Category Archives: Manchester

A Real Working Class Hero; Steve Acheson

Margaret Thatchers’ legacy was not just about defeating the trade unions, it was about creating a myth that working class people did not need trade unions. People came to believe that they could be like the bosses not just in … Continue reading

Posted in human rights, Manchester, trade unions | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…Good Vibrations…and discover an aspect of 70s Belfast that is not well known…the punk scene and one man’s struggle to bring some life into a bombed out city. His name was Terri Hooley and he ran a record shop and … Continue reading

Posted in anti-cuts, art exhibition, drama, films, human rights, Ireland, Manchester, music, NHS, North of Ireland, trade unions, Uncategorized, young people | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch..the Spirit of 45. Ken Loach’s homage to post war Britain:We have been the dreamers, we have been the sufferers, now we are the builders. (Nye Bevan) Nowadays its more a case of trying to hold onto what hasn’t been … Continue reading

Posted in anti-cuts, art exhibition, book review, drama, films, human rights, Ken Loach, labour history, Manchester, Middle East, music, NHS, Palestine, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Spirit of 45 and my hopes for 2013

Ken Loach’s new film The Spirit of 45 looks back to a time in the history of this country that now seems almost impossible to imagine. I spoke to Ken last year when he was filming at the Working Class … Continue reading

Posted in anti-cuts, films, human rights, Ken Loach, labour history, Manchester, NHS, political women, trade unions, women, young people | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…Tull at the Octagon Theatre…what has happened to political theatre I am constantly asking myself,  and then up pops a brilliant play. It’s the real story of Walter Tull, the second black professional footballer in Britain,  and one of the … Continue reading

Posted in art exhibition, drama, feminism, human rights, International Women's Day, labour history, Manchester, Palestine, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, young people | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch….Chasing Ice ..as part of Climate Week (4-10 March), Manchester Film Co-op invites you to a screening of the brand new environmental documentary, Chasing Ice by photographer James Balog. In 2005 Balog decided to prove the effects of climate change … Continue reading

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, drama, education, feminism, films, human rights, International Women's Day, labour history, Manchester, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Temperature rises in Greater Manchester campaign to save NHS!

If Nye Bevan’s famous statement the NHS will last as long as there are folk with the faith to fight for it is anything to go by, then the NHS is far from being finished in Greater Manchester. Stephen Hall … Continue reading

Posted in anti-cuts, human rights, labour history, Manchester, NHS, trade unions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…..Modernity, municipalism and light: 100 years of Blackpool Illuminations at Manchester City Art Gallery on 21 February at 6.30pm. Sadly going to see the illuminations is one of the few reasons to visit Blackpool these days. Blackpool Illuminations, the seaside … Continue reading

Posted in feminism, films, human rights, International Women's Day, labour history, Manchester, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

People Power Can Save Our NHS!

In the North West of England the threat of privatisation of the NHS is being opposed by a mixture of traditional, such as trade unions, and new organisations, such as 38 Degrees: a reflection of the fact that many people … Continue reading

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Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…Lincoln (2013)…in the 1860s Manchester textile workers supported the economic blockade of the southern states of America, even though, as the supply of raw cotton dried up, many of them lost their jobs. Lincoln sent a letter of thanks to … Continue reading

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Communism, drama, films, human rights, labour history, Manchester, NHS, novels, political women, Salford, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment