Media Release: contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266
Campaigners say new Spurs manager Nuno will be bring Beard Power to White Hart Lane
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has welcomed the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as the new manager of Spurs.
Nuno formerly at Wolves will bring much needed Beard Power to White Hart Lane.
The campaigners say that Spurs have had a succession of managers in the modern era who had beard hesitancy, rarely progressing beyond a stubble focused proto-beard before returning to a clean shaven appearance.
This beard hesitancy had its impact on the field of play where players were unsure whether they meant to be pursuing beard focused football or not.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Nuno’s beard brings presence and gravitas to North London and will surely help Spurs at least avoid relegation next season, and with correct hirsute tactics rather better than that.
Some right-wing commentators and Tory politicians have suggested that because the England football team take the knee against racism and injustice before Euro2021 games they have somehow become Marxists.
As I told Emma Smith at Goal at the start of the Championship, this seems rather unlikely. In short, nothing so romantic:
Still we can apply a Marxist analysis to the progress of the England team so far:
1 In taking the knee against racism and injustice the England football team embraced one of the basic principles of Marxism- solidarity.
2 The 2-0 victory over Germany saw them progress further and understand that success in the struggle is not about heroic individuals but the collective action of the team.
3 The 4-0 win against Ukraine showed an appreciation of the Gramscian tactic of the war of maneouvre
4 In the semi-final a 2-1 victory over Denmark reflected Gareth Southgate’s ability to negate the negation
5 The key battle now on Sunday is for synthesis and socialism
Thanks to Philosophy Football for planting the idea…
The words ‘all that glitter is not gold’ can be found in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice (Act 2 Scene 7) although similar formulations were in use much earlier than the late sixteenth century.
They are words that might recommend themselves to those who have been hunting out solid gold cans of Brewdog’s Punk IPA. They are in fact gold plated but mostly brass.
Brewdog are known for publicity stunts and seem to have had the view that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Recent complaints of poor working conditions by ex-employees, largely accepted by Brewdog, may give them pause for thought on whether the strategy is now nearing closing time.
Boris Johnson’s ‘mini-honeymoons’. The corridor of uncertainty
Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson got married at the beginning of June and provoked some religious controversy. It was reported however that the honeymoon would wait.
Not quite, but surely there aren’t many who take what Johnson says at face value?
It was reported that the ‘happy couple’ had in fact taken a two-day mini honeymoon, but it was not known where.
In fact the ever reliable Daily M**l reported the location which was the PM’s country retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire.
Symonds and Johnson spent a Sunday and Monday there.
At the end of June social media rumours suggested Johnson and Ms Symonds were having another mini-honeymoon, this time in Portugal. The country is on the amber travel list so Johnson would have needed to quarantine on return. I doubt too many would complain about a period of isolation for the PM.
However he was in fact at Chequers again over the weekend and pictured to be so. It probably wasn’t another mini-honeymoon on this occasion. No doubt Johnson has in mind that Mrs Thatcher was a great fan of the place.
How or why the Portugal rumour started is far from clear but when it comes to Johnson the worlds of fact and fiction often collide.
Chequers is a grace and favour residence for PMs- in other words a sinecure of Office. In the pre-democratic era before the 1832 Reform Bill William Cobbett referred to such practices as ‘Old Corruption’.
Johnson stayed there after he contracted COVID and before that for a period after he was sacked as Foreign Secretary by Theresa May and apparently had nowhere to stay.
Chequers is paid for primarily by the taxpayer through an official grant. It’s good to know that Johnson managed to get even his mini-honeymoon publicly funded
Michael Rosen pens couplet to mark Lifetime Achievement Award for his beard
The Beard Liberation Front has said it is pleased that author and Arsenal fan Michael Rosen has told the Ham and High paper that he is ‘honoured’ to have been given a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of National Beard Week 2021.
The paper has published a couplet that he wrote to mark the Award covering the time he spent in the Whittington Hospital in 2020 with COVID-19. At one point his beard was shaved to facilitate treatment but has proved resilient and is now back on top form.
Celebrating his award, Michael penned a couplet:
“How can I complain that I was shaved
“When they ensured my life was saved?”
Michael Rosen is a lifelong Arsenal fan, but the Beard Liberation Front’s London HQ is in Tottenham a short distance from Spurs ground. However while beards are often big in football they are also bigger than football and the positive impact of Rosen’s beard in public life is beyond local rivalries, important as they are.
Justin Elliott voted most ruthless member of the Ambridge ruling class
It was a week for ACAS in Ambridge but some conciliations work better than others. Brian reviewed his decision to give Adam the boot as farm manager. After all, who else is available, even if Adam is useless. Adam remains determined to move on but has agreed to stay until the end of the harvest. He is clearly pondering his own bid for the Borchester Land contract and sounded out Justin on this.
Justin rightly warned Adam that Brian is ruthless and would find a way to crush any commercial opponent.
However the Ambridge Socialist using a dialectical analysis felt that this was an attempt by Justin to deflect attention from his own power base. When the modern slavery story finally broke in the village and fingers were pointed about the slave labour that had done work at Berrow Farm, Justin’s main thought was not to apologise but how to avoid blame. Pig manager Neil Carter narrowly avoided the sack, but Justin had to step down as chair of Borsetshire Land in favour of Brian. Hence his comment to Adam. A temporary blip we suspect.
Brian meanwhile, while undoubtedly capable of decisive action, has so many skeletons in his cupboard that his threats often appear empty.
The Ambridge Socialist has carried out a snap poll of readers on who the most ruthless member of the Ambridge ruling class is.
David Archer and Brian Aldridge trailed. It was between Justin and the Godmother of the Archer Dynasty Peggy.
Gina Coladangelo & Matt Hancock. Tory morality has changed since Thatcher but the hypocrisy remains
The bottom line story about the resignation of Matthew Hancock has Health Secretary and his replacement by Sajid Javid is the continuing Tory attempts to privatise the NHS, preferably to the benefit of their mates. It is a political battle about what the role of profit in society should be.
The next layer of the story is about corruption in public life. About Hancock’s circumvention of procedures to ensure contracts are given appropriately and legally rather than to his friends and about the appointment of Ms Coladangelo outside of any process.
The third and least important layer is the bit that obviously interests the tabloid media the most- the personal aspect. Hancock has walked out on his partner and three children and reportedly decided to live with Ms Coladangelo who, likewise has walked out on her husband and three children,
Based on reports all four people involved here have known each other well for a long time so one wonders why a more appropriate way of handling matters could not have been found. However that is a matter for them.
Tory morality has certainly changed since Thatcher’s day. Thatcher’s favourite Minister Cecil Parkinson had to go in October 1983(for a bit) when it was discovered he had fathered a child with Sara Keays his former Secretary. He immediately dropped both but Thatcher was promoting Victorian family values at the time.
Chief amongst those for Tories was certainly hypocrisy although that’s not what Thatcher had in mind with her now forgotten campaign.
Hancock did not have to go for having an affair but rather because he had broken social distancing rules that were then in place. Indeed as the right-wing Spectator pointed out Hancock was the architect of making those rules law and attempting to ban personal interactions beyond those already in place.
It was Hancock’s do as I say not as I do approach that led to his departure in the end. As above though, that’s not the real issue here.
Michael Eavis’ Lifetime Achievement Award reaffirmed
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has reaffirmed the Lifetime Achievement Award the founder of the Glastonbury Festival Michael Eavis received 5 years ago this weekend
Eavis, 85, has one of the most iconic beards in British public life along with Brian Blessed and Michael Rosen.
The campaigners say that the Lifetime Achievement Award was given for the positive image that Eavis has presented of the hirsute in public life over five decades and on the fifth anniversary this continues to be the case
BLF Organiser Keith Flett, of course Michael Eavis is not quite the ‘hands-on’ presence of Glastonbury that he was for many years. Even so he and his trademark chin beard remain icons. He was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 on that basis and it remains absolutely valid today. His beard has proved sustainable through the dark days of pogonophobia in Britain and he now finds himself a positive role model for the hirsute in public life.
