Kmflett's Blog

The Bangles & the beginning of Autumn…. Meanwhile the world goes on just the same. Unfortunately

Patriotism, the Flag & the Freeborn Englishman. The alternative tradition of internationalism is better.

Once again (1^st September 2025) Keir Starmer has backed the display of the Union Flag with a sort of lower case nod that those who are painting roundabouts or adorning lamp posts with the Union or more often St George’s flag may not quite be the patriots they claim to be.

In fact the flag campaign is organised by the far right, although at least some of those involved may not be aware of that

The Freeborn Englishman of William Cobbett, that EP Thompson wrote about in the Making of the English Working Class (1963/8) is a deeply contradictory figure.

Thompson’s focus on the Freeborn Englishman suggests that he (and it was always a he) was a complex figure who was identified neither fully with left or right but could appear in either space depending on context.

For example Thompson notes that the Freeborn Englishman claimed a right to riot against oppression founded in the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688.

The Freeborn Englishman did not however claim many rights but what he did not like was authority telling him what to do, or restricting his activities. Hence things like freedom from arbitrary arrest, jury trial and equality before the law were very important matters.

The British Government of the early nineteenth century, referred to by William Cobbett as The Thing, liked, as Thompson notes, to flatter the Freeborn Englishman by claiming that it held to these principles, whereas OTHER COUNTRIES did not.

Certainly the Freeborn Englishman was not an internationalist or an enthusiast for what happened in other countries.

In reality of course, for example at Peterloo in August 1819, the gap between the appearance of some kind of liberty and the reality often led to the Freeborn Englishman and the defence of his liberties to appear on the left rather than the right.

I’m not sure that Englishness has moved on all that much in the subsequent 200 years. There are numbers who cheer on an England football team notably more inclusive and more explicit in its anti-racism than some of recent decades. There are others who note that some of England’s support are be fans of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon the far right troublemaker.

Bridging that contradictory divide is no easy matter and it remains a question of whether in any case it is a prudent project where promoting a genuine internationalism might be a better option. It is one which the British left has in fact a proud history of. EP Thompson commenting on criticism that the left had not become more hegemonic or developed more theory suggested this might have been because there had been ‘so bloody much to oppose’ when it came to the activities of British imperialism. And the current Government’s record  does not suggest much familiarity with the internationalist traditions of the labour movement and the left

Beard Liberation Front

1^st September

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Campaigners call on Boris Johnson to shave off ‘holiday beard’ with immediate effect

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has called on Boris Johnson to shave off what some have called his ‘holiday beard’.

The campaigners say that the former Tory leader is giving beard wearers a bad name and bringing the hirsute into disrepute.

While holiday beards are a known thing, Jeremy Paxman famously grew one in 2013 and then had a protracted dispute with the BBC about whether he could wear it while presenting Newsnight, Johnson’s facial hair has not even managed to reach the stage of a  beard.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Boris Johnson is doing himself and the hirsute no favours by attempting to grow a holiday beard. We are calling on him to shave it off with immediate effect.

Parliament returns on September 1^st. The MP for Clacton will be representing his constituents (in Washington, again)

Parliament returns from the summer recess on 1^st September and MPs will be in the Commons to address, no doubt, a range of issues. How successfully is another matter. However the MP for Clacton will be absent again, as he will be in Washington, again. He is a keynote speaker at the National Conservative Conference in Washington, a gathering of far right Trump allies.

Given how obsessed Reform Ltd is with people working in an office and given that the Commons is Farage’s office where he is paid to do a job, there seems to be a democratic deficit here.

Beard Liberation Front

31^st August

Guardiola’s early season follicle crisis is deeply rooted.

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that its long running inquiry into the follicle crisis of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is continuing

The team lost 2-1 to Brighton on Sunday, following a home defeat against Spurs last week

BLF experts are focusing on pictures and footage of Guardiola’s beard to try and analyse what the cause of his follicle crisis is. It took until November in the 2024/5 season for Guardiola to face a similar crisis and it appears matters may be coming to a head.

Possibilities include:

lack of proper nourishment at the roots

Uneven hair growth meaning diminished Managerial Beard Power

Waning follicles which can distract a manager from the game

Seasonal moth interventions

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, while Guardiola’s follicle crisis appears to have developed over just a few weeks of the 2025/6 season it appears that his follicle crisis is more deeply rooted.

The August ‘silly season’ concludes. From John Prescott on crabs, to Boris Johnson’s ‘beard’ & Angela Rayner in Hove

Parliament returns on 1^st September so this weekend sees what has been traditionally known as the August ‘silly season’ in the media draw to a close. Of course in 2025 with social media and 24 hour news there is no actual shortage of news.

Even so the habits of the right-wing media remain. In August 1997, the first summer of the newly elected Labour Government, PM Blair was away, and Deputy PM John Prescott was in charge. On 17th August 1997 Prescott was by the Thames launching a new environmental initiative. He was pictured addressing a Chinese crab in a jar. He named it Peter (Mandelson) and pondered if it would claw its way on to the Labour NEC.

Fast forward 28 years and it’s the second August of another Labour Government. There is a slight tweak to the silly season story. PM Starmer had brief holidays in Scotland and Europe but the intrepid ‘reporters’ of the Mail & Telegraph failed to track him down it seems. Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner who was pictured in the DJ Booth at an Ibiza nightclub in 2024, this year has been spotted in Hove where she has reportedly bought a property. Cue much tut-tutting from the right-wing media, absolutely none of whom of course have ever taken a holiday in August or bought a house.

Meanwhile Boris Johnson has grown a holiday ‘beard’. Farage had holidays on the Kent Coast and Cornwall but despite the media hanging on his every ‘thought’ these were unreported. Presumably this was because the Reform PR dept didn’t send details to the media. They did send one claiming Farage had attended five press briefings during the Parliamentary recess. In fact it was only three because he was on holiday… Silly Season indeed.

If we are to be serious for a moment, issues of work-life balance, holidays and political theatre arise here. Mainly however just the perpetual behaviour of a mostly right-wing media.

The Ambridge Socialist

31^st August

Is Martyn Gibson really woke?

Several readers of the Ambridge Socialist have queried whether Martyn Gibson who has been defending Chelsea and Zainab’s right to play golf at the club is really as Woke as he seems. Quite recently he was found to be loudly protesting about a noisy protest over the activities of Borchester Water (of which he is a Director). It may of course be that his perspectives changed after his wife left him for the gardener, Lady Chatterley style.

Marky is no longer missing

Marky local gangster has been arrested as has his collaborator who set fire to the Bull’s pub sign. Kenton seemed keen to engage with George who had a plan to somehow sort matters via prison acquaintances. This has appalled posters on the Academic Archers site, but it seems unlikely that the police are interested in locating a pub sign burner. Marky may be of more interest to the Constabulary. Did they checked the list of Reform Councillors on Borsetshire County Council? It seems eventually they did.

Lawrence

Lawrence continues to be sexist and racist. While he seems like a caricature given the BBC’s love affair with Reform it may be an attempt to introduce a Farage like character in Ambridge. The view of the Daily Telegraph is awaited

Brian is 82

As Pat noted Brian is up the creek without a paddle. Time for him to retire and let Stella take charge of Home Farm with a controlling interest. Adam can be left safely in the Dairy

It was 155 years ago on 31st August 1870 that Marx wrote to Engels (30th August 1870) noting that he was leaving (on a steamer) the following day for London.

He complained to Engels that ‘the English have thronged all the seaside resorts on account of the war’. This had raised the price of the lodgings the Marx family had and made them ‘expensive’.

The war that Marx referred to was the Franco-Prussian War which had started on 19th July 1870 and by his account meant that tourists destined for France (quite probably via Thomas Cook) had decided to holiday at the English seaside instead.

Marx had other complaints. Firstly his accommodation was ‘damned draughty’. Secondly he wrote that he was almost paralysed in a ‘certain place’ and needed to consult is doctor in London.

Marx had written to Engels on 8th August noting he was off to Ramsgate on the 9th rather than Brighton because on investigation he thought Brighton would be too hot

A rather typical English seaside summer holiday then.

The Hundred Finals Weekend. Does anyone care who wins?

The Hundred reaches its final weekend on 30^th August (Oval) and 31^st August(Lords). Does anyone care who wins? The answer of course is yes. Fans of Big Cricket will be rooting for the Oval Invincibles (Men). As with the other Hundred teams its now closing time. In 2026 the team will be called MI London and owned by a franchisee.

Since I work mainly from home Ive glanced at most of the women’s and men’s Hundred games in August. The vast majority have been one sided affairs with little sense of contest. A few have been exciting, tight finishes.

Of course as Lizzie Ammon notes in the Times (30^th August) particularly with franchises in place from 2026 and more money on offer there have been more big name players. I am pleased to note that Steve Smith has been out a fair bit.

There may as Ammon notes be more people identifying with the eight Hundred teams now but one fears disappointment. With the new franchisees from next year they are unlikely to be the same teams in either composition or style, and given the lacklustre competition this year, it would be a surprise if that wasn’t the case.

Phoebe Litchfield argues in the Times (30^th August) that the Hundred is better than the Big Bash. Well, yes. Firstly it doesn’t go on (and on) for so long. Secondly it doesn’t have Aussie commentators.

I have noticed some individual performances which have been well worth watching. Sonny Baker was an impressive fast bowler. Nat Sciver Brunt and Jonny Bairstow had at least one exciting innings and Jimmy Anderson bowled a very decent spell in a game I watched.

The IPL is in part about the performances of individual stars, captured in social media clips. The Hundred could do more here and probably will.

Overall though the Hundred Version One has done what the ECB planned and that is to bring private investment into cricket. What happens next will be interesting and possibly not to the liking of many cricket fans

Btw perhaps as its finals weekend ground attendance figures (good at least in part) and TV viewing figures (so far unreported) will be revealed. If you are selling a product impact is important