Winstanley – Andrew Mollo & Kevin Brownlow, UK / 1975 / 95 mins / cert 1 Join us and the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair Collective for this screening of a restored version of this important film from 1975. In the run up to the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair on 12 September, this film evokes some of the earliest examples of anarchist thought and practice. Indeed the occupations by the Diggers have been described by some as the first anarcho-communist revolution in history. The context of the film […]
Talks by BRHG stalwarts contributed to The Working Class Bookfair Where Now For The Left? - Ian Bone Ian Bone, Class Warrior, Ciaran Walsh IWW (involved in Traveller education), plus one other speaker (tbc). It has become common place to patronise working class people, whether those who tell us that we don't exist or the condescending description of us as 'chavs' etc. and 'dole scum'. We are working class and we are proud of it. The British working class is the oldest in the world created in the […]
Speaker - Juan The Movement for Justice in El Barrio (MJB) was founded in New York by immigrants and low-income people of color fighting back against the effects of neo-liberalism and discrimination in all of its forms. The organisation operates on a commitment to the ideals of self-determination, autonomy and participatory democracy emphasizing their connection to the Zapatista’s ‘Other Campaign’. Driven by multi-national corporations and profit-seeking landlords and facilitated by city […]
Open Source Software: Interactive Workshop Bristol Wireless will be hosting an evening of Creative Commons Fun including talks, demonstration, films and a bar! 5.00-7.00pm Interactive workshop on Open Source Software 7.30pm Film: ‘Revolution OS’ a 2001 documentary film made in the United States, directed by J. T. S. Moore, which traces the twenty-year history of GNU, Linux, open source, and the free software movement. – followed by talk and discussion on Open Source software. Bristol Wireless […]
The Crown And The Commons: Holding Monarchy To Account In 18th Century England - Steve Poole Eighteenth century English men and women understood their allegiance to the Crown in contractual terms. Their allegiance to the King, in other words, was conditional upon the King looking after the interests of the Commons and defending Constitutional liberty. In theory then, their allegiance was dissolved if the King failed to perform. And in these circumstances, radical constitutionalists might make it […]
Economic globalisation, an increasingly intrusive State and the power of consumerism are conspiring to scour the colour, character, independence and eccentricity from all corners of the English landscape and replace them with shopping malls, second homes, clone towns and executive apartments. Join author Paul Kingsnorth for a tour around a nation, which is beginning to fight back against this erasure of its history and character. Listen to this talk: Download Paul Kindsnorth's talk (1hr 20mins, […]
A night dedicated to ongoing struggles in Bristol to control our urban spaces whether playing field, park or pubs and clubs. Packers Field: A Victory? Packer's Field is a seven acre area of green land that nestles between the Whitehall, Easton and Greenbank districts of Bristol. For generations it was used by local people for recreation and leisure. In 2003 the City Council sold the lease to an Academy school without proper community consultation. Kevin Davis recounts the battle by local people […]
The Kett Rebellion was a sudden explosion of popular feeling against the enclosure policies of the Tudor government that swept through Norfolk in the summer of 1549. 20,000 people led by Robert Kett created a self-governing camp outside Norwich. It required two military expeditions from London to suppress the uprising. Listen to this talk: Download Peter Clark's talk (50mins, 8.8mb mp3 file)
**Despite the recent fire Bristol Reference Library will re-open on April 14th and this event will be unaffected** The Commons And Enclosure Your chance to view primary source material related to the commons, enclosure and rebellion in the Bristol Room of the Central Reference Library. Hosted by our friends, the knowledgeable and helpful archivists Dawn Dyer and Jane Bradley Here is a list of the books that were on view: John Parkinson (1567–1650; buried 6 August 1650) was the last Laws and […]
