Marxism 2015 10: Monday Morning

A personal account of the two meetings I attended on the Monday morning at Marxism 2015, with some photographs and a link to an old blog post.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series of posts about Marxism 2015, the five-day political festival in central London, organised by the Socialist Workers Party. In this post, which I hope some of you will enjoy enough to share, I shall be covering the last two regular meetings before the final rally.

TWO SPLENDID MEETINGS

HOW BIG PHARMA STOPS US MAKING PROGRESS

This meeting, in Nunn Hall, where a lot of the meetings that appealed to me seemed to be taking place, was an excellent start to the final day of this great event.

Speaker Camilla Royle and the chair before the meeting started.
Speaker Camilla Royle and the chair before the meeting started.
The book being advertised at this meeting - and having borrowed it from the library a while back I can confirm that it is a splendid read.
The book being advertised at this meeting – and having borrowed it from the library a while back I can confirm that it is a splendid read.
Camilla giving her opening speech.
Camilla giving her opening speech.
The timetable for Monday.
The timetable for Monday.

I will limit myself to one story from that meeting – a tale of how 73 trials of which 37 gave the right result and 36 the wrong were spun by a combination of suppression and deceit into 48 successful trials and 3 failures – this is how the pharmaceutical industry chooses to conduct itself.

PEGIDA AND THE FIGHT AGAINST RACISM, FASCISM AND ISLAMAPHOBIA IN GERMANY

This was the last of the regular meetings I attended at the event, and it was superb. The main speaker, Christine Buchholz, a member of Die Linke talked about the rapid rise of Pegida and then the counter to them – appearing everywhere they did in bigger numbers. This of course is the way the Anti-Nazi League in this country dealt with the National Front and then in the 1990s with the first rise of the BNP, also how Unite Against Fascism dealt with the EDL and the second rise of the BNP – confront them, never let them have a moment’s peace and make it abundantly clear that there are more of us than there are of them. Check out this early blog post of mine on the matter.

A membership form for Unite Against Fascism.
A membership form for Unite Against Fascism.

Mention was also made of the brief and spectacularly ill-starred Pegida UK, which was really the absolute rump of the EDL and BNP, and never gathered any momentum. For examples of what happens of you do not take these people head on Holland and Austria where there are very major fascist organizations were cited (France with Front National being too well known to need much of a mention).

Here are some final photos…

Displays in the foyer area between the Logan and Jeffrey halls (the Drama Studio is also in this area).
Displays in the foyer area between the Logan and Jeffrey halls (the Drama Studio is also in this area).

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Speaker and Chair before the meeting
Speaker and Chair before the meeting
Christine Buchholz during her opening speech.
Christine Buchholz during her opening speech.

Marxism 2015 9: Sunday Evening

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest piece in my series about my experiences at Marxism 2015, the five day political festival in central London organised by the Socialist Workers Party. This post will focus on the latter stages of Sunday. I hope that some of you will enjoy it enough to share it.

TWO HEAVILY CONTRASTING MEETINGS

IS THERE A THEORY OF EVERYTHING?

I was delighted when I saw this meeting in the timetable, although room 642 was uncomfortably hot. Incidentally, the Institute of Education level numbers have no connection with street level, which is actually between Levels 3 and 4 – there are entrances at both levels.

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Speaker Paul McGarr and chair Camilla Royle before the meeting.
Speaker Paul McGarr and chair Camilla Royle before the meeting.

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Paul McGarr during his opening speech.
Paul McGarr during his opening speech.

Our speaker, Paul McGarr argued that there will be no Theory of Everything and pointed out some of the occasions when people thought they had one and were proved wrong. While accepting this, as most of the contributors from the floor did during the discussion, I would go further still: not only is a Theory of Everything impossible, it is undesirable – it would mean that there was nothing new left to discover.

FROM SOYLENT GREEN TO HUNGER GAMES –
WHY IS THE FUTURE ON FILM ALWAYS SO GRIM?

After the long break between 5 and 7PM, which I used to edit photos and put up a blog post, I went to the Drama Studio, one of four venues in the bowels of the earth (a.k.a level one), for the meeting whose title heads this subsection…

Sasha Simic (in the blue top) in position for his opening speech.
Sasha Simic (in the blue top) in position for his opening speech.

