Monthly Archives: April 2012

Stop! Look! Listen! a weekly selection of some of my favourite films/books/people…

Posted on April 29, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch….Down with the Dictator, written by Cameroonian playwright and community activist, Lydia Besong. Lydia is currently fighting a high profile campaign to remain in the UK with her husband Bernard Batey. The play is produced by Afrocats and is supported … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, drama, human rights, labour history, Manchester, May Day, novels, Salford, trade unions, women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sheila Rowbotham; a dreamer of a new day

Posted on April 25, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watching the DVD of Trevor Griffith’s 1976 TV drama Bill Brand reminded me how exciting and important the 1970s were for the Left. Brand (played by Jack Shepherd) is a newly elected Labour MP from a northern constituency. Apart from … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Socialist Feminism, women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stop! Look! Listen! a weekly selection of some of my favourite films/books/people…

Posted on April 22, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch…Caramel, (2007) set in Beirut in a beauty salon, this film concentrates on women’s lives, rather than the politics of the Middle East. In beauty salons across the world women gather together to chat, exchange secrets and seek support from … Continue reading →

Posted in films, interesting blog, labour history, Manchester, Middle East, music, poetry, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maeve Kelly: Irishwoman, Feminist,Writer, Activist

Posted on April 19, 2012 by lipstick socialist

As a feminist and campaigner in the Irish community in Britain in the 1980s and 90s, it was great discovering the novels of Maeve Kelly. There were (and maybe still are) many depressing stereotypes about the lives of Irish women … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Catholicism, Ireland, Irish second generation, NHS, novels, women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stop! Look! Listen! a weekly selection of some of my favourite films/books/people…

Posted on April 15, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch…..Las Acacias (2011 Argentina) A lorry driver, a road journey from Paraguay to Buenos Aires and a woman with a child who joins him on the trip. There is little script and the baby plays a big role in bringing … Continue reading →

Posted in art exhibition, book review, films, music, novels, poetry, young people | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

And down with all kings but king ludd!

Posted on April 11, 2012 by lipstick socialist

“Riots in our city streets, the worst economic crisis for decades, a long war fought abroad with no sign of progress. Sounds familiar? Welcome to England 1812”.  Mikron Theatre’s latest  production  “Can You keep a Secret?; the rise and fall … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, drama, education, labour history, trade unions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stop! Look! Listen! a weekly selection of some of my favourite films/books/people…

Posted on April 8, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch… Le Havre a film by Aki Kaurismaki. Set in Le Havre in 2012, the film is about a man who shines shoes for a living and helps save a refugee African boy from the French police. It’s more than … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, drama, films, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, music, North of Ireland, Socialism, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My interview with Ken Loach; remembering the dreamers and the builders…….

Posted on April 5, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Ken Loach at the Working Class Movement Library, March 2012 “This is my truth, tell me yours”, Nye Bevan Last week I met up with Ken Loach at the Working Class Movement Library in Salford, where he was researching and … Continue reading →

Posted in films, Ken Loach, labour history, NHS, trade unions, TV drama | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Stop! Look! Listen! a weekly selection of some of my favourite films/books/people…

Posted on April 1, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch….35 Shots of Rum (DVD), a film  made by one of my favourite directors, Frenchwoman Claire Denis. It’s about  a side of Paris that most tourists (and maybe many Parisians) never notice; African workers. The main character is an African … Continue reading →

Posted in art exhibition, book review, films, Ireland, music, novels, Socialist Feminism, women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments