Kmflett's Blog

Campaign for Real Conkers

Press Release August 26th Contact Keith Flett, 07803 167266

Conker season 2019 launches as campaigners say crisis is in shortage of players not conkers

E8CWGN Playing conkers in England, UK – close up

The Campaign for Real Conkers, the group that opposes bans on conker playing, has said that with the 2019 conker playing season getting underway on August Bank Holiday Monday it expects it to be the best for some years

Campaigners say that there is no evidence the warm summer has led to a shortage of British conkers as a cursory look at conker trees will show. Most are fully laden with conkers which after wet and windy weather on Sunday should now be starting to fall.

However the CFRC has warned that the game of conkers is in serious decline and unless a new generation of players is found it may not exist in 20 years-time as screen based games become increasingly popular.

The campaign believes that conkers is a game that is free to all play and should also be free of rules and regulations whether imposed in contests or petty bureaucrats who argue wrongly that playing conkers is in some way dangerous.

Campaign organiser Keith Flett said, the real problem will be, as it has been for some years, not a shortage of conkers but a shortage of players. In many areas conkers lie uncollected. We aim to get the message across that conkers is free, easy to play and very enjoyable. No rules, regulations or training are required.

The Campaign for Real Conkers promotes free for all conker playing across the UK an alternative event to the World Conker Championships on Sunday October 13th where it encourages people to have a go at playing conkers without the need for rules, regulations and teams.

Where We Stand

The CFRC believes that conkers is one of the few sports that can be played for free. All that is required is a conker and some string.

It is opposed to championships, rules, regulations and commercial sponsorship.

It seeks to encourage young people to play conkers. It should not be the preserve purely of those of mature years.

‘World Conker Championships’

https://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/

On the history & politics of Bank Holidays

Neo-Liberals don’t like people having holidays when they should be working (they take holidays themselves obviously) and that perhaps is the reason why there is more noise around the August Bank Holiday.

It was moved from the first to the last Monday of the month temporarily in 1965 and permanently in 1971. It was not changed in Scotland, not btw because of prejudices about the Scottish weather but because the nights begin to draw in earlier the further north you go.

I tend to agree with the Guardian (Editorial) that it would be better to move the holiday back to the first Monday with some important caveats.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/23/the-guardian-view-on-bank-holidays-give-us-a-break

Firstly the Editorial writer doesn’t know why the change was made. From the late 1940s there was pressure from the leisure industry, industry itself and the TUC to soften the focus on a summer holiday period that was very much around the end of July and early August including the Bank Holiday. It was felt that encouraging a wider spread of holidays was a good thing.

I agree but I think this has happened now anyway, although school terms still provide restrictions for all involved in education.

Secondly Britain does not have enough Bank Holidays. That doesn’t mean that May Day should be abolished and replaced with Trafalgar Day or Margaret Thatcher Day in the autumn. It does mean that we need to have at least one more public holiday between August and the end of December and the same between January and Easter. Ive always favoured 30^th January but I appreciate that is a touchy subject even 370 years on

Finally the Guardian argues that changing working patterns mean that Bank Holidays are no longer really special. It might be an idea to step outside of Guardian HQ in Kings Cross on 26^th August and have a look around.

Not only are there lots of people working on the day who would probably prefer not to be (with pay), for those who are not working it is likely to be one of the very few Mondays in the year when work does not interrupt them. Of course I can take Monday off in any week but that doesn’t stop the mails and calls. On Bank Holiday Monday it does though.

Contemporary Cask Festival Walthamstow 25^th August

Seven years ago, August Bank Holiday Sunday 2019.

The temperature reached 90F in North-East London in the afternoon. Ben Stokes and Jack Leach saw England home to a one wicket victory against Australia in the 3rd Test at Leeds. I was there with my late partner Megan & someone got Test Match Special on the radio for that most memorable of Ben Stokes and Jack Leach innings. Not so long after of course came the pandemic

Beer in Walthamstow has changed a lot- see Blackhorse Lane etc etc

A brief post about the above held at the Walthamstow Pump House Museum which is more or less in central Walthamstow.

Local things for local people is of course a caricature of a mindset one hopes is held by relatively few in North-East London but the importance of smaller local beer festivals should not be ignored.

It was more or less sold out in advance. The toilets were fine, there was a good supply of drinking water (it was a very hot day) and there was food from the always good @winenrind (cheese toasties).

There was also a decent amount of places to sit or perch which is not unimportant as one gets older..

What about the beer I suspect anyone who has read this far is now wondering.

There was a good range of mostly local cask beer, cooled. I thought the Howling Hops kiwi sour was just the beer for a hot day and I suggest further visits to Morning Lane Tesco to acquire more kiwis and make more of it. There were also beers from the distinctly local-ish Hale Brewing (Girders, the Irn-Bru beer) Redemption and so on. Keykeg featured notably Siren’s Lemon Cheesecake sour which again is a really good drink on a hot day (in moderation as its 6.2%).

Beer was sensibly sold in thirds, halves, two-thirds and pints

Like the Stoke Newington Beer Festival held early in the year these kind of well organised events root good beer in local communities and when England won the cricket the cheer that went up reflected that (even I suspect from those who were not batting for England, unless they were Australians of course).

Beard Liberation Front

Press Release 25^th August

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Cricketer Ben Stokes to get free pass to 2019 Beard of the Year shortlist

The Beard Liberation Front the informal network of beard wearers, has said that after his magnificent match winning performance in the Third Ashes Test at Headingley on Sunday England cricketer Ben Stokes is to be given a free pass to the 2019 Beard of the Year shortlist

As usual in 2019 there will be a public poll to determine the top ten beard wearers who will go through to the final Beard of the Year poll which opens on 1st December with the winner announced on 28th December.

The campaigners say that the Beard of the Year longlist comprises those whose beard has had a positive impact in the public eye during the year rather than the style or the length of the beard.

However Ben Stokes will by-pass this stage and find himself directly on the shortlist of the top 10 beard wearers of the year

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, some will say that Ben Stokes could have a different style of beard or that the beard was of no importance in his match winning performance. However Beard of the Year is all about a positive image of beards in the public eye and frankly you cant really get much more positive in that respect than Stokes over the last few days in Leeds.

The Ambridge Socialist

Reporting on the class struggle in Borsetshire

25^th August

The Ambridge Trust

It would appear that Peggy and her Operating Officer Lilian are moving towards making a decision on who should get the money. On Friday those who have been ‘selected’ for the shortlist made presentations on their bids. Wrangles continue in one section of the Archer dynasty as Pip continues to try to back two different bids.

No decision of course was made on Friday and neither was there a real indication about when this would be.

A reminder that this is a battle for the succession amongst Ambridge’s ruling class. The decision on the money may lead to future feuds.

In qualified defence of Susan Carter

After Neil called out Susan as someone who was unable to keep a confidence she has sought counsel from Chris (her son) who has agreed that she is not a ‘gossip’ but simply someone who is interested in what happens in the world, and in particular Ambridge.

‘Gossip’ is a term often applied in a sexist way to women who speak out or voice their views. To this extent the Ambridge Socialist defends Susan. That said Susan’s views are rarely progressive and perhaps some caution might be exercised by herself when commenting on Ambridge life.

Now its comrade Jim

The saga of the Bull’s quiz roles on with Lynda and Prof. Jim apparently in a Brainboxes team. During the course of a discussion about whether the team needed a captain this week Lynda determined that Jim was a ‘comrade’. This is a word rarely heard in Ambridge but the appearance of Johnson as Prime Minister will probably see it used more often.

In Other News

Will continues to struggle as a single parent. Another Thomas Hardy-esque story line

Beard Liberation Front

25th August

contact: Keith Flett 07803 167266

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has set a Bank Holiday Beard Challenge for Test Match Special commentators.

