The 2025 Superbowl is predicted to draw an audience of around 200m people.
Adverts are at a premium costing $8m for less than a minute.
If you’re having a beer while watching Global Big Beer has taken 5 slots. Four for ABInBev products and one for Molson Coors
Full List Of Beer Brands
My piece on global big beer at Culture Matters
Global Big Beer: Carlsberg-Britvic. Not here for the beer
Since January 2025 Carlsberg the global brewer, third behind Heineken and ABInBev has added Britvic to its name. It bought the soft drinks outfit because it sees profit in low alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, and of course more profit than it makes from alcohol.
Its name is associated with lager but since Marstons decided to become a pub company not a brewer, it is also a major brewer of cask ale.
Carlsberg reported its annual results to December 2024 in early February. It reported a 6% growth in profits with an 0.4% growth in volume of drink sold attributed to ‘premium and alcohol free beers and soft drinks.
The acquisition of Britvic cost £3.3 billion and reflects Carlsberg’s strategy of going ‘beyond beer’.
As for cask beer, what’s that?
For my thoughts on Global Big Beer see this piece in Culture Matters
The fight against Global Big Beer in 2025: Part One – Knowing the enemy – Culture Matters
9th February
Ahead of Valentine’s Day its Relationship Week in Ambridge
Here is a summary
Does Zainab want to go out with Brad? No
Does Hannah want to go out with Chris? No
Will Fallon miss Knacker Burns? Probably not
Is Lynda interested in cricket pest Lawrence? No
Who is Ben interested in? Not sure
Amidst all this there were nice lower key exchanges between Tracy, Chelsea and Zainab on class, gender and religion. In times like these they are important discussions and its good to see them being had in Ambridge
What will Trump mean for Ambridge?
Is the future orange in Ambridge. So far no comment has been made but it begs the question of who the Trump supporters in the village might be. Vince Casey? Brian Aldridge?
Well Being in the Brookfield Barn
Rochelle has left the building but the Well Being event went ahead anyway. It mainly seemed to cause some tut-tutting on the Academic Archers discussion posts
Between 1919 – 1934, the socialist council of Vienna built over 64,000 homes, supported by health, education and welfare services. Clinics, free (!) dentists, mother and baby centres, kindergartens, play centres, nurseries, psychiatric services (Freud provided a free weekly clinic), cinemas, theatres, parks, gardens, allotments, youth centres and clubs and associations and much else.
The housing programme was paid for through city-wide taxes in which landlords and the rich paid proporitionately the most. Rents were 3 – 7 percent of an average workers wage.
Leading architects and designers were involved, including Josef Frank, Adolf Loos and Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky. The high quality of the design and build continues to shine today. Some of this housing is now over 100 years old and continues to provide the core of public housing across Vienna.
The last housing of the socialist council was opened in 1933, as the grim power of fascism began to take hold. Karl Seitz, the mayor of Vienna declared:
‘Even if the world is to be filled with devils, this Vienna will stand unmoved and firm, a haven of democracy, a haven of the spirit, a haven of liberty, a bulwark against fascism and dictatorship’.
Come along and see some fine photographs of this fantastic achievement and explore the ideas and dreams that made it possible; and what lessons there are for today, both in terms of housing and fighting reaction.
Danny Bee will speak on Red Vienna on Monday 17th February at 5.30pm in Room 301, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, Malet St, London, WC1.
Organised by the Socialist History Seminar at the IHR and the London Socialist Historians Group.
contact @keithbeard.bsky.social
Report– Keith Flett
A very well attended seminar where Danny Bee gave a broad ranging overview of the social democratic housing project in Vienna between 1919 and 1934.
The project situated itself between on the one hand more traditional Labour administrations and on the other Bolshevik Russia arguably showing what was possible within the confines of a ‘reformist’ political perspective.
The building programme was impressive and focused on places for workers to live which were not like the mechanised environment of the factory. There was significant provision given to green space and buildings were restricted to five stories. The view was that this was as far as someone might carry a sack of coal or a pushchair with two children!
The scheme concluded as the Nazis took power and as the speaker noted at least some of those who had lived in the housing schemes of Red Vienna ended up in concentration camps.
Many of the housing projects of Red Vienna remain and perhaps offer a model for housing to be built by future socialist Governments…
Danny Bee runs radical walks in London. Details from danny@beingdigital.co.uk
This Fletter appeared in the March 1995 issue of the London Drinker the magazine of the London Branches of CAMRA (still appearing btw).
I sense beer and beer prices in London and Manchester remain an issue 30 years on
The owner of Reform UK Ltd Nigel Farage has revealed what he likes about London.
Essentially its London’s past and the pubs.
Much of the rest of the Capital is apparently not ‘English’ but keep in mind that the Party Farage owns is definitely not racist. The interview appears in the London Standard magazine. The link below to Wetherspoon’s London pubs is not an accurate guide btw
https://www.standard.co.uk//news/politics/nigel-farage-interview-reform-b1209270.html
What do you love about London?
Its sense of history and its pubs.
The hard and far right continue to launch Culture Wars.
One of the latest is on Attorney General Lord Hermer. An article in the Telegraph (paywalled) attacks Hermer for a range of things including a statement made when was a lawyer (rather than a law official as now) that it would be a good idea for school students to learn about the violence and racism of the British Empire.
Indeed and the matter is already broached in some schools.
Farage who went to the fee paying Dulwich College and shows no sign of knowing anything about British history has suggested that Hermer hates British history. More to the point Hermer knows British history.
He was backed up by Jenrick who made the bizarre statement that Hermer is Jeremy Corbyn in a lawyers wig. Jenrick has a BA in history from Cambridge but that is no guarantee he knows anything about the British Empire.
Hermer is a member of the Jewish Labour Movement which while it may not support the current Israeli Government (at least enthusiastically) in general supports the principle of one as currently constituted. Corbyn has a rather different perspective.
The Telegraph article also quotes Nigel Biggar, not an historian but a Professor of Moral Theology, who however often provides a right-wing voice on Empire. His view is that Empire brought benefits to countries in terms of infrastructure and political institutions. These benefits of course were designed primarily to assist British rule, although many still exist in the post-colonial area.
If you want a ‘balanced’ view on the right that is more is less it but that of course doesnt interest Culture Warriors like Farage and Jenrick
I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work. BACK TO PASTIC! Donald Trump Truth Social Post 10:12 AM EST 02/07/25
Charles & Camilla have been holding an Italian style dinner at Highgrove with UK produce. It was apparently to prepare them for an Italian visit in April. It will be Charlie’s 18th visit to Italy.
The Italian Ambassador was present as were the usual hangers on at such occasions like the Beckhams
How much was raised to support food banks is not mentioned
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxk227wgq7o
The Menu (via BBC)
Reception:
Rare and pasture salumi
Tuscan-style paté and coppa
Yorkshire pecorino cheese puffs
British vegetables caponata tartelletta
with Highgrove sparkling wine
Dinner:
Scottish crab panzanella
Westcombe ricotta and Highgrove fine herbs ravioli
Isle of Wight tomato passata
Suffolk Red porchetta
Pumpkin and sage mash, Tuscan kale
with white wine Gavi dei Gavi La Scolca Black label 2023 and red wine Barbaresco Gaja 2021
Zuppa Inglese and biscotti
with a red dessert wine, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Zenato
Liz Truss has taken to Twitter again. Mainly she has been praising Donald Trump for banning paper straws but she also demands that the ‘ancient laws of the British Constitution’ be restored
Trump shows us the way. We need to repeal the laws that have damaged our governance. The ancient laws of the British constitution must be restored. A Great Restoration Bill (Liz Truss, Twitter 7th February 2025)
Truss studied PPE at Oxford which one might have thought would have included at least a glance at Bagehot’s work on the British Constitution, which points out there isn’t a written document as such.
She may have had in mind the Magna Carta of 1215 although only very small parts remain law.
The tweet seemed to suggest that Truss wants to repeat laws passed in the Blair era 1997-2006. There were a lot, mostly as will be the case with any Government, largely uncontentious. Truss however does not specify which of the hundreds of laws in question she has in mind
A better benchmark is what the Freeborn Englishman of the first decades of the nineteenth century thought were his rights (and with which Governments before the 1832 Reform Act tended to acquiesce)
Thompson notes them in the Making of the English Working Class (1963, 1968)
Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest
Equality before the Law
Trial by Jury
Limited liberty of thought, speech and conscience
Freedom to travel, trade and sell one’s labour
This comes from a period before most had the vote. Its questionable whether Donald Trump would agree with much of it, and its certainly the case that thanks to the last Tory Government and the inactivity of the current one there are plenty of issues to address.
Perhaps will see Liz Truss on a few demonstrations…
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