Rather than attempt to write about this meeting, I will do it all with pictures…

The chair introducing the meeting.
The chair introducing the meeting.

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Utopia - the reverse of the Dystopias talked about in this meeting.
Utopia – the reverse of the Dystopias talked about in this meeting.

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Imaging and Press Releases

An account of the last couple of days work at James and Sons, with the latest on Fiona Paddon’s petition about Group B Strep, a link to a Mike Sivier piece and a final coin pic.

INTRODUCTION

I have had a couple of richly varied days at work, and the body of this post will be covering some of that variation. I also have some links to share.

TWO RICHLY VARIED DAYS

THE JULY AUCTION

James and Sons’ auction for July is now ready to go, and a full catalogue can be viewed online. Here are some of the more recent images…

These four pics are of lot 66
These four pics are of lot 66

66a 66b 66c

Two images for lot 434
Two images for lot 434

434a

Two images for lot 436
Two images for lot 436

436a 436b

PRESS RELEASES AND BULK EMAILS

I have put out an email to everyone who bought online at The Great Centenary Charity Auction and have created draft press releases for collector’s fairs at Stowmarket, Diss and Newmarket. As these have not been approved yet I will share only a couple of composite images I created in connection with this…

This one, which went out with the bulk email is a combined pic of lots 2 and 76
This one, which went out with the bulk email is a combined pic of lots 2 and 76
This one combines 5 different items, all new in stock - note that the arrow/ axeheads are obsidian which is a much less common material for such than flint.
This one combines 5 different items, all new in stock – note that the arrow/ axeheads are obsidian which is a much less common material for such than flint.

AUGUST IMAGING

I have already imaged some lots for our August auction (takes place on the 26th of that month). Although there is little so far that is truly eye-catching, I have som pictures that are worth sharing…

This is lot 319 in the August sale.
This is lot 319 in the August sale.
These four ornamental plates constitute lot 328
These four ornamental plates constitute lot 328
Lot 310
Lot 310

LINKS

My first two links are related, both being connected with Fiona Paddon’s change.org petition “Provide tests for Group B Strep to prevent any more avoidable deaths of newborn babies”:

1) The current state of the petition

2) An article about the petition, courtesy of Huffington Post

My other link is to a piece by Mike Sivier on Vox Political about Labour’s stance on welfare.

AFTERWORD AND FINAL IMAGE

I hope that you have all enjoyed this post and that some at least of you will be encouraged to share it. Also do check out my twitter feed and of course enjoy my closing image…

I spotted that this £2 coin was a special one and took a picture of it before using it for it's appointed purpose. The only problem given that it commemorates 150 years of London Underground (2013 was the anniversary year) is that the train is obviously of deep-level tube stock - a train of "surface" stock would have been more appropriate.
I spotted that this £2 coin was a special one and took a picture of it before using it for it’s appointed purpose. The only problem given that it commemorates 150 years of London Underground (2013 was the anniversary year) is that the train is obviously of deep-level tube stock – a train of “surface” stock would have been more appropriate.

Marxism 2015 8: Disability and Resistance After the Election

A very brief account of the meeting on disability and resistance at Marxism 2015, some links and a classic infographic courtesy of Jo Stevens, MP for Cardiff.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest in my series of posts about Marxism 2015, the five-day political festival in central London organised by the Socialist Workers Party. For this post I will be dealing exclusively with the first meeting after lunch on Sunday. After the main body of the post I have some links to share.

AN INSPIRATIONAL MEETING

A platform full of excellent speakers, some great stories and a packed out meeting room make for good vibes. The room used, Nunn Hall, had been reconfigured to suit this particular meeting, with an area cleared for wheelchair users, and a team of people set up to provide DSL.

The platform before the meeting
The platform before the meeting
DSL provision in place.
DSL provision in place.
All set for the meeting.
All set for the meeting.

It is in the context of this meeting, and the stories of protest contained therein that I choose to make my first mention of October 4th in Manchester, when we will be protesting outside the Tory conference and this protest should be built as big as possible.

LINKS

I am finishing this brief post with a few links, one of them accompanied by an infographic.

My first link is a facebook page about the horror that is TTIP.

My second and third links are both related to environmental issues:

1)From avaaz this call to protect our oceans from the rapacity of big mining companies.

2)From rawstory more about the consequences of fracking (see also my previous blog post).

Ending this post with a bang, this link and infographic courtesy of Jo Stevens, Labour MP for Cardiff.

It is not often that I use a picture that is not my own as a feature image, but this time I am.
It is not often that I use a picture that is not my own as a feature image, but this time I am.

Marxism 2015 7: Sunday Morning

An account of the first part of Sunday at Marxism 2015 and a fistful of important links.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series of posts about my experiences at Marxism 2015, the five day political festival in central London organised by the Socialist Workers Party. Check out the previous posts in the series. As well as the post itself I have some important links to share – and on the subject of sharing I hope you will be inspired to share this post!

GETTING THERE

The journey in had two variations on previous days – firstly my host was able to give me a lift to Walthamstow Central, saving some money on the Oyster Card, and secondly I decided to change to the Piccadilly line at Finsbury Park because Russell Square is actually the closest station to the Institute of Education. My dislike of lifts reduced the theoretical benefits of saving distance because the only other method of access to street level is via the stairs, of which there are 175.

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These balloon pictures are from the southbound Piccadilly line platform at Finsbury Park.

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The Piccadilly line is currently constituted.
The Piccadilly line is currently constituted.
A new style of schematic diagram now on display at many stations.
A new style of schematic diagram now on display at many stations.

AT THE EVENT

Here is my program of meetings for the day…

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You might not expect a theoretical meeting first thing on a Sunday morning to be lively, but it was. However I will settle for sharing a few photographs…

Speaker Sue Caldwell and chair (and SWP student organiser) Lewis Nielsen before the first meeting of the day.
Speaker Sue Caldwell and chair (and SWP student organiser) Lewis Nielsen before the first meeting of the day.

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Sue during her opening speech.
Sue during her opening speech.
A contributor from the floor during the discussion
A contributor from the floor during the discussion
A close up shot of picture on his t-shirt
A close up shot of picture on his t-shirt
When they contributed from the floor...
When they contributed from the floor…
...I was able to get a picture of the front showing which union it was.
…I was able to get a picture of the front showing which union it was.
This was the back of someone' shirt
This was the back of someone’ shirt

From this meeting I ascended two floors to Nunn Hall for my next meeting, Amy Leather (organiser of the whole event) on fracking. Here are some lowlights associated with fracking…

  • Uses vast quantities of water – millions of gallons per site
  • 2 – 2,500 lorry trips per well required
  • Tap water near fracking sites so polluted that folk can set fire to it
  • and 15 million Americans live within one mile of a fracking site – and it would be worse in this country because we are more densely populated.
  • We are still talking FOSSIL FUELS – every part of the process increases emissions
  • Process leaks methane – which is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than methane

Instead of supporting this means of generating power we should be looking more deeply in renewables (for which Cameron and his cronies have cut funding while they are pushing fracking like billy-ho).

I will end this section with a few more photos…

Amy and chair Dave Gilchrist before the meeting.
Amy and chair Dave Gilchrist before the meeting.
Amy during her opening speech.
Amy during her opening speech.

LINKS

TWO PETITIONS

Each of these petitions comes with two links, the petition itself and a related article. First up, a petition calling on SeaWorld to release Tillikum the orca:

1)The petition

2)An open letter to Harry Styles of One Direction, who recently urged his fans not to go to SeaWorld.

The second petition I am sharing with this post is the one calling on Theresa May to establish a legal exclusionary zone around abortion clinics:

1)The Petition

2)A related article in the Guardian

OTHER LINKS

My penultimate link is to a story on Take Part Daily about how roads could be made from plastic waste.

Last up, a story from Vox Political about the Speaker of the House making some very revealing remarks about the way in which Iain Duncan Smith conducts himself.

A Trumpet Blast for the King’s Lynn Festival

An account of a concert at King’s Lynn Corn Exchange featuring Crispian Steele-Perkins, some links and some infographics.

