- - - - - - -
                            R E D   R A G
                            - - - - - - -
                                                                   FREE

numbers

news 666681 666324
distribution 666681
events 666681
going out 507598

next copydate 11 Aug

c/o Acorn bookshop
17 Chatham Street

                                - - -

THEATRE OF WAR

"Peace Threat" said the Post hoardings. "What's on at the Hexagon?"
amid the posters all over town. Why was Councillor Dave Absolom upset?
Why couldn't anyone get into the Hexagon for a quick pint Thursday
lunchtime? Read on.....

The Hexagon, being an entertainments centre for Reading people, was
the venue on Thursday 21st July for an Arms Sale Symposium on the
theme of Strike - Attack - Reconnaissance called (wait for it)
"Survivability". Sounds like Walt Disney, but this wasn't for the
kiddies, unless they had £109 to spare. This was serious
stuff. From the publicity:

"Your opportunity to take part in a unique event - an intimate debate
involving all sides of military aviation and designed to explore
aspects of survivability in war: Mission Planning, Weapons, Airframes,
Support, Flying the Mission and Training. Experienced industry
speakers will summarise what the industry can offer Air Forces to meet
their survivability requirements."

The Symposium war opened by Sir Alasdair Steedman, chairman of the
International Air Tattoo. But isn't that a separate event?
Well,...no. The Survivability Symposium was part of STAR 83 (Strike-
Attack - Reconnaissance, geddit? Not Stop The Arms Race, that's the
other lot). Now there was also a STAR 83 Aerospace Exhibition (21st -
24th July), promoted as a "unique sales environment for airborne
military technology". The Symposium was run in conjunction with the
Exhibition, which was run in conjunction with the Air Show. I'm only
reading their publicity. Let John Patterson, the STAR 83 Co-ordinator,
explain.

"The theme of International Air Tattoo 83, Strike, Attack and
Reconnaissance - "STAR 83" and its associated activities will continue
to be promoted internationally throughout the reputable aeronautical
press and with the armed forces and aerospace Industry and is clearly
professionally challenging and stimulating. However, the publicity
aimed at the general public has been changed completely to emphasise
"Aviation's Tribute to Sir Douglas Bader" - our late President - which
will now become the major feature of the public days of IAT 83."

That's all from a letter sent by him, on Tattoo headed paper, to
potential participants. Now there was another thing worrying him, but
he was concerned to reassure his readers thus:

"When Sir Alasdair wrote late last year to seek your company's support
at IAT 83 and particularly with the STAR Industries Team the
activities of the Women's Peace Camp outside BAP Greenham Common and
the publicity it was attracting had not risen to the present level. We
have, of course, been carefully monitoring the situation and its
development, and have been in constant and close touch with all those
concerned in security matters. The threat has been considered at a
very high level in the Ministry of Defence and the Police, and the
assessment and professional advice which we have received show clearly
that the risk of significant disruption of IAT 83 is unlikely."

So that's all right then. Who are these people?!! Well, if you'd been
on the Hexagon picket, you'd have had a chance to meet them, as well
as to admire the huge marquee and the pretty flowers and the sparkling
glasses and all laid on for the day. One demonstrator's impressions:

"If the basis for non-violent solutions for problems is
communication. and the basis for communication is to find common
ground and work on it, than we've got a long way to go.....talking to
delegates at STAR 83 the "double think" was amazing.....

Sir Alasdair Steedman "While they're not being used they are weapons
of peace."

"More people have been killed in Afganistan by the Russians than die
of starvation in the world each year - so I think you're overstating
the detrimental effect of arms sales to the third world." Anon.

"You'll find most people in the arms industry are not warlike people."
Lockheed representative!

Chauffeur of South African delegate: "The blacks don't want to
learn. You can't teach them if they don't want to learn...."

Reasons why it's all right to exploit blacks In South Africa: "There
weren't nearly as many blacks in South Africa before the whites got
there - they're only there for the money." "If they weren't governed
by the whites there'd be civil war etc etc"

Flight International Journalist: "You can't say that Britain's Sales
of <illegible> aircraft to South Africa aid repression. Those planes
were to defend the shipping lanes - they couldn't very well be used to
bomb Soweto." Me: "What about Namibia?" "Ah, yes, well...."

"The Russians have a bigger share of the arms trade than the West."
Me: "So that makes it O.K.  does it? - you judge your moral standards
by those of the Russians?" "Oh no no no - you just have to be aware of
the fact."

"If we didn't sell the arms, someone else would". Me: "But you could
use that argument to justify selling heroine to addicts." "Not at
all. If people are silly enough to take drugs then it's their own
fault." Me: "It sounds pretty much the same to me...." "You're just
playing with words..."

"I hope you stay ideological while you're young.  As you grow older
you'll see reality." Me: "I see you're a Christian." (He had a cross
on his lapel) "Yes". Me: "How do you justify selling arms to Third
World countries and repressive regimes?" "Jesus said you must obey
your lord and master...  When governments order arms as the rulers of
countries, then we sell then." Me: "You're not serious." "Absolutely."
Me: "That's amusing!" "You'll realise as you get older etc etc etc etc
..."

These conversations took place during the picket which was mounted all
day outside the Hexagon by people from Reading Peace Pledge Union,
Quakers, United Nations Association and a host of assorted
individuals. Some 2500 leaflets were given out, to symposium
delegates, Tesco shoppers and all. It was a different kind of
demonstration in that for once demonstrators were actually getting to
talk to "the other side" instead of just inconveniencing them. This
was not the delegates' only problem.. According to several, the whole
day was a bit of a waste of time. Given that the whole thing was
secret, it was pretty hard to know how long the thing was supposed to
go on for, but at 6.00pm Boeing announced that they had stopped paying
for the cocktails. At 6.03pm, they all began to leave.... So the 7.30
demonstration could only celebrate their departure.

Another problem. Around the middle of the day, four eerie figures in
black with white faces appeared on the roof of the Butts Centre and
approached the Hexagon. Somehow the police and security men found them
hard to cope with, as did the delegates. They stayed for a while,
apparently interested in looking at the delegates, who after a while
weren't too keen on looking at them......

                                - - -

LOCAL CUTS IN NHS

Tory politicians would like to claim that the services offered upon
National Health are not being 'cut' so much as 'rationalized'. This
means that with less money and fewer staff the National Health Service
will be able to perform the same amount of work - because of increased
efficiency.

Examples of this efficiency are visible throughout Britain, but a
local example deserves to be brought to light.

Night Nurses

Eleven years ago, Mr. Geoff Hunt introduced to Reading an invaluable
new service. Throughout the area night nurses would be available
between 5 and 7 am., and 7-30 and 12.00pm., as an addition to the
district nursing provided during normal working hours.

The benefits of this were enormous. People incapacitated by multiple
sclerosis, arthritis, or strokes, were able to stay up late
(previously they would be put to bed at 6), watch tv, receive
visitors, or even read a book. In the mornings those needing to attend
day-centres would be woken, and prepared for their journey. Other
tasks for the nurses included supplying early morning insulin,
injections for terminal cancer patients, and so on.

