Free RED RAG Yip yip! Reading's Only Newspaper Fortnightly May 26th - June 9th Events 666681 Going Out 61361 News 666681 666324 - - - JUNE 9TH On June 9th, Reagan and other countries' leaders will be meeting in London for an Economic summit. 3,000 of the world's press will be in London to cover Reagan's visit and the summit, and in election year every move that Reagan makes is crucial. The demonstrations in London on June 9th will send a clear and urgent message to the people of the United States, and especially to Reagan - "Please take your missiles with you when you go". Mr. Heseltine seems to think that cruise deployment has somehow 'defeated' the peace movement; the truth is that it has shattered any remaining consensus in Europe about nuclear weapons. CND are organising a march and rally in Trafalgar Square, and also a symbolic action - an encirclement of the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. There will also be a blockade of Lancaster House, venue of the Economic Summit. Details of transport to London on Sat 9th appear inside this issue - see also Events. - - - NUT STRIKE Teachers from 6 schools in Reading represented their NUT colleagues in Berkshire this week by taking part in the first of a series of 3-day strikes. You may have seen us in the 'regular' press: working-in at the AUEW (doing some of the 999 things teachers do outside the classroom), or leafleting in the centre of town. Six of us joined the 1200-strong lobby of Parliament on Thursday. For those who have never had the pleasure and privilege of lobbying their MP this means that we stood in a queue for 2 1/2 hours outside the Houses of Parliament, and for another 2 hours inside the Grand Lobby (seating for about 30). Predictably, our elected representatives, Durant, van Straubenzee, and Vaughan, didn't turn up. Just call them the invisible men. Could it possibly be that they Haven't Got An Adequate Answer to Our Case? NUT members have also 'withdrawn their goodwill' from schools. In case you don't know what that means, 'goodwill' is all the things teachers do but don't get paid for. Supervising school dinners is an example (and don't let anyone tell you that 66p worth of lukewarm baked beans are fit payment for an hour's work). If your children are being turned out of school at lunchtime now, blame the authority which has been using the presence of teachers in schools to reduce the employment of dinner controllers to an inadequate level. Other things teachers aren't doing just now include: taking part in organisational meetings (I average 4 hours a week on these, normally; more senior colleagues may do as many as 7 or 8); clubs (badminton, chess, country dancing, computer); after-school discos; shopping and washing and painting blackboards; planning visits for the children; being available for parent consultation. It's now half-term. A holiday for the children, but for teachers a time (usually) of meetings, of preparing classroom displays, of vetting places we might visit, with the children. Not this term. This is only the beginning of the action. Every statement by our employers serves only to strengthen our resolve. We know the money is there; it's there to waste on Trident, it's there to give the police 7.5%, it's there to build a military airport in the Falklands. If it's not there for teachers, that's a measure of the importance this government and their henchpeople in the Education Committees attach to the education of our children. In the next two weeks, teachers in other Berkshire towns will be called on to take similar strike action. Then it will be Reading's turn again. And so on until the employers agree to take the dispute to arbitration. Bridget - - - CITIZEN CAIN Against The Square What the papers didn't say about Thames Tory Hamza Fuad's surprise support for Jim Day's bid at the first Council meeting to revive the old three-party management groups for the Borough Council's committees is that Cllr. Fuad based it on concern about the influence of freemasons - the "Square" - on Council business. Speaking very seriously (for once) as, he said, Deputy Chairman and Acting Chairman of the Reading East Conservative Association, he referred to press reports that the Council was being run by a tight little clique of senior Conservatives and said that he and his Association would be very worried if this was the case and that he supported consideration of management groups as one way of open ing things out. The "Post" had quoted Labour Deputy Leader Graham Rush as saying that the Tories were operating just like the masons, and there is of course good reason for this. Habits die hard. Note: Stephen Knight's new book on the "Square" does however identify Thames Valley Chief Constable Peter Imbert as one of the relatively few Chief Constables who is not a freemason. There is no information there, of course, about other senior officers. Jobs For The Readibus Boys As exclusively predicted in this column, Tony "Readibus" Markham won the Tories' very own "Mr Nasty" competition to succeed Ron Jewitt as Chairman of the Housing Committee and will bring to the task his unique combination of viciousness and innumeracy. And his membership of the "Square". One of his more vocal supporters in the attack on "Readibus", Jack Irwin, has been rewarded by promotion to Tory Whip - not bad after an otherwise undistinguished first year on the Council. And Transportation Chairman Geoff Lowe, who backed Tony with a furious public attack on the Voluntary Services Council which runs Readibus, is of course now the Tories' Deputy Leader (also in succession to Ron Jewitt). The only one left out is Kentwood's Steve Thomas (dubbed the Conservative by the local Labour Party in tribute to the misleading quality of his election material), perhaps because his only contribution at Council meetings in his first year was to ask that more money be spent on Mallory Park in his ward. Then Leisure Chairman John Oliver said he would think about it. Richfield Pickings The sale by Roger Smee's Rockfort Group of builders McCarthy Fitt to J.M. Jones of Maidenhead should strengthen the latter's local claim to the contract for the Richfield Avenue development - a replacement for the Caversham Bridge Hotel, a new leisure centre, and a great slab of profitable industrial development now being considered rather privately by the Borough Council. J.M.Jones, through their Beacontree subsidiary, are one of the front-runners. Another is a more national name, Bovis, with which the Education Secretary, Sir Keith Joseph, used to be very closely associated (though there is no connection between the Richfield Avenue development and Sir Keith's recent "private" visit to Reading). Involved with several of the hotel propositions is Grand Metropolitan Hotels, the empire of Sir Maxwell Joseph (no relation). Euronote With Euro-constituencies of getting on for 400,000 electors, one might have thought it would be easy for political parties to find candidates who actually live in the Euro-constituency they want to represent. But here in the Thames Valley only Labour's Brian Bastin (who lives in Caversham Park Village) lives in the constituency. The Liberal lives over the border in Buckinghamshire. The Tory Baroness Eales, a sitting Euro-MP, lives in London N5: presumably because there are flights to Strasbourg and Brussels from Luton Airport. Mayoral Maths Ron Jewitt was duly elected Mayor of Reading by 23 votes to 21 over Liberal Janet Bond (in the first contested election in living memory). It would have been 23 votes to 22 if fellow-Liberal John Freeman had not decided to go on holiday instead (a decision that adds strength to the rumour that he's getting a bit bored with the Council anyway). But actually if he had been there the end result could have been very different. His vote would have meant that any Tory feeling sore at Jewitt (and there are a number) could have ditched Ron's chances by abstaining and throwing the decision to the casting vote of last year's Mayor, Labour's Doris Lawrence. Or Deputy Mayor George Robinson, who had a vote at the meeting as Deputy Mayor although he lost his seat on the Council on May 3rd but in the event abstained, could similarly have got his own back on Ron for ejecting him from Caversham Ward by voting for Janet Bond. In either case they would have known that their decision would have been effective in stopping Ron ("Clear that rabble from the gallery") Jewitt from becoming what the "Post" calls "First Citizen". What no Tory was prepared to do was defy the Tory Whip and fail. Deep South It will be interesting to see how far the Liberal Party goes in protesting about the visit of South African Prime Minister Botha. On both Reading and Berkshire Councils: Jim Day and his team have persistently opposed Labour 'attempts to stop or at least discourage the employees' pension fund from investing in South Africa which has made their denunciations of apartheid a bit hollow. Greenhamgate, Contd. The "Newbury Weekly News" on May 17th gave banner headlines to a visit from Miss Sonia Copeland, the Tory "opposition spokesman" on the GLC Women's Committee to the town as a guest of R.A.G.E. (Ratepayers Against Greenham Encampment) in which she claimed that the Committee had spent thousands of pounds subsidising the Greenham peace camp. She added that there were about 20 members on the Committee and that they included 12 co-opted women nominated by the Labour Party and one "visible lesbian". Which of course explains everything. (Women's Committee Chair Valerie Wise, incidentally, denied the claim, saying that while she personally supported the camp she had a "fiduciary duty" - as understood by the House of Lords - to spend London ratepayers' money on London for use in London.) In the same paper R.A.G.E. chairman Anthony Meyer was reported as having written to Margaret Thatcher demanding that the Post Office, Electoral Registration Office, Thames Water Authority and DHSS be made to stop "conniving" at the camp by recognising its existence and its address. Richard Nixon used public bodies for political purposes too. And there seems to be a connection between R.A.G.E. and the visit to the camp of male strippers The Oddballs, a visit that produced "Evening Post" placards implying that the peace women had been stripping themselves and which was certainly an unsolicited and embarrassing experience for them; leastways an awful lot of members of R.A.G.E. are reported to have been around to watch the fun. Again, Nixon had a word for it. Citizen Cain - - - RIGHT TO READ - PRESS RELEASE - MAY 20th 1984 Books Not Drugs The trial of Knockabout Comics under the Obscene Publications Act, (R.v.Toskanex Ltd. and Tony Bennett) is now entering its third week in court number 3 at the Old Bailey. A great deal of time has been taken up with expert testimony on the effects of drugs - cannabis, cocaine & psilocybin mushrooms. (Judge Lewisohn has refused to allow evidence on the effects of books!) Is reading about the use and dangers of drugs liable to deprave and corrupt any more than books about cocktails, boxing, war or motorcycle racing? So far two charges of conspiracy to contravene the Misuse of Drugs Act have been dropped; and the judge has directed Not Guilty verdicts on 2 books - "The Cocaine Handbook" and "Cocaine Consumers Handbook". The trial continues with 3 titles on identifying psilocybin mushrooms, 4 on growing cannabis, 1 book about cocaine and 2 others about cannabis. These are all works of non-fiction, information, reference books and as such set a precedent under the Obscenity laws which were written to draw together various anti-pornography legislation. The final outcome of this trial (sometime around the end of May/beginning of June) will affect several other cases pending throughout the country against various bookshops, in which a great number of fiction and non-fiction titles relating to drugs are charged. This is an important civil liberties case and needs publicity. - - - BEATING TIME ...and having beat moves on It started on Monday with startling vocal sounds from Liz's voice workshop and finished at teatime on Saturday with a weary but jubilant handful of organizers and participants sprawled in attitudes of near-collapse in front of the telly watching a video replay of the day's spectator-bemusing street happenings and scoffing coffee and waffles. Started, yes. Finished? No way, because it's going to go right on happening the way we intended from the beginning it should go on: not just a one-off, not just a once-a-year consumer event, but a year-round collective music experience. But more of that in a moment. There were times during the run-up when the whole idea of a home-made, free, week-long music festival for the unwaged felt like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Could we raise any money? How much would we need? What about PA? Publicity? Scheduling? Bodies to do the donkey work? Most of all, would anybody actually turn up? Bit by bit the blank spaces began to fill in. Events and performers were juggled and re-juggled, right down to the Grand Cabaret Finale on Friday night. Southern Arts came up with money enough to cover costs, though the 'free' aspect of the Free Music Festival had to be fudged a bit by their stipulation that a charge be made for those unlucky