Culture Wars: Times review agrees Churchill was racist
A review of a new book in the Times (6th January) was headed BLM were right. Churchill was racist.
This was of course a book review not the Times Editorial policy but even so in the long running culture war on Churchill it was a surprising statement in a surprising place.
The book in question is Fighting Retreat, Churchill and India by Walter Reid. It was published on 4th January and the book reviewer was Gerard DeGroot
DeGroot underlines that Reid while not a professional historian is a well respected one with a significant publishing history. He is described as ‘white, late middle aged and as a landowner rather posh’.
Even so Reid has looked at Churchill’s long history of engagement with India from the late nineteenth century to the Second World War. He concludes that while Churchill liked India the country and saw it as an essential part of the British Empire, he was at all times racist towards Indians including Ghandi.
Of course the charge sheet of racism and imperial endeavour against Churchill goes far wider than this but the book reflects both an important statement given its provenance and a reminder that research history is about asking questions the answers to which may not be what was expected.
Walter Reid did not expect to find that Churchill was a racist on India but that is what his researches demonstrated.
Beard Liberation Front issues first weather warning of 2024. Act now to prevent follicle damage
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has issued its first weather warning for 2024. Guidelines to beard wearers have been issued after some areas of the UK may face snowy and icy conditions for the next few days.
The BLF says that while beards have been protecting against cold weather since 1854 it is also important to protect the beard itself against snow and ice penetration.
One way to do this may simply be to remain indoors and away from all possible contact with snow and ice.
However this is not possible for all including many workers and those who venture out for essential reasons.
When venturing out in the ice and snow, the following guidelines for beard wearers are advised-
Snow and Ice Guidelines for Beard Wearers
1] Protect the entire beard with a scarf or roll neck jumper. If snow is heavy a snood is advised.
2] Sweep any drifting snow from the beard on a regular basis. Do not allow snow to accumulate in the beard under any circumstances.
3] Comb the beard through regularly to remove any residual snow
4] If the beard becomes chilled or frozen due to snowy or icy weather it is essential to thaw it out slowly.
5] When temperatures drop below zero freezing follicles can be a significant issue
6] If follicles do freeze or develop icicles these should be thawed slowly as quickly as possible
5] Brief immersion in a glass of imperial stout may help the thawing process but this is optional
6] Dry the beard slowly in a warm room and check for any damaged hairs and follicles
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said snow or ice in the beard can cause serious damage to hairs and follicles and the hirsute are urged to make sure they are protected before venturing out in snowy weather. If snow does accumulate in the beard or follicles become frozen it is essential to follow the BLF guidelines to prevent serious damage. In particular if the beard suffers from icing, gradual thawing following the guidelines is equally important to avoid damage.
The politics of protest: the ‘mob’ versus the ‘crowd’. 6th January 2021 five years on
Its five years since Trump supporters on 6th January 2021 attacked the US Capitol building. There was a riot and a mob or crowd was involved.
In 2024 Trump hailed it as a glorious day or some such and promised to pardon most of those subsequently jailed if elected President. This he has subsequently done.
Biden meanwhile, taking a brief moment off from backing genocide in Gaza, argued that it was an insurrection. A coup d’etat would have been a better description although interviewed by the Times (4th January 2025) the historian Sir Niall Ferguson who criticised Trump in 2021 but now backs him argued that it was better understood as a sign of unusual COVID pandemic times.
One person’s mob is another person’s crowd
For example protesting outside the house of someone who has transgressed many people’s understanding of what might be termed a ‘moral economy’ is a British tradition stretching back over many centuries. It was not however by any means always politically progressive, so controversy over it is also something not recent. It started again with peaceful protests outside the Constituency Offices of MPs who refused to back a ceasefire in Gaza being elided with attempts to cause physical harm to MPs
The use of the term mob to characterise popular protest dates back at least to Edmund Burke’s view of the French Revolution. As the historian of nineteenth century protest George Rude underlined what reactionaries thought was a mob was in many cases simply a peaceful crowd making reasonable points. If one wants to look for a mob, the activities of the Bullingdon Club are a good place to start.
Events in the US on January 6th 2021 provided a much wider canvass to issues of the politics of protest but a summary of the mob v crowd debate, now history itself, is here:
While George Rude saw in a protest up to a riot the work of the crowd, and broadly progressive intentions and outcomes, E.P. Thompson was less happy with this formulation. He suggested that riots could also contain reactionary elements and the crowd involved in the Gordon Riots would be an obvious example.
I would take Thompson’s side in that debate (if only just) but underline the point above that while we may accept that there may be reactionary elements in crowds which can get involved in riots this doesn’t alter the fact that they happen and need to be understood
E.P. Thompson’s work on food riots points to the reality that the threat of a riot was often more effective than an actual riot. It could cause a reduction in the price of bread or the distribution of hoarded food. When riots did occur very much the same impact was to be found. Hidden food was seized and distributed at low price.
There were other, more obviously political riots, often associated with the Chartists. The Chartists were an organised political force that most certainly did not support riots. It was rather the wider Chartist crowd that participated in such activities, often after provocation from the authorities.
There has been a lot more research and wider perspectives on the crowd since Thompson and Rude looked at the matter in the 1960s and 1970s. Crowds are looked at from the perspective of safety risk management and from psychology as well as history.
Historical research however can provide useful context by looking at who the individuals were involved in mob or crowd protests, what their intention was, how this turned out and what the reaction of authority was. Perhaps needless to say such research is limited because often the only people who can be identified are those who are arrested and any who make public statements about their activities. We now know a good deal about the organised fascist groupings behind the 6th January 2021 attack
Of course the democratic crowd will usually make it clear what it’s about so a lack of clarity may suggest a mob with less clear intent.
Michael Herbert outlined Malcolm’s early life,his time in the forces during World War Two and his decision to join the Communist Party. During the 1950s through activity in the Young Communist League and Unity Theatre Hulke came to know (Lord) Ted Willis and this amongst other things provided an opening into scriptwriting for TV.
Hulke wrote a number of episodes of the Avengers for ITV except during the Cold War era of the early 1960s his baddies werent Soviets but capitalists. He went on to write numbers of episodes of Dr Who featuring topics such as the futility of war and the environment. Michael Herbert underlined that while the BBC knew Hulke had a political perspective they thought this added a purpose and structure to story lines.
During the discussion there were memories of Hulke selling the Daily Worker in South End Green (Hampstead) where he lodged with another CP member and of his time in the same CPGB branch as Eric Hobsbawm and the Aaronovitches.
About the speaker
Michael Herbert is a socialist historian who lives in Manchester. He is a past editor of the North West Labour History journal and a former trustee of the Working Class Movement Library. His published work includes: “Never Counted Out! ” the story of Len Johnson, the boxer and Communist; “The Wearing of the Green”, a political history of the Irish in Manchester; “’Up Then Brave Women’ – Manchester’s Radical Women 1819-1918″ and “’For the sake of the women who are to come after’- Manchester’s radical women 1914-1945″.
He has been watching Doctor Who since 23rd November 1963 and is completing a biography of the television scriptwriter Malcolm Hulke to be called “Don’t Believe Everything You See…” which will include Malcolm’s writing for Armchair Theatre, Pathfinders in Space, Danger Man, Crossroads and Doctor Who.
It was Titchener’s funeral on Friday but also on the same day it was revealed that the ‘Titchener Family’ had bought the land at Grange Farm that Oliver sold at auction. Who exactly this entity is remains unclear as the only Titcheners currently with us appear to be his brother MIles and the Gammon father. We suspect that developers are behind it with Titchener as a front, in short typical of Tory Britain in 2024.
Is Ambridge Doing Dry January?
Shires best bitter sold at the Bull is often derided but is in fact one of the classic regional beers, albeit one whose availability outside of Borchester mirrors that of Bathams outside of the Black Country. It has long been the only cask beer on sale in Ambridge. On New Year’s Eve it was revealed that it had been joined by a zero per cent IPA. Tony Archer declined it in favour of Shires and later in the week mocktails were being constructed at the Bull. Is Ambridge doing Dry January?
Tony and the Tip
Peggy has entered the Laurels and Tony, Lilian et al have been clearing out the house where she lived with Kate. In the process Tony took three bin liners of Kate’s possessions to the tip including her Glastonbury wristband from decades ago. Cue much angst but no recovered wristband
Horse Update
Martha does not like the pony Chris got her for Christmas, reportedly shouting No Horsey at it. It appears to relate to an unfortunate incident with the head of a pantomime horse
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.