Underhand Cuts and Their Repercussions

This worked very well until about a year ago. Then, for no apparent
reason, the number of occasions when night nurses were sent out began
to decline dramatically. Had the people who benefited from the nurses'
activities suddenly decided to wait until working hours? Were insulin,
pain-killers, or a helping hand for the incontinent, no longer needed?

The truth of the matter is that surreptitiously the service was being
cut.

Applications from disabled or geriatric people, asking for one or two
hours on a night nurse's schedule, are being turned down. This can
lead to a considerable impoverishment of the invalid's life.

For example, those who had attended day-centres, for physiotherapy,
company, or simply a bath, are no longer able to do so.

Because the Health Service no longer accepts their applications, two
disabled students at Reading University, in order to attend lectures,
are having to employ agency nurses they can barely afford.

A young disabled person in Bulmershe, who only received two visits a
week, will shortly have these denied him...

Such are the results of efficiency. The money spent on this service
has been efficiently reduced; efficiently, the happiness and quality
of life of the disabled and elderly in Reading has been cut.

Luke and Florence M.

                                - - -

POLICE NEWS

Mrs and Mr R. are OAPs who live in a flat in central Reading. Mr R. is
90, and has a bad heart; Mrs R. is crippled with arthritis.

One evening last December, there was a sudden hammering at their front
door. Mr R. went to answer, opening the door with the safety chain in
place.

On his doing this, the door was kicked, a lower panel bursting inward
and the chain tearing loose.

Mr R. was pinned between the door and the wall, his nose beginning to
bleed from the impact.

At this point three policemen rushed in and charged into the
lounge. Mrs R., having heard the crashing of the door and her
husband's exclamation, sat immobilised in her chair, petrified...

It was, of course, all a mistake.

The R.s possessed no stash of drugs or guns; the policemen had got the
wrong flat...in the wrong building.

To make amends, the safety chain was replaced, the panel fixed, and
the R.s received a brief letter of apology.

                                - - -

BUST NEWS

Following several drug busts in the area recently here is a reminder
of some basic advice:-

If you are arrested remember anything you say can be used against you
so say NOTHIHG. Don't tell lies - say nothing. Whatever you do, don't
mention any names or react to names they offer you. Don't believe
anything a polieeman says - the only way to avoid traps is to SAY
NOTHING. Ask to see a solicitor - they will have a list, you don't
have to know one. You can also ask to phone a friend to say you're
being held.

                                - - -

WHY I SAY "YES" TO THE POLICE STATE

In response to various attitudes I have recently heard expressed as
regards the police, I would like to put forward a reactionary
viewpoint.

Monsters

It is possible to suggest that today's society, with the
self-perpetuating tendency of societies in general, has manufactured
citizens who are inhuman, irrational, and highly dependent upon its
current structure. Without the restrictions of the state, without
laws, and the police, these citizens would be unable to act humanely,
and most certainly unable to create or accept the beautiful anarchic
society longed for by certain obscure minorities. A Necessary Evil?

I therefore propose that the existence of the police force is a
necessary evil. It could not be dissolved without also dissolving many
other important elements of the modern state. This may be considered a
desirable end, but if such changes were too rapidly attempted the
result would be not anarchy but chaos. People, in no way educated to
see that relationships involving power over others are immoral, would
immediately struggle or succumb to the struggle to create a new,
power-orientated hierarchy. This would not be the world of Aldous
Huxley's Island, but a primitive world of warring factions, such as
envisaged in so many 'doomsday' science-fiction novels. Through a
lengthy process of evolution we would perhaps end up, once more, with
a society much like our own.

Is This True?

It is, after all, a sophisticated process which allows the
decentralisation of power - at least within large groups. Though the
extent of this decentralisation is to a great degree exaggeratedly the
media, in one form or another), and may in fact be decreasing, it is
still far more wide-spread in West European countries than during most
periods of the past.

Paraphrasing Conservative Political Theory

The position I am describing may perhaps be termed
'anarcho-gradualism'. A society without hierarchy, without
exploitative structures, equitable and free, is of course its ideal;
but this ideal can only be approached gradually, through constant,
small-scale initiative.  Apocalyptic theories, or violent revolutions,
are more likely to detract from the movement towards an anarchistic
society than to further its creation.

Modification

From this point of view, the questions surrounding today's police
force become those of modification. It is clear that overt antipathy
towards the police, or the encouragement of hatred and mistrust of the
police organisation, have a completely negative effect; under these
pressures the police force becomes less malleable, and increasingly
unwilling to accept restrictions.

Modification should be attempted, instead, through propagating the
pragmatic attitude that policing is much like any other profession;
policemen and women are human, and have their share(as among teachers,
doctors, et cetera) of power-hungry or irresponsible individuals. And
just as malpractice among teachers or doctors is legislated against,
so should legislation be fostered to control and regulate police
activity.

Nap Bonapart.

                                - - -

BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday July 12th

This was the first full Council meeting since the local elections. The
Tories now have a majority in the Council and the Committees; so the
whole system is a matter of rubber-stamping Tory policy. At a Council
meeting there are petitions and questions at the beginning, and
motions to debate at the end; otherwise they are a matter of going
through the minutes of Committee meetings. New standing orders mean
that nearly all Committee items are "resolved" and not "recommended",
so the full Council can't change them even if it wants to.

Ritual

Even on the main "recommended" item from Policy, Tory leader Deryck
Morton could quite reasonably say, "So far as my group is concerned,
it has been decided." This was to put off until September half the
Council's "Capital" spending schemes. Most of the "deferred" list were
unspecific, "Housing repairs", "Renovation grants" etc. Amendments to
this were ritual gestures, ritually defeated. Labour leader Mike Orton
contented himself with the mild assertion that, "Everything they do is
a matter of deceit." Others pointed out that leaving renovation work
till the winter wasn't a very sensible way of saving money, and that
timidity towards central government gave no sort of guarantee of
future freedom to spend as desirable...

The Tory majority seems reliable: so far, at least, the new boys and
girls do what they're told, though when it comes to a vote the front
bench does look round rather nervously. An early hint of "wetness"
came in Tony Markham's questions on Housing Benefit cheques: sending
them by first class mail would have cost only £200 and would have
saved a lot of misery, he said. And there was one rebel, Councillor
Anne Bradley, of whom more later. She actually voted with the
opposition in favour of restoring to the summer programme £20,600
for renovating the Women's Refuge. (As this is an Urban Aid Scheme,
central government would pay three quarters of the money, and it would
be spread over five years anyway...)

Land Sale

Then there was the recommendation to sell off 27 acres of Council land
in Calcot. Quite why the Tories want to do this I'm not sure, even if
you don't accept John Silverthome's enthusiastic claim that "this land
is the greatest asset we have" (he says that about everything). "The
ratepayers are being sold right down the line," Graham Rush
claimed. "Not even in Dallas would you see such a deal drawn up." For
the Tories Ron Jewitt told of the £2000 a year interest being paid
on the land and mused on how "some indefinable factor" made Council
estates depressing. No such factor operates on private developments,
it seems. The Liberals pointed out that the Council "is not here to
make profits," and complained that the Housing Committee hadn't
discussed the sale. Janet Bond had only found out about it through the
Evening Post; "I suppose the ruling junta will win," she said with
unusual bitterness, but "by golly" she'd like to stop them. Here Mike
Orton came to the Tories' rescue, denying there had been any secrecy
or impropriety. All this has since been replayed in slow motion in the
local press.

Feminist

In the discussion on sex shops, for which the Environment Committee
had made up licensing regulations, Anne Bradley came out as that
unlikely animal, a Tory feminist. "Pornography is violence against
women", she declared without equivocation. She'd also obviously read
the Reading leaflet from the last Day of Action against Pornography,
she objected to porn subsidising the rates through licence fees. Mike
Urton said he spoke for the Labour Party, unlike his "comrade on the
left" Graham Rush - who had claimed sex shops were used as much by
women as by men. He said he would have no objection to sex shops in a
society in which there were equality between the sexes (!); as it is
they are merely instruments of male domination. George Robinson
attacked the "hypocrisy" of allowing sex shops but then imposing all
these arbitrary regulations. And Hamza Iliad's point of view? "You
laugh because you are embarrassed. I am not a prude. This business of
sex and sex shops - let's not talk about it, let's get down to it. It
seeks to corrupt, and will cause some people to commit crime, even
rape..."

Gallery

The debate on the Bison homes on the Dee Rd Estate was really rather
bizarre. Also emotional, as a dozen tenants were sitting up in the
gallery. The question at issue was not so much, what are we going to
do? as, who is jumping on the bandwaggon? The Tories' position was
almost clear: we will pull the blocks down but not yet, and we don't
want to talk about it till September. The Labour motion being
discussed was not about demolition, it was for a report to be made for
September and for joining with other local authorities to get money
out of the government. Why the Tories should object to this I don't
know: apparently it was because they were annoyed by Labour
orchestration of the residents present. Why they should allow
themselves to be orchestrated to wait six hours to listen in on a
motion like this I don't know either. "It's all right, he's on our
side," they reassured themselves as yet another Labour Councillor
spoke out against demolition but in favour of the motion.

All this inspired the Tories to do a little "playing to the Gallery"
of their own, "I'm the one who will actually do what you want,"
Housing chairman Ron Jewitt told them. When Mike Orton asked where
tenants in the Bison blocks would be moved to, John Oliver (Housing
vice-chairman) declared, rather recklessly, "We will build new homes
for them. You can't put them in the sky." He didn't offer a timetable,
or try to explain how this squared with selling off the main piece of
Council building land. Mike Urton argued tortuously that though, yes,
John Oliver had for years said the buildings should be knocked down,
he had always been wrong on the evidence available at the time. And
even now - we need more facts... The Liberals said the tenants were
entitled to a report (in the absence of anything more concrete - or
rather, less concrete - I suppose). Ron Williams objected strongly to
the phrase "Bison tenant": he was the only one to use it. The whole
affair was really rather sordid. Anyway, the Tories opposed and
defeated the motion.

Also defeated was a Liberal motion to allow the Indian Community
Centre to go ahead - another Urban Aid scheme the Council has backed,
and which would cost the Council only £7,500 after the Government
grant...

Tin-opener

Other highlights: Ron Jewitt, Housing chairman, on entry-phones for
old people in Council housing gave his questioner "my assurance that
this is a relatively low priority with me." John Oliver, Leisure
chairman, replying to Paddy Day: "Mrs Day, you asked for the
Chairman's comments. I'm the Chairman. I don't make comments." Tom
Heydemann suggested that (since the carpet there is not after all to
be replaced yet) the Hexagon should advertise itself as "just the
place for a trip." Simon Coombs, Transport Chairman, showed a grasp of
his subject. We don't need Pelican Crossings but "road safety
consciousness." When safety was suggested as a reason why cyclists
ride on pavements he said that when he was young you weren't allowed
to ride bikes till you were good enough to ride on the roads. (So if
you get knocked down don't go running to him.) Fred Pugh explained how
to crush cans for recycling (he takes the bottom off with a
tin-opener).

"Thank God for the Evening Post," exclaimed Liberal Janet Bond,
promising to buy it every day from now on. But alas!  The Dross'
editorial next day fulminated about "Hot air" - a subject on which it
should know quite a lot - opining in its usual woolly way: "The
measure of effective local government should be the quality of
discussion rather than its length." So there!

Diogenes

                                - - -

CITIZENS BAND RADIO

One-four for an alternative breaker?

When the government made CB radio legal it wasn't as a result of
public pressure, nor was it because CB was recognized as a useful
public service or because the government believes that access to the
airwaves should be the right of all. The decision was made for good
economic reasons. The Home Office was spending a lot of time and money
chasing the rapidly growing number of illegal CB users and the Home
Office's success rate was not particularly impressive. Another
interested party was the depressed British consumer electronics
industry. If so many ordinary people were prepared to break the law in
order to a CB, then think of the numbers who might be willing to buy a
respectable legal CB! The product of these two vested interests was
that CB was licensed on 27MHz. The licence fee (£10) turned the
Home Office's expenditure into an income and the decision on FM meant
that all the existing AM rigs would still be illegal and anyone who
wanted to be legal would have to buy a new rig.

Legal (FM) CB rigs give the operator a choice of 40 separate channels
and have a maximum power restriction which gives a range of roughly
four miles in town and eight miles in open countryside. There are
three basic types of rig:

a) mobile - fitted in a car or sometimes on a motorbike.

b) home base - either purpose built or a modified mobile rig. To make
it worthwhile you need a good aerial on your wall or

c) hand held - has certain restricted uses. Usually has fewer channels
and often less power.

One advantage to the consumer is that the predicted CB boom didn't
happen. Consequently good CB rigs can now be picked up cheaply, often
at less than a third of their originally advertised price. You can kit
yourself out with a good CB mobile rig, with everything you need to go
on the air, for under £40. A home base, with its larger aerial,
will cost a few quid more. If you don't know a CB user ('breaker') who
can advise you then go to a good CB shop (like 'Catswhiskers', just
along from Acorn Bookshop). Tell them what you want and how much you
want to pay.

Don't be put off by the usual media presentation of CB. You don't have
to be a long- distance trucker or learn a special secret language in
order to use a CB! The vast majority of breakers are friendly and
polite. (There is more courtesy on the airwaves than we usually find
in our daily face to face dealings with strangers) If you are
obviously a new user you will find most breakers are helpful and
supportive. There is_ a lot of colourful slang on CB, as well as 'ten
codes' and 'Q codes', but the object is to communicate. If you speak
in plain English most breakers will reply in plain English - nobody is
going to think you are an idiot! All you have to do now is think up a
suitable 'handle' (i.e the name you use on CB) and you're ready to
take to the airwaves.

