Kmflett's Blog

Wars are a deadly serious business and 11th November (the eleventh hour of the eleventh minute) marks with a silence all those killed and injured. The particular moment is when the guns fell silent in World War One, a war many felt, certainly by that point, should not have been fought.

In the UK the Sunday nearest to 11th November is Rememberance Sunday, with ceremonies at the Cenotaph. The 11 and 12th coincide at a weekend every few years but the claim that this is represents an ‘armistice weekend’ is Tory Culture Wars stuff, designed to try and get a march protesting at a current war in Gaza (and calling for a ceasefire)banned.

The only current reference to Armistice Weekend I can find, aside from chuntering by Tory MPs and right-wing media is a weekend event at the Imperial War Musuem promoting story telling about war, which is fine.

In the latest development in the Tory Culture War, Steve Barclay, a Tory Minister, has claimed on Radio 4’s Today programme that Armistice Day is a ‘very sacred day’ in a point he had just invented on the spot. As above its a day when a silence is held at 11am. It mostly falls during a Monday-Friday working week, when aside from marking the moment, matters continue absolutely as normal. The event to pay respects and remember is Remembrance Sunday. But then why expect a Tory Minister to know anything about Britisn history?

War is too serious and deadly for Tory Culture Wars and the democratic right to protest which at least the Second World War was in part about too precious to be trodden on for hard right political point scoring.

As Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger reminded us inventing traditions is done by both left and right, and is often harmless or mildly positive. Here it is not. Its insulting

Corporate Capitalism & Craft Beer. Contradictions continue

Thanks in part to James Beeson(@beesononbooze) and beer writer and historian Martyn Cornell the contradictions of capitalism and craft beer in the pre-Xmas period are in the public domain, good and not so good.

Brew By Numbers has announced the winter closure of its taproom to carry out unspecified works. BBNo is of course now owned by venture capitalists Breal. From this Thursday to December 31^st BBNo together with Brick and Black Sheep two other breweries which Breal also own will be involved with a Snowglobe pop up on London’s Bankside. It sounds a bit more venture capital than beer but we’ll see.

Meanwhile Brewdog has announced the closure of Hawkes cidery and tap which is on Bermondsey Beer Mile. According to Brewdog inflationary pressure on costs and declining custom on the Beer Mile is behind the decision. Brewdog which bought Hawkes in 2018 says the brand will continue although where is less clear. Perhaps they will contract Eddie Grundy in Ambridge to do the job.

Better news comes from global brewer Asahi. Gales Prize Old Ale has been brewed again and will be released on 16^th November. Beer writer and historian Martyn Cornell has written a fascinating piece on it which can be found on Dark Star’s Twitter. He notes that the last iteration was the fastest selling beer the then Dark Star had produced at Partridge Green. The 2023 version has been brewed at Meantime in Greenwich.

In summary capital and profit comes before beer here which is perhaps not great for BBNo  but good for those of us who like Prize Old Ale. Capitalism is a system of contradictions

Socialist History Seminar: Mon 20^th Nov 5.30pm. E P Thompson’s Making of the English Working Class at 60

Its sixty years since the hardback edition of E P Thompson’s Making of the English Working Class was published. A paperback edition appeared in 1968 and remains in print today.

This seminar will look in roundtable format on the impact the book has had, whether such a book could or should be written today, and what the legacy and relevance of Thompson’s research might be six decades on.

The seminar is free on Zoom.

Please book at this link

https://www.history.ac.uk/events/making-english-working-class-60-roundtable-discussion

More details from Convenor Dr Keith Flett on 07803 167266

The Met Police: a long history of suppressing protest & supporting the rich

The Metropolitan Police’s arrested 64 protesters in London on the day of King Charles’ Coronation for no more reason than they were protesting. The arrests were subsequently found to be unlawful. The officer in charge Karen Findlay has now appeared again opining on the protest for a ceasefire on Gaza on 11^th November. In more or less any other occupation someone who had made such an error of judgement on unlawful arrests would have been dismissed. But it’s the Met and other matters are in play.

There is a  renewed focus on what the police are for. The late socialist historian E P Thompson looked at why the rich hate protest so much

….The Chartist, Radical Liberal, Irish Nationalist and formative Labour movements were distinguished by their sensitivity to libertarian issues, and their suspicion of the polity of statism. When the police forces were enlarged and rationalized (or, as some would have it today, ’modernized’) in the mid-nineteenth century, this was a victory for bourgeois utilitarian bureaucratic policy in the face of intense resistance extending from old Tory localism through Radical Liberalism to outright Chartist opposition— for Chartists and trade unionists very well understood what kind of imperatives dictated government policies. As a consequence of this opposition, the presence of the police in British public life remained unusually subdued. They must be seen as ‘servants’ of… either the gentry or ’the public’, and they must in no circumstances exhibit a brash public presence. And, as a more concrete evidence of the old libertarian tradition, which endures to this day, the British police (at least in Britain) must go about the streets unarmed.

There were some anticipations of the statism of the twentieth century in the increasingly intrusive and punitive presence of the police in Britain in the 1880s. This was a natural reaction of the propertied classes, who reacted to the rumour that there were now socialist agitators in the streets (making speeches against their property!) with seemly terror. In general the police were impartial, attempting to sweep off the streets with an equable hand street-traders, beggars, prostitutes, street-entertainers, pickets, children playing football and free-thinking and socialist speakers alike. The pretext, very often, was that a complaint of interruption of trade had been received from a shopkeeper. William Morris remarked on the impatience of ’the more luxurious part of society’ to ’clear the streets of costermongers, organs, processions, and lecturers of all kinds, and make them a sort of decent prison corridors, with people just trudging to and from their work’….

