Mental Health Awareness Week

 

Mental health awareness week takes place between the 13th-19th of May this year. We all know that our mental health wellbeing is important, or at least we should ! Mental health problems can affect anyone, any day of the year, but this week is a great time to have a chat with a friend, family member or colleague and have think about it.The event is coordinated by the Mental Health Foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ 
The Mental Health Foundation, sets an annual theme each year. The theme this year will be Body Image, how we see ourselves and how that makes us feel.In a UK-wide stress survey in 2018, the Mental Health Foundation found that three in ten people felt so stressed by their body image and appearance at some point in the past year that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
Nearly half (47%) of all 18-24 year olds felt this way about their body image as did almost one in five (18%) people aged 55 and over.
This is an issue that affects us all throughout our lives. Our body image can change as our bodies change, whether that’s in puberty, or in later life. Our sex, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and the way we, and the world sees our diversity can all play a part.
According to the World Health Organisation ;-,
https://www.who.int/whr/2001/media_centre/press_release/en/
roughly 450 million people currently suffer from mntal health conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.
It's no overstatement to say that Britain is living through a mental health crisis. From depression, to anxiety, to eating disorders, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem each year. Many of us increasingly experiencing daily life as a battle. Emotionally, our heads are only just above water.
Sadly despite the efforts of many, the subject of mental illness remains a taboo subject, the fact is that many in your community suffer from a wide of different problems like clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, and anxiety and others. In my community it is hardly ever talked about, many of us are left to face our problems in silence, we have to choose  between societies consensus ways of dealing with things, medication, psychotherapy, counselling etc etc, or simply learning to forget. I don't have clear answers, but I  now no longer bottle up  my feelings or emotions, I have learnt techniques to release them. I refuse to be labelled.
I have also noticed how the press stokes up the fears and anxieties of mental illness, stigmatises people that should be getting some kind of support, in the midst of this the current tory government daily attacking the most vulnerable amongst us with their attacks on welfare claimants, cuts in services that are essential to peoples well beings.
What people with mental illness really need is support and understanding, to be accepted as we are  openly and warmly, not to be used, as scapegoats, to be hidden  and forgotten about. People who live with mental illness are among the most stigmatised groups in society. We are challenged doubly. On one hand with the struggle of our symptoms that result from our illnesses and then by the stereotypes and prejudice that results from peoples misconceptions about mental illness. Many people are robbed of opportunities that help define  a quality life,  jobs, safe housing, health care and affiliation with a diverse group of people, and are left feeling almost invisible and on our own. Prejudice leads to discrimination and so on. Everyone needs to experiences of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' without the resort to crude stereotypes and attacks  that do not help remove stigmatisation. It is time that people change their attitudes and outlook, and for politicians to redress the balance.
I personally have a trusty black dog that  calls regularly that has  made me the  person I am. I unfortunately have no control over it, it just comes and calls when it likes. It suddenly creates sadness, fear, and all those turbulent feelings that drives one to self destruction, and nights with no sleep. I also  get so angst ridden that I cannot leave my house, let alone phone a GP to seek help, because I fear I will be judged and blamed somehow, embarrassed and ashamed for something I have no control over. A tendency to affix blame and leave me  feeling even more unworthy. I don't have clear answers, but I  now no longer bottle up  my feelings or emotions, I have learnt techniques to release them. I refuse to be labelled.
Mental illness scares us and shames us. Those who suffer are often, like me, ashamed to speak of it. Those who are lucky enough to be free of mental illness are terrified of it. When it comes to mental illness, we still don't quite get how it all works. Our treatments, while sometimes effective, often are not. And the symptoms, involving a fundamental breakdown of our perceived reality, are existentially terrifying. There is something almost random about physical illness, in how it comes upon us , a physical illness can strike anyone – and that is almost comforting. Were mental illness to fall into that same category, then it too could strike any of us, without warning. And that is terrifying.
But more than simple fear, mental illness brings out a judgmental streak that would be unthinkably grotesque when applied to physical illness. Imagine telling someone with a broken leg to "snap out of it." Imagine that a death by cancer was accompanied by the same smug headshaking that so often greets death by suicide. Mental illness is so qualitatively different that we feel it permissible to be judgmental. We might even go so far as to blame the sufferer. Because of the  stigma involved  it often leaves us much sicker.
It should be noted  that many  people believe that our Governments policies are actually fuelling the current  mental health crisis. Budget cuts to mental health services combined with no genuine support are driving  many people to the edge. As a result many young people and adults are left isolated facing long waiting lists for mental health therapies and diagnostic assessments. Prime Minister Maggie May herself said   "On my first day in Downing Street last July, I described shortfalls in mental health services as one of the burning injustices in our country.
Despite these gestures the Tories have not delivered on their promise to give mental health the same priority as physical health.They have not offered  no extra funding and have consistently raided mental health budgets over the last eight years. There are now over 6,000 fewer mental health nurses than in 2010. The number of psychiatrists employed by the NHS has fallen by  four percent since 2014 , with a 10 percent drop in those who specialise in children's mental health and a similar drop in those working with older adults. Eight years of Tory Government have left those with mental health problems without the support they need. The only thing that the Tories deliver are empty words and actions  that are shaping a society that does  not help to tackle the injustice of unequal treatment in mental health. Also because of how dire the times are getting: not only are benefit cuts driving people to think of killing themselves, but low wages and welfare sanctions are making people ill, shortening people's lives. For many insecurity  has become the way of  life. You simply can't trust May and co on mental health.
To often mental health is swept under the carpet and ignored ,either because of the stigma and taboo surrounding it, so we have to keep battling to destroy the negative attitudes and stereotypes that is directed towards people with mental health issues that disproportionately affect people living in poverty, those who are unemployed, people living in isolation and those who already face discrimination, so we  have to keep challenging policies that  exasperate these problems. In the meantime lets hope that one day mental health  becomes a genuine Government priority that would treat people in suffering with the respect that they deserve.
Some final thoughts, at the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could today, and that is good enough. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life that lights you up. Don't ever forget that. Try to keep fighting and surviving, despite the odds, if you are struggling to feel positive,  remember you're not alone

If you need to talk to someone, the NHS mental health helpline page includes organisations you can call for help, such as Anxiety UK and Bipolar UK. or call The Samaritans on 116 123.

Book of Pain - Tope Ogundare

First things thanks to Book Tasters and Nigerian Poet Tope Ogundare for a free copy of the book The Book of Pain in exchange for a honest review.
As regulars to this blog will know, am a huge fan of poetry and attempt from time to time to release my own, a task that is far from easy, as other practitioners might understand, anyway that aside, there are 38 poems in all, in this fine collection, from a poet I confess had not heard of previously .
It's a rather inspiring tome that touches on many universal themes,staying true to its title this collection of poetry inclues all shades, types and degrees of pain encompassing love, loss, heartbreak,  hopelessessness and death, tales of abuse, doors forced open, scenes painted of desolation ,filled with anguish and pity. With well crafted writing and imagination  Tope subtely manages to delicately capture it all, underlaid with raw emotion. What he offers us is not always pretty, but that's poetry for you, it's real, and certainly does not need to follow any  particular rules for form, after all the world of poetry is vast and varied, and that is what for many makes poetry so bloody liberating.
I believe Tope to be a poet of real depth, a psychiatrist by trade apparently, he shows a real flair for medical terms, and certainly displays a scientist eye for detail while at the same time allowing you into his own mind. Powerfully creating echoes of raw reality that most of  us have at some stage had to endure. A book riddled with intensity and passion. I personally can relate to the unigue messages contained within it's pages, and it's been a cathartic experience reading it. I especially enjoyed the fact that Tope utilises elements of free verse, that do not rhyme, and thus is not boringly rigidly structured like many a mediocre poet.
My only regret is that  I had to read it via a laptop, I like to hold a book, turn it's pages, carry it lightly to spaces where I need to go, wandering freely, I find it difficult to do so on devices.  nevertheless I would still strongly recommend this book, it's been a joy and privilege to amble my way through it.
I believe that many a reader could relate to this collection, simply for its lyrical dexterity and yes out of the pain, the beauty released. We all carry our own pain,some of it we choose to share, some we keep hidden,  this collection can at least offer some respite from it, and whether your into poetry or not, I feel there's something here that could touch many with it's courageous honesty of vision, so cheers Tope, all power to your pen, thanks for allowing me to share your world.
The following gives a glimpe of what lies within it's pages.

A Place Called Sadness - Tope Ogundare

There is a place called sadness
It is within me
The clouds of depression hang low
Chilly winds blow
Particles of pain
Sting watery eyes

Brimming with unshed tears
Seas cry out in agony
It is high tide
And islands of Happiness
Are submerged
The sun shines brightly
In monochromatic hues
It is a world of black and white
Dull, drab, dreary
Devoid of warmth

Rains empty into
Rivers of misery that swell
And spill over in chaotic thoughts
The waters are murky
Muddy sediments of
Memories left for dead
Interred in the river bed
Float on the surface

The land is rich
In loam Perfect
for seeds of despair
To grow into a dense
Forest of verdant boughs
Gallows of death
Canopies of darkness
Home of unseen creatures

Lurking in shadows of sorrows
Pouncing on weary souls
Feeding off their agony.

It is a place of quiet
And loud silence of marooned
Souls washed ashore
Lost at sea.

Anatomy of Pain - Tope Ogundare

My pain is a naked nerve ending
Bare and raw
Bleeding from
Burnt epidermis.
It traverses column of white matter
To grey cerebral ridges that Undulates
Unlike my pain
A constant surge
Of high voltage electricity
Carried under tension.
My wire snaps,
My brain hurts
I curl
I cry
I die

The Book of Pain is available at the links below

https://okadabooks.com/book/about/the_book_of_pain/23906

httgups://www.amazon.com/Book-Pain-Tope-Ogundare-ebook/dp/B07MHP2B12

One can follow Tope Ogudare on Twitter

https://twitter.com/_topazo_

For Her Ears ( Dedicated to Jane Elizabeth Husband; the mighty furbster; 9/5/60 - 8/1/17 )

I pay homage today to someone no longer here
Far away in the infinite, in the galaxy of stars
Though moving on, will not simply press delete
While holding on to other magical things
Finding kindness near, that can comfort my tears
Making it so much easier to progress
But a memory ever present
Especially on a day like this
Still poignant and precious.

I remain grateful, this is my truth
To a love that did not judge
Encouraged my deep convictions
Shared music and the gift of friendship
Will not canonise, after all was only human
Cherised, treasured, like the flowers that return
The rains that fall, allowing gardens to grow
Love that continues, intimate and within reach
Releasing lips alive, full of understanding,

I watch leaves now in blossom
Listen to orchestrated choruses of the day
On the edge of the world, clinging on
Sowing seeds instead of sadness
In the distance hear her gentle laughter
See a smile that still gives strength and meaning
Ears listening I hope, but hiding
All our breaths will one day be taken away
Ghosts of time, our echoes will linger
For now I offer this gift, from which all can inhale.

Gary Snyder (b,8/5/30) - Revolution In The Revolution In The Revolution

Happy Birthday Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, ecologist, teacher, steward of the earth, Beat hero and Zen master who is 89 today. Despite his reluctance to identify with the Beat title, he has been an undeniable influence on the Beat gneration and its writers. He was fictionalised as the character Japhy Ryder in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums and helped initiate the San Francisco Renaissance by organising poetry readings with his close friend Allen Ginsberg among others, thus ushering in the Beats as a recognised social force.
His numerous books have engaged with so many different subjects, covering the various intricate intimacies of life, bringing together ecology and spirituality, who also draws on social anarchism in developing his perspective and philosophical orientation.
His collection Turtle Island which won the Pulizer prize in 1975, has sold over a hundred thousand copies. ' Turtle Island swims/ in the ocean -sky -swirl void / biting its tail / while the worlds go/ on-and-off/  winking.' Here is a link to a previous post related to him:-

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2014/09/stand-up-for-earth-gary-snyder-b-8530.html

The following poem is from his 1970 collection Regarding Wave. Cheers Gary Snyder, such a wise individual, who has had  huge impact on my own reasoning.

Revolution In The Revolution In The Revolution

The country surrounds the city
The back country surrounds the country

"From the masses to the masses" the most
Revolutionary consciousness is to be found
Among  the most ruthlessly exploited classes:
Animals, trees, water, air grasses

We must pass through the stage of the
"Dictatorship of the Unconscious" before we can
Hope for the withering-away of the states
And finally arrive at true Communionism

if the capitalists and imperialists
          are the exploiters, the masses are the workers.
                     and the party
                     is the communist

if civilzation
         is the exploiter, the masses is nature.
                    and the party
                    is the poets.

if the abstact rational intellect
          is the exploiter, the masses is the unconscious
                    and the party
                     is the yogins.

& POWER
comes out of the seed-syllables of mantras.


Reprinted from 
REGARDING WAVE
New Directions 1970.

After Gaza ceasefire reached.

After Palestinian militants have said a cease-fire with Israel has been agreed, some words  of context especially that next week will be the anniversary of the deadliest day of protests along Gaza's boundary fence with Israel, and as Palestinian Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadam.
The undertanding was brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, and includes measures to ease the acute economic criisis in the impoverished Gaza Strip, home to two million people.
Shortly before the cease-fire came into effect, Abdul Latiif Al-Kanno, a Hamas spokesman said, ref, " Any truce thar does not obligate the occupation to lift the seige on our people in Gaza will be fragile and collapse once again."
Since the protets broke out along the border on 30 March, at least 145 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. The majority of those killed were non -violent protstors, as well as journalits, bystatander an a nurse, no Israelis had been killed.
Let's not forget that  Gaza is besieged by Israel by land, sea and air on a daily basis, it's inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are refugees, trapped in an area of land, just 60 kilometres long and 9.5 kilometres wide,  in what may see is an open air prison.
Due to fuel shortages,damaged anddestroyed infrastructure, thre are power shortages for up to 16 hours per dayr in most areas of Gaza. 70% of households in Gaza recive running watr fror only 6 to 8 hours once every two or four days. Over 90% of the war extracted from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption. Nearly 90 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage is dumped into the sea of Gaza everyday. Due to the economic blockade, education, medical car, agricultural and fishing indutries are in a state of near collapse.
Gaza's wealth is largely unreachable , access to traditional fishing ground is restricted, while the movement of people into and out of Gaza is severely limited, as is the import and export of goods.  this all amoints to collective punishment  of it's people  which is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Palestinian rockets  were symbolically fired from the Gaza Strip on Saturday (4 May) in response  to Israel air strikes, in response Israel carried out waves of retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strp on Sunday, in a deadly escalation that seemed to show no signs of slowing and raised fears of war.
It has been  reported  that 25,Palestinians  have been killed and many injured, includng the deaths of two pregnant woman and a baby, and four Israeli  civilians. The deliberate targeting of civilans must be condemned as it undermines every moral, legal and human standards. The international community  must continue to pressure Israel to end it's stiflling blockade that it has imposed on the residents of the Gaza Strip which is the root cause of this violence. Whilst Hamas is criticised for it's own actions  and " Israel can tell both ttself and the world any story it wants, it can talk about escalation only when rockets fal on the  south or about terrorsm only when its citzens pay the price. It can erase the brbaric blockade on Gaza, th endlss starvation of its population, the snipers who kill unarmed protestors, the shooting of fishermen, the lack  of potable water, the electricity, the infrastructure, the economy and the unemployment.
Yet none of these will cease being part of the history in the making of occupation an violence. With all due respect, a narrative cannot replace reality, and in reality, Israel has been abusing two million beseiged Gazans for over a decade. What did we think would happen? That because the strong have the power to tell the story the weak would simply vanish?"
https://972mag.com/no-escalations-do-not-begin-with-rockets-on-israel/141302/?fbclid=IwAR2scvTm4od4T5c5U7ScdOCBLyJvBBDZKBwgDbKltaKveHVlJt2fhGJdupY
It is more than time for the illegal blockade and siege of the citizens of Gaza to come to an end, as a fragile casfire is reached, the Israeli occupation continues, and carries on inflicting misery on the Palestinian population.The Eurovision song contest takes place from 14-18th in Tel Aviv, Israel despite the whitewashing and the 'so called spirit of togetherness; the oppression of the Palestinians and the citizens of Gaza will go on, for that reason some would argue they have the right to resist, for their dignity and survival, their right to exist. . .

When child asylum seekers are wrongly classified as adults - BBC Newsnight

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Since January, 2018 Newsnight has found a shocking 90 cases where child asylum seekers have been incorrectly classified as adults.
In the above report, Helen Johnson  OBE, of The Refugee Council 's Head Of Children's Service, explains how children whose age is not believed are  locked up by immigration officers in adult detention centres in breach of Government policies and legal guidelines.. This  has a devastating impact on vulnerable and traumatised young people who came to the UK in the hope of finding safety. Children experience severe physical and emotional effects of detention, which is traumatic and  can last a lifetime.
The mistakes continue to happen. Government records show that at least five children have been detained in the notorious Yarl’s Wood centre in Bedfordshire since the start of 2015. Three of them were eventually classified as between 12 and 16 years old.
Procedures at Yarl’s Wood have also been criticised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons. In 2013, official inspectors wrote in a report on the centre that “some young detainees were age assessed by a chief immigration officer, rather than social services”.
Once inside an adult detention centre, children have struggled to challenge the Home Office’s decision. Many have been left waiting for months to be seen by councils’ child experts.
Holding children under the same conditions as adults are held is inhumane, and must come to an end, they should all be afforded appropriate care and protection they truly deseve.
To find out more, read Navid's story below or discover  how the Age Disputes Project is helping these chidren get the support they desperately need.

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/case-studies/navids-story/

The Origins of May Day

May Day, the 1st of May  marks an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and a traditopnal speing festival in many cultures around the globe. With the earliest May Day celebrations appearing with the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. During the Roman Republic era, this was held on April 27 and with the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane, which is most commonly held on April 30.The day was originally a traditional summer holiday in many European pagan cultures, as February 1 used to mark the first day of spring, therefore May 1 celebrated the first day of summer, thus the summer solstice in June 25 was Midsummer.
When Europe became Christianised, May Day changed into a popular secular celebration and the secular versions observed both in Europe and North America incorporated the traditional dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May.
The giving of ‘May baskets’, small baskets of sweets or flowers which were usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps, were also a traditional part of May Day, but have now faded in popularity since the late 20th century. Today also marks a neo-pagan festival, Beltane, the Celtic festival of Summer's beginning a time to dance under a Maypole, a time of cleansing and renewal,drink and be merry, follow Jack in the Green, the mystical Green Man of legend.
Although the secularisation of May Day was due to the pagan holidays losing their religious character, during the late 20th century many neopagans began reconstructing traditions and began again celebrating May Day as a religious pagan festival.
May Day traditions in the UK also involve crowning a May Queen and dancing around a maypole, where traditional dancers circle around with brightly coloured ribbons. Historically, Morris dancing has also been linked to May Day celebrations.
May Day May Day has been a traditional day of festivities for many centuries, usually in small towns and villages, with people celebrating springtime fertility of the soil, livestock, and people.
May Day is also  now recognised symbolically all over the world as International Workers Day or Labor Day. It is a day for the working class to down tools and take to the streets in protest against capitalism and wage slavery. We should not  forget Chigago , Haymarket either, where on May 4, 1886, demands for an eight hour working week became particularly intense. Where a labour demonstration caused a crowd of some 1,500 people to gather. When policemen tried to disperse the meeting, a bomb exploded and the police opened fire on the crowd. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day and more than 100 people were injured. Eight leading Chicago anarchists were subsequently arrested, and charged with the bombing, despite no evidence of their involvement, five were sentenced to be hanged, two were given life sentences and the last was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The trial is now known by legal historians as one of the worst miscarriages of American history and spared an international wave of protest,.

In December 1888 the American Federation of Labour called a protest for 1 May 1890 and in 1889 the founding meeting  in Paris by what is known as the congress of the Second International Workingman's association took up the call  for a "great international demonstration" to take place the following year, The call was a resounding success. The International had already decided to begin a campaign for the 'three eights'--eight hours work, eight hours leisure and eight hours sleep. The causes of the eight hour day and the Chicago Martyrs were tied together, and May Day was launched.
The Second International meant business. It called not just for protests, but for international strike action on 1 May 1890. It was decided that the day would symbolise not just the struggle for an eight hour day, but the international power of the organised working class.
That first May Day in 1890 thousands of workers stopped work and took to the streets in Germany, there were mass strikes in Italy, and in Cuba the cigar workers struck. In Britain 10,000 workers marched behind a temperance band in Northampton, and in London there was a huge demonstration of 500,000 people. Observing it, Engels commented that he had heard 'for the first time in 40 years, the unmistakable voice of the English proletariat'.
May Day soon developed into a truly international workers' day. At the Hyde Park celebrations in 1904 German, Polish, Yiddish and Russian speakers were heard, reflecting the diversity of the working class movement., attracting thousands and thousands of people. On May Day 1909 the march was led off by 2,000 children from Socialist Sunday Schools singing socialist hymns and 300 Clarion cyclists wearing red roses. It  has continued to this day. Since then,  May Day has become established as an annual event to commemorate all the workers who have died in the struggle against those who exploit them. A celebration of international struggles and our solidarity. As workers have emerged from tyranny and repression in whatever country, they have adopted May Day as theirs. With these acts of solidarity we also lay down the foundations of a future world.
In Britain we even have a Bank holiday now close to the day, which was  created in 1978, this year in the UK it will be May 7th. In February 2011 it was reported that the Tories were considering scrapping the bank holiday associated with May Day in favour of replacing it with a bank holiday in October, possibly in order to coincide with Trafalgar Day,  which thankfully failed.
I see no reason why not to celebrate all of the above.
Happy May Day
Heddwch/peace