CB radio is used by many different kinds of people for many different
reasons. First of all it is a very cheap alternative to the telephone;
you can talk for hours and it doesn't cost a penny. You can also have
'meetings' with a group of friends talking together on the same
channel. Its disadvantages over the 'phone are its limited range and
the fact that it is not possible to 'call-up' someone who doesn't have
his or her rig turned on (although if the person you want to talk to
has a 'phone you can pre-arrange a sequence of free telephone bell
rings which mean 'turn on your CB'). CB is also a link with the
outside world for people who are tied to their homes by sickness,
disability or for some other reason. It provides drivers with traffic
and weather reports, arranges lifts for hitch-hikers and provides
drivers who are passing through with local information.

One of CB's most important social functions is as an emergency
service. If you pick up an emergency call or a fellow breaker makes a
'request for immediate assistance' you are expected to acknowledge and
do what you can to help - a refreshing change in this predominantly
I-don't-want-to-get-involved society of ours.

People who are attracted by ideas of a self-managed society can take
heart from the way CB operates. There is no central body which orders,
or even co-ordinates, the day-to-day 'rules' of using CB radio.By
convention and consensus alone channels have been set aside for
particular purposes. Channel 14 is the general 'breaking' channel. You
'meet' on one-four and then choose a free channel ('pick a window') to
which you can go to hold your conversation. Channel 19 serves the same
purpose for truckers and is also the channel for traffic and weather
information for all drivers. Channel 9 is the emergency channel - this
channel should not be used except in an emergency. Channel 9 is
monitored in many areas by voluntary organizations who will respond to
emergency calls. Because of the nature of radio communication these
arrangements are virtually unenforceable and only work because of the
agreement and good sense of most breakers. These arrangements can
easily be disrupted by that most loathsome of CB user - the
Wally. Fortunately the wallies are in a small minority. Their
activities range from being a CB radio version of the telephone heavy
breather to playing music on channel 14 and preventing other breakers
making contact. (Or worse, playing music or talking on channel 9 and
blocking someone getting out with what may be a life-or-death
emergency call.)

With the aid of directional aerials it is comparatively easy to track
down a wally. Some CB enthusiasts take a particular interest in
finding wallies. If a wally ignores appeals for sanity over the air he
is likely to be tracked down and have such details as his name,
address, telephone number, vehicle number and description repeatedly
broadcast for the information of other breakers. Persistent wallies
are likely to be visited and have the anti-social nature of their
activities explained to them with varying degrees of forcefulness.

Sometimes the CB network becomes a spontaneous information
service. When the result of the recent Commons debate on the death
penalty was announced it was passed on along the CB network. Contrary
to what we might have expected from the results of public opinion
polls, the news that the motion had been defeated was met with general
approval and relief by local breakers.

In London the Alternative Breakers Collective is trying to make
channel 22 an 'Alternative Information' channel. In Reading and the
surrounding area a small group of breakers into 'alternative' politics
and projects are trying to get a similar scheme off the ground. In the
near future we hope to make some short 'alternative information'
broadcasts. We'll announce them on one-four and one-nine and find an
empty channel to broadcast on. That way it becomes just another
modulation and shouldn't upset any other breakers who aren't
interested. But like no other radio programme, when we've finished our
information bit you can come right back at us with questions, more
information, complaints, etc.

We are trying to keep things as open as possible. For the moment we
are using the collective handle 'Black Parrot'. If you want to talk to
us the call us up on one-four or one-nine - if any one of us has got
his or her ears on we'll come back. (If not why don't you answer it,
you could make a new friend!). Ideas on how to expand an informal
network are welcome ("One-four for an alternative breaker" is a bit
corny!). There are great possibilities for an alternative breakers
network passing on information on festivals, events, meetings,
picnics, where cruise missile launchers go when they leave Greenham
Common.......

During the Parliamentary debate which legalized CB a Home Office
spokesman said, "The government must realise the dangers involved in
allowing large numbers of people to communicate with each
other". Indeed.

The Black Parrot

                                - - -

CB FOR THE DISABLED

Five years ago, 11-year old Simon Tappern had to face the bleak
prospect of life with a form of muscular dystrophy, permanently
encased in a metal brace, confined to a wheelchair and knowing he had
not long to live.

He describes himself as "looking out of the window for three years"
after that. Two things changed his life. One was the discovery of the
PHAB Club (Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied - it aims to
integrate the disabled into the community - it meets every Wednesday
7.30 - 9.30 off Mt Pleasant). The other was CB, which he found through
a stall at the Reading Show two years ago. "I know about a thousand
breakers now," he says. "Before I went on CB, I made maybe 20 phone
calls a day, to keep in touch with friends. Now I make about 80 calls
on CB."

When he first went on channel as Hound Dog 11, other breakers told him
what he was doing wrong, and came to see him to sort out his rig. Now
he has a stream of CB friends visiting. "They'll take you out and do
anything for you. Loads of people know me now." So much so that CB
"gets kind of boring" and he has cut down the amount of time he spends
on channel to be more on his own. He has introduced CB to the Avenue
School and also to the PHAB Club, where there's now a CB meeting every
Monday night.

Simon's father and some breaker friends want to develop links between
the CB community and the disabled. To raise money for CB sets for the
disabled - apart from giving a way of asking friends it makes it easy
to summon help if needed - they are organising a charity darts match
at the TUC Club on Sept 12-13; a three-day sponsored "network" (so
much per breaker "copied" or spoken to,) and a country and western
evening. More details of these nearer the time.

His father is particularly interested in the idea of equipping and
training the disabled to sit on channel as monitors for a local
emergency service. For this an "Open Day" is being organised at the
Post House, with a OHAB stand and demonstration using tapes of
emergency calls.

Anybody interested in the above events, or more generally in CB for
the disabled, should contact Fred Tappern, Flat 13, Southcote Parade,
Farm Lane, Southcote; tel Rdg 534749. As he says, "The more we can
create friendship the better."

JM

                                - - -

THE INFAMOUS EVENTS DIARY

Red Rag Events for three weeks from Monday 25th August

Mon 18 to Wed 27

Exhibition for "the hearing impaired", with telecom display, door
chimes, loop and infra-red systems. Free information
service. Savacentre hypermarket, Calcot. Open during opening
hours. (Bulmershe Resource Centre for the Handicapped).

Mon 25 and all week

Exhibition from Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons at Central
library.

Wed 27

Open garden - The Old Rectory, Burghfield. 11am - 4pm. 40p (kids 10p).

Sat 30

Rape Crisis Dine fundraising booksale. 10.30am onwards. Utd Reformed
Church, Broad St.

Sat 30 to Sat 6

Labour Party Young Socialists summer camp. Forest of
Dean. £30ish. Details from Dave (751211;. This is the last item on
the LPYS newsletter so I may as well give it in full. "Want to get the
Tories out? Want to join the fight to change society? Then come to the
camp, a crash course in Socialist ideas. Book now." (Sorry, I refuse
to list this one as a festival.)

Mon 1

"Walk for Life" - Faslane to Greenham - reaches Reading. Details
elsewhere this issue.

Tue 2

Berks Anti-Nuclear Campaign General Meeting 3pm, Friends Meeting
House, Church St. Hiroshima slide show and exhibition.

Sat   6

Hiroshima Day BANC stall, march through town, street theatre, walk for
Life reaches Greenham. No details yet. Ring Ed (594855) nearer the
event.

RED RAG jumble sale: Fairview Community Centre, George st, 1.45. Ring
587381 or 666681 with offers of help and jumble.

Fri 12

Vegetarian Dining: Three course meal at Fairview Community Centre,
George St. Tickets £2 in advance from Acorn Bookshop. Free live
entertainment.

Sun 14

RED RAG Social. Fives Bar. Tickets in advance only £1 from Acorn
Bookshop.

Vegan Group garden party. Bring food to share. "Drinks will be
provided." From 2.30pm, 33 Long Barn Lane. Phone 866259.

Thu 13

West Reading CND "Nuclear transport" 8pm, 19 Hollins Walk.


Festivals

July 26 - 31. Glastonbury Green Gathering. Lamberts Hill Farm, Shepton
Mallet. Tickets £7.5° from 5 Tor Park Hoad, Paignton, Levon,
before end of June, supposedly. Details at Acorn. Children and eco
orientated.

July 29 - 31 Elephant Fayre, St German's, Cornwall.

July 29 - 31 Diss Kids' Fayre, Diss, Norfolk.

Aug 1 -6 Cantlinstone Free Festival. Clun Forest, Clun, Bishop's
Castle, Newtown, Powys. Welsh mountain forest site. Common land,
panoramic view.

Aug 5 - 7 Fine Fayre, Caldicot nr Cambridge. £1 (50p parking.)

Aug 7 Nuneaton Community Free Festival. Nuneaton Warks.

Aug 6 GLC Free Festival, Victoria Park, Hackney. Music, fun. Details
GLC Free Festivals, County Hall, London.

Aug 6-15 East Anglian Free festival, Eaton by the River,
Norwich. Music fun and anarchy and aqualungs,

Aug 12-12 Penwith Festival, Splatten Riddens, nr Penzance, Cornwall.

Aug 14-20 Stoneleigh Free Fest, Stoneleigh, Coventry. Ancient Celtic
site.

Aug 12-13 Fairport Convention Reunion. Cropredy, Banbury,
Oxon. Tickets £10 from PO Box 37, Banbury.

Aug 15-27 Lavidstow Free Fest, Heads of the Rivers, Camelford,
Cornwall. Bodmin Moor.

Aug 24-31 Cissbury Ring Free Fest, nr Worthing and Brighton.

Aug 25-29 Welsh Green fathering festivals and Fayre, Raesteg, Mid
Glamorgan. Camping, eco minded. Details Julie Bayliss, 14 Helen's Rd,
Neath, West Glam.


Fairview Community Centre, George St

Red Rag jumble sale - Sat 6th Aug. 1.45pm.

Vegetarian dining - Fri 12 Aug. see Events for more detail

Regular events:

Coffee mornings every Mon from 10.30am. All welcome. Outings and
social evenings organised.

Gt Knollys St and Central Residents' Assoc - occasional Weds 3pm

Women's Keep Kit - every Tues, 7.15 - 3.15pm. All ages, 50p per
session.

Community Action Group. Aug 3rd - see Events.

Youth Clubs - age 3-12, Weds 6-3pm.
              14+, Mon and Thurs 7-10pm
10p per session

Disco for 8-12s Friday 5th 7-10pm. 30p.

Playscheme (over summer holiday) ages 5-12. 10am - 4pm daily.

Action Van (ages 3-12) Mondays 6-7pm. 10p per session in advance.

Day trip to Southsea. Sat 30 July. £3.25. Kids £1.75.

Lay trip to Childe Beale Trust peacock farm. Sat 20 Aug.
£l.25ish. Leave 1.30pm.

Tots' Club for mums and under 5s, Mondays 1.30 - 3.30pm, Weds 10am -
12. At the Co-op Hall, Oxford Road. 26p.  per family. Outings
organised.

For details of all the above contact Ann Atkins at the Centre or ring
56598.


Newtown Community Centre. 117 Cumberland Rd

Playscheme throughout August.


Centre for the Jobfree 4-6 East St

Phone for details 596639

Tue 26 Art class 10 - 12
Wed 27 Outing to South Hill Park 11.30 - 4.30
Fri 29 Indian curry (watch first then eat) 11-12
Mon 1  Press flowers and polish stones, 2-4
Thu 4  Paella (watch then eat) 11-12
Mon 6  Silk flowers 11-1
Wed 10 Boat trip to Goring 10.30 - 4.30 £lish.
Fri 12 West Indian curry 11-12
Mon 10-l improve your English
    2-3 aerobic
Tue 10-1 silkscreen
    11-1 bicycles workshop
Wed 10-12 sewing
    10-1 writers' workshop
    l0.30 - 12.30 maths workshop
    2-4 batik
Thu 10-1 improve your English
    2-4  Claimants' Action Group
    7-10 music workshop
Fri 10-12 hand knitting


Central Club, bottom of London St

Fridays 10.30 - 4pm creche

        3pm 'Uprising' - a new black women's support group. Come and
tell us what you'd like to do, what you'd like to see and what you're
interested in.


City Farm

After the success of the open day, work is now starting on the site
(clearance mainly). Ring Alan on 873201 if you're interested in
it. Organisational meetings continue, Weds 8pm; South Reading
Community Centre, Northumberland Avenue. Ring the above number for
weeks after 27th.



Regular Meetings

Anarchists - every Monday 8pm. Write to Box 19, Acorn Bookshop, 17
Chatham St for details.

Ecology Party - two Mondays per month 8pm. Venue for Aug 1st is 25 de
Beauvoir Rd. Ring Maria 663195 for details.

BANC Women's Group - 1st Monday of month from Aug. 8pm, Women's
Centre, Abbey St.

ROAR (Reading Organisation for Animal Rights)- 1st Tues of the month,
eg Aug 2nd. 8pm. The Crown, Crown St. See display in Acorn up for two
weeks.

Socialist Workers' Party - every Wed, 8pm, Red Lion, bottom of
Southampton St.

Amnesty - second Tues of month, eg Aug 9th. 8pm St Mary's Centre by
the church in the Butts.

Women's Centre - "First of the Month" meeting on the first of the
month. 8pm, Open to all interested women. Women's Centre, basement of
old Shire Hall, Abbey St.

Community Action Group - every second Weds, eg Aug 3rd. 8pm, Fairview
Community Centre at the far end George St. All welcome to come along
and discuss ideas or offer voluntary help on local projects. Mutual
Aid scheme, wholefoods co-op, new games sessions.

