s Making of the English Working Class for the 1820s and 1830s, of people who looked outwardly normalish (leaving aside the twerp who was dressed as a Crusader) but in their heads Apocalypse Now is underway.

Finally there was the Thursday Business Day. After the C4 expose some questions might get asked in various boardrooms about why they thought adding their names to the event was a good idea.

Reading media coverage the focus is the dodgy donations and frankly absolute shambles the event represented. But behind the bombast and bullshit you could pick up a very unpleasant smell, the stench of fascism.

Suella Braverman talked of plans to make pupils sing the national anthem and hymns in schools and if that didn’t happen the schools would be reported. Farage talked about over riding the Lords and judges to push through Reform’s measures. You could compare it to Hitler’s 1933 Enabling Act but as history shows he was deadly serious and had the means to do it. The comparison is more with Trump’s Executive Orders. Mostly not legal but causing never ending chaos.

Reform are very keen on authoritarianism and if they ever do professionalise that could become a very worrying problem.

Standing  up to racism has never been more important.

Beard Liberation Front

6th September

Contact BLF Organiser keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Campaigners say beard taxes have never worked

The Beard Liberation Front the informal network of beard wearers has said that the idea of a beard tax, which has gained attention again thanks to a mention in the Metro newspaper is a non-starter. Such taxes have never worked in practice and in 2026 would cost far more to enforce and collect than they would ever raise.

While history records several beard taxes including Peter the Great for example on 5th September 1698 these were aimed at the rich and powerful in society. The lower orders had insufficient money historically to pay any direct taxes.

A modern beard tax would require a Beard Inspectorate to enforce tax payment and just to check on beards in Dalston and Shoreditch in East London alone would be likely to outweigh proceeds from the tax.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we have long believed that a shaving tax on all items relating to shaving would raise more money and it would also be climate friendly.

Jolene aka Buffy Davis

Ambridge Socialist

6^th September

The Archers, Dolly Parton & Jolene

With the death of Dolly Parton a tribute was expected on the Archers from the landlady of The Bull, Jolene, who after all is named after one of Dolly Parton’s best known songs. It has not been forthcoming. However there was a brief reference at the end of the Archers Podcast (BBC Sounds) on 4^th September. Jolene’s alter ago Buffy Davis first appeared in Ambridge when she was known as Doreen. She departed, only to return in 1996 as country and western singer, Jolene. The infamous shower scene with the late Sid Perks followed. Dolly Parton would probably have approved.

The times are out of joint

It’s been a start of autumn type week in Ambridge and the times are out of joint

After Khalil posted a picture of Justin walking the dog where he should not have been walking it, Justin became concerned about his self-image. The BBC does not reveal his age but his alter ego Simon Williams is 80. Justin has a haircut via Chelsea and Natasha suggests some of her new skin care products. Justin needs to grow a beard. He will still look old but no one will be able to tell how old

George has had a disagreement with Esme after she discovered that was working at the car showroom while getting sick pay from her thanks to his damaged wrist. It’s called a side hustle and probably not legal. The bottom line though is that George needs an income as Amber is due to stop work awaiting her baby. Esme points out that she has to do another job in order to get the money to keep the farm going. A reminder that there is still a cost of living crisis. For reference standard sick pay is £123.25 a week.

Sgt Burns has moved into the spare room at the Bull putting distance between himself and Fallon. Later he also put distance between himself and Lily. Perhaps he could occupy himself by solving a rural crime or two…

The vicar has lost it. Henry and Khalil playing cricket near the Am accidentally despatched a ball through one of Alan the Vicar’s windows. He did not turn the other cheek but had a rant. Later he apologised. Like many rural vicars in 2026 its likely his flock is just too large to manage….

Verbatim who produced the film of Reform’s quest for dodgy donations have helpfully clipped and posted the section where Nigel Farage meets the US actor posing as a donor in an Oyster Bar.

Farage has told Laura Kuenssberg that he wasn’t listening to the conversation where an illegal donation to Reform was discussed. The clip clearly shows he was both listening and responding

https://twitter.com/Verbatim_Media/status/2096478501792809016/video/1

On Saturday morning 5th September 2026 numbers of people dressed entirely in black blocked access to Dover for several hours.

Reports suggests that they were fascists organised by ‘Danny Tommo’ (inevitably a convicted criminal-kidnapping) who protesting about small boats. Tommo is banned from Dover so may not have been there but Stephen Yaxley Lennon sent support. Whether Tommo and Tommy are currently getting on I’ll leave to Searchlight.

The police made no arrests which is interesting since it appears that the Public Order Act 1936 applied

Prohibition of uniforms in connection with political objects.

(1)Subject as hereinafter provided, any person who in any public place or at any public meeting wears uniform signifying his association with any political organisation or with the promotion of any political object shall be guilty of an offence:

I’m not an enthusiast for the police deciding which protests are legal. There are other ways of stopping fascists. The 90th anniversary of Cable St will shortly be upon us.

Even so, given that the far right drone on about two-tier policing, this seems like a good example. Imagine what would have happened if it was a climate protest.

Reform often claims to be the defender of free speech and against ‘cancel culture.

It does not however apply at its own ‘conference’ where protesters were violently ejected by a Reform mob, as they heckled on climate change,

Some commentators compared the scenes to British Union of Fascists rallies in the 1930s where hecklers were routinely roughed up and ejected.

The convention is that there is a democratic right to heckle and that the speaker instead of droning on about it being ‘boring’ as Farage does recognises that and provides a response that shuts the heckler up.

One master of how to deal with the political heckler was Harold Wilson. Addressing a crowd in Birmingham in 1966 Wilson was talking about his public expenditure plans when a heckler cried, “What about Vietnam?” – the burning issue of the day. “The government has no plans to increase public expenditure in Vietnam,” rejoined Wilson. Heckler: “Rubbish!” Wilson: “I’ll come to your special interest in a minute, sir.”