E P Thompson, the Secret State

An on-line poll has found that Home Secretary is the favourite effigy to stand on top of November 5th bonfires.

The poll which had 2.7K hits on-line saw Braverman get 57% of the votes with Boris Johnson second on 32.7%. Matt Hancock and Dominic Cummings were also rans.

Historically the burning of Guy Fawkes effigies on 5th November was a symbol of anti-Catholic bigotry. This hardly exists in 2023 and the tradition of effigies has long since been focused on politicians. Donald Trump and Boris Johnson have been recent favourites.

Suella Braverman’s victory is not unexpected but it is surprising that she hasnt banned the burning of her effigy

Beard Liberation Front

15th November

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that Indian cricketer Virat Kohli will be on the 2023 Beard of the Year Longlist when its announced this weekend.

Kohli scored his Fiftieth one day century in India’s semi final at the 50 Over Cricket World Cup against New Zealand on Wednesday.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Virat is one of the foremost exponents of beard power in modern cricket. There is no question that there is a link between his stylishly crafted beard and his batting success

The Ambridge Socialist

5^th November

Titchener’s effigy must top the Ambridge bonfire with chants of ‘out, demons out’

For those interested the Archers has been studying the psychology of the Titchener mob this week. Bruce the father appears to be a core GBNews viewer, while Miles the other son seems on occasion to be slightly sensible. The demise of Ursula, Rob’s mother was as we know the reason for his reappearance. The Ambridge Socialist has no sympathy with Rob and remains in a popular front with Queen Camilla on the issue. Namely it is more than time that he departed. Burning his effigy on the Ambridge bonfire would be a start

Erratic BBC reporting from Ambridge

You could be forgiven for struggling to fully keep up with other developments in Ambridge with some rather erratic BBC reporting. Denise, formerly the front person at the vets, has reappeared after some issues at home. She is staying with Paul her son who shares with Lily and Josh. Paul is sleeping on the sofa. It has been determined that while Denise should be replacing Paul at the vets, he’ll be staying on and Denise will look for work elsewhere. However there is a potential lurve interest between Alastair and Denise.

Meanwhile Hannah has determined to quit Ambridge and Berrow Farm, having nowhere to live beyond a friend’s couch. Jazzer is being pushed towards the job although he’s more pigs than management. However Hannah meets Stella in the Bull on quiz night and joins her team with Paul. Stella suggests that she can check whether it will be ok for Hannah to occupy the spare room in her bungalow which is rented from Brookfield. Pip appears jealous, apparently believing Stella is pursuing liaisons with both Roooth and Hannah. To be continued…..

Peggy cancels St Stephens

Peggy is cancelling St Stephens and making a public statement urging a boycott of the vicar. This is a serious class issue as the Church and the Ambridge ruling class fall out

Beard Liberation Front

4th November

CAMPAIGNERS WONT CALL ON BRAVERMAN TO BAN GUY FAWKES BEARDS OVER CONCERNS SHE’LL JUST BAN BEARDS

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has warned of Guy Fawkes pogonophobia, the fear of beards, as the 5th November is marked in household events.

Pogonophobia is the ancient Greek for an irrational fear or hatred of facial hair, known as beardism in modern English.

The BLF says that the period around November 5th is the traditional highlight of the pogonophobes year as, in other times, they burn an effigy of what they assume to be a dangerous radical figure with a beard, although few will openly discuss their often deep-seated concerns about beard wearers.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said in previous years we have called on the Home Secretary to ban Guy Fawkes effigies. However given Suella Braverman’s love of banning things we are not doing so this year as she’ll just use it as an excuse to ban beards full stop.

The BLF is calling on people having Guy Fawkes bonfires in their gardens not to burn effigies with outlandish beards and to discourage pogonophobic remarks and behaviour. The group says that there is some evidence that beard burning bonfires have been in decline with events to mark 5th November often confined to fireworks only and welcome this positive development.

Winter nights: the history of the poor & night shelters. Not a lifestyle choice but a permanent feature of a market economy

With November and clocks changing we are firmly in the season of winter weather

In recent times in London the Mayor has made efforts to provide overnight shelter for those on the streets as winter weather sets in. This is replicated in many but not all areas of the country.

In his essay Comers and Goers (in Dyos, the Victorian City), the late historian Raph Samuel surveyed the seasonal migration of labour into and out of cities in the late Victorian period.

He noted that many came to winter in London, where, depending on the weather, night shelters, straw yards as they were called by those who used them, funded by private charity, opened up each November. The shelters were free and without obligation. People could stay for up to a month and they were heated with a huge open fire. The largest was at Playhouse Yard Cripplegate. The alternative was the Poor Law funded Casual Ward where a stay was limited to two nights and had to be paid for by a day’s forced labour.

Samuel lists many other places where people slept rough in London including railway arches and around the main hotels where heat was to be found, but the picture remains disturbingly similar 150 years on. Progress….

Now Suella Braverman is planning on organising vigilante night sleeper patrols. Rough sleeping is the product of poverty and a market economy as much now as in Victorian times. One can easily imagine Braverman featuring as a character in a Dickens novel