Kmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front

4^th September

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

As Commons returns MPs may face beard ban

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that as MPs return from their summer break new style guidelines from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle look set to ban beards.

The Speaker has an issued an updated set of dress and appearance guidelines, the last having been drawn up by John Bercow who favoured a relatively relaxed approach.

Under the new approach MPs will be expected to wear business attire in and around the Chamber. In addition jeans, chinos, sportswear or any other casual trousers will not be considered appropriate. It also notes that T-shirts and sleeveless tops are not business attire.

The guidelines continue: ‘Smart/business shoes are expected to be worn. Casual shoes and trainers are not appropriate. Men are encouraged to wear a tie, and jackets must be worn’

The BLF says that the speaker seems rather out of touch with what is considered smart business attire in 2021 but the bigger concern is that he seems to be promoting a ‘clean shaven man in a suit’ model for male MPs that could see beards banned as ‘scruffy’ or not business like.

The campaigners say that they would not expect any opposition from perpetually clean shaven Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer but the increasing numbers of beard wearing MPs will be concerned.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we can go part of the way with the Speaker. MPs should appear smart and not like Boris Johnson with uncombed hair and trousers falling down. At the same time we believe that a beard is an important part of modern business attire and call on Sir Lindsay to clarify this

Beard Liberation Front

4th September

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

World Beard Day focus on beards with impact from William Morris to Michael Rosen

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has marked World Beard Day on 4th September by focusing on beards that have made an impact past and present.

These include William Morris (1834-1896) and Michael Rosen (1946-)

The campaigners say that Morris is rightly celebrated for his influence in the worlds of art and design and for his socialist politics and writings but the legacy of his iconic beard has been largely ignored.

Morris was well known for having a fiery temper and huge appetite for work and activism. On his death in 1896 at the age of 62 his physician suggested that the main cause was ‘simply being William Morris’.

Michael Rosen is one of the most well-known beard wearers of the twenty-first century, an author, broadcaster and Arsenal fan. His beard has been and remains highly influential.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, William Morris and Michael Rosen, great beards of past and present, are a reminder on World Beard Day, that while it is not a universal truth, beard power can change the world.

Beard Liberation Front press release

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

4th September

Hirsute cricketers play key role on World Beard Day, 4^th September

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that hirsute cricketers are playing a key role on World Beard Day, marked on the first Saturday of September each year.

The campaigners say that World Beard Day is primarily a light-hearted fun time but it also underlines the important role that beards play in all areas of society in the modern world.

With the 4th Test between England and India on its 3rd day at the Oval, hirsute players are playing a key role. One of the most well-known beards in world cricket Moeen Ali is England vice-captain. Meanwhile Indian captain Virat Kohli has a benchmark beard, leading his side from the front

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, on World Beard Day we think it’s appropriate to celebrate beard power in cricket and Moeen Ali and Virat Kohli show what is possible.

World Beard Day link

World Beard Day – Celebrated annually on the first Saturday of September

The Sock Council has produced Karl Marx socks (Das Captain) which are the late summer item for beard wearers.

Marx himself though had a view on socks:

According to Marx (Heroes of the Exile 1852) an ‘officer of the revolution’ requires 8 pairs of socks’. He was quoting Franz Zigel who he describes as ‘beardless’. The officer also required three pairs of underpants

Chartism, cricket,1848 & The Oval

Kennington in South London is known for a number of things including the Oval cricket ground and Kennington Common. The Common was the scene of the Chartist protest for the vote on Monday 10^th April 1848, the first demonstration in history for which photographic evidence exists.

There is no direct connection between the Chartists and the Oval but there are links.

The Oval cricket ground was built on part of the Common in 1845 and matches were played there in succeeding years. I can find no record of a game played in April 1848 but Surrey played (and won) a three day game against an All England X1 in early August 1848. A painting exists of the game being played and the position of the current ground in relation to the Common can clearly be seen.