INTRODUCTION

Having put up three new posts about my experiences at Marxism 2015 today I decided a variation was called for, and fortunately, especially given the links and infographics I also intend to share I have the perfect change of tempo ready…

AN EVENING OF TWO HALVES

King’s Lynn’s historic corn exchange (see pics below) was last night the scene for a classical concert featuring that master of trumpet playing, Crispian Steele-Perkins.

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The first half of the evening, with Steele-Perkins the centre of attention was magnificent. I have only a few pics because there is a no photographs during the performance rule which I obeyed to the letter…

The auditorium
The auditorium
A close up of the stage.
A close up of the stage.

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The tools of Steele-Perkins' trade - a coach horn (the same length of brass as an army bugle but dead straight rather than curved), a late 18th century trumpet, and smallest a 19th century trumpet.
The tools of Steele-Perkins’ trade – a coach horn (the same length of brass as an army bugle but dead straight rather than curved), a late 18th century trumpet, and smallest a 19th century trumpet.

Although I enjoyed the story behind the coach horn, and hearing said instrument played in the Mozart piece, the highlight of the entire event for me was the Haydn Trumpet Concerto, one of the greatest pieces ever composed for the instrument, and played quite magnificently.

In the second half there was no Steele-Perkins, and the quality was much less – there was one piece where one could not tell if it had been played well or badly so undistinguished was it.

LINKS

There are so many links to be shared that I have split them into subsections, starting with…

PETITIONS

The first petition I am sharing is the one calling for statistics on benefit-related deaths to be revealed. I have two links connected with this:

1)The Petition

2)A Huffington Post article connected to the above.

My second petition is the one on change.org calling for automatic Group B Strep tests to reduce deaths of newborn babies.

My next offering is this from those who want to keep the National Gallery from being privatised.

Last and in the chief place in this subsection is the petition calling for clemency for William Underwood.

A SOUPCON OF SCIENCE

I shall lead into this little section with a piece showing just how low SeaWorld are prepared to stoop in their battle against those who dare oppose cruelty to Orcas.

Phuketbirdwatching introduced me a species of bird I had ot previously seen in this, their latest offering.

My next link is to a piece about the discovery of a new particle, the pentaquark.

Faraday’s Candle can be relied on for good stuff, and their take on Nasa’s recent Pluto fly-by is no exception.

POLITICAL PIECES

First of all, a piece celebrating an event of 100 years ago.

My next piece, on dealing with London’s polluted air, is a must-read.

Huffington Post are back, with this piece which viciously exposes the misogynism and ignorance of UKIP’s Paul Nuttall.

My next two links are both to pieces from Socialist Worker:

1)On the home front, this piece about tube workers.

2)This about Iran.

Finally, chosen because it leads into the next section, this link to what will be my first infographic.

INFOGRAPHICS

EU Principles Mhairi Black quote

It is not often that the S*n apologises, so we should make the most of it when ti does!
It is not often that the S*n apologises, so we should make the most of it when ti does!

AFTERWORD

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will be encouraged to share it!

Marxism 2015 6: A Spectacular Finish To The Day – Beth Greenhill on Mental Health

A personal account of the meeting “Marxism and Mental Health”, which was in the Saturday evening slot of Marxism 2015 and had been given a large venue (which was packed).

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to another post about my experiences at Marxism 2015, the five-day political festival in central London organised by the Socialist Workers Party. Previous posts can be viewed here. This post focuses on one meeting, one which I believe fully deserves to be thus privileged.

MARXISM AND MENTAL HEALTH

This meeting was important for me in many different ways, not least in that by its mere presence it meant two meetings on the subject of mental health (along with earlier one featuring Susan Rosenthal).

TREATING MENTAL HEALTH WITH DUE SERIOUSNESS

Not only was this meeting given the prominence of a Saturday evening slot, it was given one of the biggest venues to be used during the event, the Elvin Hall (and btw was packed to the rafters). To see one genuinely good slide presentation is unusual, to encounter two in one day is (for me at least) unprecedented good fortune – but it happened here.

Beth Greenhill set up and ready for action.
Beth Greenhill set up and ready for action.
This picture was on display before the meeting started.
This picture was on display before the meeting started.
Beth and chair Pete Jackson ready for action.
Beth and chair Pete Jackson ready for action.
A book display (my finances do not permit more than looking!)
A book display (my finances do not permit more than looking!)

THE MEETING ITSELF

To give you an idea of Beth’s talk I will share those of the slides I managed to capture…

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The sign off screen, and our featured image.
The sign off screen, and our featured image.

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Beth giving her talk.
Beth giving her talk.

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Not a separate slide - a sneaky close up by me.
Not a separate slide – a sneaky close up by me.

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There were some excellent contributions from the floor, most notable east London social worker Monica and south London mental health activist Jeremy.

Monica, opening the discussion section of the meeting.
Monica, opening the discussion section of the meeting.
Jeremy making his contribution.
Jeremy making his contribution.

Being present at this meeting was an amazing experience, and apart from the opening and final rallies it was without doubt the best meeting I attended on any of the five days. I finish with another couple of photographs…

Beth giving her summing up speech.
Beth giving her summing up speech.
A stylised rendering of the Euston Arch on the Victoria line platform (the original was destroyed in the 1960s so I cannot comment on the closeness of the resemblance).
A stylised rendering of the Euston Arch on the Victoria line platform (the original was destroyed in the 1960s so I cannot comment on the closeness of the resemblance).

Marxism 2015 5: The Middle Part of Saturday

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series of posts on Marxism 2015, the five-day politcal festival in central London organized by the Socialist Workers Party. Previous posts in the series can be viewed here.

RODDY SLORACH ON DISABILITY

In my last post I gave an account of the first meeting I attended on Saturday, in Nunn Hall. My second meeting was in the same venue, and the title was “Has There Always Been Disabaility?”

Two books on display at the front of the room.
Two books on display at the front of the room.
Speaker Roddy and chair Gabby before the meeting.
Speaker Roddy and chair Gabby before the meeting.

After this meeting, it was time for lunch, and I attended the Norwich SWP picnic (London food prices being well beyond my reach!).

WHERE WILL WE LIVE?

After lunch, my first port of call was the Drama Studio for a meeting on housing…

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Speaker and chair before the meeting.
Speaker and chair before the meeting.

The speaker’s main focus was on the US, which he had recently visited, and where the housing situation is worse than in this country because there is even less social housing available. The meeting was structured around a slide presentation. I have experienced a large number of such presentations but only a very few good presentations – of which this was one. I will settle for displaying those of the slides I was able to capture…

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Yes - even the USA genuinely radical cnadidates can get elected (she did).
Yes – even the USA genuinely radical candidates can get elected (she did).

A lively discussion followed. Having had an English born speaker talk at length about the USA we had a contribution from the floor from an American born Londoner talking about England…

Emma, who chaired the opening rally contributing to the floor at the meeting on housing (she is the American born Londoner referred to in the body text)
Emma, who chaired the opening rally contributing to the floor at the meeting on housing (she is the American born Londoner referred to in the body text)

HOW SHOULD SOCIALISTS VOTE IN THE EU REFERENDUM?

This meeting took place in Galleon room A in the Royal National Hotel (the suite which can be one, two or three rooms according to choice was divided into three, with rooms A and C being used for meetings and room B for entry and exit to prevent the two meetings from impinging on each other).

This was one of the most interesting meetings I attended. The debate on the EU referendum as currently framed is between two groups of right wing b**t**ds, one of whom want to stay in and the other whom want to leave for entirely nationalistic reasons. The task for socialists is to change to the terms of the debate by building a left wing campaign for a vote to leave the EU, offering no support to the racists of UKIP. A vote to stay in will leave an even bigger, even smugger smile on the face of David Cameron. A vote in favour of the EU would also be a vote in favour of what is being done to Greece and a vote in favour of desperate people being left to drown in the Mediterrenean.

To finish this post, my second of an eventual three about the Saturday, here are some more pictures…

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Francesca, chair for this meeting, introduces main speaker Paul McGarr
Francesca, chair for this meeting, introduces main speaker Paul McGarr
Paul McGarr during his opening speech.
Paul McGarr during his opening speech.
Speaker slips were used for this meeting, in spite of which the discussion at one point resembled a Hackney branch meeting, so many speakers from that area contributing.
Speaker slips were used for this meeting, in spite of which the discussion at one point resembled a Hackney branch meeting, so many speakers from that area contributing.

