Kmflett's Blog

London Socialist Historians Group

Seminar Programme, Spring Term 2025

20^th January

Dr Tony Collins. Raising the Red Flag, Rethinking the roots of British Communism

In Person, Room 301, Institute of Historical Research. Space is limited, please book (free) Raising the Red Flag: rethinking the roots of British Communism | Institute of Historical Research

17^th February

Danny Bee, Red Vienna, when taxes paid for housing

In Person, Room 301, Institute of Historical Research, 17.30hrs

3^rd March

Mike Simons, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Forty Years on from the Great Miners Strike, can old images give us new insights. On Zoom

17^th March

Toby Manning, The Pop Chart as an Archive.

In Person Room 301 Institute of Historical Research. 17.30hrs

All seminars are free. The Institute of Historical Research is at Senate House, Malet St, WC1 (back of the British Museum, Russell Square tube)

Further details contact Dr Keith Flett keith1917@btinternet.com

The Times, which like many others on the UK right doesn’t know much about British traditions thinks that Christmas ended on January 1st and everyone should have been back to work on 2nd January. However it remains the case that Christmas has twelve days and concludes on 5/6th January.

The Times (3rd January) has published statistics on how many were either working from home or just not working at all on the 2nd and 3rd January 2025. Tut tut…

For example Hutton in Stations of the Sun notes that in 1797 the Customs and Excise Office in London closed for six days between December 21st (St Thomas’s Day) and 6th January (Epiphany). By 1838 it opened on every day except 25th December. Hutton notes that between 1790 and 1840 ‘employers, led by the Government, carried out a ruthless pruning of the Christmas holidays..’ The 1833 Factory Act had decreed that, Sundays aside, the only days when a worker should not attend work were Christmas Day and Good Friday. The 1871 Bank Holiday Act added a few Mondays into the equation as well as St Stephens Day (Boxing Day)

However from the early 1840s, led by Charles Dickens, efforts to reclaim and promote Christmas as a popular festival of harmony and social peace, certainly for the middle classes were well underway. Hutton notes that in 1847 the Poor Law Commission allowed a Christmas dinner in all Workhouses. The modern Christmas was under development.

The point being that time taken off work at Christmas (or not) although dictated to an extent by the 12 days of the traditional calendar has also been about the promotion or denial of people to take time off work.

With the final Australia v India Test underway in Sydney its worth looking at the 2024 record of the Indian captain in the game Jasprit Bumrah. An impressive demonstration of bowling beard power.

The statistics come from The Times

Nigel Farage voted Lord of Misrule January 2025

Given how much the Tory Party and right-wing media go on about British history and culture their actual knowledge of it, particularly the significant areas that are potentially problematic, often appears limited.

One example is the Lord of Misrule. A character who is supposed to subvert and turn the world upside down who can be appointed at any time from Halloween on 31st October to at least Shrove Tuesday on 13th February.

On both Twelfth Night (5th January) and Epiphany (6th January) Lords of Misrule can be appointed.

There are a number of potential contenders for the Lord of Misrule Crown in January 2025:

Boris Johnson

Nigel Farage

Jeremy Clarkson

Donald Trump

830 people voted in an on-line poll with Nigel Farage winning with 48.7% of the vote and Donald Trump second with 35.9%. The 2023 winner Boris Johnson could muster only 10.3% of the poll in 2024.

In general the role of the Lord of Misrule is to appear to subvert the existing order, while in practice simply drawing off anger and discontent leaving matters much as they were.

A well-known example is Toby Belch in Twelfth Night who is given free rein to behave in an uproarious and outrageous manner. The real aim however is to give so much space to genuine revolt and no more, kept firmly in a space policed by authority.

Its another election victory for Nigel Farage and as a great believer in traditional British history one he should be pleased about.

Beard Liberation Front

3rd January

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Luke Little first to join Beard of Winter shortlist

Following his victory in the final of the World Darts Championship at North London’s Alexandra Palace on Friday the Beard Liberation Front has said that Luke Littler is the first of eight people to join the Beard of Winter shortlist.

The first of four quarterly awards the Beard of Winter focuses on prominent beard wearers in the public eye in the last few months.

Littler is the youngest ever person to feature on a Beard Award list

BLF Organiser Keith Flett, we congratulate Luke Littler on winning the World Darts Final. Its clear that beard power is helping his darts game and provides a positive image of the hirsute.

Marx was often beset by ill health not helped in this case by the London weather in January. In 1869 the fog would have been considerably increased by smoke from coal fires. Later in January Engels who was still based in Manchester at the family firm reported an outbreak of scarlet fever..

I put off writing to you from day to day because of a frightful
cold which, for ABOUT 2 WEEKS, has been absolutely besieging my
eyes, ears , nose and entire head . Since, however , this damned
foggy weather still gives no hope of an early delivery from the
evil, I shall wait no longer .

Marx to Engels 13th January 1869

Chartist Northern Star newspaper 30th December 1843

The January tradition of Wassailing, perpetually reinvented.

The tradition of wassailing is part of the New Year run up to having cakes and ale on Twelfth Night or Epiphany the following day.

It is a tradition that has been perpetually reinvented or recovered from the ancient. The Chartist Northern Star on 30^th December 1843 saw it as an tradition based in antiquity but also one which was still current. The same can be said for 2024

Traditions are quite flexible so you can do this at any time up to Shrove Tuesday

This time of year is that of few hours of daylight and scarcity of fresh produce so things like cake and ale were and are welcome.

In fact what was in the Wassail bowl could vary but spiced ale or spiced cider were common

The traditional Wassail was to go house to house with the following cry:

we are not daily beggars that beg from door to door

But we are friendly neighbours whom you have seen before

Of course once the Wassail bowl had been offered a small gift or donation was expected in return

One of the Rules of the Bath Union Society for Parliamentary Reform (established in January 1817) is characteristic:

It is earnestly recommended to every Member not to spend his money at public houses, because half the said Money goes in taxes to feed the Maggots of Corruption

In the post war years (from 1816) both Hunt and Cobbett made much of the call for abstinence from all taxed articles and in particular of the virtues of water over spirits or beers

E P Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class

The Season of the Lords of Misrule. Who should be crowned in 2025?

Given how much the Tory Party and right-wing media go on about British history and culture their actual knowledge of it, particularly the significant areas that are potentially problematic, often appears limited.

One example is the Lord of Misrule. A character who is supposed to subvert and turn the world upside down who can be appointed at any time from Halloween on 31st October to at least Shrove Tuesday on 13th February.

On both Twelfth Night (5th January) and Epiphany (6th January) Lords of Misrule can be appointed.

There are a number of potential contenders for the Lord of Misrule Crown in January 2025:

Boris Johnson

Nigel Farage

Jeremy Clarkson

Donald Trump

In general the role of the Lord of Misrule is to appear to subvert the existing order, while in practice simply drawing off anger and discontent leaving matters much as they were.

A well-known example is Toby Belch in Twelfth Night who is given free rein to behave in an uproarious and outrageous manner. The real aim however is to give so much space to genuine revolt and no more, kept firmly in a space policed by authority.