National Beard Week 2021
Monday 21st June: Hirsute Personality of the Year: the beard wearer who has made the positive public impact during the year. 2021 winner Gareth Southgate
Tuesday 22nd June: Beard Friendly Sandwich of the Year: the sandwich that goes in the mouth not the beard. 2021 winner: fish finger
Wednesday 23rd June: Hirsute Broadcaster of the Year: the broadcaster whose beard has had the most public impact. 2021 winner Michael Rosen
Thursday 24th June: Pogonophobe of the Year: the most notorious beard hater of the year; 2021 winner: Boris Johnson
Friday 25th June: Beard Friendly Employer of the Year: the field grows wider each year 2021 winner Five Points Brewery
Saturday 26th June: Beard of Summer 2021: the third of the four quarterly seasonal Awards 2021 winner Richard Osman
National Beard Week 2021 concludes with Lifetime Achievement Award for Michael Rosen.
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that National Beard Week 2021 has concluded with the announcement of a Lifetime Achievement Award for author and broadcaster Michael Rosen.
Such Awards are comparatively rare and go to beard wearers who have made a positive impact with their beards over a sustained period.
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis given the Award in 2016 and earlier this year Alexei Sayle also received the accolade.
The campaigners say that while there is no evidence that Michael Rosen was born with a beard or even wore one in his early years, he has had facial hair for many decades.
The public impact of his beard has been overwhelmingly positive although one of his most well- known books is actually titled We’re Going on Bear Hunt not a Beard Hunt as some mistakenly suppose
He was hospitalised with COVID-19 in March 2020 and while he is now impacted by Long Covid his beard has proved resilient. Indeed he was voted joint Beard of the Year 2020 with Michael Sheen in December 2020.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Michael Rosen is a great ambassador for the hirsute and we are pleased to give him a Lifetime Achievement Award to mark the conclusion of National Beard Week 2021
National Beard Week 2021
Monday 21st June: Hirsute Personality of the Year: the beard wearer who has made the positive public impact during the year. 2021 winner Gareth Southgate
Tuesday 22nd June: Beard Friendly Sandwich of the Year: the sandwich that goes in the mouth not the beard. 2021 winner: fish finger
Wednesday 23rd June: Hirsute Broadcaster of the Year: the broadcaster whose beard has had the most public impact. 2021 winner Michael Rosen
Thursday 24th June: Pogonophobe of the Year: the most notorious beard hater of the year; 2021 winner: Boris Johnson
Friday 25th June: Beard Friendly Employer of the Year: the field grows wider each year 2021 winner Five Points Brewery
Saturday 26th June: Beard of Summer 2021: the third of the four quarterly seasonal Awards 2021 winner Richard Osman
Ruling class tensions rise as Aldridge praised as ‘ruthless’
Its been a week for ACAS in Ambridge but some conciliations work better than others. Brian has reviewed his decision to give Adam the boot as farm manager. After all, who else is available, even if Adam is useless. Adam is determined to move on but agrees to stay until the end of the harvest. He is clearly pondering his own bid for the Borchester Land contract and sounds out Justin on this. Justin rightly warns Adam that Brian is ruthless and will find a way to crush any commercial opponent. Perhaps Adam should try a partnership with Eddie Grundy?
The Ambridge Socialist poll. Who is the most ruthless member of the Ambridge ruling class?
Eddie Grundy has determined to keep the veteran but expensive to run limo he has done up. In order to pay for it he is running a sort of taxi service. Clarrie has provided him with a cap and gloves from Joe so he looks the part. In order to avoid issues there is no charge for taxi rides but contributions to the Grundy Hardship Fund are always welcome.
This has provoked angst with Rex who runs a genuine taxi service and has found Eddie siphoning off his regular customers. In this case the conciliator was the unlikely figure of Lynda Snell who brokered a sort of Bridlington Agreement between Rex and Eddie. Eddie will continue with the Limo but will leave Rex’s regulars alone. Possibly.
Neil and Shula..
Affairs are in the news and another of the Great Bores of Ambridge Alistair has popped up to suggest that his ex-wife Shula is having an affair with veteran pig man Neil Carter. The Ambridge Socialist believes its entirely a matter for them.
In Other News
Lee has been to Adam and Ian’s for dinner. Lee appears to be a top class twerp
Ian wants to set up some kind of street food and/or delivery service. Adam doesn’t agree, ever the man of vision.