Marxism 2015 4: Saturday Morning – Getting There and the First Meeting

An account of getting from my accommodation to the event on the Saturday morning and of the first meeting I attended that day – on the subject of Education.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this, the fourth of a series of posts I shall be producing about Marxism 2015, the five-day political festival in Central London organised by the Socialist Workers Party. The three posts that I was able to put out during the event are available here. I hope I am able to strike a good balance between not running this series until too long after the event has finished and not overwhelming people with vast numbers of blog posts all at once.

THE JOURNEY IN

Having arrived late for the first meeting on Friday I was not going to make the same mistake twice and left the house where I was staying considerably earlier. By good fortune having walked to the end of the road on which I was staying I stepped almost straight on to a 123 bus heading in the direction of Blackhorse Road Station. On the journey I was able to snap this picture of an interesting tribute to William Morris…

DSCN8970At Blackhorse Road the good fortune continued as I also stepped pretty well straight on to a southbound Victoria line train (in spite of having declined to join the stampede of those who heard the sound of a train arriving and were apparently unable to control themselves). I was now so far ahead of schedule that I decided to alight at King’s Cross rather than Euston and take a longer but slightly more scenic walk. Although I could not get the whole vast edifice in one shot, I got some good pictures of that most amazing of central London buildings, St Pancras Station…

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There were two more photo-worthy sights in this short space of time, a pub named in honour of the world’s first steam locomotive, Stephenson’s “Rocket” (Heron of Alexandria devised a primitive steam engine which he used to remotely open temple doors in the first century CE)…

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…And this building bearing the another famous name…

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THE FIRST MEETING OF THE DAY

A PERFECT CHOICE OF VENUE

I chose to attend a meeting on education, which was to take place in the Nunn Hall, a particularly appropriate venue as this wall painting makes clear…

The feature image for this post.
The feature image for this post.
The plaque telling us about the painting
The plaque telling us about the painting
Ms Branson's own signature
Ms Branson’s own signature

THE MEETING ITSELF

The meeting started with a statistic that is a devastating indictment of current education, as these pictures show…

Although Jacqui Freeman, giving her opening speech made the mistake of standing directly in front of the slide you can still see enough.
Although Jacqui Freeman, giving her opening speech made the mistake of standing directly in front of the slide you can still see enough.
A close up of the really important bit of the slide - a truly horrifying stat.
A close up of the really important bit of the slide – a truly horrifying stat.

The ever increasing and ever narrowing focus on exams has led to some very unpleasant consequences…

  • 200% increase in children calling childline re exam stress in 2013-14
  • Children as young as eight taking up smoking for stress relief

The speaker referred to the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM – given the unpleasant effects of this movement not an inappropriate acronym!)

The drive for uniformity and conformity that is so rigorously enforced in schools for children of ordinary people is signally absent from one type of school – the speaker cited Bancrofts, which is near the crumbling state school in which she teaches. Bancrofts proclaims itself “diverse and inclusive”, makes clear the although they focus on academic results these are not the be all and end all etc. Unfortunately there is one aspect where it fails on inclusivity – to attend this establishment one’s parents need to be able to afford £15,576 per annum.

Before displaying a few more pictures, I will conclude with a couple more quotes from the meeting:

The first quote is attributed to someone involved in running Ofsted and tells you all you need to know about their despicable attitude: “If morale in the staff room is low, headteachers can be assured they are doing something right.”

The other quote that I picked up on was from a would be music teacher who was being assessed and in responding to a question about how they would teach a particular thing expanded their answer to include a supplementary explanation of what they would do differently for a disabled pupil. One might think that extra credit would be given for providing such a full explanation, but the “assessor’s” response to hearing about allowances being made for a disabled person was laughter.

One final vignette, a schoolgirl who spoke from the floor talked about her school trying to funnel people towards Oxford and Cambridge, so that the school would gain kudos – she was the subject of some apparently prolonged efforts to get her to switch from Paleontology which she wanted to study to Archaeology solely because she could do the latter at one of these two universities.

Speaker Jacqui and chair Phil before the meeting
Speaker Jacqui and chair Phil before the meeting
The Hogwarts like Bancrofts School - diverse and inclusive so long as you come from a rich family.
The Hogwarts like Bancrofts School – diverse and inclusive so long as you come from a rich family.
.Jacqui starting her talk.
.Jacqui starting her talk.

Marxism 2015 3: Accommodation and Day Two

A personal account of day 2 of Marxism 2015.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this, my third post about Marxism 2015, the five-day political festival hosted by the Socialist Workers Party at the Institute of Education in London. I hope that you will enjoy this post and be inspired to share it.

ACCOMMODATION

I was booked to stay with somebody in Walthamstow, and although their house is not close to a tube station, it would nor amlly have been easy to get there. However, the tube strike meant that we had to go by bus to Clapton and get a London Overground service to Wood Street. In the heavy traffic generated by the tube strike this took considerable time. Getting in the following morning was easier, but I failed to allow enough time (a very rare occurrence) and arrived a little late for the first meeting…

AT THE EVENT

Here is a photo of my timetable for the day in question, showing the meetings I decided to attend…

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All of these meetings were magnificent, but I am going to concentrate for photos on the first two, and for most of my text on the third.

Here then are some photos from the first meeting, and fascinating stuff it was too, with a convincing demonstration of egalitarianism in early human history…

Anatolia.
Anatolia.
Catalhoyuk
Catalhoyuk
Cayonu
Cayonu

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These reconstructions are wrong in one respect - the houses had neither windows nor doors, being approached through the roof, with most of daily life taking place on said rooftops (there being no roads).
These reconstructions are wrong in one respect – the houses had neither windows nor doors, being approached through the roof, with most of daily life taking place on said rooftops (there being no roads).

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A mother goddess from these ancient remains.
A mother goddess from these ancient remains.
A 19th century South American village on similar lines.
A 19th century South American village on similar lines.

For the second meeting I attended that day on Mental Health, photos really can tell most of the story…

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Another connection to where I grew up - Jeremy from Streatham talking about the Mental Health Charter.
Another connection to where I grew up – Jeremy from Streatham talking about the Mental Health Charter.
Jo from London tells of family memories of living near a mental hospital (When we first moved to London there was exactly such an institution within a few minutes walk of our home)
Jo from London tells of family memories of living near a mental hospital (When we first moved to London there was exactly such an institution within a few minutes walk of our home)

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This picture adorns one wall of the Elvin Hall where the meeting took place.
This picture adorns one wall of the Elvin Hall where the meeting took place.

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Susan gives her opening talk on Mental Illness: A Disorder of Capitalism.
Susan gives her opening talk on Mental Illness: A Disorder of Capitalism.
The feature image for this post.
The feature image for this post.

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A GERMAN-CENTRIC TAKE ON CLASSICAL MUSIC

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this meeting I was a little disappointed that it was so dominated by German and Austrian composers, with only brief mentions of the Italians (my favourites). Before moving any further I must pay tribute to Siobhan from East London who stepped in at the twelfth hour when the person who should have been chairing the meeting could not be located, and did an excellent job…

Siobhan from East London who stepped in as chair at the twelfth hour.
Siobhan from East London who stepped in as chair at the twelfth hour.

Although as I have said I would have preferred more credit to be given the Italian composers, I did enjoy this meeting, and overall Sabby Sagall acquitted himself well in slightly testing circumstances…

Sabby Sagall speaking about Classical Music.
Sabby Sagall speaking about Classical Music.

I will finish this post with a few pictures from later in the day…

Mark L Thomas addresses a packed house on "Are the Greens a Left Alternative?"
Mark L Thomas addresses a packed house on “Are the Greens a Left Alternative?”
Shahrar Ali, leading Green, offers constructive comment from the floor.
Shahrar Ali, leading Green, offers constructive comment from the floor.
Sarah Creagh introduces "Rosa Luxemburg and the German Revolution"
Sarah Creagh introduces “Rosa Luxemburg and the German Revolution”
A moment of whimsy -a close up shot of on of Sarah Creagh's earrings.
A moment of whimsy -a close up shot of on of Sarah Creagh’s earrings.
Blackhorse Road Station, from where a 123 bus gets to the end of the road on which I was staying, by night (definitely the best time to see it!)
Blackhorse Road Station, from where a 123 bus gets to the end of the road on which I was staying, by night (definitely the best time to see it!)