News from Nowhere Club programme

NEWS FROM NOWHERE CLUB

Patron: Peter Hennessy

Founded in 1996, the club challenges the commercialisation & isolation of modern life. 

We meet monthly on Saturday evening.

‘Fellowship is life & the lack of fellowship is death’.  William Morris

PROGRAMME 2016

** 21^stANNIVERSARY YEAR!**

At Epicentre, West Street, Leytonstone E11 4LJ  7.30pm Buffet (bring something if you can)   8.00pm Talk & discussion till 10pm

Travel & Access

Stratford stations & 257 bus  Leytonstone tube (exit left) & 257/W14 bus  Overground: Leytonstone High Rd, turn right, short walk

Disabled access, car park, bikes can be brought in, quiet children welcome. You can phone to confirm the talk will be as shown. Meetings open to all - just turn up. Enquiries 0208 555 5248     Free entry: voluntary donations welcome

‘The club is a real beacon of light.’  Peter Cormack

 

Saturday 9th January 2016       

Hounds Off!: The People’s Campaign against Hunting    Speaker: Joe Hashman

Joe joined the Hunt Saboteurs Association in 1982. He worked for the League Against Cruel Sports & since 2006 has remained part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Enforcement Team. Integral to many groundbreaking investigations, exposés & prosecutions, he has also defended his anti-hunting beliefs successfully in the European Court of Human Rights & various domestic legal arenas. He is the founder of Hounds Off ( www.houndsoff.co.uk ).

Saturday 13 February 2016

Libertarian Social Centres: MayDay Rooms & London Anarchist Resource Centre

Speakers: Georgia Anderson & Howard Slater

MayDay Rooms, an educational charity, was founded as a safe haven for historical material. Rather than being a ring-fenced ‘repository’ it’s an active social resource; a place where, amidst the austerity-driven threats to education & spaces of dissent, groups can gather to activate the historical material & feed these into current struggles. The MD Rooms collections are deliberately eclectic. Whilst we hold larger collections (Greenham Common), most are modest in size & cover themes from counter-educational initiatives (Schooling & Culture), to social protest (Poll Tax Rebellion), counter-culture (Scratch Orchestra) & activist collectives (East London Big Flame). MDR sees history as a constant inspiration & is working on digitalisation platforms to make the inspirational efforts of the past more widely available. A speaker from LARC will tell us about their own way of providing a radical meeting place.

Saturday 12th March 2016

Crisis? What Crisis? Re-Assessing the British ‘Winter of Discontent’ 1978-1979                                               Speaker: Professor John Shepherd                 

On 22 January 1979, 1.5 million workers were on strike - the highest number since the 1926 General Strike. Iconic media images of the industrial unrest that swept Britain in an arctic winter captured mountains of uncollected rubbish in London’s theatre land, militant shop stewards turning patients away from hospitals & a national strike by road hauliers that threatened to bring the country to a standstill. Even corpses were left unburied. Within weeks the beleaguered James Callaghan Government fell from power by a single vote. In the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, beginning 18 years of unbroken Conservative rule. John Shepherd examines the causes, course & consequences of a major turning point in modern British political history.

Saturday 9th April 2016

ABE GIBSON PERFORMANCE POET

Speaker/performer: Abe Gibson

Formerly Poet in Residence at London Transport Museum,Writer in Residence at Feltham Young Offenders Institute & Ronnie Scott Club performer, Abe has a formidable way with words, accents & mannerisms, & delights audiences with his charming, funny, acutely observed characters. As a caretaker on a Hackney Council estate for 25 years, he’s used this opportunity to closely study people from all walks of life & portrays them at least as well as many professional actors. Abe will explain how & why he writes & performs, & treat us to a rendition of some of his favourite poems. His poetry collection ‘Violently Tender’ will be on sale.

Saturday 14th May 2016 WRITERS FORUM

Speakers: Derek Smith, Jenny Matthews, David Gardiner, Irene Rosenfeld

Four London writers discuss why & how they write. Between them, they have vast experience of producing poetry, short stories, plays & novels for children & adults. They have been published by major & smaller publishing houses & have self-published, run writing groups & blogs & given advice about creative writing & creativity in general. They will read out examples of their work. Come & hear their thoughts of what has shaped & helped them, & bring your own questions, preoccupations & short bits of writing to share with them.

Saturday 11th June 2016

"From Grave to Shrine, Poet to Priestess: Witnessing the Evolution of a Poet's Grave into a Pilgrimage Site."

Speaker: Jessica Lawrence

Jessica Lawrence spent three years in the ancient village of Heptonstall, West Yorkshire, observing the grave of Sylvia Plath who is buried in the local cemetery. She interviewed thousands of visitors who flock to Plath's burial site. Her research, which earned her an MSc in Medical Anthropology, demonstrated that Plath serves as posthumous mentor & spiritual guide as well as a literary inspiration to thousands of devotees world wide, who credit her influence as critical in having helped them find the resolve to make pivotal changes in their lives, including prevention of suicide, alleviation from self harm & the decision to pursue a career in literature & poetry. Jessica will discuss this little known, under-appreciated aspect of Plath's legacy & will illustrate her talk with slides of the grave which has become a literary pilgrimage site & a decorated shrine. 

July 9th 2016

NOWHERE ……………. Revelations of a Blue Badge Guide

Speaker: Brian Hicks

When I originally qualified as a professional Blue Badge Guide some 20 years ago, I had no idea where it might take me. Educationally I have become a different person. I always had a fascination with history & now have an excuse to enjoy learning about the subject.  I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said, ‘You should make your obsession your profession’. This I have done. So come & learn how you could become a guide & some of the more quirky historical facts I have accumulated. Find out the truth about Henry VIII, about Elizabeth 1st’s bad temper, how the present Queen goes to the theatre incognito & why the Bishop of Durham’s anus is on display in London! Brian lives in Walthamstow.

August 13^th 2016

M11 Link Road:

A Community- Based Mass Protest

Speaker: Richard Leighton

Richard, as chair of "The No M11 Link Campaign", was in the midst of the mass protest to stop the M11 Link Road: a road proved to be outdated before being built, which exposed the lengths the Government of the time would go to on smashing down the community in its way.  Richard was born in the area, as were his parents, & grandparents & lived there 45 years. His father had opposed the earlier scheme, so it was natural for Richard to oppose the scheme when it was resurrected.

Saturday September 10^th 2016 

**** GALA Evening****!! 21^st birthday

of the News from Nowhere Club

All past speakers invited. Food & drink in plenty. Exhibition of 20 years of the Club. Screening of ‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’ film by Bill Hodgson. Update on setting up local Hitchcock Museum. Readings from ‘News from Nowhere’ utopia by William Morris. Singing of Leon Rosselson’s song ‘Bringing the News from Nowhere.’

*Special EXTRA event to commemorate our 21^st birthday*

!! Monday!! September 12^th 2016

An evening with Iain Sinclair: ‘I take a walk every morning…’   Speaker: Iain Sinclair

Hackney resident, poet, film maker, essayist, award winning novelist, psychogeographer, ‘avant gardeist’ influenced by the Beat generation… Iain’s prolific, unusual life as a writer, observer and social critic will be the subject of tonight’s special event. You might like to read one or two of his works before the meeting to get the measure of his style. He will tell us what his life is like and answer your questions! The Newham Bookshop will be with us with copies of Iain’s books.

Saturday October 8^th 2016

What Does Local Community Action Really Mean?

Speaker: Jude Leighton

What are the possibilities & limitations of trying to transform the local area where you grew up? Jude has lived in Leytonstone all her life & has worked in several organisations, aiming to make a big difference to the quality of life of her neighbours. She has learnt several lessons through her struggles & will let us into her most recent thoughts & revelations, with a chance for the audience to contribute their own experiences & utopian desires.

Saturday 12th November 2016

Screening  of 'The Anarchist Rabbi’ & discussion with filmmaker Adam Kossoff

“On Yom Kippur,” speaks the voice of anarchist Rudolf Rocker, “Jewish anarchists & socialists marched past local synagogues defiantly smoking or brandishing ham sandwiches.” Adam Kossoff’s meditative documentary focuses on German-born Rocker, who campaigned with London's East End Jewish immigrants over 100 years ago. He spoke & wrote in Yiddish, organized garment trade unions & advocated for anarchism as the solution for class inequality. Through the narration of actor Stephen Berkoff, Rocker's ghost comes to life as it haunts the locations where the Yiddish workers’ movement was once vibrant. The Anarchist Rabbi (44 mins) is a reflection on how urban development buries the history of such vital working class movements. Adam Kossoff is an artist-filmmaker & a Reader in the Moving Image at the University of Wolverhampton.   As well as The Anarchist Rabbi (2014) his recent work includes Animal Architecture (2014), Made in Wolverhampton (2011) & Moscow Diary (2010).  His most recent exhibition, Animal Architecture, was at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. His work is distributed by Lux. Adam lives in Leytonstone.

Saturday 10th December 2016

MPs & Government Ministers!

How to Arm-Twist Them  Speaker: Ron Bailey

‘They may act like they're invincible, but they're not. They may think they can ignore you & do what they want willynilly, but you can stop them. They say politics is about power & it can be: NOT their power but the power YOU can have. Are all politicians the same? Well, they can be when they've got their arm twisted behind their back & held damn firmly by YOU.  I can tell you a few methods of doing this.  Things I‘ve done. Things that had one MP's wife on the phone to mine for half an hour begging her to get us to stop our campaign 'against her poor husband/MP.' Things that prevented another MP from referring to me without a hurl of abuse because I organised 50,000 leaflets to be put through every door in his constituency accusing him of actions that helped rape to happen. And most importantly, things that made them back down! Remember - they want you to get fed up & go away. Don't give them what they want!’ Ron is Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Sustainable Energy Assn. Ron used to live in Leytonstone.

Saturday 9th January 2016       

Hounds Off!: The People’s Campaign against Hunting    Speaker: Joe Hashman

Joe joined the Hunt Saboteurs Association in 1982. He worked for the League Against Cruel Sports & since 2006 has remained part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Enforcement Team. Integral to many groundbreaking investigations, exposés & prosecutions, he has also defended his anti-hunting beliefs successfully in the European Court of Human Rights & various domestic legal arenas. He is the founder of Hounds Off ( www.houndsoff.co.uk ).

Saturday 13 February 2016

Libertarian Social Centres: MayDay Rooms & London Anarchist Resource Centre

Speakers: Georgia Anderson & Howard Slater

MayDay Rooms, an educational charity, was founded as a safe haven for historical material. Rather than being a ring-fenced ‘repository’ it’s an active social resource; a place where, amidst the austerity-driven threats to education & spaces of dissent, groups can gather to activate the historical material & feed these into current struggles. The MD Rooms collections are deliberately eclectic. Whilst we hold larger collections (Greenham Common), most are modest in size & cover themes from counter-educational initiatives (Schooling & Culture), to social protest (Poll Tax Rebellion), counter-culture (Scratch Orchestra) & activist collectives (East London Big Flame). MDR sees history as a constant inspiration & is working on digitalisation platforms to make the inspirational efforts of the past more widely available.

Saturday 12th March 2016

Crisis? What Crisis? Re-Assessing the British ‘Winter of Discontent’ 1978-1979                                               Speaker: Professor John Shepherd                 

On 22 January 1979, 1.5 million workers were on strike - the highest number since the 1926 General Strike. Iconic media images of the industrial unrest that swept Britain in an arctic winter captured mountains of uncollected rubbish in London’s theatre land, militant shop stewards turning patients away from hospitals & a national strike by road hauliers that threatened to bring the country to a standstill. Even corpses were left unburied. Within weeks the beleaguered James Callaghan Government fell from power by a single vote. In the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, beginning 18 years of unbroken Conservative rule. John Shepherd examines the causes, course & consequences of a major turning point in modern British political history.

Saturday 9th April 2016

ABE GIBSON PERFORMANCE POET

Speaker/performer: Abe Gibson

Formerly Poet in Residence at London Transport Museum,Writer in Residence at Feltham Young Offenders Institute & Ronnie Scott Club performer, Abe has a formidable way with words, accents & mannerisms, & delights audiences with his charming, funny, acutely observed characters. As a caretaker on a Hackney Council estate for 25 years, he’s used this opportunity to closely study people from all walks of life & portrays them at least as well as many professional actors. Abe will explain how & why he writes & performs, & treat us to a rendition of some of his favourite poems. His poetry collection ‘Violently Tender’ will be on sale.

Saturday 14th May 2016 WRITERS FORUM

Speakers: Derek Smith, Jenny Matthews, David Gardiner, Irene Rosenfeld

Four London writers discuss why & how they write. Between them, they have vast experience of producing poetry, short stories, plays & novels for children & adults. They have been published by major & smaller publishing houses & have self-published, run writing groups & blogs & given advice about creative writing & creativity in general. They will read out examples of their work. Come & hear their thoughts of what has shaped & helped them, & bring your own questions, preoccupations & short bits of writing to share with them.

Saturday 11th June 2016

"From Grave to Shrine, Poet to Priestess: Witnessing the Evolution of a Poet's Grave into a Pilgrimage Site."

Speaker: Jessica Lawrence

Jessica Lawrence spent three years in the ancient village of Heptonstall, West Yorkshire, observing the grave of Sylvia Plath who is buried in the local cemetery. She interviewed thousands of visitors who flock to Plath's burial site. Her research, which earned her an MSc in Medical Anthropology, demonstrated that Plath serves as posthumous mentor & spiritual guide as well as a literary inspiration to thousands of devotees world wide, who credit her influence as critical in having helped them find the resolve to make pivotal changes in their lives, including prevention of suicide, alleviation from self harm & the decision to pursue a career in literature & poetry. Jessica will discuss this little known, under-appreciated aspect of Plath's legacy & will illustrate her talk with slides of the grave which has become a literary pilgrimage site & a decorated shrine. 

July 9th 2016

NOWHERE ……………. Confessions of a Blue Badge Guide

Speaker: Brian Hicks

When I originally qualified as a professional Blue Badge Guide some 20 years ago, I had no idea where it might take me. Educationally I have become a different person. I always had a fascination with history & now have an excuse to enjoy learning about the subject.  I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said, ‘You should make your obsession your profession’. This I have done. So come & learn how you could become a guide & some of the more quirky historical facts I have accumulated. Find out the truth about Henry VIII, about Elizabeth 1st’s bad temper, how the present Queen goes to the theatre incognito & why the Bishop of Durham’s anus is on display in London!

August 13^th 2016

M11 Link Road:

A Community- Based Mass Protest

Speaker: Richard Leighton

Richard, as chair of "The No M11 Link Campaign", was in the midst of the mass protest to stop the M11 Link Road: a road proved to be outdated before being built, which exposed the lengths the Government of the time would go to on smashing down the community in its way.  Richard was born in the area, as were his parents, & grandparents & lived there 45 years. His father had opposed the earlier scheme, so it was natural for Richard to oppose the scheme when it was resurrected.

Saturday September 10^th 2016 

**** GALA Evening****!! 21^st birthday

of the News from Nowhere Club

All past speakers invited. Food & drink in plenty. Exhibition of 20 years of the Club. Screening of ‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’ film by Bill Hodgson. Update on setting up local Hitchcock Museum. Readings from ‘News from Nowhere’ utopia by William Morris. Singing of Leon Rosselson’s song ‘Bringing the News from Nowhere.’