The challenge comes after former Australian coach Darren Lehmann appeared on TMS on Saturday afternoon and a photograph showed that in a long overdue attempt to find gravitas he has grown a beard.

The BLF says that while TMS commentators already have gravitas a beard can always provide more.

Geoffrey Boycott has briefly worn a beard some decades ago while in 2018 a photo-shopped image depicted cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew with a beard. Michael Vaughan by contrast is thought never to have a beard.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Darren Lehmann has thrown down a beard challenge to TMS commentators. Who will take it up?

Beard Liberation Front

24th August

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Campaigners say Aussies David Warner needs to work on facial hair policy

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that Australian opening batsman David Warner’s Ashes facial hair remains in crisis after he shaved his long-standing beard for the current Leeds Test

Warner was dismissed by Stuart Broad at Edgbaston for 2 and 8 in the First Test and at Lords he made just 3 and 5. However after shaving his beard he scored 61 in the first innings at Leeds and took 4 catches in the field. Yet in Australia’s second innings Warner was out for nought from Broad’s bowling again.

The BLF says that after an incident that saw Warner suspended from Test cricket for a period, he grew a gravitas adding beard. It had been thought this would make Warner a key contender for the coveted Beard of the Ashes 2019 accolade.

However it became clear at both Edgbaston and Lords that Warner had been trimming his beard and the campaigners say that the Aussie opener clearly did not have the right balance between beard and ball interaction.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Warner did well in the World Cup and earlier with his beard. Then he started trimming it. The initial boost of shaving it worked initially but its clear it cant be a long-term strategy for success.

Beard Liberation Front

Beard Liberation Front

23rd August

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard Campaigners renew offer to LibDems to provide advisor for new ‘Shadow Cabinet’

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has renewed its offer to provide a beard advisor to the new Liberal Democrat ‘Shadow Cabinet’ which was announced earlier this week.

The campaigners say that while the Liberals have been traditionally associated with ‘beards and sandals’ in reality the new LibDem Shadow Cabinet has no beard wearers.

The BLF says that appointing a beard advisor would underline the LibDems’ commitment both to a diverse Britain and to their hirsute heritage

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we stand ready to provide a beard advisor to the LibDems. We’d hope their future can be hairy in a good way.

https://www.libdems.org.uk/shadcab19

Earlier this year the historian Richard J Evans produced a large volume of biography about the late socialist historian Eric Hobsbawm. The book is fascinating and contains much previously little known or unknown material. Of course, and the point is made factually not as a criticism, Evans is neither a marxist or a marxist historian so there is more to be said on Hobsbawm yet, but the book still stands as a very worthwhile project in its own right, or perhaps write..

More recently in the New Statesman Evans has opined on whether

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/08/eric-hobsbawm-peering-darkly-future

I listened to, argued with and latterly agreed with Eric Hobsbawm from his Forward March of Labour period on. I dont fully agree with Richard Evans assessment that Hobsbawm would be critical of Jeremy Corbyn. Hobsbawm’s Forward March laid some of the intellectual foundations of New Labour. Particularly after 2008 he clearly came to regret that and emphasise the importance of grappling with economic crisis and austerity.

Perhaps the wider point however was that there was far from always a clear link between Hobsbawm’s historical research, invariably excellent, and his political pronouncements, which were sometimes much more open to question. They were often one felt dictated by his personal history and background rather than by his historical researches, and why not?

However for that reason I often argued he would have been better to keep the two distinct and perhaps the same might be said about Richard Evans assessment of him. His biography of Hobsbawm, while not the last word, is an important contribution. His political views are another matter, not less valid but not necessarily linked either.

Would Hobsbawm have supported Corbyn? We cant know. Evans is right to underline that Hobsbawm would have wanted a Labour Government and Hobsbawm’s lengthy probing interview with Tony Benn published in Marxism Today suggests he would have been asking questions. Rightly so in my view whether I liked the questions or not, one thing a marxist historian should do is to raise awkward points and issues not just cheer