Watch…Punk Syndrome(DVD and youtube)…a documentary about a punk band in Finland made up of men with learning disabilities. It follows their lives as a band and also the realities of living with a disability including the day-to-day frustrations of living in a residential home, negotiating with their carers over simple (to us) issues such as personal care and drinking coffee. Punk music was (and is) popular because it did not care about image or even playing the instruments properly, it reflected the lives of people on the edge of society and gave them a platform to articulate how they feel. This is just one of the reasons why this is such a good, compassionate film. Unlike many films about disability we do not get to like the people, they are angry and do not want our sympathy, they want the lives and the choices that everyone else has. It is a shame that this film has had such little publicity but you can watch it on youtube see Highly recommended.

Oppose mental health service cuts……we need mental health services more than ever but they are seen as easy to cut by the health authorities. In Gtr. Manchester 54 mental health beds are under threat of closure and people will have to travel across the borough for care and to visit their relatives. Join the protest on 29 March at 12 at Eccles Cross, next to tram stop and Morrisons in Town Centre..further details see

Remember…Bradford Pit..in east Manchester…Lauren Murphy and some of the miners have put together this exhibition. It is a forgotten part of the history of this area, in fact Manchester City now play on the old pit, and the area has been completely redeveloped..not sure for the better. See the exhibition at Beswick Library see

Find out about…Concerts for the People; music education and public programmes in Manchester…at a time when the music education service is being ruthlessly cut this talk will look at its history and how people got involved with it. It is taking place in the new performance space for the Halle in Ancoats. Further info abigail.gilmore@manchester.ac.uk

Go to a talk.…….the co-operative movement was such a progressive organisation..notice I use the past tense…..from 1919 to 1967 the women of the co-operative movement had their own magazine, Woman’s Outlook. As you might expect it was not just baking and knitting but offered women a space to debate issues such as women’s role in parliament and equal pay. Natalie Bradbury is giving a talk about her research on the magazine on Sat 29 March, booking is essential see

Learn about the history of radical Ashton-u-Lyne…..taking history onto the streets on Sunday 30 March meet at Town Hall steps, Market Square. This walk will explore a number of episodes in Ashton-under-Lyne’s radical past, including the political career of socialist and suffragette Hannah Mitchell, the Chartist Rising of 1848, the Bread Riot of 1863, the Anti-Irish Riot of 1868 and the formation of the Co-operative movement. (part of Manchester Histories Festival) Booking essential. Further details see