I Intend To Escape ......................And Come Back

All Power To The Imagination

No, not Dave Douglass book of that title!

All Power To The Imagination is a season of films across London, from now until June, devoted to 1968 and its legacy. Given Britain's pathetic contribution to events that year, it hardly seems appropriate to mark such an anniversary in London, but the 1968 season does just that.

Flicking through the programme, it is resplendent with superbly pretentious French titles, but don't let my cynicism put you off. The 28th April sees "Mr Freedom" which De Gaulle banned as it showed a France in danger of falling to Communism, whilst the May bank holiday weekend shows well known classics such as "The Battle of Algiers" and Issac Julien's study of Fanon. However, given she talked up Ken Livingstone when she visited London earlier this year, I shall probably miss Yolande du Luart's study of Angela Davis.............

Tuesday 6 May features Gordon Carr's 1973 BBC documentary on the Angry Brigade (at the Barbican), and May 16th shows John Thaw in the brilliant "Praise Marx and Pass The Ammunition" - get along early and boo Tariq Ali, who will be introducing the film! The film which intrigues me most is Toshio Matsumoto's "Funeral Parade of Roses" which is given the following write-up:

"Perhaps the most radical - and remarkable - response to the 1968 unrest in Tokyo, a hyper-conscious, hugely inventive and queer reworking of the Oedipus myth set amongst Black GIs and Japanese hippies."

Beat that!

The Elephant In The Room

I spent this afternoon at the London Independent Film Festival, seeing a new 9/11 film, The Elephant In The Room.

The film proved to be a very mixed bag. You can read my thoughts on it here.

Titter Ye Not!

Last night saw two features on the great Frankie Howerd.

David Walliams in the drama "Rather You Than Me" then a one hour profile on the great man's career (obviously I mean Howerd there, not Walliams).

I guess you are either a Frankie Howerd fan or you are not - I always was. If not - please yourselves! Many, many years ago I can recall being stuck on an extremely tedious Employment Training course at the Chamber of Commerce in Manchester. The trainers genuinely hated you, and the only thing that enlivened the day was talking to your fellow inmates.

One day our conversation moved on from United and City's comic performances, to those of truly great British comedians. I can remember the horror of the moment clearly. A fat lad from Bury piped up "Frankie Howerd isn't funny, because all he does is so 'ooh no missus'".

I can't think of anything funny than Frankie Howerd saying 'ooh no missus' and would pay good money, if the great man was still alive, to see it.

Would'nt everyone? 

The Next Poet Laureate?

I suppose if Britain has to have a poet laureate, it should really be the great Benjamin Zephaniah.

In the meantime though, Lee Jasper, who is currently in the job market, sets out his claim with this little number:

"How many ways do I love thee? As the air I breathe and first gentle dew on a golden summer morn.

As much as the Brazil national football team or aki and saltfish. I love thee feet, ankles, legs, thighs, bum and belly, arms, head and brain."

I suppose it would be too much to hope that Jasper would support the England team of Rio Ferdinand or Ashley Cole, but putting football matters aside, this is clearly a man of exceptional talent who should go far.

Perhaps, when the full nature of his sleazy relationship with Ken Livingstone is revealed - as far as a prison cell!

A Sense Of Priority

This evenings London Paper reports on the shocking case of a headless corpse found in North West London:

"Police believe that the man was murdered elsewhere because no blood was found at the scene, which is just half a mile from supermodel Kate Moss's new home in St John's Wood."

On The Ball At Breakfast Time

Was I the only person to spot that during yesterday's BBC Breakfast programme, they continuously led with captions announcing the death of 'Heather Ledger'.?

Perhaps Heath Ledger was not quite as well known as some have led us to believe?

Poetry As Comedy, Politics and Religion As Farce

Some of the best comedy to be found these days comes courtsey of the British Muslim community.

I am not talking about stand up comics, or even sketch shows on TV, but some of the defence submissions made in terror cases. Better still is that these are usually made with a straight face - all good comedy has to be played either straight or very, very hammy.

Having had a succesion of Guantanamo Bay inmates all of all of whom claim to have been arrested when they were actually in Pakistan, were in Afghanistan to work for charities or to learn Arabic (odd that they did not go to an Arab speaking country to do that, but there you go) things have reached a new peak in the trial of WH Smith Sales assistant Samina Malik, accused of possessing four items of use to terrorists.

I have no idea if Ms Malik is guilty or not, or even if a trial should have been brought. What I do know is that her barristers description of her as a poet 'like Wilfred Owen' and her own description of herself as a 'lyrical terrorist' are the two funniest things I have heard all year. Here's a sample of the Islamic Wilfred Owen's prose:

"Kafirs your time will come soon, and no one will save you from your doom!"

Anyone who used to enjoy the poetry of Rik Mayall in the Young One's will recognise her style.

Compare for example Rik's "People's Poem":

"What do you think you're doing, pig?
Do you really give a fig, pig?
And what's your favourite sort of gig, pig?
Barry Manilow?
Or the black and white minstrel show?"

If convicted, perhaps Ms Malik will have time to produce a full volume of her verse, then we could make a more detailed comparison of these two literary giants?

Easterhouse (Again)

Going on about Easterhouse all the time on this site has brought me an unexpected treat.

I have just been given, free, the 12 inch single "Whistling In the Dark". This comes with two great B sides, "Confrontation" and "Ain't That Always The Way". Records denouncing trades union bureacrats are hardly in keeping with the musical climes of 2007, but back in 1985, with the miners having just been smashed and a genuinely politicised working class, this release was not extraordinary.

Easterhouse never got the publicity they deserved, in part I guess because left-leaning music journalists preferred the SWP supporting Redskins, and secondly because there class politics were a bit too hard for some. Ain't that always the way! Last word should of course go to Ivor Perry's sleeve notes:

"We will only be able to fight effectively when we smash the influence of the Labour party which is committed to this economic system, to its social order and to Britain itself. The miners paid for this knowledge by hard experience. It is our duy to see it is not wasted."

Cable Street Gig - Saturday 6th October

Camden Parasites Published

I spent Saturday afternoon at the launch for Danny Lux's "Camden Parasites" at Housmans in Kings Cross.

Phoenix Press kept the red wine flowing, whilst Martin Lux explained a little about the book, how it came about and the reasons for republishing it. One is demand - the first edition was apparently being advertised second hand at over £60!

There's no such price tag for this edition though - you can order one for £7.95 from London Class War pick one up in Housmans, or at next months Anarchist Bookfair.