Yes there were some TOTP clips, but also quite a few songs from concerts shown on the BBC, a Royal Variety Show performance,  a guest spot on the Morecambe & Wise show, and so on, but it was also broken up by bits from interviews and non-musical guest appearances on Blue Peter, Parkinson, Wogan as well as clips from the news.  All it really needed was more Ray Cooper.

With all the interest in his hair, his civil partnership, his tantrums, and his lifestyle generally it is easy to forget just how good he is at his job and how good he was at his best, when he knocked out 9 great albums in 6 years.  More amazing is how he seems to have hit that sort of form, albeit at a slower pace, with his last four albums.  He may be an official national treasure, but he’s still a top-class songwriter, musician and entertainer in my humble opinion.

Patrick Stewart sympathising after learning that I am standing in Horsham

Had a great day today.  This afternoon was so good it even took my mind off the £160 it was going to cost to get the wipers fixed on our car – the linkage had broken – because we had a celebrity visitor in Crawley town centre.

Not just any celebrity visitor but Captain Picard from Star Trek, otherwise known as Patrick Stewart.

The best thing about it was that he is not just a celebrity lending their name to the campaign, but a committed and long-standing member of the party who knows all the isuues and can debate them with anybody.  If you will pardon the tacky, trekkie reference, he is brilliant at engaging with the public,

There were quite a few double-takes as we went around the town.  People were arguing about whether it was really the bloke from X-Files or not, and then flocking (if we are allowed to use that word now)  round him when we told them it really was him.

Chris Oxlade, Labour's candidate for Crawley with his newest fan

It turns out he is a really nice bloke, but I knew that already.  Back in 1993 I went to see his one-man show at the Old Vic when he did A Christmas Carol.  It was absolutely brilliant and led me to go back to reading Dickens.  Previously I had found Dickens a bit daunting, but after that show I ploughed through half a dozen of his books.

Anyway, my Mrs at the time wanted his autograph as she was heavily into Star Trek, but the crowds around the stage door were huge.  Patrick signed autographs for ages, but still the crowd was 12 deep around him when he had to call it a night and go home.  I wrote him a letter, care of the stage door, complimenting him on the performance and mentioning our disappointment that his huge fan base prevented us meeting him.  By return of post we had a big, glossy signed photo. Result.

The reason why Patrick Stewart was in Crawley is that he normally campaigns in the constituency where he lives, Bermondsey South, but this year he is doing a play in Chichester so can’t get back up there.   He called somebody in the party and asked if there was anywhere in Sussex he could help out and they suggested Crawley since it is marginal and has a direct rail link to Chichester.

Billy Bragg at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival 2009. Is that a big wobbly sausage in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?

Yes it is only two weeks until the big wobbly sausage!

If that makes it sound like I am losing my marbles a bit, I refer you to this story in the Telegraph, specifically the end bit.The story is about Billy Bragg, and at the end he gives his considered opinion on the general election.

I think it’s like a big wobbly sausage and a really strange pair of trousers and the sausage sticking out of the front of the trousers.  And people saying: ‘I don’t know, is that a sausage sticking out of those trousers or is it a —-?”

Move over Eric Cantona, with your seagulls following the trawler, there is a new champion of the non sequitur!

Just as my previous post contained a generic movie trailer and link to Charlie Brooker’s generic news item, it seems there is a generic documentary format: start by explaining what you are doing, describe a bit about what is going to happen while showing film clips of what is going to happen later in the same programme, and so on.

Even with that small irritant it is a good show though, still distinguished by Reeve’s very genuine reactions to events.

He deserves as much recognition as somebody who buys a Swedish TV licence, if not more.

(Hat tip to Hopi Sen)

Trevor Brooking's autograph on a drink mat.

Seeing Trev in the crowd at tonight’s England game reminded me…  this is what Jayne managed to get for me when she found herself on the same ship as TB last month.  Might have to get a really huge frame to put it in.

Union banners in the parade

A few days have passed since visiting Tolpuddle so if I write about it now it is not fresh in my mind and I may have forgotten some details, but at least that stops me wittering on about total ephemera.

So anyway, here are some thoughts about the event, about the Labour movement in general and why Tony Benn reminds me of Laurel and Hardy.  All that and photos too!First of all, I have to confess that I knew very little about the festival and really did not know what to expect.  I remember the Tolpuddle Martyrs being mentioned at school, along with Jethro Tull’s seed drill, crop rotation, and so on, but the significance was glossed over.  My colleague Ray was in a similar position, so neither of us knew the order of events, which is why we missed the start of the parade.

Local boys - Brighton & Hove RMT

The most striking thing about the festival is the atmosphere.  It sounds corny, but there really is a great feeling of brotherhood there.  It could be the friendliest event I have been too on such a large scale.