The Chartists certainly played cricket themselves. The Chartist paper the Northern Star has a report played on Chorleywood Common in July 1847 where the bricklayers team beat the carpenters team by 28 runs

The link between Chartism and cricket in London is certainly worth some further research

Beard Liberation Front

3^rd September

Campaigners wish Gareth Southgate happy 51^st beardday & praise anti-racist stance

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has wished England football manager Gareth Southgate who is 51 today a happy beardday. Southgate is one of the most iconic beard wearers presenting a positive image of the hirsute.

On Thursday night Southgate again called out racism in football after black shirted Hungarian fascists booed England player Raheem Sterling in a 4-0 victory against Hungary

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Gareth Southgate has been an outstanding example of beard power in sport and wider society. He may not have Boris Johnson and Priti Patel as fans but his anti-racist stance must be supported.

More Camping & Socialism

Those who follow Michael Rosen’s twitter account (@michaelrosenyes) for more than his thoughts on Arsenal may have seen this week some of the details he occasionally posts about family camping holidays he went on when he was younger. His parents were Communist Party members and clearly the camping, often I think in France, had an element of austerity about it.

In his 2017 memoir So They Call You Phisher! Rosen notes that like eating marmite, camping was something that Communists did and perhaps other didn’t. These provided both with a special sense of socialist endeavour.

He also occasionally tweets details of what camping holidays entailed. Here can be seen a sense of proletarian toil in the collective good which may have been seen as character building but is probably very much a minority taste in holidays today

Who remembers ‘The Moolie’?(I think Moulinex made a manual masher.)  It was a metal bowl, with a kind of grater on the bottom. You put in eg chick peas, turned a handle and you mashed the chick peas.  Then you spent a week washing it  up.

I don’t want to sound terribly terribly international but my mum bought one in France on a camping holiday in the 50s or 60s. It was my job to wash it up. #TeenLabour #collectivism #socialistparenting

And how do you think we had that apple purée I’ve been going on about? Pushing the stewed apple through it, of course! (‘Wash the Moolie up, Michael. Make your contribution to the collective.’)

@MichaelRosenYes (2^nd September 2021)

The literature on Communism and the left and camping seems sparse (though I haven’t done an exhaustive search). Raph Samuel mentions going camping as a youth a couple of times in the Lost World of British Communism although he also suggests that Communists were often too busy politically for holidays.

Richard Evans biography of Eric Hobsbawm has him as a student in the 1930s camping and youth hostelling around France as well as Snowdonia and Surrey.

This may have been a generational CP thing. My late father was a CP member but never once suggested going camping. By contrast as an unorthodox Trotskyist I found myself camping at the Lutte Ouvriere fete in Paris and in more recent years(more union official in this case) camping at the annual Tolpuddle Festival. I also on one occasion recall going on an actual camping holiday in a field outside Scarborough. I think we lasted until the tent floated away in the rain and we retreated to self- catering in the town.

It may be taken that even when younger I was at best agnostic about camping. Basic hotels these days are in many places affordable for a few nights stay and you’ll only get wet in the shower.

Of course camping and protest still has its place. I note that many of the XR rebels currently protesting in central London camp overnight in South London. Luckily for them Sherlock Holmes doesn’t yet seem to have worked out where.

Beard Liberation Front

Media Release

2nd September

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard Friendly Pub of the Year(Classic)

The Beard Liberation Front has said that the delayed vote for Beard Friendly Pub and Bar of the Year is now open.

The on-line poll will feature three rounds each consisting of four of the most beard friendly pubs. A final beard off vote will feature the winner of each round.

Because of the circumstances of 2021 with many pubs only able to full open in the last few weeks, the poll is largely focused on Beard Friendly Classic pubs with the addition of a few notable newcomers.

The Beard Friendly Pub of the Year is an annual feature in January each year.

