Free! Fortnightly! Fun!
This page lists the 1981 back issues of Red Rag, with several missing before October
(do you have any of the missing ones in your loft?
). Each issue is available in two forms:
- scan - choose this if see exactly what each issue looked like, but
be prepared for 10MB downloads
- txt - just the text - choose this for a much faster download or if
you want to copy the text into any other form
You can also link from here to the introduction page for each issue.
|
(scan
/ txt)
The compiler alludes to a less than convivial encounter with the
bouncers at the Uni and leaves me wanting to know more. Wednesday 11
March arrives before Monday 9th but this was before the days of cut
and paste and it has to stay that way. Having read, typed and proof
read the "Filler" I think I understand what it's about, but don't ask
me any questions.
|
|
(scan
/ txt)
At last! A Real Red Rag Rant! Although I confess I feel just a tad
embarrassed about how I looked forward to the publication of the
Chronic following the Red Rag Reunion having read it. You'll have to
read it too if you want to know what I'm talking about. It's growing
into the paper I remember...
|
|
(scan
/ txt)
Ah, those were the days... when we got cross when bus fares went up by
a whole 2p and we really thought that cannabis would be made legal
eventually. Cruise missiles hadn't actually arrived at Greenham and we
hoped they never would. Acorn was still at Merchants Place but we
suspected their days there were numbered.
|
|
(scan
/ txt)
I cannot be the only person who is bemused by the notion of Morning
Star supporters holding a "Garden Party" in Tilehurst. The Rag
meanwhile, invites its readers to regular picnics at the Uni but only
if it isn't raining. Reports on the 13 day bus strike caused by the
Council Chief Exec who was holidaying in South Africa at the time, but
the reporter didn't pick up on the Anti-apartheid/South Africa boycott
that was raging at the time. A couple of years later in the Rag's life
we wouldn't have let that one get past us. The campaign for a people's
art centre in Reading starts here... and the collective wistfully asks
for £1000 for a new press following a donation-less
fortnight.
|
|
(scan
/ txt)
Much better typing in this issue, very few typos but the typist got
tired before the end, gave up on capital letters and took their spite
out on the Gilbert & Sullivan listing at the Hexagon. Modern day
computer typists don't know how easy it is by comparison with the
olden days. After all the effort put in to close Greenham Common
publicised in this issue, it's a sorry state of affairs that, 34 years
later, we are now trying to halt the Trident upgrade. But we should
take heart because as we eventually won the earlier battle then there
is hope that we can win the war. Maybe not the best choice of words
under the circumstances but you know what I mean. Does anyone else
remember the William Godwin Memorial Society at Wapping? Oh happy
days. When the anarchists actually all got together (briefly) and
(potentially) created something special. But London wasn't Reading and
the London anarchists nothing like the Reading anarchists. The gigs
were good but Larry and Liz used to "man" the centre once a month and
nobody ever came. The refreshments were a kettle and if you were lucky
a bit of coffee left in a jar... The failure of that venture only
emphasizes the supreme success of the venture at Silver
Street.
|
|
(scan
/ txt)
Alan Reeve has made his escape from Broadmoor and Pat Ford has been
been vilified in the press for helping him. Christine Borgars gives us
readers a necessary reminder about the price others may pay if we're
not careful when approached by reporters. Clayson and the Argonauts
play at Henley Town Hall. Now there's a band I remember... only we
called them Jason and the Astronauts because they really weren't on
the same planet as the rest of us.
|
|
(scan
/ txt)
Times really don't change. This issue covers the raise the bus fare
/cut the routes/destroy the public service scenario at Reading
Transport. This really added to my personal anguish up here in
Lancashire where my local bus route has been cut to just one an hour
and it will now take 2 buses to get to the Dentist and a visit to the
GP will involve a long walk. Not having a Red Rag (free every
fortnight) on the go up here, I didn't know about it until the bus
didn't turn up when I expected it to. Public service is a thing of the
past. How much money did we hand over to bail out the bankers? Remind
me again. The Events and Going Out Guide are really taking off now. I
remember that we went to at least one of the films at SHP possibly on
the strength of us reading it right here. We also saw Between Pictures
at the Caribbean but that was because we went to college with Paul
whose hair was longer and straighter than mine and I was SO jealous.
Ahh, brings it all back. Barbarism at the Top Rank was a new band to
me, until I realised whilst typing, that it was the compiler's
personal opinion on ABA Boxing. What happened to all those police
Cortinas after their expose in the Rag? We sellotaped the list on to
the dashboard but never did get to see one, but for a little while it
was entertaining keeping a look out. And joy! the Anarchists are
back...
|
|
(scan
/ txt
/ intro)
A report on the new Women's Centre; an exhortation to form tenants'
groups; a reply to the suggestion that the women's peace camp at
Greenham Common was "not properly planned and has become a distraction
and a drain on our resources"; a moving account of how having a
live-in boyfriend could leave a woman penniless. A then little-known
band called U2 play at nearby Bracknell; E. P. Thompson and CND chair
Joan Ruddock come to Reading for "Peace Week"; but Andy Warhol is not
expected to attend his exhibition. Did someone say there was nothing
to do in Reading?
|
|
(scan
/ txt
/ intro)
The local anti-nuke campaign gets cold feet when it turns out that the
ladies camping at Greenham have decided to stay there all winter; we
find out what happened at the women's financial independence meeting;
community policing comes to Reading but Alan Reeve is still missing;
and does civil disobedience go far enough?
|
|
(scan
/ txt
/ intro)
Ten years before a House of Lords ruling which dismissed marriage
between assailant and victim as a defence against rape, a rather
sobering review of violent incidents towards women over the previous
fortnight. Meanwhile, the revolution still plays second fiddle to
Blakes Seven; a typo which I couldn't bear correcting about
Handle's Messiah; and Acorn Bookshop finally get to move
out of their broom cupboard.
|
|
(scan
/ txt
/ intro)
A tantalising mention of the nuclear bunker under Shire Hall on the
front cover but nothing further about it within. Tory minister Michael
Heseltine comes in for a cross-party drubbing of sorts, doubtless well
deserved, for his implementation of the government's "rate capping"
policy designed to keep council spending and thus their power in
check. Meanwhile, Rory Gallagher may have seen better times; the film
certificates are still "A" and "X"; and Tory minister Michael
Heseltine comes in for another drubbing, this time for "locating" 8000
new homes in central Berkshire. Other than that, it looks like a
quiet fortnight. Maybe the Anarchists were right all along - you might
as well stop in and watch Blakes Seven.
|
|
(scan
/ txt
/ intro)
Students book a stripper, the event is picketed and the police attempt
an arrest but are sent away empty-handed; the borough council might be
putting its rents up by 33% but thanks to spending cuts the county
council's nuclear bunkers can't withstand a nuclear attack; we check
over the law on "stop and search" and the history of Santa; and the
Red Rag Collective decides that this will be the last Rag of the
Year. The first of next year will appear on Saturday 9
January. Thank you for supporting us this year. We hope to make it
better, faster, more reliable and legible next year. Don't hold your
breath.
|
|