A Garland for May Day

1895, Walter Crane 

 
The Internationale

Stand up all victims of oppression
For the tyrants fear your might
Don't cling so hard to your possessions
For you have nothing if you have no rights
Let racist ignorance be ended
For respect makes the empires fall
Freedom is merely privilege extended
Unless enjoyed by one and all

So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race

Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We'll live together or we'll die alone
In our world poisoned by exploitation
Those who have taken now they must give
And end…

Ustad Sammi - God Is Not A Terrorist

The  75 year old Ustad Naseerudin Saami  is a master of the unigue Pakistani vocal style known as  Surti which is characterised  by its use of microtonals, and is widely regarded as the very last master of the khayal (Arabic for "imagination"), a pre-Islamic predecessor of Pakistani qawwali music which has been handed down by his ancestors for over a thousand years, but currently on the brink of extinction. It is multilingual (Farsi, Sanskrit, Hindi, the ancient and dead language of Vedic, gibberish, Arabic, and Urdu) music.
But because his style of music is regarded as blasphemous and considered haram, impure and resented, as they do anything else pre-dating Muhammad, and have made threats on his  life for simply performing the ancient art. This has seen in Pakistan many musicians being murdered since the turn of the century. notably the assasination of the famous qawalli Anjad Sabri in a hail of bullets in 2016 and the numerous attacks  on Sufi Pakistanis. Sadly, like in  in Mali,this distrust has seen a violently imposed break from anything outside the doctrine and history of Islam which has resulted in the ritual burning of instruments and a ban of most musical forms.
Master Ustad Naseeruddin Saami's however  has spent his entire life mastering the nuances of every given note, in order to keep Surti alive, and it is important to acknowledge, that when he passes, the music may die with him. While many others would be  cowed into silence, Saami remains defiant, literally risking his life daily in Pakistan.
I have finally managed to get hold of a copy of  ' God Is Not A terrorist '  which was produced by acclaimed Tinariwen producer and Grammy Award winner Ian Brennan. Vol.5 of Glitterbeat’s  Hidden Musics series and was recorded in one single night session during which the musicians present continuously chewed paan (a preparation combining betel leaves with areca or betel nuts found in South Asia, South-East Asia and Taiwan and chewed for its stimulating and psychoactive effects) until their teeth turned a fiery red. The session yielded 5 tracks, all featuring the harmonium or pump organ (an instrument introduced in Asia by Christian missionaries and banned on the Indian and later Pakistani radio for the longest time) in the leading role.
The record is a delight, the music is dense and rich and full of wailing that bends and weaves throughout, hypnotising, raw and haunting, powerfully carrying a contemporary message celebrating peace and diversity that is truly universal. You do not need to understand the lyrics to enjoy the singing, with his soaring voice it's a truly electrifying listening experience. I especially  love the message in the title track, "to sing is to listen" The highlight for me has got to be the almost twenty-minute long closing track 'Longing'.  A truly mesmerizing homage to a disappearing musical tradition! Long may this music live on freely. As the Sanskrit proverb says;" If one has a diamond in their chest, it will shine on their face."Despite opposition, Master Ustad Naseeruddin Saami  chooses the light.

Tracklist
1, God Is
2. My Beloved Is On The Way
3. Twilight
4. Hymn
5.War Song
6. Longing

Get it here :-  https://glitterbeat.com/product/god-is-not-a-terrorist-by-ustad-saami/

God Is Not A Terrorist (Trailer)

Ustad Saami - Longing 

Relentless Endurance ( My first attempt at Rap)

I can't rap, in fact i'm rather crap
a light weight snowflake, not hardcore,
my poetry can arrive like a hallmark card
overworked rather tired, ever so scarred,
uninvited not making people beg for more
but sometimes brutally honest when I soar,
with a revolutionarty message to it's core
after smoking bud, mind starts to flow,
words arrive not from god or allah
from deep inside my heart to catch ya,
under the influence am not falling yet
beyond poetical rules  this is what you get,
i'm not sorry, I  just can't  fake it
unleashed take a stand against  bullshit,
cutting like razors, releasing inner edge
get too deep, don't know when to stop,
renegade thinking ,growing and knowing
rhymes released, just my way of showing,
on the battlefield  try to protect peoples rights
bewildered by what I see fight against injustice,
stand wth the kurds, the palestinians,  anyone not free
on the streets, on the page this is my reality,
love can arrive to act like a tranquiliser
a passion that oozes when  fuse is lit,
making me stronger easing the pain
through the haze and smoke, pouring rain,
releasing my songs of pride and devotion
this is me, please accept my contradiction..

Take the ration challenge :Refugee Week

The year 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The UN General Assembly therefore decided that 20 June would be celebrated as World Refugee Day from 2001 onwards.
Since then Refugee week is now a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events and activities that celebrates the contribution of refugees to the UK and promotes better understanding of why people seek sanctuary. Anyone can take part by organising, attending or taking part in activities.
This year during  Refugee Week we  are invited to discover the experiences of displacement that are found in our families, neighbourhoods and history. The theme of Refugee Week this year is, ‘You, me and those who came before’, and is an invitation to explore the lives of refugees – and those who have welcomed them – throughout the generations. people escaping war and persecution have been welcomed by communities in the UK for hundreds of years, and their stories and contributions are all around us. From the Jewish refugees of the 1930s to people fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s, Kosovans in the 1990s to those arriving today; they are part of who we all are.
This year during World Refugee Week, June 16-23, 2019,  people are also invited to join the Ration Challenge. You are asked to commit to eating and drinking the same rations as a Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan, and the money raised will  provide food, medicine and education for refugees and people living in poverty around the world.
It’s a tough challenge but  you will be joining  others raising money and awareness for refugees and showing  that your with them, and not against them.

Take the Challenge

For more information about Refugee  Week visit http://refugeeweek.org.uk/

Chelsea Manning denied release from jail

Former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning will  cruelly remain in jail after a federal appeals court on Monday denied her request to be released on bail, and upheld a lower court's decision to hold Manning in civil contempt for refusing to give evidence before a grand jury. She,now faces another further  16.5 months  of incarcernation. 

The ruling is a blow to Manning, who has been  jailed since March 8th for refusing to collaborate with the government's long-running investigation into Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange.https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2019/03/free-chelsea-manning-again.html

Manning was convicted by court-martial in 2013 of espionage and other offences for furnishing more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to WikiLeaks while she was an intelligence analyst in Iraq.

Former US President Barak Obama in his final days in office, commuted the final 28 years of Manning's 35-year sentence.
Manning has tried to fight the grand jury subpoena in the Assange case, citing her First, Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights under the Constitution.  Manning's lawyers lawyers argued that the government was abusing the grand jury process, since she'd already disclosed everything she knew during her court-martial proceedings years ago. Following Assange's arrest, her legal team released a statement saying that holding her in jail any longer "would be purely punitive."
Manning also argued that the government should be required to reveal if they had her under surveillance, and that the district court judge had wrongly sealed parts of her contempt hearing in March. According to Manning's court briefs, a prosecutor told her lawyer that the government believed Manning gave false, contradictory, or incorrect testimony during her court-martial, and Manning's lawyers took this to mean the government had "intercepted, misunderstood, and misattributed electronic communications."
The 4th Circuit rejected all of her arguments. Manning can now ask a full sitting of the 4th Circuit to reconsider the three-judge panel's decision, or she could petition the US Supreme Court to take her case — the press release from Manning's legal team on Monday indicated she was considering both options.
 "We are of course disappointed that the Circuit declined to follow clearly established law, or consider the ample evidence of grand jury abuse," Manning's attorney Moira Meltzer-Cohen said in a statement., Moira Meltzer-Cohen, suggested prosecutors were abusing "grand jury power", and that "the likely purpose of her subpoena is to help the prosecutor preview and undermine her potential testimony as a defence witness for a pending trial".Her lawyers have also argued that the courtroom was improperly sealed during substantial portions of the hearing.Manning had been held in "administrative segregation," also known as solitary confinement, for nearly a month after the contempt finding, which her lawyers protested. Her support team tweeted from her account on April 4 that she'd been moved into general population at the Truesdale Adult Detention Center in Alexandria, Virginia.
In a comment released by a spokesman, Manning said that while disappointing, the appeals court ruling will still allow her to "raise issues as the government continues to abuse the grand jury process". "I don't have anything to contribute to this, or any other grand jury. While I miss home they can continue to hold me in jail, with all the consequences that brings. I will not give up. Thank you for your love and solidarity through letters and contributions,"
The fact that Manning is still in jail is one of the clearest signs that federal prosecutors are still investigating Assange and WikiLeaks and mulling additional charges. Assange was arrested by United Kingdom authorities on April 11 at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, in part because he faces an indictment in the United States that charges him with conspiring with Manning to hack into US Defense Department computer systems in 2010.

Donate to Chelsea's legal defense here

https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/chelsea-manning-needs-legal-funds-to-resist-a-grand-jury-subpoena

And write her a letter of support here

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning
A0181326,
William G. Truesdale Adult Seention Center,
2001 Mill Road, Alexandria
VA 22314
USA

40th anniversary of the murder of Blair Peach

 Blair Peach  died from a broken skull on the 23rd of April 1979, as a result of  being struck on the head  by a truncheon wielding policeman from the Special Patrol Group during a demonstration outside Southall Town Hall, people will march in his honour in London, near a primary school that's named after him. A plaque  will also  be unveiled in memory of him and Gurdeep Singh Chaggar, a local man who was killed by a racist gang in 1976.

Clement Blair Peach was born in New Zealand on the 25th of March 1946.  He studied at Victoria University of Wellington and was for a time co-editor of the Argot literary magazine with his flatmates Dennis List and David Rutherford. He worked as a fireman and as a hospital orderly in New Zealand before moving to London in 1969 and started working as a teacher at  the Phoenix School in Bow, Towe Hamlets, East London, a special needs school.
Peach was no stranger to radicalism and protest; he was a member of the Socialist Worker’s Party, as well as the Socialist Teacher’s Association and the East London Teacher’s Association, both within the National Union of Teachers. A committed anti-fascist.In 1974 he was acquitted of a charge of threatening behaviour after he challenged a publican who was refusing to serve black customers. He was also involved in campaigns against far-right and neo-Nazi groups; he was well known for leading a successful campaign to close a National Front building in the middle of the Bangladeshi community around Brick Lane. He was also arrested in April 1978, outside a public meeting held by the NF in an East London school. The police had arrested a fellow demonstrator, who was black and female. Peach instinctively placed himself between the woman and the arresting officer and said, “Leave her alone, she has not done anything.” He was arrested, and pleaded not guilty but was convicted, receiving a fine of £50.
Peach was elected President of the East London Teachers Association in 1978. Twice that year he was attacked by supporters of the National Front as he cycled home from teaching at the Phoenix School, and he suffered black eyes, bruising and cuts. According to the East Ender newspaper, “Doctors fear permanent damage may have been done to one of his eyes. His finger has been bitten through to the bone shredding the nerves.” Even before 23 April 1979, Peach was putting his body on the line in the cause of the struggle against fascism.
On St. George’s Day 1979, the fascist National Front held a meeting in Southall Town Hall. The Front had almost no supporters in the area, but was hoping to gain publicity by bulldozing its way through the Asian districts of outer London. The Anti-Nazi League held a counter demonstration outside the Town Hall. Peach was one of 3000 people to attend. The demonstration turned violent; over 150 people were injured, and 345 arrests were made.
Peach sustained a blow to the head from a weapon by a police officer at the junction of Beachcroft Avenue and Orchard Avenue, as he tried to get away from the demonstration. that left him staggering in to a nearby house. The impression is sometimes given that Blair Peach died instantly in the street but in fact he was still conscious though very dazed and finding it hard to speak when the ambulance arrived a quarter of an hour after the injury.  There was no blood or external trauma but it’s clear that he was suffering from a swelling in the brain, what’s termed an extra-dural haematoma. Blair Peach died in an operating theatre at the New Ealing District Hospital at 12.10am. He was only 33 years old. At least three other anti fascist protesters were hit so hard to the head that their skulls were fractured.
Peach’s death struck a chord amongst the communities he had stood up for, and across the city as a whole. A few days after his death, 10000 people marched past the spot where he was fatally injured. His funeral was delayed by several months, until the 13th of June, but that was also attended by 10000 people. The night before his funeral, 8000 Sikhs went to see his body at the Dominion Theatre in Southall.
In the aftermath of Peach's murder, protesters were everywhere, flyposting, speaking, organising, discussing the lessons. The police were around, in very large numbers, but they did not dare to stop people from organising. It was almost as if the police were shamed by the enormity of what they had done. June 1979 also saw a 2,000-strong first Black people’s march against state harassment through central London.

Police investigated themselves in the aftermath of Blair Peach's death and identified  6 cops, 1 of whom administered  the fatal blow. No one has ever been charged.. 

The death of Blair Peach was the dire outcome of a double-edged state racism. The police that day staunchly protected a racist gathering in a predominantly Asian community, while unleashing militarised measures of control and punishment on demonstrators looking to oppose the fascists (Institute of Race Relations, 1979).http://www.irr.org.uk/
Blair Peach’s death became a focal point for those who questioned the nature of the Special Patrol Group and the general lack of police accountability which that force epitomised. And, from the agitation of Blair’s family, especially his long term partner Celia Stubbs, about the inadequacy of the inquest system and the secrecy surrounding the coroner’s court and the evidence withheld from the family, was created the organisation INQUEST.
The Metropolitan Police commissioned an internal inquiry into what happened, which was led by Commander John Cass. 11 witnesses saw Peach struck by a member of the Special Patrol Group (SPG). The SPG was a centrally-based mobile group of officers focused on combating serious public disorder and crime that local divisions were unable to cope with. It started in 1961, and was replaces in 1987 by the Territorial Support Group, which also has a less-than stellar reputation amongst activists.
The pathologist’s report concluded that Peach was not hit with a standard issue baton, but an unauthorised weapon like a weighted rubber cosh,or a hosepipe filled with lead shot. When Cass’ team investigated the headquarters of the SPG, they found multiple illegal weapons including truncheons, knives, a crowbar, and a whip. 2 SPG officers had altered their appearance by growing or cutting facial hair since the protest, 1 refused to take part in an identity parade, and another was discovered to be a Nazi sympathiser. All of the officers’ uniforms were dry-cleaned before they were presented for examination.
Cass concluded that one of 6 officers had killed Peach, but he couldn’t be sure who exactly, because the officers had colluded to cover up the truth. He recommended that 3 officers be charged with perverting the course of justice, but no action was ever taken. The results of the inquiry were not published, and the coroner at the inquest into Peach’s death refused to allow it to be used as evidence, despite making use of it himself. Two newspapers, the Sunday Times and the Leveller, published leaks naming the officers that had travelled in the van that held Peach’s killer. They were Police Constables Murray, White, Lake, Freestone, Scottow and Richardson. When the lockers of their unit were searched in June 1979, one officer Greville Bint was discovered to have in his lockers Nazi regalia, bayonets and leather covered sticks. Another constable Raymond White attempted to hide a cosh. The failure of the authorities to adeguately invstigate Peach's murder left a huge feeling of resentment. Celia Stubbs, said: "This report totally vindicates what we have always believed - that Blair was killed by one of six officers from Unit 1 of the Special Patrol Group whose names have been in the public domain over all these years."
An annual award  has since been  presented by the UK's National Education Union to teachers to carry on Blair Peach's  memory  and after his death a number of writers have dedicated poems to his memory, including Chris Searle, Michael Rosen and Susannah Steele, Louis Johnson, Edward Bond, Sigi Moos, Sean Hutton and Tony Dickens, and songs including  the following  by dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson  in Jamaican patois.

 :

Everywhere you go its the talk of the day,
Everywhere you go you hear people say,
That the Special Patrol them are murderers (murderers),
We cant make them get no furtherer,
The SPG them are murderers (murderers),
We cant make them get no furtherer,
Cos they killed Blair Peach the teacher,
Them killed Blair Peach, the dirty bleeders.

Blair Peach was an ordinary man,
Blair Peach he took a simple stand,
Against the fascists and their wicked plans,
So them beat him till him life was done.

Everywhere you go its the talk of the day,
Everywhere you go you hear people say,
That the Special Patrol them are murderers (murderers),
We cant make them get no furtherer,
The SPG them are murderers (murderers),
We cant make them get no furtherer,
Cos they killed Blair Peach the teacher,
Them killed Blair Peach, the dirty bleeders.

Blair Peach was not an English man,
Him come from New Zealand,
Now they kill him and him dead and gone,
But his memory lingers on.

Oh ye people of England,
Great injustices are committed upon this land,
How long will you permit them, to carry on?
Is England becoming a fascist state?
The answer lies at your own gate,
And in the answer lies your fate.

Campaigners are now  demanding a fresh inquiry into Blair Peach's death Gareth Peirce, the lawyer who defended many of those arrested in 1979, said: “Unquestionably a public investigation is required as to what happened and why it was covered up for so long. A man was killed, wholly innocent people were convicted and evidence against them fabricated.
“The police went out to deliberately inflict injuries on innocent people and were being provocative and racist. An onslaught of violence was unleashed on the Southall community and other protesters. The Hillsborough inquiry shows that reopening investigations into incidents that happened in the past is not only important but achievable.”
Darcus Howe  writer and anti racist activist remarked: “The death of Blair Peach is a lasting injustice. But it is also a pressing issue because there is no evidence that the policing mistakes that led to the death of Blair Peach have been consigned to the past.”
It is sad  that  battles which were fought against state-sanctioned violence and far-right racism are still the battles being fought today, and we should not forget that Blair Peach wasn’t the first person nor the last to be killed by the  police, since his murder Mark Duggan, Ian Tomlinson, Jean Charles de Menezes; are some other people who have  had the misfortune of being famous because they were killed by the Metropolitan Police. The fight for justice goes on, as does Blair Peach's legacy who  believed in the inclusion of everyone no matter what race, religion or educational ability. We must continue to  confront and resist the forces of fascism and racism everywhere.

Earth Day 2019

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. The idea was to raise awareness about our role in protecting our natural world.
It originally started out as more of a political movement, though today it has become a popular day for many communities to clean up litter, plant trees, or simply reflect on nature.
It was in 1970, that Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson and an activist John McConnell separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose the spring equinox (March 21, 1970) and Nelson chose April 22.
Earth Day continues to be widely celebrated. The focus of Earth Day 2019 is protection of Earth species. The Earth Day Network, which runs Earth Day, claims that we are now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the normal rate.
Insect populations have decreased by more than 45% worldwide, 40% of the world’s bird species are in decline, and beekeepers report annual hive losses of 30% or higher.
Many species will disappear before we learn about them or the benefits they bring to our ecosystems and our planet. The loss is so great that the welfare and future of the human species are threatened. Earth Day 2019 is marked by extreme contradictions. Scientists around the world agree that climate change, caused by an increase and trapping of greenhouse gases within the earth’s atmosphere, is our reality.  Ocean temperatures and acidity, sea levels, and coastal flooding are on the rise because of temperature shifts. As a result it is the greatest existential crisis facing humanity today.
According to Guardian Columnist George Monbiot, capitalism is destroying the earth and we need a new human right to fight for future generations https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/15/capitalism-destroying-earth-human-right-climate-strike-children and only rebellion will prevent an ecological apocalypse https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/15/rebellion-prevent-ecological-apocalypse-civil-disobedience. 
Today’s planetary ecological crisis is due first and foremost to the increasing scale of the capitalist world economy. Capitalism is a system totally reliant on the exploitation of nature, whether that be sacrificing our clean water to frack for hydrocarbons or sacrificing our children to the production line. We must deelop new ideas of what a different future may look like outside the  constraints of both capital and fossil fuels in order to move forwards to a sustainable future for humanity, instead of one of catastrophe.
Meanwhile  inspiringly protests calling for the UK government to declare a climate emergency have entered a second week.Activists have stopped traffic in a series of demonstrations across London since Monday with actions including fixing a boat at the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street, occupying Waterloo Bridge and disrupting the Docklands Light Railway by climbing on a train.
A total of  963 people had been arrested as of 7pm on Sunday while 40 have been charged in connection with the protests, the Met Police said.
A spokesman for the Extinction Rebellion movement said there would be no escalation of activity on Earth Day, but warned that the disruption could get "much worse" if politicians were not open to their negotiation requests. The activists are holding a "people's assembly" at Marble Arch today between 3pm and 5pm, to decide where they go next.This will be followed by a feast celebrating "life, community and collectivity". Everyone is invited, and attendees are encouraged to bring throws and flowers to decorate tables.
We should keep demanding a system change not Climate Change. There really is no Plan B, not yet at least. This world is all we have. Earth Day is a day to recognize the richness of our planet and, as its trustees, do everything we can to protect it. Happy Earth Day.

Here are six further ways one could mark Earth Day:

• Pledge to stop using pesticides to save pollinators
• Use safer sunscreen to protect coral
• Organise a "clean up" of your community
• Use the Earth Day Network's  plastic calculator  to track, then reduce, your plastic waste
• Plant a tree
• Calculate your carbon footprint and work out how to offset it
   

For details of events in your area, visit www.earthday.org .

O Spring-time sweet!
The whole Earth smiles, thy coming to greet.

–Unknown

' Our origins are of the earth. And so there is in us a deeply seated response to the natural universe wihich is part of our humanity.' - Rachel Carson

The Mekons - Deserted

The Mekons, a band that I have long loved, first emerged from the 1977 British punk scene, and progressed from socialist art students with no musical skills to the prolific, raucous progeny of Hank Williams. They have been releasing music  which  has combined politics with post-punk, folk and country music for  the last 40 years as radical innovators of both first generation punk and insurgent roots music.  For years continuing while staying true to the punk ethos. Political provocateurs. Social agitators. Punk's reigning contrarians willing outcasts, exuberant luddites the Mekons have been called all this and more. The late Lester Bangs  called them “the most revolutionary in the history of rock’n’roll” the Mekons were notorious, as critic Greil Marcus notes, for being “the band that took punk ideology most seriously.
There story began at the University of Leeds, where a politicized student body was further ignited by the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK” tour of ’77. Out of that flashpoint came one great band ,Gang of Four and a group of incompetent malcontents who picked up Gang of Four’s instruments when the group wasn’t looking.

They were from the outset highly principled stating ”That anybody could do it; that we didn’t want to be stars; that there was no set group as such, anybody could get up and join in and instruments would be swapped around; that there’d be no distance between the audience and the band; that we were nobody special”

They  called themselves the Mekons after a sci-fi movie villain from the popular 1950’s comic The Eagle . releasing singles on a variety of labels and their first album, The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, was recorded using a friends bands instruments. Due to an error by the record company art department the cover featured pictures of, fellow Leeds band, Gang of Four by mistake.

The group’s first iteration was a purposefully sloppy mix of mangled power chords and ideological messages, some of them aimed at the punk revolution itself; the Mekons answered the Clash’s “White Riot” with the reality bites of “Never Been in a Riot.” They played benefits for striking miners and fought hard against the short sharp shock of Margaret Thatcher’s domestic policies.After The Mekons Story compilation in 1982 the band called it a day, with Langford forming The Three Johns, and that seemed to be that.
However they soon returned and began pumping out album after album again on a multitude of labels and even at one time making it onto a major though the resulting album was a commercial flop and though it was loved by the fans they were soon dropped like the proverbial hot potato and cut adrift again.
The band’s discovery of folk music and honky-tonk in the early ’80s recharged them for the long run; The band's longtime members - Jon Langford, Tom Greenhalgh, Dick Taylor( a greying elder who’d been in the very first Rolling Stones lineup) and Kevin Lycett - had added a superb fiddle player Susie Honeyman, an accordionist Rico Bell, multi-instrumentalist Lu Edmonds formely of the Damned. and a professional drummer, Steve Goulding (from Graham Parker's band, the Rumour), whose beat steadied the band somewhat, and then  Sally Timms arrived, her voice wicked with the weight of class warfare and long nights drinking at the local.
The albums of this era — from “Fear and Whiskey” (1985) to “I [heart] Mekons” (1993) — are majestic works of roots-rock entropy, angry and exhausted, daring and funny. Their track
“Robin Hood”, interspersed choruses from Percy Bysshe Shelley with attacks on Winston Churchill as villain “shooting down/the South Wales striking miners”,  and they occupied roughly the same musical space as the Oysterband. When they recorded  ''Fear and Whisky,'' the Mekons had been transformed by exposure to American music, especially honky-tonk country and Cajun music; both are connected to British and Celtic traditions from the home front.
With abundant good humor and dark irony they  released The Mekons Rock ’n’ Roll” in 1989  it was recieved very favourably  . 'Rock-and-roll'' turns up all over the album. The sprightly ''Club Mekon'' links rock to sex, but not in the standard way; for the Mekons, each is ''a commodity, to be bought and sold.'' In ''Learning to Live on Your Own,'' a ballad, Ms. Timms sings that she'll ''throw a rock-and-roll song on the fire''; in ''Amnesia,'' a jumble of images from the 1960's, band members bellow, ''any old army high on drugs/ fight that rock-and-roll war.''Not that rock-and-roll is the only target for the band's skepticism. ''Empire of the Senseless''
Over the years and after the band had learnt to play their instruments their musical style transformed and The Mekons were now famous for playing country and folk music as well as brief forays into rock and even dub reggae. With around twenty albums to their name plus untold amount of singles and EP’s as well as appearances on dozens of compilations

For more than four decades they’ve been a constant contradiction, an ongoing art project of observation, anger and compassion, all neatly summed up in the movie Revenge of the Mekons, which has ironically brought an upsurge in their popularity around the US as new audiences discovers their shambling splendour. That the band is still with us nearly four decades after its founding, the only one of British punk’s class of 1977 still standing , is remarkable in itself. More endearing is that the Mekons’ shaggy, jaded-but-jovial communal ethos still holds strong, embracing alt-folk, country-punk, pub-rock, leftist rage, boozy humor, a rotating cast of men and women, and a dedication to taking nothing seriously but the music and the moment.
Critically and cultishly adored The Mekons deserve to be much more well known as they continue to make innovative original music  while staying true to the punk ethos. After a bit of a  hiatus these beloved survivors are back with Deserted, their first full studio album in eight years. Their new album was recorded in the desert environs of Joshua Tree, California after,the group’s bassist The Baron (aka Dave Trumfio) set up a studio in  the Yucca Valley, where the Mekons  became inspired by the surroundings, leading to the writing and recording of Deserted. “There are deserts everywhere. We took time to ponder the vastness and the weirdness of the desert. Going to the country to get your head together is a ripe old rock cliché. We went to the desert to have our brains scoured… We went from one desert to another. A more hopeful place where we arm ourselves with spikes and endure" main man Jon Langford has said and their new album is  every bit as bold, raw and imaginative as the work that’s established them as one of the most revolutionary groups in punk-rock history.

They have managed to craft something very much in keeping with their surroundings.and is drenched with widescreen, barbed-wire atmosphere and hard-earned (but ever amused) defiance. Deserted is still rooted in their dual comfort zones of raucous post-punk and rollicking alt-country, folk balladry, sea shanties and whatever else strikes their creative fancy.
The formidable opening track  “Lawrence Of California”, is inspired by the guitarist Tom Greenhalgh wandering in Joshua Tree National Park, it arrives on a swell of feedback that erupts into a shout-along gang vocal that  remind us  they’ve lost none of the firebrand punk spirit on which they were originally founded.

The next song “Harar, 1883” imagines the patron saint of punk poetry, Arthur Rimbaud’s time spent in the area of Harar, where he, “…was not troubled in the least / To give up writing poetry.”
The almost pastoral  'How Many Stars' ' sees Tom Greenhalgh’s deadpan vocals unravel a magical and occasionally mystical tale, which looks to the massive desert night sky pondering the universe and the hereafter while  in the harshness of the environment. As beautiful and moving as this song is, there is still humor in a line like “For I am pickled, I am done.” Yes, it’s a folk song about death. 

“In The Desert”, Sally Timms sings about a shattered statue half sunk, a “creature of Bush and Blair”, a reference to the Gulf War and sees her quoting from the closing three lines of Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias.”
The raucous 'Mirage’ follows and is anything but a dreamy number.It's raw and exciting.Calling out Mark E Smith’s name in  a brightl lit alley, as guitars grind away like buzz saws amid cries of “Where you hiding?“  “This is as good as it’s going to get/Between the mirage and the sunset.”
The beautiful"Weimar Vending Machine ” makes a direct reference to “Alabama Song”by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill (also known as “Moon Of Alabama”), a song that The Doors covered  turning into  a delightful David Bowie tribute “That starts off about Iggy Pop in Berlin,” Langford explains. “There’s a story that he went to a vending machine and saw the word ‘sand’. He put his money in and a bag of sand came out.”
Then there is  the gorgeous  rambling “Andromeda”,  with a jaunty reggae beat that  is undercut  by Langford’s echoey, distorted vocals and really lovely violin playing. It’s as left-field as The Mekons can get. The album ends with the atmospheric ‘After The Rain’. It has a dark and haunting sound, a cinematic, elegiac farewell that finds the Mekons on top of their game.

 
The Mekons are without a doubt still passionate, it's embedded into everything that they do. Upon the whole the album looks like a musical landscape, that is monumental but is subject to chaos.The LP sounds fresh and not out of time.  Deserted  is a joy and  marks the welcome  return of one of the planet's most essential rock and roll bands that after 40 years still have something to say. Deserted is the Mekons at their finest, and is a proud addition to their catalog. It's folk music by folks who are pissed and disillusioned, lost and longing to be found, but only on their terms. It’s a testimony to resilience, showcasing a band still as creatively vital as when they first formed, living up to their reputation ' as the only band that matters.' The Mekons still  treading their very own idiosyncratic path and because of this the musical world is a much better place for bands and albums like this.Viva the Mekons.

 CD Track List

1. Lawrence Of California
2. Harar 1883
3. In The Sun/The Galaxy Explodes
4. How Many Stars?
5. In The Desert
6. Mirage
7. Weimar Vending Machine/Priest?
8. Andromeda
9. After The Rain

‘Deserted’ is released by Glitterbeat

Easter Bunny Threatens to Strike Against Cages

 

Across the UK, millions of farmed animals are  crammed into tiny cages with no personal space. Rabbits  for example are denied their most basic needs such as solid ground under their feet, room to move, fresh air and sunlight, and grass to eat. They are kept in cages that are barren, cramped and deny the animals space to move freely, unable to express their natural behaviours   or adopt normal postures such as lying stretched out, sitting and standing with their ears erect (species typical “look out” posture) or rearing up to explore their surroundings. They cannot move normally or comfortably, and some don’t even have enough space to perform a single hop. This is bad for their mental well-being, and the lack of exercise can also lead to weakened bones. It is cruel and completely unnecessary as well as being  unaccepteable.
As a result of all this  the Easter bunny is threatening to go on strike in protest at the Governments   lack of response  to the followng petition, that calls on the UK government to end this inhumane practice by banning all cages for farmed animals.
There's not a moment to lose so please add  your name to the following and show the Easter Bunny that humans do want to stop cruel caged farming, he's counting on your support.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/243448

Penguin Modern Poets

 

Over 30 years or so wandering though charity shops and bookshops I've been drawn to editions  of the Penguin Modern Poets, picking up the odd one here and there, they've long been treasured and have been a huge influence on me. Some have been easy to find, but others have been elusive and hard to find, I didn't actively seek them out, just waited for them to appear before me but am pleased to say that this week I have finally completed the set, wonders of wonders ..
When the Penguin Modern Poets series was launched in 1962, it's goal was to introduce conpemporary poetry  to a much wider audience than had previously been the case. Prior to their release, verse was often published in large and expensive, rather off-putting volumes not readily available to less affluent readers. The Penguins, however were slim, inexpensive and therefore readily available to all; as well as being much less intimidating to look at, with beautiful colourful covers, with  Alan Spain, Roger Mayne and others creating a distinctive look for them, giving  each one it's own collectable identity.
Each anthology covers three poets, and a total of eighty one writers  containing a large proportion of the most important names in British and American poetry, starting with Lawrence Durrell, Elizabeth Jennings, R. S. Thomas and ending with John Ormond, Emyr Humphreys and John Tripp, were showcased in the series's  twenty-seven book run. Each book was numbered except for one title (the 10th one),The Mersey Sound, which received a full name. They contained no biographical material or critical apparatus  and simply encouraged readers to sample widely and deeply and to compare the merits of the poetries on display. taking in every school of poetry.The series promoted loyalty to modern poetry in general, and of course loyalty to the publisher that championed it.
The anthologies became  very popular, the tenth collection, The Mersey Sound included the works of Liverpool poets Roger McGough, Brian Patten, and Adrian Henri and went  on to become one of the best selling poetry collections of all time.
I have personal favourites , the Corso, Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg and the Bukowski, Lamantia, and  Norse are particularlywell thumbed, and the Penguins have introduced me to the distictive work of  the late Lee Harwood, Kenneth Rextroth, Adrian Mitchell and B.S Johnson whose poetry since have truly appreciated .I must say however that each individual title though stand on their own merit, I love them.Ok  darn guess that makes me a materialist, I like wine too but simply adore turning a page, and I return to these Penguins time and time again.

Astonishingly all mine are still in rather  good nick, since so many of these Penguin’s had glued spines that exploded into dust,  have had to replace a few here and there, since former acquaintnces with sticky hands have lifted them, can't really say I blame them, but rather careful nowadays who I let through the door. Though I confess i'm a bit  of a hoarder, friends have been free to borrow if asked, , I'm really not that possessive, though.
They were followed by a second series of 13 new "Penguin Modern Poets" in the 1990s, and yet another series had its debut in 2016, and has now reached its seventh volume. I only have one of these, a collection that includes the poetry of one of my favourite writers Iain Sinclair. These collection are no doubt equally worthy, but they somehow lack the excitement of the original series.

Anyway all power to poetry and the poets that create them.
 
Here’s a list of the books and poets:

1. Lawrence Durrell, Elizabeth Jennings, R. S. Thomas

2. Kingsley Amis, Dom Moraes, Peter Porter

3. George Barker, Martin Bell, Charles Causley

4. David Holbrook, Christopher Middleton, David Wevill

5. Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg

6. George MacBeth, Edward Lucie-Smith, Jack Clemo

7. Richard Murphy, Jon Silkin, Nathaniel Tarn

8. Edwin Brock, Geoffrey Hill, Stevie Smith

9. Denise Levertov, Kenneth Rexroth, William Carlos Williams

10. Adrian Henri, Roger McGough, Brian Patten (entitled: The Mersey Sound)

11. D. M. Black, Peter Redgrove, D. M. Thomas

12. Alan Jackson, Jeff Nuttall, William Wantling

13. Charles Bukowski, Philip Lamantia, Harold Norse

14. Alan Brownjohn, Michael Hamburger, Charles Tomlinson

15. Alan Bold, Edward Brathwaite, Edwin Morgan

16. Jack Beeching, Harry Guest, Matthew Mead

17. W. S. Graham, Kathleen Raine, David Gascoyne

18. A. Alvarez, Roy Fuller, Anthony Thwaite

19. John Ashbery, Lee Harwood, Tom Raworth

20. John Heath-Stubbs, F. T. Prince, Stephen Spender

21. George Mackay Brown, Norman MacCaig, Iain Crichton Smith

22. John Fuller, Peter Levi, Adrian Mitchell

23. Geoffrey Grigson, Edwin Muir, Adrian Stokes

24. Kenward Elmslie, Kenneth Koch, James Schuyler

25. Gavin Ewart, Zulfikar Ghose, B. S. Johnson

26. Dannie Abse, D.J. Enright, Michael Longley

27. John Ormond, Emyr Humphreys, John Tripp