An impromptu on-line poll for an early New Year Lord of Misrule found Boris Johnson to be the winner with 40% of the poll. Jacob Rees Mogg and Jeremy Clarkson got in the low 20%s. Bringing up the rear was Nigel Farage who got 16.5%.
Not only has Farage failed on seven occasions to be elected as an MP he has now failed to win a vote for the Lord of Misrule.
In general the Lord of Misrule is not as subversive as might be thought. 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.
Big Beer Tour of Destruction continues as Heineken sells ex-Caledonian brewery for housing
Its not just the beer that traditional breweries produce that global big beer companies are keen to either get rid of it or move to giant beer factories it’s the breweries themselves.
Heineken having stopped brewing at the historic Caledonian brewery in Edinburgh have now sold it to a developer for housing.
@drinksmaven has the full story.
No one could say that more housing is a bad idea but these won’t be homes at affordable rents. Caledonian could of course continued as a brewery but this no doubt makes Heineken more profit.
They are not the only global big beer company to do this kind of thing, Carlsberg Marstons have form to.
A couple of years back they shut Jennings Brewery in Cockermouth and moved production of the beer elsewhere. The former brewery appears to still be on the market for £475,000 with a designated use primarily of housing.
In 2023 Carlsberg Marstons said they would close the Ringwood brewery in Hampshire (which was actually producing some Jennings beer) after trying to sell it as a brewery. They claimed that there was no interest in buying it as a going concern although that wasn’t the story the local press had. Presumably the site will now be sold for housing- planning allowing.
It is a dismal story of giant beer companies that see beer as a commodity and one where the premises it is brewed can easily be used for something else if profit beckons
Both Marx and Engels were regular senders of new year greetings (at least in the 1870s)but their actual New Years differed somewhat.
For example Marx spent New Year’s Day 1866 starting to transcribe a clean copy of Capital Volume 1 the MS of which he had completed at the end of 1865.
In the 1850s Engels the Manchester businessman was to be found joining a hunt at New Year which he claimed was good for his health (if not the foxes).
Retired and living in North London Engels ventured out to friends for New Year’s Eve 1888. A Thick fog prevented him from returning home and he told Laura Lafargue that he spent all night and after a few hours sleep much of New Year’s Day drinking (pilsner and claret)
Otherwise both beard wearers were frequent senders of New Year greetings and wishes suggesting a hope for the future.
Marx to Wilhelm Liebknecht 7th Jan 1875
Happy New Year!
Engels to Wilhelm Liebknecht 9th January 1877
D’abord,” a Happy New Year to you and family and all our friends
Marx to Thomas Allsopp 1st Jan 1878
I hope one good thing the new year will do—act beneficently upon your health… The whole family send you their new year wishes and you know that they come from the heart
Engels to Johann Becker 11th Jan 1878
Avant tout, a Happy New Year to you, and may it bring you less in the way of troubles and burdens than the previous one!
Twelfth Night is part of a season of festival, carnival and revolt that starts on All Hallows Eve (Oct 31) and can end as late as Shrove Tuesday.
The appointment of a Lord of Misrule is connected with Twelfth Night but can occur earlier.
The title Lord of Misrule sounds radical but there is no mention of it in Christopher Hill’s The World Turned Upside Down’. Some commentary suggests that it was really more to do with poking fun at the established order the better to keep it in place, and in some cases- for example in New Orleans- it became firmly established with a celebration of the old- reactionary- order of things.
Less controversial is the tradition of wassailing and of having cakes and ale on Twelfth Night. Since it is Try January, why not do that. It does underline, if nothing else, how out of touch with seasonal traditions Dry January is.
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.
A tradition was to bake a cake with a bean, or possibly a pea or a coin in and the person discovering it in their piece of cake became the Lord of Misrule for Twelfth Night
There is a case I think for attempting to reclaim a radical tradition of the Lord of Misrule. A giant model of a naked Nigel Farage paraded through the streets sitting backwards on a donkey would add something to the sum of human jollity at this time of year after all.
