Bristol Radical Pamphleteer number 11 has now been published. A Barbarous And Ungovernable People by Steve Mills is a look at the often uneasy relationship between the miners of Kingswood Forest and the people and authorities of Bristol. Expect riots, turnpik abuse and the death of an innocent parrot.
Find out about our full range of pamphlets on the Pamphlet Page.
Monday 5th October 2009, 8pm at the Cube Cinema, Entry £3/£4 (but nobody refused entry for a lack of funds.)
Bristol Indymedia & Bristol Radical History are pleased to welcome Dave Hann & Steve Tilzey, the authors of 'No Retreat' - a powerful account of their fight-back against far-right Nazis and racists on the streets of the UK from the 70s though to the 90s. With the BNP gaining two seats in the European elections, the authors deliver constant and powerful message that fascism thrives when the working-class is ignored and betrayed - and we ignore it's rise at our peril.
The Cube Microplex is a membership cinema with a licensed bar. If you are not a member you need to pay a £1 membership fee on your first visit. Remember to bring your card with you every time you come.
A gallery of photos from the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival 2009 has been added to The Archive.
Saturday 24th October, Queen Mary College, Mile End.
Come and find us on our stall.
On Saturday 26th September BRHG will be staging some events in Bridport.
12.00pm-2.00pm The Town Hall: Steve Mills and Kev Davis talk about social crime and punishment, and smuggling in Poole.
2.00pm Bucky Doo Square: The recreation of a satirical pirate trial as related in Villains of all Nations and Johnson's History of Piracy, plus some gallows speeches by pirates etc.
Other oddities include a ‘noose tying' workshop, John Gregory's hanging poems and pirate stuff for kids.
In the evening Who's Afear'd and the Boothill All Stars will be playing at The Ropemakers.
Saturday 12th September, at The Island (Artspace Lifespace at the Bridewell), Bristol
Members of BRHG will be doing three talks/discussions:
From Peterloo to Captain Swing: Victims or Insurgents? - Roger
Room 1 Ground Floor: 11.00am-12.00pm: A BRHG talk on the hidden history of struggle in the 19th century. It focuses on how and why major struggles have been ignored or distorted by the left as well as the right.
A Brief History of Corporations - Dan Bennett
The Films and Media Workshops room First Floor: 2.00pm - 3.00pm: A talk/discussion by Bristol Radical History Group member and expert on the Corporation, Dan Bennett. Dan will answer the questions ‘What are Corporations?', ‘Where do they come from? and ‘How do they derive their power?'
Social crime - who makes the law, and who is it for? Steve Mills
Room 2 First Floor: 3.00pm - 4.00pm: A talk followed by discussion, about the history of crime and the formation of the British legal system. Taking in social crime, the moral economy, smuggling, poaching, shoplifting and riots!
BRHG member Steve Mills introduces:
INDYMEDIA PRESENTS: WINSTANLEY (THE DIGGERS AND ST GEORGE'S HILL)
Indymedia presents: Winstanley (the Diggers and St George's Hill)
The Cube Microplex, Dove St. South, Bristol,
Monday 7 September 7.30pm
£4 or £3 (but nobody refused for lack of funds)
Winstanley - Andrew Mollo & Kevin Brownlow, UK / 1975 / 95 mins / cert 15
On 1 April 1649, Winstanley and the Diggers set out to form a commune and work the land of St George's Hill, in an action designed to reclaim land for the poor who had been dispossessed by Cromwell's recent English Revolution. Unsurprisingly in a time of great upheaval they meet much opposition, surprisingly some of it from those peasants they seek to enthuse, and their action lasts only a year, although many similar settlements occur elsewhere. Their story delves into issues relevant then as now - land ownership, class, power and the law, religious puritanism, and hierarchies.
Authentic, exciting and dramatic, with spellbinding black and white camera-work creating a powerful visual experience. The film is rightly judged to be a classic, and is based on the book Comrade Jacob, by David Caute (1961), who was a former pupil of the great historian and one time communist, Christopher Hill.
Watch out too for the appearance of some genuine 1970's hippies as ranters! Enjoy.
The film will be introduced by Steve Mills, a local trade union activist and Bristol radical historian.