When the coach dropped us off, we went into the main festival grounds, which is basically the front garden of the museum and the field next door.   There were marquees and food stalls all around, beer tents, a stage and at the fringes a campsite.  It could have been a very well-attended village fete or a Mela, except for the fact that the stalls were mostly stocking left-wing literature, badges and t-shirts or trade union promotional material, and the banners hung around the edges.

At every turn there was somebody trying to sell you Socialist Worker or another niche newspaper, or wanting you to sign a petition.  What a day it must be for them…  every other week they will be in a town centre or high street passed by an endless stream of shoppers trying to avoid eye contact. but for one day they fit in.

I am used to this sort of thing from various marches and rallies, but usually they exist in protest against something.  The Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival is purely a celebration or commemoration so the atmosphere is very different.  The closest thing to it I have experienced before is when the London Gay Pride march used to end up at a park for a free concert.

A dandy highwayman?

Ray and I went for a walk into the village seeing the sites, such as they are – the methodist chapel and the martyrs’ cottage.  Seeing an entire marching band having a beer outside the village pub I did wonder if that meant we had missed the parade.  And then we came across a bit of a crowd at the church.

One of the fixed points of the day is the laying of a wreath at the grave of the one Tolpuddle martyr who came back to the village (John Hammet?) and just by chance we saw that, albeit from a distance.   I was on cloud nine because it meant I could swap lenses and use the 70-300mm telephoto to get some shots of Tony Benn.

After that we went back to the main area to scavenge for some food.  Ray’s wife had persuaded him to take a packed lunch.  I got myself a big bacon baguette.  At this point we were wondering how to pass the next few hours, when we noticed a lot of activity because the parade was starting.

The parade is where all the various groups – unions, political parties, campaigns, pressure groups and so on, march through the village behind their various banners.  We managed to overtake most of the parade and get down to the village for a good vantage point to watch it all.  I couldn’t believe how many people were there and wondered where they all came from.  There were several bands: a couple of traditional brass bands, a pipe band from the Northern Ireland prison service union, a Latin American style drum band and the Musicians Union band.

Billy Bragg AKA the Bard of Barking

I found it all rather affecting, feeling especially good whenever I saw the banners from a branch of my own union or a local branch of another union , say from Brighton.  Also there were a few people we knew marching past – Derek from my own union branch with his Socialist Labour Party colleagues and Carol & David from Horsham Labour Party with the agricultural workers.

I got carried away and took dozens of nearly identical photos.

As the final groups passed, the first ones were coming back, and we headed back to the museum grounds, which were packed.  We indulged in some doughnuts and browsed the various stalls, finding our way to the main arean in time to catch the end of a speech by Brendan Barber.   Various other speeches followed, including John Denham, an American, a Cuban and Tony Benn.

Benn was brilliant of course, to the extent that the standing ovation went on so long he had to come back for an encore.   He said a lot of things that he said the other week in Worthing, and that he has probably been saying at Tolpuddle and everywhere else for years or decades, but I think that is what everyone wants: they want the greatest hits rather than something new.

Tony Benn addressing the crowd

Now for the Laurel & Hardy reference.   Sometimes Stan says something without thinking that Ollie thinks is a good idea.  He then says “that sounds like a good idea. Just say it again for me” and then Stan can’t remember what he says and makes a hash of it.  It is one of the great set pieces in a Laurel & Hardy film.

When I hear Tony Benn speak it all makes sense, it is inspiring, and each point follows logically from the last.  That is while I am listening.  If you ask me five minutes later what was so good about it I would be just like Stan Laurel trying to repeat it – so I won’t try to now.

What I do remember from it was a great feeling of the continuity from the original Tolpuddle Martyrs, the fight for rights to organise, then to be allowed to vote, then for universal sufferage, right through to the post-war setting up of the welfare state.

At some point though, I got to wondering about the dis-connect between all the words and reality.

So many of the banners had slogans about being united, solidarity, and working together.  Lots of stuff like “united we can never be defeated”.   I’m sure that is true – so why are we not united?   There were thousands of people there, representing many thousands more, all with a common desire for a just society, with fair treatment for normal workers.  The trouble is that at the end of the day they all went off to the Labour Party, the Socialist Labour Party, the Communist Party, the Green Party, or to various single-issue pressure groups.

When the Labour Party started, when the LRC set it up to get representation from normal people, via the unions, there was a focal point – a single party for all to rally round.  It no longer has such universal appeal, and so it was a bit depressing to think that everyone there wanted is less likely to happen because, outside of such events, there is a distinct lack of the unity proclaimed in all the slogans.  I do wonder whether a future Tory victory will actually be a good thing for the Labour Movement, regardless of whether it is good for the party.

