Category Archives: Manchester

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

Posted on June 24, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch… Germinal(1993, a film based on the novel by French writer Emile Zola. It tells the story of a mining town in northern France in the 1860s, where children and women are still working down the pits. There are many … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, drama, education, films, human rights, labour history, Manchester, music, novels, Salford, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, young people | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From the Manchester Martyrs to the Birmingham 6…..

Posted on June 20, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Plaque on Hyde Rd in Manchester which marks the spot where the Fenians were freed in 1867. Book Review:The Manchester Martyrs by Joseph O’Neill (Mercier Press, 2012) ISBN 978-1-85635-951-1 The Martyrs were three members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (also … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Catholicism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on May 20, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch.. Satin Rouge (2002) starring fabulous actor, Hiam Abbass. Set in Tunisia, it’s a sensual story of a widow who finds a way out of loneliness by becoming a belly dancer in a nightclub. For once, in a film, we … Continue reading →

Posted in films, Ireland, labour history, Manchester, Middle East, novels, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bill Brand; It is the People who Create………

Posted on May 17, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Bill Brand (played by Jack Shepherd) speaking at a workers occupation Bill Brand, a TV series broadcast on ITV in the summer of 1976, was written by one of Britain’s (and Manchester’s) greatest playwrights, Trevor Griffiths. The drama is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholicism, Ireland, Manchester, North of Ireland, Socialism, trade unions, TV drama, women | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted on May 6, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch…The Good Companions (DVD) The TV series was made in 1980. It is Alan Plater’s adaptation of the J.B.Priestley’s book of the same name. I loved the book, which is the story of a struggling concert party, set in 1929, … Continue reading →

Posted in art exhibition, drama, Manchester, music, TV drama | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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

Trade Unions; the next generation….

Posted on March 29, 2012 by lipstick socialist

In the past 18 months there has been a surge in political activity by young people in the Occupy Movement, in student protests against tuition fees and withdrawal of EMA and in anti-workfare campaigns. At the same time, but less … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, Manchester, NHS, trade unions, women, young people | Tagged | Leave a comment

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

Posted on March 25, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Watch… Happy People (2010) A year in the Taiga by Dmitry Vasyukov. Siberia extends from the Urals to the Pacific and is one and a half times the size of the USA. 38 million people live in this area, but … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, Communism, education, films, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, music, Socialism, trade unions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

St.Patrick and reflections on a day………..

Posted on March 15, 2012 by lipstick socialist

Me, Auntie Margaret and Mum, 2010 Maureen, Mum and Margaret, 1940s, Manchester St.Patrick’s Day is on 17 March, a day to celebrate Irishness. Growing up in 70s Manchester, it meant shamrock and family celebrations with our relatives. It was the … Continue reading →

Posted in human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, Manchester, North of Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment