What about the workers! Visit to the Peoples' Museum

With Garth's Extension group it was wonderful to visit the Peoples Museum in Manchester.

Here is me in the foyer

Funny I don't recall Bloody Harold on Spitting Images...

The Peace Movement! A splendid firm!

Workers Unite!

The Co-op!  A splendid firm!!

Abuse of power and rule by a few very rich people.  Things entirely of distant memory.  Well if you read the papers and are completely trapped in the media and commodity spectacle.

And now we have the right to vote what difference does it make?  Votes are not equal under an institutionalised system of ballot rigging and vote stealing that is plurality voting (erroneously called 'First Past The Post')

The Immortal (though sadly now dead) Tom Paine

Wilkes and Liberty!  Anyone drink to that?

Particularly love the story that when Wilkes stood for election in Middlesex, he asked one Independent Elector of the County of Middlesex could he count on his vote.  'I would rather vote for the Devil'  'But with your preferred candidate not standing on this occasion, can I count on your vote?'

There were black Chartists like William Cuffee

Industrial Workers

Tomorrow!  When Labour rules!  So now we know

Comrades!

Self explanatory I suppose

All together now! Raise higher the red banners of the class struggle!

say 'Socialism!'

Something a bit topical. 

Come back David Lloyd-George!  All is forgiven!

The Drink Map of Manky!

Should come in handy when drinking.

I am the man, the very fat man, who waters the workers' beer

hic

here endeth the lesson

Congratulations!

so now you know

England Takes Drugz in psychic self defence...

and back to Leeds

As I wasn't allowed flash photography I have decided against any pics that didn't work in museum light.

Well, it would seem that the history of the People has been one of exploitation and struggle against this exploitation.  And a few rich and powerful people who generally clung onto that wealth and power.

Crem Day 18th October 2012

I

I really need to do a blogging frenzy... Anyway for now... Good to have been able to finally do a crem day, this time a year on from Pamela departing this life. I am particularly grateful to my host Lisa and Pamela's wonderful friends Taffy and Sarah. And special thanks to National Express for rescuing my laptop, which I left on the coach when changing coach at Sheffield. Fan mail to follow guys.... So by the time I got to Mansfield the crem was shut for the day. So thankfully able to get to crem the following morning then back home to feed Ewah.

Had intended to do a memories of Pamela post long ago.  Still haven't even opened a file.  But it's a story that should be told.  A wonderful story.  Hopefully to follow.  Anyway, for now, G-d bless you Pamela, thanks for everything!  Love never comes to an end.

Just an Ordinary Redneck Millionaire Creationist Fundamentalist Amerikan Guy

Likesay when I heard that Creationist/Fundamentalist Empire Answers in Genesis were planning a replica ark attached to their Creation 'Museum' with millions in tax breaks in a State short on science Educashun... I thought aha!



Creationists like to say that there are separately created 'kinds' and that evolution didn't happen.  It is intersting that they accept some evolution happens.  When asked to define 'kinds' they fudge.  So if it happens it will be interesting to see how many Kinds (funnily enough the New Jerusalem translation of the Bible says Noah took two of every species, but then the Roman Catholic Church accepts Evolution) go two by two onto the Answers in Genesis Ark.  Likesay this one wants watching.

So with this in mind I found the following post on the Ark site of Answers in Genesis from 'David'

http://arkencounter.com/blog/2012/02/01/tool-time-with-noah/#comment-6214

'Im wondering, was Noah a billionaire of his time?

I note it's costing $24 Mil to build a modern-day ark, and there certainly must be a team of construction/trades workers for the task (obviously they don't work for free, and certainly didn't in Noah's day, even if there even WERE non-slave-laborer craftsmen for hire in 2,300 BC!).

And surely the "Home Depots" of his time (as if they existed, LOL!) presumably didn't just give away their tools, tons of lumber and other construction materials (pitch tar, etc).

And what did Noah and his Sons do for physical sustenance for themselves and their families while they devoted their lives to building the Ark?

Hence my question: had Noah amassed the fortune of a King to pull off a construction project that rivaled that of Egyptian pharoah's building of the pyramids (or at least the Titanic ship-building project of more recent times)?'

Well I am happy to accept that Noah was a Regular (Redneck Creationist Fundamentalist Amerikan) Guy who just happened to be a millionaire.  Perhaps he ran a 'creationist ministry' or some other nice little earner.

Here is the reply from 'Stephen'

'Naturally we don't fully know how the ark was built (with labor I mean). It seems reasonable that Noah would have had help.'

Oh yeah?  Who would help someone build an Ark to escape the flood without hitching a lift?

'With a significantly lower population, property could easily be staked off in big chunks. Wouldn't necessarily mean he was wealthy as we would think of it. Perhaps he just had a lot of land. He could have traded land for labor.'

Ok makes sense.  He gets it all back after the flood.  I will let 'Stephen' finish.

'It is also possible that his land would have had a lot of the resources he needed for building the ark. Mining that material could have happened before or after the "sale." Land would have been much richer in the distribution of its resources prior to the flood.

The same would be true of the food that was gathered for their sustenance. The food of the day would have been "greens," nuts and seeds. That's not difficult to store or gather. There is also trade to consider for anything else they might have needed.

All in all, Noah could have easily been an ordinary man of his day just using what was around him.'

well except that he was a millionaire.

Likesay this is one to watch if it does get off the ground.  As it were.  It will certainly be interesting how many 'Kinds' end up on the ark and what gets left out.  Gets a bit tricky with two fully grown diplodici' but then they could indeed have been babies or football sized eggs.  Funny how the bible doesn't mention this.  It is only athiests/sodomites/communists/darwinists/liberals who are not up for doing the most amazing mental somersaults and still not manage to fit it all together.  JAH moves in mysterious ways indeed.

I suspect the question is not are they going to have to cheat to make this replica ark but how much.

Creationism 404

I had to laugh. Answers in Guinness is one of the leading creationist rackets in Amerika. They are responsible for the large Creationist 'museum' in Kentucky.

For The Living Dinosaur's excellent take on Ken Ham

Voting for this year's Converted and Prestigious Golden Crocoduck Award closes on the 14th.

It is awarded for the greatest breach of the ninth commandment in pursuance of the Creationist Cause. Ken Ham the not so pious founder of Answers in Guinness is not nominated for this year's award but may well be in the running for next year alongside stiff competition from Harun Yahya. For this year I am thinking Ian Juby. The other front runners being somewhat related Eric Hovind (brainpower can skip two generations) and Megasage007.

Down Pit

Looks like when I upload pics to the blogger they are uploaded backwards. So perhaps a more stream of consciousness post than usual. Possibly the shape of things to come...

Arrived at the National Coal Mining Museum. With Garth's Extension Group on first field trip. Here is a bit of a reminder of that Great Yorkshire Film Brassed Off as Grimethorpe Colliery band were in it as the band as it were.



Here I am with a banner.



I recall seeing some news footage in the last days of the NCB after the final defeat. Raising the flag of the National Coal Board when the pits were nationalised. Like this one.



The Mines rescue van. Just shows how dangerous coal mining can be.



The most famous of Bevin boys was perhaps Jimmy Saville.



who this?



Then the pits closed.



Alas coal mining was not the only dangerous and hazardous industry. But it was one of the most dangerous and hazardous.



History of the rescue van



Evidently rats went down the mines too. The fuckers!



hence it was wise to put your butties in a metal can. Our guide when we went below ground told us that on his first day down pit, the rats had his sandwiches quick as a flash so he went hungry.

We went below ground where there were exhibitions but all electronic equipment was 'contraband' and hence not permitted below ground, so we had to surrender our mobies as well as in my case my camera for safe keeping.



Here is a group photo of Garth's Extension Group.



Just a thought.....



With the coming of the Industrial Revolution coal mining became a vast industry. England ran out of trees to make charcoal and laws were passed to prevent the felling of the remaining forests, because oak was needed for the Royal Navy, which would be handy for a bid for Global Domination. So Abraham Darby I started smelting iron with coke (cooked coal, yes the industrial revolution was coke fueled......) up in Coalbrookdale. And the rest is history.



Generally with the coming of the industrial revolution family units initially continued to work together even in hazardous and dirty trades like coal mining. So women and kidz went down the pit. It seems that men would do hewing of the coal, women transport it and children operate traps.



Here is some winding gear I think.



The National Coal Mining Museum was previously of course a Coal Mine.



When deep mining started limited lighting would be provided by naked candle light, very hazardous.



And when legislation removed women from the mines traction was provided initially by horses, hence pit ponys.



Perhaps I thought I had a bit more to say in this post, perhaps more for the next one.

I recall Ewan McGregor saying of miners that they have an incredible sense of community, working in very tight spaces.

But more perhaps I recall Michelle Shocked singing 'The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore'



Beginning to appreciate the Jean Ritchie Original. Never thought I'd live to love the coal dust.

Open Day and The Old Synagogue

Good to have been able to go to today's Open Day at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Stalls, performances and free classes. And the main building looks like an old synagogue because it is.



To be precise the former United Hebrew Synagogue architects J Stanley Wright 1928-32



right in process of uploading to the blogger pics are in all sort of order, so just enjoy....

here is a view of one of the lesser domes from staircase



Here is a pillar downstairs holding up the womens' gallery, the foliage seems approximately that of acanthus of Corinthian order whereas pillars out front seem Egyptian.



All ye who enter here. Abandon socks....



and of course take off your shoes, you are on Holy Ground (Exodus 3:5)



A view of the pews.



Looking down from the staircase from the womens' gallery.



top of the staircase obviously...



another shot of the Shield of David atop central dome, scaffolding probably not left over from the synagogue.



Shield of David again



top of staircase entrance to womens' gallery



up the staircase



staircase with lesser dome above



more windows with Shield of David



staircase



lobby




Shield of David



lets post.

Rainbow over the headrow

a quick test post, if it works perhaps I will do that blogging frenzy.