A hat in the crowd

Despite that, I did feel uplifted by the whole day.   Yes there were a few crusty hippies and raving lefty stereotypes there, but generally what was most striking was the huge number of normal people there, all actively supportive of broadly left-wing issues.  Living in Torytown, and standing as a candidate in neighbouring UltraToryTown you sometimes feel isolated and unusual, so a day like this really perks you up, reminding you that there are thousands out there with similar beliefs.

It was also a reminder of the Labour Party’s roots and core ideology – and by implication a reminder that there is not really a Tory equivalent because, despite what I said there is a unity of purpose even if not of organisation.  Most lefties are after broadly the same thing: a more just and fair society.  A gathering of 10,000 Tories would be a collection of 10,000 motivations and priorities.

I think everybody should go at least once to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the spectacle.

Me & Tony Benn, Worthing, June 30th 2009

Today I went down to Worthing for ‘an evening with Tony Benn’.   This was a fundraiser for his grandaughter, Emily, who is the parliamentary candidate down there, and a very pleasant evening it was too.Tony Benn has always been a bit of a hero and inspiration to me.  The only time I ever saw him before was when he was speaking at a rally in Trafalgar Square in the 80s.   I can’t remember if it was a CND rally, or an anti-apaartheid rally, or something else, but I do remember that it was his birthday and the whole crowd (estimated to be in excess of 7 by the police at the time) sang happy birthday.

Back then Benn was held in great esteem by the sort of person who went on these marches but was public enemy number one in the tabloid papers.  In the years since then he seems to have acheived national treasure status.  Not sure when that happened, but surely he deserves it.  He spoke to us for a short time, leaving most of the evening free for questions from the floor.

It was a welcome change to have somebody from the Labour party speaking and to be able to sit there agreeing with everything they said!   There were some very thought-provoking comments on all sorts of topics, particularly on war and how much we should interfere with other nations’ affairs.

Emily Benn was also there.  I thought she was very impressive and so absolutely bloody young.  I am still finding it hard to adjust to parliamentary candidates who are literally young enough to be my children, but I can see why she was selected because she spoke well and sounded like a real politician. (But I won’t hold that against her)

I know that when she was selected there were suggestions that it was just because of the family name and Tony’s influence in the party.  Personally I think that if Tony Benn’s influence had anything to do with it then it was only the influence he will have had over Emily and her development rather than anything else and when she gets into parliament, as I am sure she will, it will be under her own steam.

East Worthing & Shoreham Labour Party put on a really good evening.  Tea, coffee and soft drinks laid on, and a plate of strawberries, raspberries, grapes and cherries on every table. Lots of party members and supporters from all over the county were there and made to feel extremely welcome.

Of course this is a selection, so you have to imagine that the contents were chosen to be the best and all the others could be absolute rubbish – but even if that were true I wouldn;t care.  So far I am thoroughly enjoying the book.

I think it is the way the tone can change from being straightforward to flights of lyrical whimsy, with both styles providing a constant supply of beautifully-turned phrases.  I am particularly enjoying the way Peel can go off on an assignment – to report on a concert for example – and write absolutely nothing that any normal reporter or reviewer would.  The quiet revolution of totally ignoring the conventions of reviewing are a wonder to behold.

Take this example, from a review of a Happy Mondays concert in 1988.  There is some discussion about the on-stage inter-band communication, some incredulity about how people now pretend to be Mancunians in the way that 60s posers all pretended to be scousers, and some observations about how many Japanese women there seem to be at interesting London concerts, and then it just finishes with:

I was too busy enjoying myself to note whether the Happy Mondays were playing selections from the new LP Bummed.  I expect they were.

Who else could get away with that sort of behaviour?

The only downside of the book is that reading so many newspaper or magazine columns together  draws your attention to the formula for a good column.  You get the same thing reading books of Dave Barry columns.

The formula – so easy to state but so difficult to replicate – is that you try to end with a little one-liner that refers back to a point in the opening line or even in the middle of the piece.  When reading an isolated column in its natural habitat it works almost sub-consciously, wrapping the whole thing up nicely with a sort of feeling that a circle has been closed.

Reading them en masse makes you notice the trick more and takes away some of the magic, but it is a price worth paying to be able to read some of these explorations of the Eurovision, Extreme Noise Terror or Billy Joel without having to look through microfishes of old copies of the Radio Times.

A good job of selection from Peel’s son, William.  Reading it is making me happy, but on another level regretful that Peel never got to write his autobiography himself.  You get the feeling he could have filled several volumes of  accessible yet interesting writing.