Claimants' Action Group - new reformed dynamic group meets every Wed
1pm Centre for the Jobfree, East St.


RED RAG - (the next issue 3 weeks away)

Next issue: planning meetg & copy deadline Thurs 11, 3pm
            typing Thurs eve and Fri 12
            lay out and paste up Sat 13
            printing Sat evening
            folding and labelling Sun am
            distribution Sunday afternoon.

Help always wanted and much appreciated. Ring 666324 with offers of
help for next issue, and to find out where it's all happening.

Jumble sale: Sat 6th, Fairview Community Centre, 1.45pm.

Social: Sun 14th, Fives Bar. £1 in advance from Acorn.


Women's Centre

Opening times: Tues 10.30 - 2
               Sat 12 - 4
Also free pregnancy testing Tues 7-9pm. Bring urine sample from first
pee of the day.

Girls' club every 3rd Sat (eg July 30 ) 2.30 -4.3O. Disco + activities
for ages 9-12.

Music club every second Sat (eg July 30) 11am -12

The Women's Centre is in Abbey st near the arch. All women are very
welcome to use it (eg for meetings).

Reading Gay Switchboard - ring 597269 between 7 and 9pm Tuesdays and
Fridays.

Your Rights - East Reading Rights Group stall outside the church at
Cemetery Junction. Every Sat 11am - 1pm.

S.W.A.G. (charity paper collection) Skips at: Superkey, Palmer Park,
Northumberland Ave, St Martin's Precinct, Recreation Rd, Gt Knollys
st. 3.30 - 12.30pm every first Sat of month, eg Aug 6th.

                                - - -

WALK FOR LIFE

The "Walk for Life" left Faslane nuclear submarine base on May 19th
with about 40 walkers. This intrepid band is on its way to Greenham
Common and will be spending two nights in Reading on August 1st and
2nd, then going on via Burghfield and Aldermaston and arriving at
Greenham (Orange Gate) on the eve of Hiroshima Day, August 5th, the
same day that the 20 star marches arrive. At our stopping places we
invite local people to come and meet us, we also make use of market
places and town squares to do street-theatre, play music and
distribute leaflets and welcome people joining in.

Reading Borough Council has been asked for the use of the old camping
site at Richfield Avenue - assuming that we'll be there we hope to
have an afternoon or evening of new games on Tuesday 2nd. There are
about 90 people on the walk at present and there will probably be more
when we reach Reading - you are cordially invited to join us for the
last few days of this epic adventure. People are also asked to come to
Greenham where we will be holding vigils, and some of us will be
fasting, until Nagasaki Day on the 9th. This time could also be an
opportunity to discuss future strategy while there are plenty of
people around. Our phone number for information is 01 806 4615, the
address is 'A Walk for Life...', 31 Ickburgh Road, Clapton, London E5.

                                - - -

HUNGER BRIEFINGS

Do you know that 41,000 people die every day (i.e. 23 a minute) of
hunger or hunger-related diseases....? Do you know that right now we
have enough food to adequately feed everyone on our planet.... ? Do
you know that it is possible for us to end hunger once and for all
before the end of the century, and many people globally are turning
and working to achieve this....? There are some amazing facts and some
powerful and widely-believed myths surrounding the issue of world
hunger. It is now possible for you to come along to a meeting to find
out the truth about hunger, why it persists and what it will take for
it to be ended this century. The meetings are called Ending Hunger
Briefings. I am your local contact and if you would like to find out
more about them please call me on 55175 after 6pm.

Sandy Bertlett

                                - - -

LETTER WRITING

Till a few years ago I lived in London, where a small group of us met
from time to time to pool ideas and resources and write
letters. Between us we wrote to our MPs, local and national
organisations, newspapers, stars of stage and screen, members of the
Royal Family and others. The subject of our letters ranged from
requesting information, stating our views or making suggestions, to
thanking the people concerned for a good service or a job well
done. In many cases we received very interesting and encouraging
replies. Now I am in Reading I'd like to pick up from where I left off
and have more of these letter writing sessions. If you'd like to come
along (with pen, paper envelope and stamp) do call me on 55175 after
6pm. I'll be arranging a couple of sessions in the next month.

Sandy Bartlett

                                - - -

CULTURAL WEEK 83 - APOLLO CLUB

Silver St, Mt Pleasant                          July 23rd - July 30th

The Liberation of Women

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the Cultural Week, and this
event is being planned and run jointly by Antonio Maceo Community
Centre (Apollo Club) and the Walter Rodney Hostel with support from
the Central Club and the West Indian Women's Circle.

The aim of the Cultural Week is as before:-

(1) to make the community more aware of the black experience, past and
present.

(2) to encourage and develop greater pride in our African heritage and
a more positive approach to our history.

(3) to provide a platform for black creative talents (paintings,
groups, drama etc) to be displayed.

The theme of Cultural Week '83 is the role and contribution of black
women in the struggle of black people for liberation from all forms of
oppression and exploitation.

In keeping with the general policy of the Cultural Week, entry is free
unless otherwise stated. Also the doors are open to all who may wish
just to look, to listen or to take part.

Cultural Week committee takes this opportunity to thank all those
individuals and organisations who generously contributed money, time
and materials to making Cultural Week 1983 a success.


Black Books, Posters, Art and Craft on sale daily


Saturday 23rd July Open 1.00pm
Children's Day

Exhibition of Children's Books, Work from Saturday School, Art
etc. Cartoons Music fun and Games for all.


Sunday 24th July Open 5.00pm
8.00p.m Topic: Talk and Discussion on Black Women in the Black
Liberation Struggle. An Historical Review. Talk will be given by a
Black Woman.


Monday 25th July Open 5.00pm
8.00p.m Topic: Talk and Discussion on The Struggle in Africa, the role
and contribution of Black Women. Talk will be given by a Black Woman
speaker from the African National Congress (AZANIA) South Africa.


Tuesday 26th July Open 5.00pm
8.00p.m Topic: Talk and Discussion on The struggle in the
Caribbean. The role and contribution of Black Women. Talk will be
given by a woman from the New Jewel Movement (Grenada)

Small discussion groups etc. between 1.30p.m and 3.00p.m


Wednesday 27th July Open 5.00pm
7.00p.m Display by Apollo Karate Team. Four times South of England
Champions, 1982 South of England all style Champion, 1983 National
Champion Finalist.
8.00p.m Topic: Talk and Discussion on The Black Struggle in Britain,
the role and contribution of Black Women. Talk will be given by
sisters from Reading. A short film about Black Women in Britain will
be shown. Film who know it feel it.