*Special EXTRA event to commemorate our 21^st birthday*

!! Monday!! September 12^th 2016

An evening with Iain Sinclair: ‘I take a walk every morning…’   Speaker: Iain Sinclair

Hackney resident, poet, film maker, essayist, award winning novelist, psychogeographer, ‘avant gardeist’ influenced by the Beat generation… Iain’s prolific, unusual life as a writer, observer and social critic will be the subject of tonight’s special event. You might like to read one or two of his works before the meeting to get the measure of his style. He will tell us what his life is like and answer your questions! The Newham Bookshop will be with us with copies of Iain’s books.

Saturday October 8^th 2016

What Does Local Community Action Really Mean?

Speaker: Jude Leighton

What are the possibilities & limitations of trying to transform the local area where you grew up? Jude has lived in Leytonstone all her life & has worked in several organisations, aiming to make a big difference to the quality of life of her neighbours. She has learnt several lessons through her struggles & will let us into her most recent thoughts & revelations, with a chance for the audience to contribute their own experiences & utopian desires.

Saturday 12th November 2016

Screening  of 'The Anarchist Rabbi’ & discussion with filmmaker Adam Kossoff

“On Yom Kippur,” speaks the voice of anarchist Rudolf Rocker, “Jewish anarchists & socialists marched past local synagogues defiantly smoking or brandishing ham sandwiches.” Adam Kossoff’s meditative documentary focuses on German-born Rocker, who campaigned with London's East End Jewish immigrants over 100 years ago. He spoke & wrote in Yiddish, organized garment trade unions & advocated for anarchism as the solution for class inequality. Through the narration of actor Stephen Berkoff, Rocker's ghost comes to life as it haunts the locations where the Yiddish workers’ movement was once vibrant. The Anarchist Rabbi (44 mins) is a reflection on how urban development buries the history of such vital working class movements. Adam Kossoff is an artist-filmmaker & a Reader in the Moving Image at the University of Wolverhampton.   As well as The Anarchist Rabbi (2014) his recent work includes Animal Architecture (2014), Made in Wolverhampton (2011) & Moscow Diary (2010).  His most recent exhibition, Animal Architecture, was at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. His work is distributed by Lux.

Saturday 10th December 2016

MPs & Government Ministers!

How to Arm-Twist Them  Speaker: Ron Bailey

‘They may act like they're invincible, but they're not. They may think they can ignore you & do what they want willynilly, but you can stop them. They say politics is about power & it can be: NOT their power but the power YOU can have. Are all politicians the same? Well, they can be when they've got their arm twisted behind their back & held damn firmly by YOU.  I can tell you a few methods of doing this.  Things I‘ve done. Things that had one MP's wife on the phone to mine for half an hour begging her to get us to stop our campaign 'against her poor husband/MP.' Things that prevented another MP from referring to me without a hurl of abuse because I organised 50,000 leaflets to be put through every door in his constituency accusing him of actions that helped rape to happen. And most importantly, things that made them back down! Remember - they want you to get fed up & go away. Don't give them what they want!’ Ron is Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Sustainable Energy Assn.

NEWS FROM NOWHERE CLUB

Patron: Peter Hennessy

Founded in 1996, the club challenges the commercialisation & isolation of modern life. 

We meet monthly on Saturday evening.

‘Fellowship is life & the lack of fellowship is death’.  William Morris

PROGRAMME 2016

** 21^stANNIVERSARY YEAR!**

At Epicentre, West Street, Leytonstone E11 4LJ

7.30pm Buffet (bring something if you can)

8.00pm Talk & discussion till 10pm

Travel & Access

Stratford stations & 257 bus

Leytonstone tube (exit left) & 257/W14 bus

Overground: Leytonstone High Rd, turn right, short walk

Disabled access, car park, bikes can be brought in, quiet children welcome. You can phone to confirm the talk will be as shown. Meetings open to all - just turn up.

Enquiries 0208 555 5248  

Free entry: voluntary donations welcome

‘The club is a real beacon of light.’  Peter Cormack