Kmflett's Blog

Ambridge Socialist

6^th September

We ask: why hasn’t Moss been arrested?

Many months after Philip Moss and his useless but malevolent son ‘Gav’ caused an explosion at Grey Gables seriously injuring several people, he remains a free man. In fact so free that he is carrying on his modern slavery activity with building work elsewhere in Borsetshire.

Does not Sergeant Burns, the Sherlock Holmes of Ambridge, occasionally ponder what is going on here? Apparently not.

Meanwhile Tracey Horrabin has served papers starting legal action against Moss. Not to put too finer a point on it, where has she got the funding to do this, given that lawyers charge £300 an hour for just thinking about doing something. Is Oliver underwriting the action perhaps?

Is Alice’s drinking a reflection of a wider issue?

Emma has confronted Alice about her drinking after Ed told her that in his view she was drunk in the Home Farm office. Chris who was present was not pleased. The Ambridge Socialist Editorial Board has set to wondering if the story line really points to someone rather better known in national life who is sometimes alleged to be over fond of drink…

The new BBC Director General Tim Davie on the Archers (from 2011)

Unless you have kept well clear of the media this week, you will have seen or heard that we have been marking the 60th anniversary of the world’s longest running continuous drama. The Archers has been a central part of listener’s lives since 1951 and, if nothing else, the past few days have proved that it is precious and in rude health.

As you may be aware, debate is raging, particularly over the instantly infamous death of Nigel Pargetter in the special double-episode that ran on Jan 2nd. Even before his extended scream as he fell from the roof of Lower Loxley Hall, the messageboards and Twitter were buzzing. The reaction has spanned many emotions: listeners are angry, supportive, underwhelmed, overwhelmed, shocked, sad and enthralled. Above all, what is clear is that they care, deeply, about what happens in Ambridge.

I understand that some listeners think the special episode received too much attention, but we do need to be able to showcase and highlight the wonders of radio drama. The Archers is quite different to other dramas and I agree that we should let audiences quietly find the plot (too much ‘sell’ can be counter-productive), but this was a special occasion and we view it as a very rare set of circumstances. We should resist the sense that there is a growing need to sensationalise to build impact.

Also, those that do not believe that recent revelations were big enough to have “shaken Ambridge to the core” (the words of the Archers’ editor, Vanessa Whitburn) should listen for a year or two to see just how big these events are: not in comparison with TV spectaculars but for the residents of Ambridge (and the loyal listeners).

Meanwhile, if you have not heard the programme or want to read the comments from listeners, here are some links for you to explore. Now is a good time to immerse yourself.

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the BBC

Beard Liberation Front

Media Release

2nd September

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

World Beard Day: 121 year gap since last Hirsute Prime Minister underlines political fear of beards

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that on World Beard Day, 2nd September, it is remarkable to reflect that Britain has not had a Prime Minister with a beard since Lord Salisbury in 1902.

Several Prime Ministers since 1902 have had facial hair, including moustaches worn by Attlee and Macmillan, but none has had a beard.

Jeremy Corbyn who has won the vote for Parliamentary Beard of the Year a record number of times failed to change the clean shaven pattern when he lost the 2019 General Election.

The campaigners say that there is evidence that political leaders who are either bald or wear beards or both face considerable prejudice which should have no place in Britain in 2023

BLF organiser Keith Flett said, Lord Salisbury was of course a Tory and we hoped that Jeremy Corbyn could break new ground and become the first ever Labour PM with a beard. It was not to be and now the leaders of the four largest parties at Westminster are all clean shaven men in suits again.

Beard Liberation Front

5th September

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Barbe de Tour de France vote sees Adam Yates join poll

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it continues to keep the 2020 Tour de France under close review for all matters beard related.

After Stage Seven hirsute Adam Yates leads the Tour but Sagan still heads the vote for the Barbe de Tour de France

The 2020 Tour was delayed from earlier in the summer but is still taking place at a time when COVID-19 infections in France are rising.

Criticism has been made that the event is driven primarily by commercial and broadcasting interests rather than a central focus on participant and spectator safety.

The campaigners say they are monitoring the daily stages of the Tour and the Beard of the Tour 2020 vote is now open with a winner to be announced on 19th September.

Beards have been particularly controversial in the Tour with a Belgian team banning them on the grounds of hygiene at one point.

Conversely German rider Simon Geschke has his own beard balm while France’s Thibaut Pinot may have suffered some follicle damage after he fell off his bike on Saturday.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, each day more beards are challenging in the Tour and our beard experts are keeping a close watch on the leading folliclists

As often in Beard Liberation Front polls the vote is not so much about winning beards but those that make the positive public impact during the race. However clearly there is a focus on front runners as others, no matter how impressive their beard, may make less impact.

Barbe de Tour de France 2020

Sagan (Slo)

Getschke (Ger)

AlaPhilippe (Fra)

Cousin (Fra)

Soupe (Fra)

Roglic (Slo)

Pinot (Fra)

Herrada (Spa)

Yates (GB)

Beard Liberation Front

5th September

Contact 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 5^th 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 Keith Flett 07803 167266

5th September

Campaigners say lockdown beards mean World Beard Day will be the best supported ever

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that World Beard Day, marked on 5th September in 2020 will be the best supported ever with many around the world still wearing lockdown beards grown in the last few months.

The campaigners say that much of what takes place on World Beard Day is uncontroversial and often fun. However the BLF cannot support the idea also propagated on World Beard Day that beards are something special and deserving of special treatment

The BLF says that as much as it opposes pogonophobia, prejudice against the hirsute, it is cautious about pogonophilia, a love of beards than can lead to discrimination against the non-bearded.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, of course we think people should wear their beards with pride and 2020 above others is a year when more people than ever will doing that.

World Beard Day link

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

TV coverage of cricket in the UK has long been found (with very occasional exceptions) exclusively on Sky, as a pay option. The case for this from the cricket authorites the ECB has been that the money from Sky (now owned by Comcast)has allowed cricket to keep going and promote interest in the game at the grassroots.

The problem as those demanding a return to free to air coverage have underlined is that pay TV restricts the audience and hence interest in the game.

Recently as a result of a new deal largely related to the new 100 contest (postponed until 2021) the BBC has gained some rights to show highlights of games and a few live to air.

Last Sunday 31st August England played Pakistan in a T20 game at Manchester.

The game was screened on Sunday afternoon live on BBC and Sky.

The free to air BBC coverage attracted a peak of 2.7m viewers. By contrast Sky peaked at 490,000 viewers.

One hopes the ECB will reflect…

Is Corbynism dead?

Aditya Chakrabortty had a piece in the Guardian on Thursday (link below) that argued that while Corbynism is dead, the multiple crisis of capital mean that the left itself is very far from deceased.

The latter point I agree with, the former point is more arguable.

Of course if you define Corbynism as an attempt by a Parliamentary focused left-wing to hold the authority in the top level structures of the Labour Party it is dead.

I would have very great doubts if such thing would ever be possible but certainly Corbynism did not achieve it.

But Corbynism was and is about much more than that.

This is rather bad news for numerous centrists, careerists and general unpleasant types who think that some old bloke with a beard and an allotment in East Finchley was what it was all about. It wasn’t, much as I admired Jeremy’s beard and acquaintance over more than 40 years now.

It was about Labour voters, working people, trade unionists, the disadvantaged, feeling that Labour should stand for a world ordered at least a little bit differently in terms of priorities to how the Tories did it.

I was obviously no great fan of New Labour but that was achieved for a time after 1997. The lives of many of the less well off got slightly better. It wasn’t the change I’d like to see but if you are at the bottom of society even a small shift can make a lot of difference to your day to day life.

Then came 2008 and Labour shifted to a there is no alternative to austerity approach.

That is what Corbynism rebelled against. It was of course a left social-democratic approach, not unusual in Europe but less so in the UK. There were grand plans of course and some might have worked or led to a collision with capital. More mundanely  the lives of many ordinary people would have been just a bit better than they are under Johnson.

The point for Labour now is that, whether it is thought Corbynism is dead or not, if people who might vote Labour don’t feel that there will be a bit of a shift in the misery of their daily lives for the better then Labour won’t win.

The nature of how people see change happening in market capitalism, usually known as ‘reformism’ is not related to Corbyn, Corbynism or any living political figure. It is a function of how the system is supposed to work.

E P Thompson in the Peculiarities of the English noted how reformism developed after the defeat of Chartism and how deep its roots became:

The intensity of actual conflicts on the ground, and the truly astronomic sum of human capital which has been invested in the strategy of piece-meal reform. It is this sociological and institutional basis of reformism which has made it so secure.

Of course important as small changes can be this is not my politics. The problem with this approach is that without at the very least significant changes in the structure of market capitalism internationally, such changes can be and often are reversed (as we have seen since 2010). Again Corbyn and McDonnell knew that. The point at issue is whether such structural change is possible through the means of Parliamentary politics. I very much doubt it but obviously it’s a debate to be had while working together to try and change the world for the better.

The Corbyn era certainly has been buried. It was never going to survive its complacency over Boris Johnson, its failure to treat allegations of antisemitism with any urgency, or its years spent umm-ing and ahh-ing over Brexit. As one Labour adviser texted me: “It’s astonishing how little there is of any Corbyn legacy … it has simply dissolved away.” Barely any of the frontbenchers from a few months ago are left in the shadow cabinet, the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs is toothless, and almost all of Corbyn’s senior officials in the party bureaucracy have gone.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/03/left-britain-radical-alternative-injustice-progressive-reform

Beard Liberation Front

4th September

Contact Keith Flett 07803 1672

Beard, Shorts & Sandals Season extended

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that the Beard, Shorts and Sandals Season has been extended until the end of September.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Lockdowns have seriously disrupted the 2020 season and many have been unable to flaunt their stylish beards, shorts and sandals. For that reason we’ve extended the season until the end of September.

Guidelines

1] Shorts should ideally be three-quarter length-‘culottes’ for the  2020 season. The length of shorts is particularly important as climate change may mean that unprotected legs get sunburnt.

2] Footwear should be casual. There is a considerable range of sandal type footwear now available. Some leave parts of the feet and toes open to public view, while some do not. The BLF is not prescriptive about the matter.

3] Socks should generally not be worn. However if the beard, shorts and sandals are to be displayed in relatively busier urban areas it is likely to be prudent to wear closed rather than open casual footwear and ankle socks, not visible to others may be worn.

4] There is no prescription or definition on what type of beard may be worn, or how this may match with the shorts and sandals. This is left up to the individual.

5] If venturing out in accordance with rules in force locally at the time social distance should be kept at all times.

Former hard right Australian politician Tony Abbott is in the news because the Johnson Government want to appoint him as trade envoy.

His qualifications for this seem doubtful at best, but he is admirably qualified in more or less every area of objectionable right-wing views and behaviours.

Abbott was in fact born in the UK and took a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. Unusually for such students when he left Oxford he seems to have actually toured Africa in homage to the racist founder of what is now Zimbabwe.

This Guardian article from 2013 provides a useful insight into Abbott’s life and views:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/16/tony-abbott-at-oxford-university

It does not however cover the occasion when Abbott visited an onion farm and ate a raw onion. Not that unusual perhaps, except he ate the outer skin as well.

In short Abbott is a man who makes Boris Johnson’s antics look rather mundane by comparison..

Beard Liberation Front

3rd September

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Barbe de Tour de France vote sees competition bristling

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it is keeping the 2020 Tour de France under close review for all matters beard related.

After Stage Six Sagan still leads the vote for the Barbe de Tour de France but Jesus Herrada who came second on Thursday has joined the poll.

The 2020 Tour was delayed from earlier in the summer but is still taking place at a time when COVID-19 infections in France are rising.

Criticism has been made that the event is driven primarily by commercial and broadcasting interests rather than a central focus on participant and spectator safety.

The campaigners say they are monitoring the daily stages of the Tour and the Beard of the Tour 2020 vote is now open with a winner to be announced on 19th September.

Beards have been particularly controversial in the Tour with a Belgian team banning them on the grounds of hygiene at one point.

Conversely German rider Simon Geschke has his own beard balm while France’s Thibaut Pinot may have suffered some follicle damage after he fell off his bike on Saturday.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, each day brings examples of beard power and beard assisted cycling on the Tour but there is a way to go yet

As often in Beard Liberation Front polls the vote is not so much about winning beards but those that make the positive public impact during the race. However clearly there is a focus on front runners as others, no matter how impressive their beard, may make less impact.

Barbe de Tour de France 2020

Sagan (Slo)

Getschke (Ger)

AlaPhilippe (Fra)

Cousin (Fra)

Soupe (Fra)

Roglic (Slo)

Pinot (Fra)

Herrada (Spa)