However in the extraordinary circumstances of 2021, the Beard Liberation Front has decided to run a vote in September with most pubs now being open post the easing of COVID restrictions

The decisive winner in the Beard Friendly Pub of the Year 2020 poll which saw 11,000 votes cast in 10 days was the Bumble Inn micropub in Peterborough. The runner up was the Cock Tavern in Hackney

Both of these pubs are automatically on the poll.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, with pubs re-open at last there is a a chance to discover which is the most beard friendly in an exceptional year. The range we have picked is eclectic as usual but we are sure they are all beard friendly. The issue is, which are the most beard friendly?

The criteria for the Award include:

A safe environment for all.

Beard Friendly Pub: a pub that welcomes the hirsute and often has a significant number of hirsute customers, including but certainly not confined to those with modern styles of beards.

Beard Friendly Ambience: a pub that may have fewer hirsute customers but is welcoming to the hirsute through some bearded bar staff and beard friendly beers, plus has a generally relaxed atmosphere for all.

The campaign group says it welcomes diversity in both appearance and drinking. The truly beard friendly pub will have a genuine mix of customers not just a load of old blokes grumbling about life.

Beard Friendly Pub of the Year(Classic) Round One

— keith flett (@kmflett) September 2, 2021

Beard Friendly Pub of the Year 2021

Shortlist

Tom’s Tap & Brew, Crewe

The Cock Tavern, Hackney

The Bumble Inn. Peterborough

The High Cross, Tottenham

Bubs, Cardiff

The Maltings, York

The Three Horseshoes, Bradford on Avon

Crafty Devil Cellar Cardiff

Exale Taproom, Walthamstow

Cloudwater Unit9 Manchester

Lost & Grounded Taproom Bristol

Hackney Tap

Beard Liberation Front

2^nd September

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

Campaigners celebrate as Iconic Beard Wearer Moeen Ali is England vice-captain

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has celebrated the appointment of veteran beard wearer Moeen Ali as England cricket vice-captain for the 4^th Test against India at the Oval.

Moeen was third in the Beard of the Decade vote in December 2019 shaved only by the likes of author and Arsenal fan Michael Rosen.

The campaigners say that while England captain Joe Root’s beard has come on a lot Moeen’s iconic beard is more than match for Indian captain Virat Kohli also a veteran beard wearer.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Moeen can be summed up in two words: Beard Power.

Tim Martin, Beer & Brexit: Crisis, what crisis?

Tim Martin is trending on twitter not it appears because of his stylish haircut but because there is a shortage of beer from Carling and Coors at some Wetherspoons pubs. This is reportedly because the breweries themselves have a shortage of lorry drivers to deliver the beer.

I don’t drink either Carling or Coors but its not great news for those who like a cheap-ish pint or two of either in Spoons.

Predictably and the real reason for Martin trending was the deluge of Remainiacs* pointing out that he was a big fan of Brexit and this is all due to Brexit.

There is some truth in this. Unfortunately British capitalism was not doing brilliantly, for example on wages and working conditions, before Britain left the EU and it still isn’t. Equally unfortunately the shortage of truck drivers is not confined to the UK (its worldwide) and its not new either having been developing for the best part of 20 years.

I glean these points from the Financial Times(31^st August) which has regularly reported on the crisis.

Britain has a shortage of 100,000 truck drivers which is due in part to Brexit- both the departure of drivers to other EU countries but also visa issues with an in-flow of drivers from the EU. Covid hasn’t helped and nor according to the FT have tax changes earlier in the year. In short Brexit is part of the problem but not the whole problem.

The FT notes that the average age of a British lorry driver is now 55 and spending long hours in a cab on the road may not be as attractive as it once may have been. The main issue it seems in the context of this is pay. Driving an HGV is a skilled job. Wages for some have risen 21% in the last year to £36K and some supermarkets are offering more but recruiting and training younger drivers takes time.

As for Martin he might reflect on the fact that pay and conditions are not the best at Wetherspoons and a union is not recognised and that is something which can also impact his business in other ways. Many drivers are unionised though, hence the wage rises and likely partial solution. In due course.

*I voted remain.