Swell is both a waterbiography of Jenny Landreth’s personal swimming experiences, and a history of women’s struggle to gain access to indoor baths and outdoor beaches and lakes. She pays tribute to her many “foremothers” who campaigned for women to enjoy freedom of movement and excel through the emancipatory activity of swimming. These included the doughty Elizabeth Eiloart, novelist and representative of the Ladies National Association for the Diffusion of Sanitary Knowledge, who successfully […]
“Mishmash” is the term the authors of this book use to describe their various working methods. It is also an accurate description of the book itself which contains not only the performance script of the Haunting Ashton Court production but also its sources and inspiration, some creative writing, a toolkit for similar productions and a wise afterword. Plus – totally new to me – QR code sections that enable a reader with a smart phone to see and hear parts of the live production. I confess that […]
An activist in every sense and now well into his eighties, Tony Wilson continues to campaign, volunteer and cycle. From the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Hong Kong and later working on weapons’ contracts to setting up Electronics for Peace and building an ethical recruitment agency, Tony’s career has not followed a conventional path! Tony was interviewed by Trish Mensah for the Activist Memories series, supported by Bristol Older People’s Forum. The Activist Memories series […]
Not A BRHG Event
It's the time of year to subvert your friends and families with a range of radical gifts at the next Bristol Radical Bookfair on Sunday 26th November, 11-3.30pm. Hosted again by Active Distro at the Exchange, 72 - 73 Old Market, Bristol, BS2 0EJ, it is of course a FREE event, cunningly timed to fit between the commercial scams that are Black Friday & Cyber Monday! BRHG should have a full book stall, alongside a dozen or more others in the main hall; and down in the basement at 12.30pm, […]
The pandemic of crises that nationalistic hostility and capitalism unfailingly deliver is seemingly intensifying. While the asymmetric Israel-Palestine conflict is currently the most prominent flashpoint, two 2023 films recently screened at the Cube Microplex deal with the global ramifications of the still critical situation in Syria. The action in the Rojava Film Commune’s Kobanê takes place on Syrian soil, featuring a world-changing episode in the conflict whereas, nearer to home, Ken Loach’s […]
Not A BRHG Event
BASE, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 6JY Join Bristol Squatted for a pay-as-you-can vegan dinner at the regular BASE Sunday cafe, followed by a showcase of clips from three films telling stories of squatting in Bristol, Brixton and Amsterdam. We'll invite discussion on how these histories compare to Bristol today. We'll also give a short update on the Bristol Squatted community history project and make a call out for volunteers to join our group. We'll be showing and discussing clips […]
We are very pleased to have Ian Bild a founding member of the influential Bristol Broadsides and the cast, researchers and organisers of the recent Haunting Ashton Court project speaking and performing at M Shed. Bristol Broadsides was a non-profit making publishing co-operative founded in 1977. Its aims were best summed up by the Hut Writers from the Southmead council estate in their book Corrugated Ironworks: For too long we’ve been sitting back, complacently accepting everything that has been […]
Another excellent book by Steve Poole and Nicolas Rogers, highlighting a period in Bristol’s rich history. The main part of the book relates to the murder, in 1741, of Sir John Dineley by his brother Samuel Goodere. The crime took place on a ship which was captained by Goodere and the actual murderers were able seamen under his charge. But the book is much more detailed than that and is richly researched and written. The narrative delves into various aspects of Georgian Bristol. Without spoiling […]
“What happened to the ladder?” asks Annabel Smith, pointing out that Bristol is one of the least socially mobile urban areas in the country. Smith is one of thirty-seven contributions to Bristol 650, produced by Bristol Books to mark the 650th anniversary of Bristol becoming an independent county. The editors, Amy O’Beirne and Andrew Kelly, wanted their chosen essayists to focus on how to build a better Bristol for the future. But some contributors prefer to focus on the here and now and […]
