Another Side Of Edvard Munch.

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 I was once lucky enough to see an exhibition of his works in Vienna (which incidentally in my humble opinion is the finest city in Europe) having been a fan of his for most of his adult life. Seeing a painting for real, compared with a copy or a picture on the screen, takes you into a different world where you can see the textures and the scale and of course the colours. I was amazed, but having seen one of his works in Washington in the art gallery, not surprised by his works of genius, and one of my lifetime wishes is to go to the Munch Museum in Oslo and see his works in his native Norway but my daughter has been there and has said that it is very, very expensive place to go.
 he is of course most famous for The Scream and I was amazed one night wandering around Camden to see the picture hanging up on a pub sign.
 Renowned for his Scandinavian angst he was a friend of Ibsen's and during his early life was greatly saddened by repeated family tragedy which is reflected in his work. Later in his life he moved away from these images of death, horror and rejection and set about producing landscapes and more natural works.I am now 66 and if it is any consolation, and not all is good, then you tend to lighten up and become less concerned about the problems of life and having to grind out a daily wage and you learn to enjoy as much as you can before you pop off or end up in some decrepit and sad state.
 His works are well known and countless books have been published about him so there is nothing I can add except my own brief and personal opinion. I found this video on YouTube which is well worth watching and shows much of his better known work.

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Clash Of The Titans

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Whilst the world continues to spin and mankind rushes towards the abyss a tribal ritual is occurring this weekend in England's forgotten city of Birmingham. Zulus will be daubing on their warpaint whilst an ambush is being prepared on the mean streets of Aston.
 The West Midlands Police together with the money grabbing thieves of the Premier League have conspired to rob the good citizens of Brum of their usual Sunday pint of mild followed by a roast dinner by arranging for Blues to play the Vile at some ungodly hour of the day. This master stroke is supposed to prevent hordes of fans from pouring out of the pubs for a bit of fisticuffs before the match whilst totally ignoring the wishes of the fans who pay the dosh to watch the match at a civilised hour..
Meanwhile the actual thuggery and maiming will be taking place on the pitch at Vill Park and overpaid cheats will be mugging the poor referee to gain some undeserved advantage and recovering from the effects of the high class brothel that they visited on Saturday night.. The contest will contain little or no artistry and will be unrecognisable from Pele's beautiful game.
With the whiff of blood in their nostrils the media will be there to dissect what will resemble a gladiatorial contest and pour over every tasty crunching tackle and hypocritically wag fingers and tell us how distasteful it all is. Villa are odds on favourites to win and I am not optimistic about our chances but I will, as I have been for fifty three years, be waiting there at the end of the road, not in expectation of anything arriving but because there is no success like failure and failure is no success at all[i], and taking part but not winning is the thing and all that crap. There is a faint possibility that  the chuffers will win something before I pop off but the current lot can't score goals or provide excitement and both the crowds and the atmosphere at St. Andrews these days reflect that.
 We did win the League Cup in some far off year in a two legged final against the Villa and I was fortunate enough to have seen both matches. I was also spoilt by years of watching an attacking team who played with three brilliant strikers in the Bob's Hatton and Latchford respectively added to the genius of Trevor Francis which was a potent mixture and  made for heady days. The ride has been bumpy and undulating ever since. In those days when we played Villa, or anyone else for that matter the crowds mingled, although there was usually an end where the home fans congregated but there was no aggravation.
 I'm not sure when rivalry turned into hatred but it was probably sometime in the 70's or 80's when football hooliganism and racism was at its peak. I remember being ashamed of being a Blues fan for the first time at West Brom where our fans chanted racist sounds and threw bananas at Cyril Regis. The irony is that now most of the top Premiership teams consist of black players who are the new now heroes but it must have been very difficult for those early black players who were constantly abused and spat at.
 Anyway most true Brummies support the Blues whilst The Villa, which was not even part of Birmingham at one stage,  draw lots of their their support from the leafier parts  Staffordshire and Worcestershire. We are so used to being the underdogs and being pleasantly delighted when we win a match, or score more than two goals, that I am not sure how we would handle success, even in the unlikely event that it should come our way. Anyway somewhere  in deepest Kernow one voice at least will be urging  "Come on you Blue Boys.

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Notes [i] I first read this phrase in a book by Somerset Maughan but he probably nicked it from somewhere as did that well know plagiarist Bob Dylan who used it in one of his songs.

The Fight Against Facism.

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"Once more I had clambered up the hill with my comrades, taking cover wherever we could and firing at the enemy wherever he appeared. The bullets of the snipers whizzed over, grenades and shells were striking the ground, throwing up earth and dust and showering us with shrapnel. Suddenly my shoulder and right arm went numb. Blood gushed from my shoulder and I couldn't lift my rifle.I could do nothing but lie where I was. Near me a comrade had been killed and I could hear the cries of others,wounded and dying. I was taken with other wounded men down the line to an emergency field hospital. The place was like an abattoir."
                                                                                   Jack Jones - Union Man

 The legitimate government of Spain was being overthrown by fascists whilst the rest of the world including Britain stood by. Franco and his ally Hitler were taking control of Spain in what became known as The Spanish Civil War. Decent and very brave  men and women of the left and trade unionists from around the world were appalled and came together, at great sacrifice to themselves, to form  The Internationale Brigade to fight against the fascist forces. One of the anthems of the Internationale Brigade was "Viva La Quinta Brigada" and I purchased this cherished copy made by The Ian Campbell Folk Group and sang with enormous power and feeling by Lorna Campbell. Those of you much younger than myself will be pleased to hear that the family's proud tradition of singing has been maintained by Ali Campbell of UB40.





 At the end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties in Britain there was a revival in the folk song movement. I was working for what the BBC calls, "The Secret Spy Station" (i.e. GCHQ) at the time and we had a green General Notice warning us of "communist penetration" of the folk clubs which were springing up all over the country. This of course was bollocks and I was an enthusiastic supporter and a regular attender at Cheltenham Folk Club. Folk or traditional music is the history of peoples lives: it recalls the the events that have occurred good or bad, the wonders seen, the tales passed down through generations, stories of love and hate, of work and journeys undertaken. Sometimes they are nationalistic and sometimes  used as a vehicle of protest. It is this latter capabilty that worried the authorities at GCHQ and in government because it also had the capacity to change the course of history as the Civil Rights anthem "We Shall Overcome" did in America. Here is a very different version of the the Spanish Civil War song where the chorus attack it in order to overthrow their demon.


 It is strange how history repeats itself and many years later, in 1984, Thatcher banned free trade unions at GCHQ and we were offered a £1000 bribe to leave our trade unions, or to be transferred to another department or be sacked. The freedom to belong to a free trade union had been fought for over centuries in this country by brave men and women like The Tolpuddle Martyrs and I thought that this was the beginning of fascism in this country and that I would be neglecting my duty to defend the freedoms of this country if I did not resist. The Trade Union movement rallied behind us magnificently with protests up and down the land and I together with some other colleagues fought the ban through the courts but inevitably lost when it reached The Lords.

We must always be on our guard for history always repeats itself but IT also demonstrates that grave injustices are, eventually, overcome. And so it was in this case when Robin Cook, in almost the first act of the newly elected Labour Government overturned the ban in 1997. Remember the words of Pastor Neimoller.

First they came for the Jews


and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the communists

and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist.



Then they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist.



Then they came for me -

and by then there was no one left to speak out for me.



Pastor Martin Niemöller

Why do Lying Nick and And Deadly Dave Only Visit Schools?

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 After Boy George announced his swingeing cuts off they trotted to explain themselves to, of all things, children. And it isn't the first time that they have done it. Why can't they stand up in front of a grown up audience? As it was they fell a cropper when a bright girl asked them why they had hit the poorest hardest.
 As for Poor old Cleggy he's in denial claiming that the  IFS had got their sums wrong and choking out apologies about breaking election promises. It would be funny except for the fact that millions at the bottom of the social ladder will be suffering.
 Hopefully they will leave the children alone in future but unfortunately the kids as well as the poor are bearing the brunt of the cuts. Other statistics suggest that two thirds of all women will be worse off. It is all clever stuff though as they have passed most of the buck to the councils who will have to slash their budgets by enormous sums. Yes those are the same councils that provide Social Services, education, affordable housing, fire brigades and empty your bins, protect the environment and mend your roads.
 So the hope is that the councils, and especially Labour councils, will be blamed for the deterioration in these services and hapless councillors will have to decide what to chop and what to keep. Alan Johnson got it bang on when he pointed to the cheering rats on the Tory benches waving their order papers in support and pointed out that this is is what they have come into politics for - to reduce public spending and let the private sector pick up the pieces and make billions in the process.

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Pop Star Quiz

 It's going to be a heavy week as the Condem's set about wrecking our society in a way which has not been perpetrated since Thatcher's Reign of Terror. It is time therefore for us to glean some light relief from the wreckage and hence a quiz. There follows some illustrations from a book that I dragged down from the attic and you, dear reader, might like to put names to some of the faces.

                                                     Who's at this rather gruesome party?

One genius whose life became tortured and another who just keeps going on like a Rolling Stone.

Faces on a subway.

Hot Momma?

Hummm.

Pinball Wizard?

A Miner's Lot.

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 Less than half a mile away from where I live are the remnants and spoil of Devon Great Consoles which at one time in the 18th century was the largest copper mine in the world. Within a square mile of where I live there existed six hundred mines where copper, tin ,wolfram and other metal ores were extracted.

 When all the copper had been worked out of Devon Great Consoles they extracted arsenic, for which there was a flourishing market, and to this day nothing grows on the massive slag heap left behind for arsenic kills everything. Trees falling onto the heap generations ago are perfectly preserved because no bacteria or insects or fungi can live there. It is a hideous monument to the past days in Cornwall where the mine owners took their vast profits but left behind their waste and the miners who toiled in unimaginable conditions.

  The miners left behind by the ruthless profiteers who abandoned them either had to starve or look for mining work elsewhere. So they emigrated in droves to the new mines in Canada, Australia, Tasmania, South Africa and America. It was said that if you looked down a hole in the ground anywhere in the world that you would find a Cornishman. They were fondly remembered by the loved ones and friends that they left behind who referred to them as Cousin Jacks. A West Country duo called Show of Hands wrote a song with the title of Cousin Jack which reflects some of the bitterness and hardship that is the miners lot the world over just as it was for those brave men in Chile who are now thankfully safe. Behind them, as with all miners, is a history of grief, exploitatation sweat and pain.

eBay Losing Its way.

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I have been an eBay user almost since it's inception. Sadly it has lost much of its original character not the least of which is now that it is almost entirely dominated by professional sellers. Whilst most of these are reliable and honest there are a growing number of dealers who either sell fakes or faulty items. And when something goes wrong it is a tortuous process to get you money refunded by eBay or Paypal.

 Another misconception is that you will always find an item there that is cheaper than elsewhere on the Internet or on the high street. A simple "buy x" search on Google or a check on Amazon will often reveal a much cheaper option than that available on Ebay. And also all the big chains now sell on the Internet and particularly in ther sales offer bargains that cannot be matched on Ebay. The other fiddle is the extortionate postage costs that are added on which far exceed the Royal mail rates. So you can still get the occasional bargain but these days it is buyer beware.

ConDems Attack Children.

 Dozy Dave and Lying Nick have decided to scrap universal Child Benefits a system first introduced in 1946 (as Child Allowance) to ensure that state money was available to support every child in the land. It is clearly a decision taken in haste and as such not thought through to the extent that a couple earning a total income of £80,000 per annum continue to receive the benefit whereas a single parent earning in excess of £44,000 will lose it. The announcement was aided and abetted by the grotesque sight of  him holding his new born baby in his arms at the Tories conference in Birmingham.

 This follows the earlier announcement that they were also scrapping the £250 of savings given to each child when they were born for use when they reached the age of 18. They just don't get it do they - the benefit was paid to the mother to use for her children.

 So they have started with the children and will soon move on to the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed. Naked red blooded conservatism who start where even Thacher would not tread. Be afraid be very afraid

Ed Milliband - Part 2

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 Well the speech wasn't very inspiring, although his declaration that the Iraq war was wrong was welcome.
He has alot to learn about oratory, but hopefully that will come in time. I am an unrepentant old fashioned socialist and to hear him placating the media's laughable label of "Red Ed" by condeming "irresponsible strikes" immediately soured relationships when unity is most needed. And it's a gift to the right wing media, who will hang this quote round his neck like a political albatross. I agree with the union representaitve who shouted, "RUBBISH" for that is exactly what it was.
 The late Jimmy Reid when talking about strikes as a last ditch stand when fighting for your existence and livelihhod was asked how it felt he replied, "You try explaining to the mother of your children on a Friday why you have no money to give her". Striking is the ultimate sacrifice and by taking such action you are depriving yourself of an income, risking your job and alienating yourself from workmates, and the community.
But some of us have principles MR. Milliband and are prepared to make the kind of sacrifices that you have never endured in your cossetted lifetime.
 It is early days and lets hope he improves but on this performance he is not the Labour leader that we will need to fight the ConDems vicious cuts over the next months and years.

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Rene Magritte