Andy Danford brings to life his experience as a worker and senior union representative in Bristol’s arms industry during the 1970s and 1980s. During these two decades, life on the shop and office floors, and the strength of workplace trade unionism, shifted dramatically, as the advent of Thatcherism marked the beginning of the sustained attack on worker and union rights which extends to this day. Against this background of change, Andy provides a rich account of the actions of rank-and-file […]
A walking tour as part of Bristol Radical History Festival Meet at the MShed front entrance at 4.00pm. Finish at the Louisiana around 5:30pm. Bristol’s city centre has been a focus for squatters making a political point: on housing need and homelessness, in solidarity with strikes, in solidarity with land struggles and in defence of the natural environment. This short tour includes five buildings squatted in the Harbourside, Old Town and Redcliffe in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and […]
Angela Carter is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, renowned for her dazzling imagination and radical creativity. Whilst living in Bristol for most of the 1960s, she took a degree in English Literature, started writing novels, played folk music and took art classes. To commemorate 25 years since her death in 1992, Marie Mulvey-Roberts and Fiona Robinson curated a major art exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela […]
The Women For Life on Earth march took place in 1982 and as we pass 2022, 40 years later we are drawn back to the work of Monica Sjöö, artist, activist and writer, who continued to hope that the struggle, courage and sacrifices, particularly of women imbued with Her trust in the Goddess would make the difference to our protection of Gaia, our Earth Mother. Monica was a Swedish born visual artist, resident in Bristol and her paintings and writing were foundational to the development of feminist […]
Not A BRHG Event
Two years and one month after the military coup in Myanmar, the BristolWithMyanmar campaign will be showing Myanmar Diaries at Bristol's Cube Cinema on March 1st, from 7pm. It is a film about life under the regime of terror in Myanmar since February 1st 2021, told through personal stories by a group of anonymous young Burmese filmmakers (the Myanmar Film Collective). This is the second annual event at the Cube, following on from last year’s A night of solidarity with Myanmar, organised by […]
Not A BRHG Event
Thurs 27th October 12.30-1.30pm Foyer, Bristol Central Library, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TL As part of the ongoing exhibition of resistance to fascism in the city in the 1970s at the Central Reference Library Colin Thomas will speak about how the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism resisted the National Front in Bristol in the 1970s and 80s – and won. The first warning came fifty years ago – the National Front decided to put up candidates in Bristol. The party was led by John Tyndall […]
This is an account of the case of the Shrewsbury 24, one of the longest, if not the longest, campaign to overturn injustice in this country. The Shrewsbury 24 were building workers convicted of various charges arising from picketing during the 1972 national building workers’ strike. The book takes us back to a very different time when there were 12 million members of trade unions in the country and a wave of strikes which led to the defeat of the Conservative Government by the National Union of […]
Callout for feedback on our 4th Bristol Radical History Festival
How time flies in the midst of the multiple global crisis of capitalism! A week ago our 4th Bristol Radical History Festival was just beginning, and we at BRHG were pretty pleased with how it all went, especially as we put it on at fairly short notice after the event was postponed due to covid in 2020 and 2021. A big thank you to all the excellent speakers, to the radical history walk guides, the stallholders who came from near and far, the singing of Red Notes socialist choir, and the films we […]
We are delighted to welcome people back to M Shed this Saturday, 14th May, for our 4th Bristol Radical History Festival. It's been a frustrating two years of delays and postponements due to covid since this was first planned, but now all systems are go! All are welcome - this is a free event, you do not need to buy a ticket. Here's the Directions to M Shed. We have organised a full programme of events for our 2022 Radical History Festival, in collaboration with our hosts at M Shed. The Festival […]
Biographical documentary on Wally Hope of the tribe of Wallies who founded the Stonehenge Free Festivals in the 1970s. His is a tale of mystical visions, pharmaceutically induced nightmares, high court high jinx, pitch battles with the police and of possible conspiracy and intrigue. Narrated by Mark Savage and featuring Mark Stevenson, James Joel Dann, and Christopher Terry (62 mins). Followed by Q&A with Wally Dean. Watch the trailer below:
