by George Charles Beresford, sepia-toned platinotype print, 1905
I’ve spent a life on the left and so in general I vote Labour, although I sometimes vote to the left of Labour where there is a credible candidate and the Tories stand no chance.
I’m not an enthusiast for Parliamentary Socialism(see Ralph Miliband) so I dont have great expectations of Labour leaders. I’m no fan of Keir Starmer but then again one thinks back to the days of Hugh Gaitskell and Harold Wilson (indeed I am 64).
All that said the Labour leader is named after the first leader of the Party Keir Hardie.
He is not called Keith except on social media where he increasingly is.
Nor is Keith an Anglicised imperial alternative to Keir. In fact Keir is the English variant of the Gaelic name Ciar.
It may be a joke but its one I dont find all that amusing
The Fletts originate from Orkney and I’m named after the north-east Scotland town of Keith.
Its home to a brewery and whisky distilleries which may explain something of my later development
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that a new study by two US academics just published in the Journal of Business Research, bust pogonophobic myths in the world of work and demonstrates that beards are good for business
The study ‘It grows on you: Perceptions of sales/service personnel with facial hair’ is by SarahMittal and David H.Silvera
It looks at how much gravitas a beard can add in a sales environment and has a number of headline conclusions:
Facial hair on male sales personnel drives increased perceptions of expertise.
Increased ratings of expertise drive perceptions of trust and purchase likelihood.
Five studies conducted using a variety of male ethnicities and sales contexts.
Sporting a beard in a sales/service role may be beneficial to sales outcomes.
The study suggests that:
Sales personnel with a beard are perceived as having more expertise across various industries; furthermore, increased perceptions of expertise predict higher ratings of trustworthiness and, subsequently, increase consumers’ purchase likelihood.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, normally we don’t take these kind of studies too seriously but the conclusions here seem obvious to us. Beards are viewed in a positive light and in a business context enhance sales.
Liverpool v Spurs: a unity of opposites, not a Culture War
On Thursday evening Liverpool and Tottenham met at Anfield. Liverpool won 4-1 (on aggregate). As a lifelong Spurs fan I would have preferred another result.
However there is more that unites Liverpool and Tottenham fans than divides and that is worth remembering as north v south culture wars continue.
50 plus years ago both Liverpool and Tottenham were major industrial areas and home to distinct and competing musical cultures: the Merseybeat and the Tottenham Sound. Neither are any more due to the activities of the same individual: Margaret Thatcher.
I wouldn’t presume to pronounce on 1960s Liverpool but Tottenham I can do, since I was there (my late father was the head librarian at Tottenham Library- now flats of course)
In the 1960s- and this will be impossible to believe for anyone who has moved to the area since Mrs Thatcher appeared- Tottenham and the wider Lea Valley was a major industrial area. A stronghold politically of the Communist Party and culturally home to large numbers of working-class mods.
There was a Tottenham Sound that was a serious rival to the Beatles and Merseyside led by the Tottenham band the Dave Clark Five.
The Dave Clark Five were the most successful 1960s band aside from the Beatles.
Their local home was the Tottenham Royal on Tottenham High Rd
The Royal was demolished in 2004 but it stood over the road from Tottenham police station.
Opened in 1910 as a skating rink by the 1950s it was a major venue for dancing and concerts attended by many thousands of people, more indeed than modern regulations would allow I suspect.
The Dave Clark Five had a residency there in January and February 1964 just as their record Glad All Over hit the top of the charts.
A quick google will find you various memoirs and pictures of the Tottenham Royal and a marvellous Pathe News video of the Dave Clark Five [buttoned down collars, ties, suits and carefully constructed hair-dos] playing at the venue in early 1964.
It as a world we have lost and not all for the worst either. However the working class mods of places like Tottenham were not just about fashion and speed, they were also a potent industrial and political force in the Britain of 50 years ago. Many of them were apprentices learning skilled jobs across industry in a time of economic boom and a rapidly changing society.
Both Liverpool and Tottenham still have lively and widely renowned music cultures (as well as football teams) albeit very different to the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five. The industry and employment situations are rather less happy
Concern expressed that Labour may have started war on members with beards
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has expressed concern that the Labour Party and in particular clean shaven General Secretary David Evans may have launched a war on members with beards.
The campaigners have raised the concerns after the suspension of well known Liverpool member, the author Alan Gibbons, apparently without a reason given. Mr Gibbons was runner-up in the Beard of Labour Party Conference vote in 2019.
The BLF says that Labour Party processes are entirely a matter for it, but that concerns are rising after the earlier suspension of high profile beard wearer and former Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we know that one of the core principles that Keir Starmer has is regular visits to the barbers but we hope that he recalls that his namesake and first Labour leader Keir Hardie himself had an iconic socialist beard.
Boris Johnson has urged ‘extreme caution’ when it comes to social mixing at Christmas.
This is a rare piece of sensible advice from Johnson. It’s just a pity he didn’t start out with this approach some weeks back rather than announcing it as the eleventh hour when plans are already made.
This does however beg the question of what Johnson does do at Xmas.
There are some clues in several biographies of Johnson. Sonia Purnell in Just Boris notes that he eagerly participated in his youth in a game to see who could eat the hottest mince pie.
In his adult years he seems to have enjoyed Xmas breaks in India or ski-ing. According to Andrew Gimson’s Boris at a Spectator Xmas lunch in 2004 he opined about some relationship difficulties ‘put on a good Christmas and it’ll be all right’.
Sonia Purnell in Just Boris notes that in 2010 he took his then wife Marina Wheeler on holiday to India. It was not a short affair. They were still at Serai on New Year’s Eve.
Purnell describes the location as ‘a luxury camp of tented villas in the Thar desert, Rajasthan.. Conde Naste Traveller observed the 24 ‘tents’ around a pool (in a desert) inspired by a traditional Indian step-well represented ‘a new level of luxury’.
Suites for two cost up to £716 for bed and breakfast per night.
In short Johnson is someone who enjoys a good Christmas which is more than can be said for those who will be using foodbanks or on the streets this December
My brief thoughts on this pointed towards the issue of Brexit and the crisis in the Tory Party
John Harris is right about the important community role many pubs play (30.11) and the threat Government measures across the UK’s four nations pose to this. Measures which appear to be based on no coherent evidence and a good deal of anti-pub prejudice.
There is as we approach Brexit an interesting wider angle too. Historically brewing and pubs have been closely linked to the Tory Party. Indeed, where breweries remain in UK ownership they can still,in some cases,be found donating to the Tories. The CEO of one such brewery, now a pub co., Ralph Findlay of Marstons, has been quoted as saying that’s he no longer sure he can trust the Government he has backed.
Brexit was meant to be about taking back control and restoring sovereignty to British industry and institutions. The way the Government is treating pubs suggests that this was not true.
However the published discussion featured my thoughts on Scotch Eggs. That particular discussion is really part of a Tory culture war, but it has importance. Those who don’t understand what the role of the pub is but think it might be a place where the dangerous classes gather. Hence pubs can only open if they are restaurants where you sit down and eat a meal. The Scotch Egg though can be a meal and not something dismissed as a proletarian snack(which it can also be).
John Harris fails to acknowledge the significant changes that I have witnessed as a pub regular for the best part of 60 years (Britain’s pubs: we’ll soon see the value of them, but will it be too late?, 29 November). First, how multinational brewing companies have destroyed many pubs by closing local breweries and maximising profits through the aggressive marketing of high-priced lagers and tokenistic anodyne national “real ale” brands. Second, how the current operation of pub companies results in many publicans working for less than the minimum wage, leading to a high turnover of staff. Third, he doesn’t refer to the good news – the rise in the popularity of local microbreweries with bars attached and the small but important increase in community owned pubs. In fact, in the 12 months up to March 2019, before the pandemic hit, the number of UK pubs actually increased by 320 to 39,145.
Mike Stein
Pudsey, West Yorkshire
• What John Harris has observed is indeed sad, and many of us will regret the destruction of the pub industry. It is also grossly unfair on those who have worked hard to control their environment and provide a safe place to relax. Yet the assumption is that the reduction in inhibitions caused by alcohol is increasing the spread of Covid-19.
Yet, although unfortunate for the current vendor, there is a difference between a business closing and a bespoke premises changing its purpose. There will be plenty of people who will relish restarting a pub business, so what is really important is that there is legislation in place that ensures that pubs cannot be bought by property developers for the purpose of turning them into houses. Then we can keep our pubs.
Adrian Thorpe
Edinburgh
• The news that Welsh pubs would be banned from serving alcohol was met with consternation from publicans and punters alike (Pubs in Wales to close by 6pm under new Covid restrictions, 30 November). Rightly so.
In an attempt to soften the blow, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, promised £340m in support. While the money might help to pay overheads, it will not change the grim financial reality for many businesses. With 72% of pubs and restaurants across the UK preparing to operate at a loss next year, these latest restrictions will make closures and job losses inevitable.
The plight of Wales’s pubs also speaks to a deep-rooted cultural dimension. Half a pint while watching the rugby is not just the optimum way to spend a wintry Saturday afternoon, but a comforting ritual to many. Above all, pubs matter because of their roles as social hubs, providing friendship and community across generations and class. The Welsh government is trying its best, but unless more support is provided, it could be last orders for this beleaguered industry.
