Lucy Parsons ( 1853? - 7/3/1942) - More dangerous than a thousand rioters.

Lucy Eldine Gonzales was born to parents of Native American, Black American and Mexican ancestry near Waco, Texas. It is possible her parents were slaves, but this remains unverified.
She married a white man man called Albert Parsons , who had become a radical republican after serving as a Confederate soldier. She would go on to become a leading figure in American Anarchism and the radical Labour Movement.
In 1875 she and her husband were forced to flee to Chicago, due to intolerant reactions to their interacial marriage. Together they would fight for African American voting rights, and against KKK terror, condemning racist attacks and killings. Getting involved also in  radical labour organising, they fought for the rights of political prisoners, women, people of color, and homeless people, advocating a syndicalist theory of society. She did all this while working as a dressmaker.
She began writing for the radical newspapers The Socialist and The Alarm. The Chicago Police Department describing her 'as more dangerous than a thousand rioters.' On the topic of the growth of homeless people  begging for food on the streets of Chicago, the Chicago  trubune said ' When a tramp asks you for bread , put strychnine or arsenic on it and he will trouble you no more, and trouble wuill keep out of your neighbourhood.' In response to this depravity, Lucy wrote one of her most famous articles  called - ' To Trams, the Unemplyed, the Disinherited, and Miserable.'  Parsons became deeply involved in support of an eight hour workday, and during a demonstration in support of this at Haymarket Square on Tuesday May 4th 1886, an unknown person threw a bomb, subsequent police violence enabled a riot to take place. After the incident  eight Anarchists were arrested on trumped up charges, including Albert. Lucy Parsons at the time did all she could to get justice for her husband and his fellow accused, since no evidence could be found to connect them to the bombing. Fighting tirelessly for them all, travelling across the United States, speaking out, rallying support, raising money. Alas in vain with  four out of the eight being  executed by hanging on November 11th 1887.
After her husbands death , Lucy came into her own as one of the leading radicals of the day. she continued to spread her anarchist message, and became known for her powerful oratory. In 1905 she participated in the founding of the International Workers of the World,  she believed in their committment  to direct action, which she believed  would inspire a strong working class movement. She continued to work with various Labour groups, while raising two children that she had had with Albert. Finding time to organise demonstrations, talking to crowds of workers, for the unemployed, homeless and hungry delivering power passionate speeches against police brutality, judicial murder. Getting involved in the International Labour Defence, fighting for Sacco and Vancetti, Tom Mooney, Scottbro Nine, 9 young African Americans who had become symbols of criminal injustice at the time, and for Women's emancipation,  for free birth control, advocating for organisation of sex workers,and the struggle and rights of the poor and disenfranchised. Preaching justice for the poor by way of revolution. Her radical beliefs prompted the police to arrest her many times but  believing in freedom of speech, she  would spend the rest of her life, fighting the forces that seeked to eliminate her voice.
Continuing to remain active into her eighties, she died in a suspicious house fire on  7/3/42, aged 89. It seems she was viewed as a threat to the political order in death, as well as in life,  it was revealed that her ashes barely being cold, the Chicago Police force seized  her entire personal library, in all it's 3,000 volumes,  on sex, socialism and anarchy and turned it over the F.B.I. Most of it would never be seen again, an attempt to whitewash and write her out of history as they tried to rob her of the work of her life.
 Fortunately some of her writings survived, as do her ideas,  fighting strongly for what she believed in, defying both racial and gender discrimination, at the forefronts of movements and battles for social justice, her entire life. She challenged the racist and sexist sentiment in a time when even Radical Americans, believed a woman's place was in the home.  The legacy of her fight for workers rights, freedom of speech, the African-American, is still a strong influential one. Her voice still resounding against all kinds  of oppression and the forces of capitalism long after her death. 
 She is buried  near her husband in Waldheim Cemetery (now Forest Home Cemetery), Forest Park, Illinois.

Clean for the Queen - No thanks!

                                 Pictured above Michael Gove looking far too jolly and bright

Around the country purple billboards formatted in the style of those annoying keep calm carry on posters have emerged urging people of the land to spruce up their streets, vacuum up their villages, for the benefit of the Queens 90th birthday celebrations in April.  While communities across the country are suffering from long term deprivation, due to government cuts to local services , austerity and gentrification  this new campaign backed  by Country Life and Keep Britain Tidy expects  people to do hours of unpaid work, get down on our hands and knees and scrub  for a woman born into incredible wealth and opulence who has probably never picked up a piece of rubbish in her life, at a time when official  funding for the parasitical royal family has risen 38% to a staggering £ 42.8 million. Austerity sure is tough for some. Quite simply the most patronising campaign I have heard of for a long time, that simply treats us commoners like peasants, serfs and minions.
At first I thought it was some internet viral joke, but the story  actually turned out to be true. Ever since, always eager to brown-nose to the royals, Tory politicians have been  quick to don hi-viz waistcoats and  have a pose, like Mr Gove pictured, the sight of him alone  just makes me want   to go outside and kick over a wheelie bin. Cameron is said to have lent his support too. As have retailers like Costa, McDonalds and Greggs, producers and generators themselves of a hell of a lot of rubbish.
The clean up actually began yesterday  after it has been reported that some local authorities,have cut the money they spend on street cleaning  by an average of 16%  in real  times since 2010 and by more than 80% in some districts. I remember also that the Queen herself as reported by the Guardian in 2012 did not even pay her own cleaning staff the living wage, the princely sum of £6.67 per hour, at a time when the living wage was calculated to be £.8.55:-
.http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/14/queen-cleaners-living-wage, which does suggest a rather contemptuous to her own employees, God bless her.
I guess it was  not her idea, this time, all a tad  embarrassing though, but while this  is in our thoughts  here's another suggestion , how about,  instead  of cleaning up for the Queen we clear up our democracy instead, ridding ourselves of its hereditary and unelected positions once and for all. 
I do not  like seeing litter lying abandoned and already like to keep things tidy, will clean for the environment, and for the community  but not for the Queen I won't, as a republican I can not stoop down in deference, however I would be more than happy to lend a hand  clearing out Buckingham Palace and help end this symbol of privilege once and for all. 
Queen for the Queen - No Thanks ! 

On World Book Day : Books still have the Power to change the World.

Today marks World Book Day, in an increasingly digitalised age, books I  believe still have the power to change the world. Like many people, I guess, I still get trapped by the allure of the internet, a tool, that I use most days, but as I write this piece, in my trusted library am surrounded by books, and when not here, at home or wherever I happen to be, I still  like to stick my head in a book, turn some pages, that continue to challenge and inspire. A thirst and taste first harnessed by my mum, and subsequently the local library.
Despite the tragedies and terrors of the world  books can still restore some kind of hope, can provide a form of sustenance to people in similar circumstances across the globe,  a vast flow of communication that have served to remind us of our shared humanity's vast diverse cultural heritage. Precious trickles, like water that allow us to grow. Books still have the capacity to change and challenge the worlds problems and provide people with the means to educate themselves, and like love itself words of course have no borders.
Personally books are a form of addiction for me, one that I am glad that I have succumbed too, much better for my health than certain substances that are also readily available. I buy most of mine nowadays from charity shops and the few small inependent booksellers that remain,  places so worth supporting, wonderful spaces, balms for the imagination.
At home I am lucky, I still have plenty to choose from, to hold my fascination, dusty old tomes, dangerous, magical, subversive, that cement ideas of mine together. Surrealists, dreamers, dissenters, outsiders, rebels,magicians, poets, experimental fragrances that always take me somewhere special. Thought provoking fuels that offer me equally comfort, confirmation and validation.
World Book Day is a time to celebrate everything book and reading related that enable us to engage in making another world possible. To enjoy and celebrate the power that different stories, tales and narratives have, to allow us to see the world through other peoples eyes, new perspectives that can help us find paths to build a better world to live in. Because books allow us to live creatively, think on our own terms, to travel portals with no need of passports.
The day hopes to bring people together through a love of books, to encourage people, especially children to read books, it also seeks to promote peace, tolerance and understanding and respect among each other for other cultures and traditions. 
So today this post is my way of celebrating the power of books. Sadly though their will always be those that seek to control what we read, because books retain the  power to move, transform and enrich individuals lives, open us up to change,and to help reshape significantly the world that we live in and make a difference.
Sadly my local library is currently under threat because my local council is planning to downsize it by 75%, and relocate it to a place that parents of young children , the disabled and others  will have no access to,  with no thought of the future, even though current landlord has offered this temple a rent free guarantee for the next  five years. It  simply does not make sense. The council is simply succumbing to our Governments monstrous cultural vandalism and savage cost cutting, that  is taking place across the land, it is not to late to save it, so please sign the following petition, and would urge anyone reading on World Book Day to fight to save any library under threat in your own community.:-
https://www.change.org/p/ceredigion-county-council-keep-cardigan-library-open-4d60e2d8-890e-4276-8c04-f5aeb8ceafcb
In the background now  the sound of children singing, enjoying the power of books, actively encouraged by our friendly librarian.
Books I hope will long have the capacity to mould, and sustain us.
I will end with some quotes, the first  from Heinrich Heine ( 1797-1857) German essayist and romantic poet :-

" Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings. "

" You cannot open a book without learning something. " - Confucius

" A book must be  the axe for the frozen sea within us." - Franz Kafka

" Hungry man , reach for the book, it is a weapon." - Bertolt Brecht 

No one deserves to be teargassed, looking for shelter

Poetic response to events that have recently taken place in Calais and on the Greek/Macedonian border. Published on I am not a silent Poet Blog :-
https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/no-one-deserves-to-be-teargassed-looking-for-shelter-by-dave-rendle/  
Their pain is our shame.


No one deserves to be teargassed,
looking for shelter,
treated like savages, given no respect,
hope destroyed left in tatters,
reason left beyond recognition,
tears now drown the soil,
that once sustained them,
that acted as a bridge,
between life and death,
laughter and solace now lost,
as politicians seem not to care,
whether peoples dreams survive,
air now heavy in bullshit and tyranny,
my heart bleeds too,
as I witness this hell from afar,
innocent beings punished and forsaken,
memories already haunted, cloaked in grief.
 

The Praise of St David's Day Showing the reason why the Welch-men Honour the leeke on this day

Today as has become traditional I mark St David's Day/ Dydd Dewi Sant. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales. This day was chosen to  commemorate St David's death on this day around 589 AD. It has been celebrated as a national day within Wales since the 18th century.
The Praise of St David's Day is reprinted from They look at Wales (1941) from an early black-letter broadside  in the British Museum library. It refers to the original Trojan  of the  Welsh  people. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century, Brutus of Troy conquered Britain and fathered  the British people. Disputed by English scholars in the nineteenth century, this view of history remained gospel for patriotic Welshmen 'till the eighteenth century.


Who list to reade the deeds
   by valiant Welch-men done,
Shall find them worthy men of Armes,
  as breathes beneath the sunne;
They are of valiant hearts,
  of nature kind and  meeke,
An  honour on St David's Day;
   it is to wear a leeke.

The Welch most ancient is
   of this famous land,
Who were the first that conquered  it,
  by force and warlike hand.
From Troy stout Brute did come,
 this kingdome for  to seeke;
Which was possessed by savage men,
 then honoured be the Leeke.

He having won the same,
  and  put them to the sword :
Of Brute did Britaine first take name,
 as Chronicles record
The Welch true Brittaines are,
  whose swords in blood did reeke,
Of Pagan men being heathenish,
  then honoured by the Leeke.

And know if you would know,
  why they the Leeked do weare;
In honour of St David's day,
  it plainly shall appeare.
Upon St David's day,
  And first of March that weeke,
The Welch-men with their foes did joyne,
  then honoured by the Leeke.

And being in the field,
  their valour they did try;
Where thousands on both sides  being slaine,
  within their bloods did lye.
And they not knowing how
  their friends from foe to seeke;
Into a Gardem they did go,
  where each one pulld a Leeke :

And wore it in his hat,
  their Countrymen to know ;
And  then most valiantly they did
  o'ercome their warlike foe.
Then were noe colours knowne,
  or any feathers eeke;
The feathers first  originall,
  it was the Welch-mans Leeke.

And ever since that time,
  the Leek they use to weare,
In honour of St David's day,
  They doe that Trophy beare.
A Reverend Bishop was
  St David mild and meeke,
And 'tis an honour that same day,
  for them to wear a Leeke.


All the best on this day, heddwch/peace
happy St David's day/ Dydd Dewi Sant.

She is a dancer of hope and the creator of my dreams

Edgar Degas - Dancer adjusting her shoulder strap 1900

The  journey of life can be very uncertain and unpredictable - it can leave us frightened and  vulnerable.  Life is very precious indeed, and at the end of the day we need health and wellness to enjoy our lives to the fullest.  I arrived at my partners the other day,  who has been unable to walk or get out of bed for last 6 months  or so because  of treatment for cancer, but she has gradually been getting stronger,  and has never given  up hope, which has been an  invaluable gift for me as well. I hear her music all the time nowadays.
As I've said, she's been getting a bit more mobile, aided by her trusted zimmer frame, but increasingly, casts it aside. She has always liked dancing, has missed not going out  to musical soirees for a bit of a shuffle and a groove,  so imagine my surprise when I glanced her through her kitchen  window, and could hear the sound of the Peatbog Faeries blasting from the stereo, their she was in what was an uplifting moving experience, dancing unaided, reminding me that despite the odds she still sparkles and shines her light in abundance. She did not do this  for long, but it was a joy to behold, and each day now walking  has slowly got more easier, more natural, but still a long way to go.
Everyday now she will practice a little unaided  dance for  ten minutes or so , that will be movement enough I hope to sustain her and remind  herself that there is always hope on the horizon. Bucket loads of it. I have witnessed it in her laughter and smiles. Our bond gets stronger too, which is not a bad thing,  I will end with a quote by Albert Einsten :-

" We dance for  laughter, we dance for tears,
we dance for madness,we dance for fears,
we dance for hopes, we dance for screams,
we are the dancers, we create the dreams."

No to Trident

The Government is planning to spend more than £160 billion on four Scottish based submarines  whose only purpose is to threaten the whole of humanity. Each warhead has 8 times the explosive power of the bomb that destroyed the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. That bomb alone vaporised human flesh within a half mile radius and fatally burned thousands miles from the epicentre.
By the way by renewing Trident at the end of the day will be militarily  pointless. it will not deter terrorist attacks or nuclear blackmailers, but will simply make it harder for Britain  to encourage Nuclear disarmament  around the globe.
The majority of the British public of Britain  do not  want the Trident  Nuclear missile system. It is time to comply with our obligation under international law to accomplish the total elimination of our nuclear arsenal.
So solidarity with everyone marching against Trident today, As someone once said " If they can find money to kill someone, they can find money to help people." It is the will of humanity that will secure their destruction.