Silvertown Remembrance March & Service: Abide with me

Today there were 4 Remembrance Services in Newham. This year I went to the Royal British Legion (North Woolwich & Silvertown Branch) Service. There was a march from the Legion club in Constance Street E16 starting off promptly at 10.30am.

At the head of the possession was a Pipe and Drums band and bringing up the rear a London Fire Brigade engine. As well Royal Legion veterans, supporters and ordinary members of the public there were serving soldiers from the Rifles, a Royal Marine and representatives from all the emergency services.

Councillor Amarjit Singh was there in his role as Chair of the Council. I walked with local Royal Docks ward Councillors Patrick Murphy, Stephen Brayshaw and Anthony McAlmont. I estimated that there were about 150 people in the procession. We marched to the St Marks War Memorial in Factory Road. This is in the grounds of what is now the Brick Lane Musical Hall.

There was an outdoor service and luckily the weather held out for us. The first hymn was one of my favourites (even though I clearly did not know all the words) “Abide with me”. Then we had prayers and the "Last Post” before the two minute silence at 11am. After Reveille there were poems read out followed by the laying of wreaths. The final hymn was “O God in Ages Past” then the National Anthem and a blessing. Next was was coffee and cakes (treacle tart!) inside the Musical Hall (which I have not been to before – but must return to see the show).

I enjoyed the sight of elderly veterans shaking hands and talking to the present day soldiers and marines. Over coffee I was speaking to one man who could remember as a local child listening to Doodlebugs (German V1 rockets) flying overhead then their engines cutting out and the rocket falling down and exploding. Outside I was asked to take a photograph of a family in front of the memorial. Their great-grandfather was one of the servicemen named on it.

Despite the weather the attendance this year was apparently much larger than in previous years which I think is for fairly obvious reasons. After a little while we formed up again and marched to the footbridge where we “fell out” and were invited to come back to the Legion Clubhouse.

On my way home I stopped off at the local Fire station and took a photo of the plaque remembering the firemen and their families who were killed in the nearby Silvertown explosion in 1917. An unsafe wartime factory producing TNT high explosives blew up and flattened the local area killing 73 and injured over 400.

My usual favourite memory of today was during the two minute silence when in this solemn and very serious time we all paid our respects in our different ways all you could hear was the lovely sounds of a little innocent baby happily cooing and babbling away in the arms of a no doubt slightly embarrassed Mum.

Green Street Labour Party Stall – Free School Meals 4 Newham Kids

Picture is from today’s West Ham Labour Party stall in Green Street, E7. Our local MP Lyn Brown (left of pic) is shown with local Party activists.

We were handing out leaflets about the introduction of free school meals for all Newham Primary school children. This is a very welcome Labour Government and Newham Council anti-poverty initiative that I think will make a real difference.

It’s not only just about important issues such as good nutrition and “healthy” meals. Some of our kids live in such dysfunctional families that they come to school without any breakfast never mind lunch. You cannot learn on an empty stomach. Also this is so, so important for hard pressed working parents bringing up kids while struggling to survive on low wages.

The campaign went down very well with local residents and shoppers. It is not that often in my experience that while on political street stalls passerbys queue up to ask for a leaflet! Many shoppers in Green Street live out of the borough and were asking when their local council will by doing the same (hint, hint to all those local Labour Parties about to hold manifesto meeting).

Overall I felt that the stall went very well concerning how so called “badly” the Party is supposed to be in the polls. People were pleased that we were out talking to them when there was no impending election. One man told me, apparently seriously, that he thought I looked like former USA president Bill Clinton! No comment.

While I was really pleased at the number of people of various faiths and backgrounds wearing British Legion “Remembrance” Poppies. We had lots of young British Asian kids very proudly showing off their Poppies to us while waiting for their Labour Party balloons.

It was all in all a lovely day.

Newham Fireworks Display and Wanstead Flats 2009 & 1940: Now and Then

This picture is not the best but it was very (repeat very) wet and a little windy last night at the Newham Council Free Firework display on Wanstead Flats.

The weather was pretty appalling but it did not stop many people from all over East London turning out to watch and enjoy the fireworks.

While I enjoyed the spectacle with everyone else the firework explosions and light flashes did make me think of this spot 64 years ago during the London Blitz. For then the “bangs” would have been very much for real.

In the first and 2nd World Wars Wanstead Flats was used to site heavy anti-aircraft guns to protect London and especially the docks from German aerial attack. Gun batteries on this site were even credited with helping bring down a Zeppelin. The Flats were also hit itself by enemy bombs and rockets.

However there is a time and place for everything and last night was about families having (soggy) fun together and enjoying the spectacle. Tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday and this will be the time we remember more serious and sombre matters.

Rising from the East: Sunday 15th November 2009

A day to explore communities, culture and politics in London’s East End

11.00 Registration

Session 1: Rebels with a cause

11.30-12.10: East End Jewish anarchists before WW1 –

lessons for the 21st century (Ben Gidley)

12.15-12.55: Minnie Lansbury – feminist, socialist and rebel

Poplar Councillor (Janine Booth)

Lunch / Book signing by Bill Fishman, author of many books

on East End history and a Cable Street veteran

Session 2: The struggle for better lives

1.35-2.15: Self-help, solidarity and socialism: the Workers’

Circle (David Mazower)

2.20-3.00 Doctors and Politics in East London (John Eversley)

Break for refreshments

Session 3: Bengalis and the East End – a continuing story

3.15-3.55 The East India Company and the silencing of East

End histories (Georgie Wemyss)

4.00-4.40 Bengali politics in London's East End

(Ansar Ahmed Ullah)

Sunday 15th November

Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street,

London E1 6LS

Entrance £5 (£3 concs). Places limited to 90.

Book in advance by sending a cheque/PO to “JSG” at:

JSG, BM 3725, London WC1N 3XX

Organised by the Jewish Socialists’ Group

www.jewishsocialist.org.uk

Hat-tip thingy Stroppyblog

Labourstart Photo of the Year: Manual Labour

A Bangladeshi boy works in a shipbuilding factory in down town. These factories employ young boys as apprentices without pay for the first few years. They work in extreme conditions without safety tools like gloves, goggles, and other protective gears.

In exchange, they learn the skills of the trade. But this costs them loss of health and education. In Bangladeshi child work lad is under 18th years child don't work in any work site. But no body eels to see them and no security in their life.

Check out the Labourstart winner by a clear margin KM Asad here. Does your pension or life assurance fund own shares in the companies that buy these ships or use them to carry their raw materials or finished goods to market? Ask the question!

Some kids have a bonfire night(mare) every day.

"Back from one war to join another fight"

Welcome back home to Ipswich Labour Councillor Alasdair Ross who has returned from a tour of duty with 2 Rifles in Afganistan. This Youtube tribute was posted on his blog in September and titled "A tribute to the 2 Rifles "The Chosen Men" High on a Hill".

He reports on his commander's view that it has been "the fight of our lives" and on "the tragic news today from Helmand today reminds us all in the Rifles of what we went through and watching the news today it made us realise the roller coaster ride our families went throughwhilst we were away (5 British soldiers apparently shot by an Afghan Police officer).

Alasdair also posts "Goodbye Sangin- it has been a complex, lethal, intense and nuanced campaign. But we leave Sangin and the Upper Helmand Valley a safer place to live for all Afghans".

Alasdair is not convinced that the Tories will win the next general election. The Labour Party members of today must fight like Bevan and Gaitskill "did in their time for the future of this country".

UNISON Environmental Investing Seminar 2009

This was a well attended and absorbing national seminar organised for UNISON lay pension trustees, LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme) member nominated representatives (MNR), other Pension and environmental activists.

Held in the NUT headquarters in Kings Cross it was chaired by UNISON NEC member (and Chair of National Labour Link) Steve Warwick in his usual good humoured but “let’s get on with business” no nonsense manner. National officers responsible for UNISON’s Capital Stewardship programme (Mr Colin Meech) and UNISON Green agenda (David Arnold) organised the seminar and they also spoke and took questions.

The first speaker was Ann Pettifor who is a fellow of the New Economic Foundation (NEF) who is perhaps better known for her work with the Jubilee 2000 campaign (cancelling developing world debt) and was also one of those to have predicted as far back as 2003 the recent “Credit Crunch”. Then Colin Hines from Finance for the Future and an advisor to Green MEP, Caroline Lucas.

The last speaker was Viktor Andersson from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CPD – “on behalf of 475 investors with asserts of $55 trillion”). Alan Broughall a UNISON activist MNR on the UK Environment Agency Pension Fund was unable to attend but we had a very good written report from him explaining why this fund is seen as a model of excellence.

I hope to post in the future on the specific presentations and Q&A’s. But what struck me the most are two things. Firstly on a more general point it was really good to see many of the various different strands of UNISON working together under the same roof. We had senior national and lay officers. We had activists from different service groups from all over the union and the UK. We had non union expert speakers of international standing. In a meeting chaired by the chair of our most important Political fund (IMO). All of us working together, educating each other and exchanging ideas. This was (pardon the pun) UNISON at its best.

Secondly on a more parochial basis. I was really interested to see another possible synergy from:-
1. As a quasi-Pension trustee who is aware of the need to have safe and secure sustainable investment opportunities for my fund and my trade union members who depend on their pension in their old age.
2. As a member of a pension scheme I would not want my savings to be used to harm anyone (including my fellow workers near or far and the wider society).
3. As a housing officer I am aware of the pressing need to get the money to build new homes for the overcrowded and homeless.
4. As someone concerned about the impact of climate change on society and the need to bring our housing stock up to modern energy efficient standards and provide green jobs.

This is of course my own personal opinion but surely we should be able to create investment vehicles that make it possible for our pension’s funds to invest safely in new build properties and to retrofit our existing public housing stock to modern efficiency standards. Backed by future rental yields and savings from reduced energy costs. Not only would this be sustainable it would reduce our carbon consumption and do no harm either to other workers or the wider economy. They will provide long term security for our pension funds to match future liabilities against asserts.

Win, win, win & win?

(Picture: Encouraging Green investments)

About “John’s Labour blog” – surely they don’t mean...?

A couple of dare I say rather cheeky posts about this fine blog.

Firstly a review in Politics.co.uk

“This is a really nice local site - lively, informative and regularly updated. There is a real mixture of content on the site - from political commentary, to bulletin board-style announcements and national campaign videos. (so far so good)

It's not the most searingly well-written site but there's no mistaking its enthusiasm”. (Wot!)

Then the shock horror news here about the editor of Socialist Disunity - Andy Newman and his deep...dark secret:-

“...We all have guilty pleasures that we are slightly embarrassed to admit to. My dirty secret is that I regularly read John Gray’s blog”...

I actually don’t mind since Andy is one of the very few Ultra left bloggers to come across as a well rounded human being. He is probably the exception that proves the rule, despite being (IMO) a fully paid up member of the Lost Deposit Brigade.

A bright future for Royal Mail

This should be a topical debate. Well done to Newham Compass and the local CWU for organising this event. I’ll circulate it to Newham TULO members and ask the local CLP’s to pass it on.

I was pleased that at today’s UNISON London Regional Finance Team meeting we agreed to make an immediate donation to the London CWU Hardship Fund Payments and at the later Regional Council Officer meeting we made a recommendation that a significant donation should be made to our next Regional Committee.

Details of the Fund:-

CWU London Divisional Committee – Hardship Fund
Unity Trust Account No. 20232065
Sort code: 086001

Or send (non strike days of course)
Hardship Fund
C/O CWU London Divisional Committee
2nd Floor, 33-41 Dallington Street
London
EC1V 0BB
020 7336 8371 or 020 7336 8373

A mythical Balearic Island

I’m just back from a great break in warm and sunny Mallorca. Or rather according to The Rough Guide the mythical fifth Balearic Island called “Majorca” (the English spelling for Mallorca). Since this is apparently a long standing Spanish joke (there are only four Islands).

As much as I enjoy The Rough Guides and have been using them to get the most out of holidays for years they are extremely patronising about the typical holidays enjoyed by ordinary working people. Now I have flown into countries and used The Rough Guide to take public transport or to hire a car and tour around the countryside while staying at small hotels or camp sites and eating at local restaurants. Which they seem to think is the only "proper tourism".

However, I also from time to time enjoy staying put for a week at a well run inexpensive “all inclusive” resort favoured by the masses. Last week I still went walking and touring most days but I mainly just wanted to indulge, crash out, read and enjoy the sea and sunshine. Some of the huge sprawling resorts are pretty awful but just rubbishing anything that doesn’t appeal to a middle aged middle class graduate reminiscing about his gap year is just toffee-nosed nonsense. I would recommend the resort Calas de Mallorca on the East Coast to most folk - it was very pretty, there was lovely walks along the cliffs and beaches, there was even (God forbid) a small but compact and lively commercial centre of bars and shops - but to The Rough Guide it is simply just awful and charmless - not even really worth a mention.

On a more serious note the picture is of a memorial “to all the victims of the civil war” (in Spanish on base) just under the Santuari de Sant Salvador in Artá (well worth a visit for the views). I do not know who erected this memorial or why (The Rough Guide did not mention it!). During the War Mallorca was occupied by the Fascists while Menorca was held by the Republicans. By co-incidence last week was also the 39th anniversary of the end of the Franco regime.