Ioan Phillips
Lambeth, London
• It is rare for a government minister to talk sense, particularly about pubs, but George Eustice is right that a Scotch egg served at a table in a pub is a substantial meal (Scotch egg to the rescue: minister says it can be ‘substantial meal’, 30 November). My local in Tottenham has long served them, homemade and warm with pickles. Pickles are a key part of the meal, and indeed case law (Timmis v Millman 1965) refers specifically to pub meals that include “pickles and beetroot”. If that puts the anti-pub brigade in a bit of a pickle, so be it.
CAMPAIGNERS SAY £45k PAY RISE DOMINIC CUMMINGS NOT IDEAL SANTA
The Campaign for Real Santas, which promotes Santas with genuine organic beards, has said that despite pictures circulating of advisor to Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, as Santa with a genuine beard, he is far from the ideal ‘Real Santa’
The BBC has reported that before he left Downing St in November Cummings received a £45K pay rise taking his salary to nearly £150,000 a year:
CFRS organiser Keith Flett said, At least Dominic Cummings as Santa has a real if minimal beard. We are not convinced however that he would be pleasant to children or that he has grasped that the idea is to give presents out not to engineer himself large hand-outs at the taxpayers expense. We don’t really see Cummings as a ‘ho, ho, ho’ type of person.
There will be an on-line vote for the Real Santa of 2020 on 18th December
THREE STEPS TO SPOT A GENUINE SANTA
1 Ask the virtual Santa to tug their beard. If it comes away, then the Santa is FAKE
2 If the beard remains intact ask the virtual Santa to tug their beard again. If the Santa swears then they are genuine. If they simply repeat a ‘ho ho ho’ mantra they are FAKE
3 The Campaign for Real Santas says that genuine Santas must have just the right mix of bonhomie and grumpiness and a real organic beard.
Notes
The Organic Santa of 2020 will be named on December 19th
The Campaign for Real Santas is organised by the Beard Liberation Front
Beyond North & South: The importance of Christmas work to casual workers in Victorian London
There are of course those, some strange participants in what is currently another Tory Culture War, who are happy London has gone into Tier 3 restrictions before Christmas.
The move may well be evidence based and necessary.
However, perhaps needless to say neither those who urged the move or the politicians who did it had much of note to say about supporting impacted workers and businesses.
Whatever support there may be won’t reach casual and in 2020 zero hours workers. That applies not only to London but to Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and so on. If there is a campaign, united north and south, it is here.
Capitalism and Christmas labour hasn’t changed much since Victorian times and below is a research note about the Victorian Christmas in London. Why London? Because that is where the research focused and also because its opportunities for casual work were greater than anywhere else, then and now.
The Christmas period was the best of the winter season for those seeking casual employment even 150 years ago. It was after the festivities had ended in January and February that things started to get really tough.
London in December by the 1860s had started to become a significant place of Christmas activity and commerce and the more so as the Victorian era wore on.
As those with money spent it and enjoyed themselves, those without money could at least earn a little by helping the process along.
As the historian Raphael Samuel noted the development of Christmas as a ‘spending season’ provided for street sales of novelties and holly and mistletoe. He argued that London in December was a ‘paradise of odd jobs’ whether helping scene shift in pantomimes or haul seasonal post.
However in a sense Dickens’ Scrooge and his clerk who was expected to work at Christmas were atypical of the period. The job had long hours, low pay and poor conditions but it was a regular job.
By contrast much mid-Victorian labour was irregular or casual- certainly if it lacked any skilled element- and the parallel with our own times is growing stronger by the year.
As Samuel noted ‘Christmas was the winter harvest for the wandering tribes. When it was over things changed for the worse. January and February were bad months for the working man’, and in 2020 the working woman too.
The cuisine of EU Negotiations: Bacon sandwich or the Friterie
As EU Negotiations paused on Saturday night the Financial Times reported a meal break.
It seems the UK negotiations preferred bacon sarnies while the EU negotiators went for a Friterie- chips with something.
Surely a compromise suggests both. The Roast Beef of Old England and some frites to go with it
As British negotiators refuelled on late-night bacon sandwiches, and some of their EU counterparts headed off to a well-known Brussels friterie, both sides sensed there was a possible way forward.
First ‘Beard-Off’ vote for Beard of the Year 2020 features Michael Sheen & Lenny Henry
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers has said the first ‘Beard-Off’ vote for the Beard of the Year 2020 is open.
The final list consists of eight names after two ‘trim-off’ votes shaved the longlist of twelve names
There are two ‘Beard-Off’ votes for Beard of the Year 2020 which open on 14th December and close on 22nd December. The winners of each vote will face each other for a final Beard of the Year vote on 23rd and 24th December.
Beard of the Year will be announced on 28th December.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we’ve made some changes to the way the Beard of the Year vote runs for 2020. We’ve moved the vote to twitter where polls often have great engagement and instead of two polls which ran for many weeks we’re running a series of shorter more focused polls. May the best beards win!