Thursday 28th July Open 7.00p.m
8.00p.m Film: Blood Ah Go Run.
8.30p.m Film: Burning an Illusion.
Adm: Members: Adults 50p, Children 30p (only with membership
 Non members:     "  80p,        " 50p                cards)


Friday 29th July Open 5.00p.m
8.00p.m Poetry reading
8.30p.m Urnjo Drama Group from Wolverhampton.
Adm: Members (with card) 75p. Non members £1.00


Saturday 30th July Open 8.00pm
Cultural Show: African and Caribbean dance group + Film Show.
Adm: Members (with Card) 70p
Non-members              £l.00


Finish 10.30p.m daily except Saturday
Food and drink on sale every day
Nursery available free every day

               The liberation of women is a fundamental
                     necessity for the revolution

                                - - -

THE FAMOUS GOING OUT GUIDE

Mon. 25th;

Hex: James Galway. 7.30.£5-5

Duke of Edinburgh, Caversham Rd: Twelfth Night. 8ish £1.

Bull Hotel, Nettlebed:Folk Club.8ish. free

The Mill,Sonnlng:0ut of the Crocodile 2 + 8pm £6.90-11.90. Includes
meal, to 6th August.

South Hill Park, Bracknell:Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. 2.30 +
7.30pm. £1.90 + Concessions. 75p kids. Adults 75p at matinee
performance if accompanied by kids. Till 31st.

Tues.26th:

Hex:Alf Gamett.7.50.£2.5O-3.50

Fives:Zip Code. 8ish.free

Tudor Arms:Gay Disco 8ish free

Wed. 27th:

Hex:Ralph McTell 7.50.£2.50/3.50

Silks,Thatcham:Warm Snorkel.8-late £1.50,£2.50 inc transport,
ring Pete on 583455 for bus.

Thurs28th:

Hex:Cambridge Footlights.7.30£2-£3. To30th

Target:John Otway 8ish free

Fives:John Sinclair Roadahow 8ish free

Angies, Milton Rd,Wokingham:Tony MacPhee.9-late.£1-2.

Fri 29th:

Caribbean Club, London St:Ballistics 9.30-late.£1.50

Central Club,London St:Youth Disco(l1-17 years)8-11ish. 50p.

Tudor Arms:Gay Disco.8ish.free.

S.H.P:Proper Little Madame.7.30.free

S.H.P:Young Frankenstein.11pm£1.90+conc to 30th

Angies:Yes Sir. 9-late.£1-2.

Sat 30th:

Hex:Proof of the pudding. 12.15pm free

Target:Toucan Trolls. 8ish free

Caribbean Club:Disco Night.9-late.£1.50

Central Club:Dance with Hurricane Force 8-late. £2.50

S.H.P: Graeme Theatre Company.1pm.free

S.H.P: Miller +Fowler(gultars)7.30.free

Angies:John Spencer Band.9-late.£1-2.

Sun 31st:

Fives:Rhythm System lunchtime free

St Lawrence Hall,off Kings Rd:Record Fair, 10.30-4pm. 50p after 12
noon.

Forbury Gardens:Salvation Army Band.3pm free

S.H.P:Original Mixture Theatre Co.1pm free

Angies:Juvessence. 9-late £1-2

Mon 1st:

Bull Hotel Nettlebed:Folk Club 8ish free

S.H.P:Flash Gordon. 2.50. £1.90+conx.Kids/accompanied adults. 75p
to 7th.

S.H.P:Tootsie.7.30.£1.90+conc.to 14th.

Tues 2nd:

Hex:Showaddywaddy. 7.30£3.50-5.

Fives:Head Games.8ish free.

Tudoe Arms:Gay Disco 8ish free

Watermlll theatre, Bagnor, nr Newbury: Snoopy.7.30£?.Matinees at
4pm on 13th +20th

Thurs 4th:

Hex:Swan Lake.7.30 Sat matinee 2.30.  £3-£4 + conc to 6th.

Target:Truffle. 8ish £1

Fives:John Sinclair Roadshow 8ish free

Fri 5th:

Central Club:Youth Disco as last week

Caribbean Club:Last Rite 9.30-late £1.50

Tudor Arms:Gay Disco. 8ish free

S.H.P.Buster + friends 8pm Free(jazz)

S.H.P.Some like it hot 11pm.£l.90 +conc also 6th,Lemmon + Curtis
great!

Sat 6th:

Nothing of note to my Knowledge.

Sun 7th:

Forbury Gardens: Shaw Social Club Newbury Brass Band. 3pm. Free.

Fives: T.B.A. Lunchtime. Free.

SHP: Little Company + Rubber Face the Clown. 1pm. Free.

Mon 8th:

Bull Hotel Nettlebed: Folk Club 8ish. Free

SHP: Spiderman (U) 2.30. £1.10 + conc, kids with accomp adult
75p. to 14th.

Tues 9th:

Fives: Surfin Lungs 8ish free

Tudor Arms: Gay Disco 8ish free

The Mill Sonning: Bodies 2 + 8.15. £6.90 - 11.90 inc meal. To Sept
3. Not Weds.

Thurs 11th:

Fives: John Sinclair Roadshow 8ish free

Fri 12th:

Caribbean Club:GTMoore 4 the Outsiders 9.30-late £1-2

Central Club: Youth Disco (11-17yrs) 8-11ish 50p

Tudor Arms: Gay disco. 81sh free

SHP: 11-4pm Playday. free.
     7.30 Ken Ellis (clown) free
     11pm Lenny (18) £1.90 + conc, also on 13th

Sat 15th:

SHP: Other side of the Fence 7.30 free.Jazz?

Sun 14th:

Fives: Expresso Bongo lunchtime free

Fives: Red Rag Social with bands. Tickets £1 in advance from
Acorn. Be there.

There are actually more things on, but the Target, Central, Caribbean
and Angies have not finalised their August gigs yet. However there
will be things on, on the usual nights in these venues.

My new contact number is 507598 (Helen) after work or leave a message.

                                - - -

Pari Harp Publication Anneal

Carl Harp, a writer, poet, artist, prison agitator and revolutionary
anarchist, was murdered last year in Valla Valla prison in the USA. A
group of South London Anarchists have gathered together some of his
writings, and intend to publish them, as an example to on-going prison
straggle. We have been already offered some help with layout,
typesetting, printing, distribution etc., out we need more, and above
all we need contributions or loans to pay for the first printing. If
you can help in any way please contact us at: Carl Harp Appeal, c/o
121 Railton Rd, London SE 24

                                - - -

RED RAG

New Games / Jumble

Sat 6 Aug 1:45
Fairview Community Centre (end of George St)

Offers of jumble to Paul 587381 & 666681

                                - - -

SUMMER STEW (VEGAN)

Basic Ingredients: (to feed 4)

3/4lb onions
1/4lb butter beans(dry weight)
1 - l 1/2lb courgettes (cheap if you get them from the market at the
end of the day)
3/4lb soft tomatoes (or 1 large tin)

Optional Extras: (to feed 6)

1/2 - 3/4lb aubergines
1/4 - 3/4lb mushrooms
1/4 - 3/4lb peppers
2oz peanuts (not the salted variety)
loz sultanas

Also:  3/4lb new potatoes per person or
       1/2lb new potatoes each plus a salad

Flavouring: Salt; Pepper; 1 large clove garlic or 2 medium
(compulsory): 1-2 heaped teaspoons of caraway seeds if possible; two
or three of:- oregano or marjoram, thyme, dill weed, mint, chives
(herbs should total about two flattish handfuls).

Start by cooking the beans. If you're together enough, soak thea for
up to 24 hours first. Dump them in unsalted boiling water and simmer
for 1 - 1/2 hrs. depending on soaking and age of beans, until soft
enough to be pleasant to eat. In a pressure cooker this takes 25 - 35
mins. at 151bs pressure. While they're cooking, clean the potatoes and
make the salad. Also hack the aubergine into smallish cubes, sprinkle
liberally with salt and leave in a colander on the draining board for
at least half an hour (otherwise it will take all night to
cook). Drain the beans when they're done. All this can be done in
advance; from here on it takes about three quarters of an hour. Chop
up the onion, crush the garlic and fry gently with the caraway. When
the onion is slightly transparent (but still a little crunch) add the
courgettes (sliced)and aubergines and fry for another five
minutes. (Now is a good tine to put the potatoes on to boil.) Add the
tomatoes, beans, such optional goodies as you care for. Add enough
water to cover half the depth of the food, bring gently to the boil
and sinner for about twenty minutes or until the potatoes are
ready. Add salt, pepper and herbs to taste, very little salt if you're
using aubergines since they've already been covered in it. An
alternative to salt is tamari ('Shoyu'). One teaspoon may be more than
enough. If the courgettes taste bitter, add a teaspoon of sugar when
none of your guests are watching.

This stew improves no end with re-heating, so cook it a day in advance
if you can. Cold leftovers go well with good bread or toast for lunch
the next day.

"Coleus N"

                                - - -

LETTER

Dear Red Rag,

After reading the replies of Peter the Painter and Misplaced Pseudonym
to my earlier letter, I was most interested to read the Rag's report
of the Borough Council Committee Meetings. I had argued that elections
local and national deserve to be taken seriously as an opportunity to
influence the context in which we live our lives and fight our
struggles. No sooner had I been informed by one of your correspondents
that I was resigned to "living on my knees" than I had from your own
excellent pages a perfect example of what not voting Labour
achieves. Now it takes 12 months to even get on the Housing Waiting
List instead of 6, thanks to the increased Conservative control of the
Housing Committee.

I couldn't agree more with what Peter seems to be posing as a decent
type of society - a community of autonomous co-operative individuals
not oppressed by anyone. What I can't accept is the attitude that says
"ignore politics, class, the State", or "poke fun at it and it will
disappear". By refusing to vote such people refused a government that
promised to stop Cruise and Trident, the Police and Criminal Evidence
Bill, the New Nationality Act. By default they've helped let in a
Government that is ready to attack ordinary people's living standards
in every conceivable way.

Greg.

                                - - -

UNION

the ocean calm and bright in mother's flesh
a single bar of gold between her pelvis and her throat
a split and dazzled path, stretching from the shore
the sun a sudden entrance in the shadow of her eyes
the ocean swollen softly, pregnant with her musk:

it is not mine, the dim warmth of the womb
a golden foetus wrapped in heartbeat blood and never free
it is not mine, the soft womb of the weak
upon the swollen ocean, flung upon the tide

the whisper of soft oceans in a shell of hardened steel
the sleep of leaded warheads in our casement squat and still
no mother only father bred this grey array of akulla
no female hand would stroke the flesh, the purple head, the
                                         waiting core
no human ear will stoop to hear their voices fall from whitewashed
                                         walls
("Nobel dreamt at of death" they whisper, "Nobel dreamt of death")
it is not nine, the peace of spent ignition
the hollow sky is bent and warped with pillars, dark with dust
it is not mine, the sleep that falls from haunted, hunted planes.

the whisper of soft oceans, calm and bright in mother's flesh
the crackle of crisp footsteps in our hangers warm and still
the stainless steel armies on their runways march in time
the clerks in their white hunger, murmur, counting time:

it is not mine, the sleep of quiet men
who dream of mother's heartbeat in the hollow of the past
it is not mine, the peace of spartan, grave and simple me:
who when the silos open will return to her at last

Luke Andreski

                                - - -

RED RAG

...is Reading's Only Newspaper. It's free and fortnightly (apart from
Christmas and August) and is produced by a Right On collective, it has
no political links, it has nothing to do with the University, it is
financed entirely by donations. Currently 1250 copies of each issue
are printed. Half these go through shops and other outlets, the rest
through an astounding network of distributors to the doors of those
who ask for it. All opinions expressed are those of individual
contributors - anyone is welcome to write for it. (Please say how we
can contact you and whether you mind it being edited.) Help is always
wanted. So is money.

Money

-- We need it! We don't have quite enough to print this issue. And we
want to spend £100 - £150 on Reading Between the Lines, and to
distribute that free with the next issue. He have a jumble sale coming
up on August 6th, and a social at Fives on the 14th, which should
raise some of that. But we need more! When did you last make a
donation? send one NOW to Red Rag Treasurer, Flat 7, 66 Wokingham Road
(cheques payable to 'Red Rag'). Or leave one in the collecting tin at
Acorn Bookshop, or at Pop Records or at Lazer Records. About twenty of
us make regular (monthly or three monthly) donations of 1% of our
income through a standing order. This is the only money we can rely on
getting, and it's only a third of what we need. 1250 copies of the Rag
go out free each issue - one of them to Sydney.

====== Reading Between The Lines ======

We aim to bring out our definitive and categorical guide to
alternative Reading or alternative guide to Reading in time for it to
go out with the next issue in three weeks' time. It will be
stupendously good. Anyone interested in helping compile it should ring
666681. Please let us know any ideas you have on what should go in
it. We need money too or we won't be able to afford it.

                                - - -

RAPE CRISIS LINE

Fundraising Booksale

Sat July 30 10.30am United Reform Church Broad St

                                - - -

SMALL ADS - FREE

Musicians Wanted

Glam punk image: We require a Bassist/ keyboard /Synth/and
Guitarist. For details phone Gerry Reading 590422

Simple Accommodation sought

near Reading by Student (part time) studying osteopathy. Prepared to
work in garden/farm.
Andrew Bates Henley 4356

                                - - -

RED RAG OUTLETS

Get your copy of the next issue from:-

Acorn Bookshop, under Chatham St car park
Lazer Records, upstairs in Butts Centre
Pop Records, 172 Kings Road
Central Club, bottom of London St
Centre for the Jobfree, East Street
Our Price Records, downstairs in Butts Centre
Mace Grocer, Crown Colonnade, Cemetery Junction
Johal Cash and Carry, 14 Cholmeley Road
Elephant Off-licence and grocer, 1 Derby Street
Fine Food Stores, 168 Oxford Road
Ken's Shop, Students' Union, Whiteknights

                                - - -

$Id: //info.ravenbrook.com/user/ndl/readings-only-newspaper/issue/1983/1983-07-24.txt#3 $