enough to be in paid work. A benefit gig at the Paradise with the Myopic Muldonis, Tim Hill's for-the-occasion Beating Time Quartet, the Trystero System (Tim and Mike Cooper) and The Clime contributed a modest but useful sum. The potential clash between the Friday-night finish and Veggie Dining was resolved by a fusion (and a small amount of confusion) of interests. Laura's bright yellow posters appeared in every likely location anyone could think of. Leaflets, letter-headings and even press releases were produced; 210 ran announcements of each day's events and scheduled an interview on the morning record-and-chat show. The whole thing was a damn good party, and it got better and better as it went on: Anarchy in Action worked, even when it skirted perilously close to Chaos in Confusion. Thanks and more thanks to everyone: Chris and all the RCU staff, who not only put up with the dislocation but joined in; all the performers and workshop leaders; Veggie Dining; Southern Arts; those who loaned instruments and gear; people who simply pitched into the donkey work without being asked and especially Mark and Mike; and Southern Arts for the financial help. What worked most about the whole thing, though, was that it left people saying 'This was great, but what happens now? Are things going to go on happening?' What happens now - what has already happened - is that Beating Time is going right on happening. We can't really go on calling it a festival, but we'll think of something to call it on the application for a further grant that's already being put together for the next Southern Arts Music Panel meeting in June. 'A self-help music collective' or something - it doesn't really matter that much. What does matter is that what started at 1 o'clock on Monday May 14th is continuing without a break. The voice workshop is carrying on. A musician's workshop will carry on: we already have the space and the time - Fridays from 2.30 to 4.30 at the Centre for the Unwaged - for a weekly afternoon session that will take on whatever form and structure its members want, and for a slightly more structured (perhaps) evening session on Thursdays, fortnightly or twice a month. We're already tossing around ideas for a couple of larger events later in the year - one in the autumn, perhaps, and one around the holiday season. By the time you read this we may - provided we can scrounge a lorry from someone - already have made our presence known in the West Reading Carnival street parade, but even if that hasn't materialized there will be other community events to get into. We have support and co-operation from RCU, even though Beating Time will carry on as a separate entity and not, even nominally, just for the unwaged. The only thing that will stop it going on happening is lack of support. And if there's as much support as there was during the festival week, it won't stop. Laura, Tim, Malcolm and Dave - - - FOOTBALL VIOLENCE - THE MYTH? A lot of rubbish is written in the press about football violence by people who never got close to it or believe too much of what they hear from football administrators. The truth is very different from the mythology that has grown up: - "The trouble is caused by a tiny minority". This is perhaps the most popular myth of all and it's rubbish. Some Clubs attract violent supporters in large numbers and in almost any Club a substantial proportion of fans travelling to an away match are, if not exactly looking for trouble, at least prepared for it. It is probably fair to say that over 80% of Chelsea, Leeds, West Ham, Millwall and Portsmouth fans for instance are after trouble at away games. - "We don't want these hooligans" say the Clubs, but do they really mean it? Most football Clubs and particularly the biggest ones derive a lot of income from hooligans. They are almost by definition the most loyal supporters, and more likely to be spending cash on extras and Club travel (although many travel independently). Certainly the clubs listed above wouldn't survive for very long without the income they get from hooligans. - "They are driving people away from soccer". Undoubtedly some people must have been put off attending football matches by fears of violence. However the big decline in crowds came well before the advent of soccer violence. There are just far more things for people to do on a Saturday than there were in the 1940's and social patterns have changed e.g. less Saturday morning working, more combined shopping by husbands and wives etc. - "We are doing all we can to stop it" - the big lie. The Football League could end football violence over night by banning away supporters from attending matches. Why don't they do it? The most honest answer I have heard was given by Cardiff City Manager when asked why he wasn't going to ban Chelsea fans from the game in Cardiff after they had laid waste the previous three grounds they had visited. "We can't afford to" he said "this is one of our two big gates of the season". This may sound crazy but it's good economic sense. At the recent infamous Reading V Bristol City game, City brought about 2-3,000 fans with them. These fans were all paying a minimum of £2 to get in, so bringing Reading a minimum of £5,000 income (excluding programmes, drinks etc.). What's more this is virtually all profit since apart from extra Police there are no extra costs in dealing with a large crowd. One club have tried to ban away fans - Coventry City. They have an all-seater stadium with no tickets available on the day of the match. The result? Smaller crowds, no atmosphere, lousy spectator sport. If there is anything which is killing soccer in this country it is this sort of sanitised approach. Away fans contribute to much of the atmosphere at matches, and without them there is little to create the passion which distinguishes live soccer from pre-packaged T.V. high-lights. - "Soccer violence is common place" In fact it's quite rare. One thing is for sure though, if it does happen you'll read about it in the Sunday papers. You could read about soccer violence every week and there will still be over 50 league matches going on without any trouble at all. Added to this, much of what is reported as violence isn't at all. "Pitch invasions" are a classic example. They sound pretty menacing, but may be only a few teenagers running onto the pitch, hurling some abuse at the opposition, and retreating. No one gets hurt. Ironically the report of the Reading V Bristol City violence concentrated on the throwing of objects from behind the goal. In fact the worst fighting took place between Police, Reading and Bristol fans in the South bank throughout the first half. - "Innocent spectators get hurt" Again, this is quite rare. Football violence is tribal warfare practised by small sects of fans according to fairly well prescribed rules. 90% of the time it involves a group of thugs from team A laying into a group of thugs from team B. Some of these groups (each Club has its own) are terrifyingly well organised, they never wear scarves and have there own internal policing system. Hillwall's animals - the worst - even go to other games to cause trouble! However this activity is almost always directed towards the oppositions thugs, not the general public. Head get busted but they normally belong to people who knew what was coming. If you're going to watch your own team at home it should be fairly easy to avoid trouble. For instance at Reading if you made your way to the ground along Tilehurst Road and stood in the Western end of the South bank you would stay well clear of any trouble. - "The Police are doing a wonderful job" This one isn't a myth. When football violence first erupted the Police were caught very much unaware, most forces now have it pretty much under control and are very professional in their tactics. However in order to achieve this they often behave in a way which would be completely unacceptable anywhere else. If a crowd seems a bit lively before the kick-off it is common practise to haul out a couple of people and charge them - anyone will do. You can be arrested at a game for saying the same sort of thing you would to a driver who cut you up. I have been beaten by an inspector merely to get me to walk in a different direction, and it is not unknown for Police to lose their heads at matches in the same way as fans. - the crowd psychology doesn't affect just one side. I get the impression that many Police enjoy soccer duty. They're on overtime paid for by the club and manhandling a few thugs is really what Police work is all about. I'm sure if you asked them they'd rather be at Reading FC than using kid gloves at Greenham Common. The Bristol City game is only about the third time I have seen the Police lose control in a decade of watching games, and it's the only time I've seen policemen being beaten up - it's a rare occurance. Back Room Boot Boy. - - - GREENHAM PEACECAMPS At the moment there are 8 Women's Peace Camps around the military base, each one near a gate. Each gate is named after a colour of the rainbow (plus turquoise, which is between blue and green gates...) Getting information about the women's peace camp from the newspapers or television alone, you may be lead to believe that 'all has been lost' and that women are no longer there. This is far from the truth. The silence on TV and in the press after the dramatic eviction of the main gate, is very clearly meant to mislead the general public... and make it look like everything's changed. And indeed they have changed. There are now two camps at the main (yellow) gate instead of one! and there has never been a successful eviction. Women don't leave and then go back, they don't even leave in the first place... although they may be forced to get personal belongings to a temporary safe place, At the last well-publicised "eviction" 700 police plus herds of bailiffs with big numbers on their jackets (looking suitably embarrassed) were paid to remove what amounted on that day to about 12 (twelve) women, their tents, benders and belongings. Those women plus others are still there. There's another big point to get to grips with concerning the women's peace camp... forget the self-sacrifice or martyr bit. Women are there because they want to be. It's interesting, it's different, it's fun. Yes, it can be very demanding, but with the rewards that go with anything that involves effort. And what's happening there is real, first hand experience of something very important... change and progress on the personal and social level. We demand an end to the stupid greedy arms race. Come to Greenham, and turn a nuclear nightmare into a hopeful dream... - - - CAMPAIGN FOR LIFE Shahila, a Sri Lankan woman working in Abu Dhabi was sentenced to death by stoning for the 'crime' of adultery, the sentence to be carried out after the child with whom she is eight months pregnant has been weaned. This barbaric punishment is often inflicted upon women in several Muslim States: many women from Southern India and Sri Lanka go to oil-rich States for work, and, not living in purdah (the orthodox Islam custom that forbids women to show their faces in public) these women are seen by many as 'loose women', sexually available to every and any man. Rape is not uncommon. It is important that the Peace Movement in the West should support victims, like Shahila, of oppression. In the Third World, the oppression of women is more blatant and brutal than in the West but the underlying mentality is the same. A disrespect for fellow human beings under lies all racial, sexual, or class oppression, and it is this, which we need to fight with all the power of nonviolent action. Here in England, people have written to the Embassy. You can help by writing to the address below or by collecting signatures to a petition and sending them to the UAE Embassy: The United Arab Emirates Embassy, 30 Princes Gate, London SW7 Since this article was written, the Embassy has announced that Shahila's sentence has been commuted to one year's imprisonment with 35 lashes. She will then be deported. I would suggest that the action suggested (writing to & petitioning the embassy) remains an appropriate one. Furthermore, her story, horrifying as it is, is not an isolated one. We must hope that her reprieve may mark a trend towards more humanity in the attitudes of Middle Eastern courts to women. Our continued pressure on the embassy will support such a trend. Mike Carroll, Coventry. - - - LAKENHEATH The peace camp at Lakenheath was set up on 31st May 1982 outside the main gate of USAF Lakenheath. The original group were moved five times within the space of a year. Eventually the present site was discovered at the back of the Base, where disputed ownership has meant we have been able to stay here since April '83. The camp was originally under canvas, but in December 1982, a baby, Poppy, was born in our first donated caravan. At the moment there are about ten caravans, some donated and some individually owned, and a number of converted vehicles. There is also a communal covered structure. After a year the original group began moving away, and the camp went through a low period in the Summer of '83. However since the Autumn of 83 many new people have settled here and revived the camp. Although we are now known simply as 'Lakenheath Peace Camp', we retain the family nature of the camp - five families at present as well as single people. On 2lst Feb '84, a second baby, Jenny, was born on site. We produce a bi-monthly newsletter. Let us know and we'll put you on the mailing list. USAF Lakenheath, little publicised, is one of the largest US bases in this country. Linked with Mildenhall, four miles away, it has approximately 7,000 personnel, and is home of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing (four squadrons: the 492nd, 493rd, 494th, 495th). There are 94 F-111 F warplanes as well as a few F-15's F-16's F-100's and EF-111's. It is now understood from a variety of sources that Cruise missiles are here, deployed under the cover of publicity given to other bases. We are here because we believe that peace can only be brought about by peaceful means. We are involved in direct action by regaining our own strength to love and work peacefully against those who hold power and misuse that power. We organise and take part in a variety of events and demonstrations, but we can only continue to exist, to grow with your help. The Peace Camp, Broom Road, Lakenheath, Brandon, Suffolk. - - - SHELTER There is a housing crisis in this country at the moment. There are currently l 1/2 million people on the council waiting lists. There are 1.2 million homes classified as unfit for human habitation. In Reading the Borough Council is not building any new homes for rent, and future councils will be greatly restricted in what they can do because all available land is being sold off. Shelter is the National Campaign for the homeless. It's objective is a decent home for everyone at a price they can afford. It supports direct housing projects, a network of housing advice centres, research and lobbying at a national level, and campaigns on specific issues e.g. the use of B&B accommodation for homeless families. A shelter group has recently been formed in Reading. Its purpose is to: 1. conduct research on the housing situation 2. raise funds for the National Campaign 3. mount constructive campaigns to improve the local situation e.g. trying to bring the 1,000 plus empty properties in Reading back into use. Contact Mark Goldup, 34, Whitley Wood Rd., Reading Phone Oxford 815553 office hours. - - - LETTERS Dear Sir, The article entitled "Animal Liberation, An Argument for Moderation" in the "Red Rag" (13th-27th May) failed to make the point that animal liberation and human liberation go together. Liberation, like cruelty, is invisible. It is now established that people can be healthier on a vegan diet, while the cultivation of plant foods for direct human consumption releases vast areas of land for other uses, in particular the growth of trees which can do so much for the fertility of the soil and can provide a safe, renewable, alternative to nuclear power (cf the demonstration of Bio-fuel at the National Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth, Wales). The problem of world hunger is artificial. There is already more than enough food in the world, it's just that so much of it is fed to animals or is grown as "cash-crops" for the West. A return to the natural climax vegetation, the native trees, would provide a healthy diet, a healthy soil, a safe, renewable source of fuel and, incidentally, habitats for our diminishing wildlife population, as well as land for human recreation. Re-planting our trees would also provide jobs of real purpose for the unemployed and would reverse the drift of population from the "free-range" countryside to the "battery" towns. As for population control, the spread of bottle-feeding human babies with milk intended for calves, has been a major cause in the alarming rise in the birth-rate of "Third World" countries. The most popular, effective, healthy and natural contraceptive is full breast-feeding. A vegan way of life is no panacea, but it is an essential part of a true New Age. Further information is available from the Vegan Society Ltd (Dept RR), 9 Mawddwy Cottages, Kinllyn, Dinas Mawddwy, Machynlleth, SY20 9LW. Laurence Main (Education Officer) Tel. 06504 255 Dear Sir/Madam, I was greatly interested by the article on Animal Experiments by Paul Bardos in your issue of-13/27 May. I have not previously read such a well researched and cogent piece on this disturbing subject, and I must compliment the author. I was, however, less than pleased by the rather facile and trite "Typist's comment" that "Animals are innocent, people are guilty". Did he or she even read the article? Now I must acknowledge the absolute truth of the first proposition that animals are innocent, but as for the latter, the typist surely does not mean that a person suffering from leprosy in some third world country is the author of his own misfortune? People are guilty, the people who for vanity permit the horrendous 'LD 50' tests to prove the safety of cosmetics, or force dogs to smoke, when we already know only too well the dangers to health of this habit. Comments which are germain are welcome, but surely such instant, sloganised quips as "the typist's" are not. Yours faithfully, Stephen J. Foley Dear Red Rag, Whilst accepting that there is at least a grain of truth somewhere in the cartoon "Men and Friendship" in the last Red Rag, I personally found it sexist for these reasons:- - The alienation described doesn't just exist in male-male relationships, but also in male-female, and in some cases, female-female ones too! - Both sexes can collude in sexual stereotyping which is a barrier to real intimacy. - People are complex creatures emotionally - to trace all male conflict back to sexual roots is an over-simplification. Sexual pressures are not the only ones we're subject to are they? Until we can relate to one another as people first, with human weaknesses, individual rates of growth, and common survival needs, nothing can really change. It's too easy to think the worst of each other on first impressions, and so avoid looking beyond the surface to our true emotional richness. It's ironic that a cartoon which seems to set out to ridicule macho male values, appears macho in attitude itself! Or did I miss the joke somewhere along the line? Huw Jones Dear Red Rag, Has anyone else noticed the mysterious symbols that have silently appeared on motorway signs around Reading? The woman at the AA was as puzzled as I, and after a considerable delay returned with the news that they were part of a scheme of diversions to be used in the event of an accident blocking the motorway. This explanation seems to me to raise more questions than it answers, not least of which is why it seems to have been done with such secrecy, if it is in the benefit of the general motorist? A much more plausible explanation seems to me to be that these yellow triangles and black squares are aids to help the American drivers of the Cruise Missile Convoys to find their way around Berkshire. After all, it's no fun when you're late for Armageddon to have to pull your thousand Hiroshimas off the road to consult the Ordnance Survey, and find that Greenham Common USAF base isn't even marked (Sonofabitch, these damned English placenanes...) Yours, Red Rita. P.S. Does any other reader know how far they extend? Dear Editor, Some friends have sent me an article from Red Rag (13-27 May) concerning animal experiments and Third World health, entitled 'Animal Liberation - An argument for Moderation'. I am quite sure that many of your readers would be interested to learn of the work that this Trust does in promoting the development of alternatives to animal experiments, and the basis of the Trust in ethical principles which cannot support animal experiments. While it is true that there simply aren't yet answers to all the world's health problems (with or without animal experiments) the ethical case must be put - and is very strong. Yours sincerely, Dr. Gill Langley General Secretary - The Dr. Hadwen Trust for Humane Research. (We are hoping that an article from the Trust, giving a different point of view, will appear in a future issue of Red Rag.) - - - ME-E-E-EH! BLEEET! The charming annual ritual of electing Reading's First Citizen, enacted at its traditional home, the Hexagon, left those of us privileged to attend on May 22nd filled with awe and reverence for the dignity of this ancient Borough. The muzak began, as it has since time immemorial, at seven o'clock. The gallery gradually filled, mainly with citizens of an older generation than myself, many of then from Caversham itself. Finally the Members of the Council filed in, along a red carpet in the middle of the stage: the "Conservative "and "Liberal" ones in their long black gowns, the women also carrying triangular black cushions on their heads; the "Labour" ones, representing, as always, iconsclasm and revolution, in red ties. And who was that, in a white bathing-cap, or maybe a whig? Who but Harry Tee, "Mr Reading", the Chief Executive. Suddenly we were all asked to be upstanding for the right worshipful mayor, Doris Lawrence, in a red and gold bolster. A scratchy roll of drums came over the loudspeakers, and the National Anthem. Ex-mayor George Robinson's lips were seen to move. Mellow When we were all downsitting again, Fred Pugh made a speech to nominate as mayor his "fellow Caversham Councillor and fellow Welshman" Ron Jewitt. Ron, we learned, has served as a governor of most of the town's nursery, primary and secondary schools, and as chairman of some. "His personal magnetism has transformed Caversham." But: "It seems that attempts have been made to project him as a controversial choice." Nonsense. In fact, "The Conservatives have broken away from making the choice of mayor political." Ron is merely the most senior Councillor who hasn't been mayor yet, apart from a few who don't want to be mayor anyway. The Leader of the Council, Deryck Morton, seconded the nomination. Coun Jewitt, whom he wittily described as "a member of that ethnic minority the Welsh", was, he said, "an aggressive politician, sometimes maybe too aggressive - but maybe not." The office of mayor would mellow "the most fiery of characters"; "he will endear himself to the citizens of Reading." Connections So. "Are there any other nominations?" Yes! The foundations rocked. Never in living memory had this happened. There would have to be a ballot. And voting. Yet there it was: Liberal leader Jim Day singing the praises of Janet Bond who, though "one of her parents had Welsh connections", had nothing in common with Ron Jewitt. Her interest in archaeology, for instance, showed that tradition would be safe with her. Her nomination was seconded by Labour leader Mike Orton. Custom decreed, he said, that the mayor's seconder come from a different party. He spoke of "honour and dignity". Honour and dignity was all around. An emaciated clerk sitting at a little desk at the back stood up, and walked along the rows of Councillors, handing out a secret ballot paper to each. Then, with the same unhurried deliberation, he went round again, first the Labour and Liberal seats on the left, then the Conservatives on the right. He and a colleague proceeded to sort these at great length, into three piles, so far as I could tell. The atmosphere was electric. It reminded me of the Eurovision Song Contest. Hurling abuse Finally the result was announced: for Coun Jewitt, 23 votes; for Coun Bond, 21. Relief, crushing disappointment, celebration. The Tories had all been whipped into line: many were known to have reservations about Ron Jewitt. The mayor-elect and Doris left the stage, shortly to reappear, with Ron Jewitt now wearing the bolster. This was of course the climax of the event. All that was left was for Margaret Singh to propose thanks to Doris, "Reading's own Queen Mum", for her year as mayor. It had been a trying year, she said: people (now who did she have in mind?) "hurling abuse" not just at Councillors, but at the public too. Doris, for her part, thanked all sorts of people: her chaplain, the police, the press photographers. The press photographers. These bustling officials had been occupied throughout the proceedings, scurrying back and forth around the choir seats at the back, trying out an angle here, a new lens there, conscious, as were we all, of the burden tradition placed on them, to record these solemn scenes for posterity. The Moving Finger - - - COUNCIL VOTES IN A TWIST Greater Manchester councillors have been experiencing problems similar to those of their colleagues hero in the Silicon capital, but with an interesting twist. For there, it seems, it was Labour that won a slight majority in this month's elections. Those budding socialists then put forward one Ken Strath as candidate for Lord Mayor, committed to doing away with the pomp, cost and ceremony associated with the 150-year-old office. Fine. Trouble is, before the elections, all three parties had already agreed to nominate someone else for mayor: the Tories' ex-leader Harold Tucker. And, to add insult to injury in a break with "tradition" which pales the antics of Messrs Jewitt et al into the puny league .... the victorious Labour group awarded themselves all 23 seats on the Council's policy committee. Fear not, though, O brave traditiocrats! Democracy has won the day! For enough Labour councillors have joined a Tory/Liberal alliance to take over the council, reverse that sordid 23 seat business and install Tucker as mayor. Nick - - - MOURNING STAR RIP the Star The Star is dead - long live the Star End of an era 1984 Pubs not homes ... Some of the instant graffiti which covered the boarded-up windows of one of Reading's best-loved institutions in Duke Street a week or so ago. - - - SMALL ADS Come and play New Games on Sunday 3rd June by the Adventure playground in Palmer Park 1pm. Also at the Boscombe Down Peace Festival on Sat. 16th June at 2pm. See you there! Woman, 33 with son, 11 needs accommodation, preferably shared. Phone Devises (0380) 6837 and leave message. For sale: small washing machine £25 bicycle (women's) £15 stereo speakers £5 cassette deck £7 guitar £10 For free: large vacuum cleaner small mini vacuum cleaner arm chair 3 badminton racquets For free from mid-June: kitchen units - modern, cream and brown, c/w cupboards, drawers, sink, taps and worktops. Reasonable condition. We will try to help with moving them. Phone Gill on 594855 after 6.30pm. evenings. Double Room for rent now in Purley (4 miles from town centre) with four others. Garden, garage and all facilities. £17.50 per week each. Suit young couple, pref. vegetarians. Phone 374532 after 6pm. or Pat 55911 ext. 2069 days. Are you a closet juggler, jester or candlestick maker, or anything else which would blend into a Tudor Fayre from 5th - 11th June in Newbury. Please contact Jim Crockett - Bradfield 744728 now. RCRE is organising transport to the Stop Botha demonstration. If you want further information please contact Breda on 583773 / 584558 by Wednesday 30th May. Look forward to hearing from you. - - - JOB ADS The Southern Council for Community Work Training has funds from the VPP to appoint two workers. One is a Community Work Training Organiser to co-ordinate a range of training events to meet the needs of those involved in local community work. The post is for 37 1/2 hours per week with £6,000 p.a. The other post is for a part-time secretary to work with the training organiser. This post is for 10 hrs. per week at £2.50 per hour. The Southern Council for Community Work Training would welcome applications from Asian and Afro-Caribbean people. Applicants should apply to the Jobcentre in the Butts Centre. Interviews will be held on June 4th. and June 11th. Cambridge Free Press needs worker for 4 days per week. Non-smoker, male preferred. Pay is £33.90 per week. Experience of co-operatives essential. Please phone 0223 316403 very soon. - - - RED RAG New distributor needed for Cemetry Junction outlets, i.e. four shops. Also to collect money from the tin in the Mace shop and check they're getting the right number of Rags. New distributor needed as soon as possible for distribution around Caversham Road area. If you can help, please ring 665676 or 666324. Ta. - - - REGULAR EVENTS Photography: sessions every Tuesday (10-12, 1-3) at Centre for the Jobfree, East St Housing and Welfare Rights: Thursday evenings, Community House, Cumberland Rd. Reading Gay Switchboard: Tues & Fri, 8-10pm. 597269 Mini-market: Thurs 9-1, St Mary's House, Chain St Women's Centre: open Tues 10-2, Wed 10-2, Sat 11-3. All women and kids welcome. Pregnancy testing Tues 7-9, Bring urine sample from first pee of the day Incest Survivors Group: meets regularly. Write c/o Rape Crisis Line, 17 Chatham St, for details. Anarchists: meet every Monday. Details via Box 19, Acorn Bookshop. Autonomists contact via the anarchists. Peace Pledge Union: meets monthly, always active. Contact 588459, 868384, or Box 10, Acorn. Ecology Party: meets 1st and 3rd Mon of month at 25 de Beauvoir Rd and 38 Long Barn Lane respectively. Contact Maria 663195. Socialist Workers' Party: meet every Weds, Red Lion, Southampton St, 8pm. Labour History Group: meets monthly at Red Lion. Contact Breda 584558 or Mike 665478 for details. Vegans: 1st Sun of month. 1 Orrin Close, Tilehurst at 2pm. Contact Liz and Steve Shiner 21651 Women's Peace Group: 1st Mon of month at Women's Centre. Contact Rheinhild 662873. Amnesty: 2nd Thurs of month. St Mary's Centre, Chain St. Contact Jean 472598. History of Reading Soc: 3rd Tues of month, Abbey Gateway Berks Humanists: meet 2nd Fri of month Oct-May at 8pm. Friends' Meeting House, Church St. Details Crowthorne 774871. Cyclists Touring Club: outings Sun 9.15 from Caversham Bridge or Henley. Richard 50949 Wednesday is Women's Day at Centre for the Jobfree, East St. Coffee, advice, courses, etc, from 10-30. Silkscreen Workshops: at Newtown Community House, 117 Cumberland Rd. Details Clive 666324. Practical Paradise Club: Women's Centre, Abbey St. Workshops, self-defence, keep fit... and fun. Suns, 2-6 Reading Recreation Art Centres: Painting for Pleasure at Town Hall. Mon 7-9, Tues 10-12. Details 55911 or 861289. Cruelty-free toiletries: market stall every Sat behind Tescos, Butts Centre. National Council for Civil Liberties: 2nd Mon of month. St Mary's Centre, Chain St. Contact Paul 861582. Reading Cycle Campaign: meets monthly at the Rising Sun, 1st Mon of month. For details ring 483181 or 64667. Reading Birth Centre: 3rd Tues of month for food and chat. Ring 61330 for venue. Reading Organisation for Animal Rights (ROAR): 1st Tues of month at The Crown, Crown St. Contact Alan 477790. Beating Time Musicians Workshop: every Friday afternoon, Reading Centre for the Unwaged, East Street, 2.30 to 4.30. Men's Group: meets weekly. For dates & venues contact Box 28, Acorn Bookshop. Gay Soc: Mondays in Univ terms 8pm, Council Room, Students Union, Whiteknights. - - - London, June 9th: OECD International Summit of western states' leaders finishes; various demos to celebrate the departure of Ronnie & co. - CND March from Hyde Park to a Rally in Trafalgar Square, until 5pm; - CND organised nonviolent encirclement of US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, for pre-prepared affinity groups; - "Summit 84" organised nonviolent blockade of Lancaster House, The Mall; - @ "inspired" disruption anywhere/everywhere (a la 'Stop the City') There is also scope at: - Trooping of the Colour, Horse Guards Parade; - end of Summit Press Conference, Guildhall; - end of Summit Banquet, Buckingham Palace. - - - REAL DEMO Looking forward to the action on June 9th, against nukes, US militarism and anything else we can think of? I have been too, but I have a few reservations. What has happened to all the real demos? Let me illustrate what I mean by describing two demos I attended. The first was the CND demo in London in 1981. I went along with the anarchist contingent, a really mixed bunch, all dressed differently, punks, hippies, rastas, and even some straight looking people (like me!). Everyone was friendly and people sang, chanted, danced and taunted members of a certain socialist tendency whose banner said "Save the Soviet Nuclear Bomb"(?!) Above all, this collection of individuals, most of whom had never met before, quite spontaneously acted as a group, and had a lot of fun. (Shock! Horror!) On the October '83 CND demo, again I marched with a strong anarchist contingent. Difference number One: they were all punks, or almost. Two, they all wore black and my friend and I, dressed fairly straight and in bright colours received thoroughly hostile looks from the rest. That made me really angry. I don't want my politics assumed from my clothes, (if I hadn't known better I'd have assumed that the rest were a bunch of falangists). As an anarchist, I don't want to wear anybody's fucking uniform whether it belongs to the state or to so-called anarchists. As this funereal group wandered down the street, not a song, not a chant was heard throughout the entire length of the march. In fact they did not do a damn thing until the end when the most constructive thing they could find to do was to heckle every speaker. I mean, OK we all know that the speakers are irrelevant boring and hypocritical (do we ? - typist), but is it worth getting nicked for heckling them ? In previous years, anarchist actions on these demos have been targeted on Whitehall and Oxford Street! No more effective perhaps, but at least it didn't antagonise the rest of the demonstrators. Whilst I wholeheartedly support direct action and confrontation with those who give aid and comfort to militarism (police, politicians, civil service and business interests) as on the Stop the City actions; I don't think anyone is going to be won - over by the half-hearted participation in, and useless disruption of, a CND demo. Sat. June 9th Several things can be got out of the day: First, we can draw people away from the rally, and hopefully strengthen the direct actions. We won't do that by avoiding the march and going off into a sectarian huddle. What we can do is show our less militant comrades that anarchist/libertarian direct action is both effective and fun. If you are into livening up the march and taking part in some more inventive and entertaining direct action - from street theatre to street blocking - do as I and some comrades are doing, get together with some friends (6-12) and plan your own action. Remember "The tyrant fears the laugh more than the assassins bullet" Actions that entertain can be just as effective as those that confront. The two combined could be devastating, and the Old Bill won't be able to stop us. "If I cannot dance at your Revolution, I want no part of it" (Emma Goldman) Communique No. 1 The Campaign For Real Demos (psst. We edited this. We would have preferred to do so in conjunction with the writer, but when they remain anonymous, we have little choice but to wield the blade under the influence of our own biases... Cliff) - - - GOING OUT GUIDE Monday 28th Central Club: Dance. Hexagon: Sky in Concert. 7.30pm. £5-£7. SHP: Film, "We of the Never Never" 2pm & 7.45pm. Tuesday 29th Tudor Arms: Guy Disco: Free. Hexagon: Keith Chegwin Roadsnow. 1.30pm & 4pm £1.50. SHP: "We of the Never Never" as above and till 31st. University Faculty Of Letters Theatre: RUDS present "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" by Joe Orton.7.30pm. £1 or 60p for members. On till 2nd June. Wednesday 30th RFT: "The Secret of Nimh". Full-length cartoon by ex-Disney animators. Plus "Advance and be Mechanised", a short cartoon support. 8pm. £1.60, members £1. On tomorrow too. Hermit Club: Upper Deck: DuKe St. Animal Aid Benefit: Studio One, Slough. 8.30pm. With bands: Death Pop, Pulse, The Wickermen, Bandana. Don't know the price. Hexagon: "Whippersnapper" in concert. Martin Jenkins, Kevin Dempsey, Chris Leslie with guest Earl Okin. Thursday 31st Target: Bullet Proof. Angies: Larry Miller Band. Sportsman, Shinfield Rd: Free music. Friday 1st June Target: Disco. The Jason Paul Roadshow. Bulmershe College: Stan Arnold (comedian). 10pm. £I.50. Paradise Club: Back Beat, plus Disco. Tudor Arms: Gay Disco: Free. SHP: Filmz: "Trading Places", supposed to be really good, at 7.45pm. plus "Koyaanisquatsi" at 11pm. Hex. is closed from today till 8th, Box Office open as normal though. Angies: Laverne Brown Band. Saturday 2nd Paradise: Hot Steel plus Fashion Show. SHP: Films as above. & Dance Weekend: Jazz Danes with U.S. dance group Corps de Jazz. 10am-5pm. £6.25/$7 for one day only £11.50/£12.75 for weekend. In the Wilde Theatre. Target: Seducer. Angie's: Carol Grimes Band. Sunday 3rd Readifolk: Caversham Bridge Hotel: 8.15pm. Butler Chatham St: Free jazz. SHP: "Trading Places" as above, and dance weekend continues. Angies: to be confirmed: ring club for details. Monday 4th Watermill Theatre: Gilbert ^ Sullivan with Peter Pralt and others. SHP: "Trading Places". It continues till Wednesday. Tuesday 5th Tudor Arms: Gay Disco; Free. Watermill: Sheila Steafel. SHP: Literature talk with Peter Pegnall, on Tom Stoppard's plays. Angies: New Orleans Jazz. Wednesday 6th RFT: Two Jacques Tati films: "Parade" & "L'Ecole des Facteurs" (School for Postmen) Hermit Club: Upper Deck: Duke St. Watermill: Medici String Quartet. SHP: Wilde Theatre till 9th: Janet Smith and Dancers. 7.30pm. £2.50-£3-50. Thursday 7th RFT: "Nran Gouyne / Sayat Nova" (The Colour of Pomegranates). "A spiritual biography of the Armenian poet Arutiun Sayadian". Could be your one chance to learn Armenian. Does look interesting, actually. 8pm. Sportsman: Shinfield Rd. Free music. Reading Folk Club: Horse and Barge Caversham 8.15. Watermill Theatre: "How pleasant to know Mr. Lear" - Edward presumably. With Nicholas Parsons, Jumblie of the Century? SHP: Film: "Pictures of Women" Free. Angies: Chase the Fade. Target: Red Ocean. Friday 8th Bulmershe: Sonny Blake, Rhythm & Blues. In the bar and free. 9pm- Paradise: Rock & Punk. Tudor Arms: Gay Disco: Free. Watermill Theatre: "An Evening with Bernard Miles & Josephine Wilson" Who they? I dunno. SHP: Films: "First Name Carmen" at 7.45pm. and Pink Floyd "The Wall" at 1lpm. Reading Festival: International Day at the Old Town Hall Blagrave St. Displays in pm. from 2.30 with free admission. In the evening there's a concert with Indian Dancers, Ukranian Dancers, Katesgrove Steel Band, Gospel Singers, Apollo Theatre and more... From 7.30 on, followed at 10.30 by a dance. Costs £2.50 for both, £1.50 for dance only. Target Disco. Angies: T V Smith Band. Saturday 9th Paradise: Band or disco, no details Central: Dance. SHP: films as above. & short course on dyeing with Joanna Allaway. 1pm-5pm. £8.50/£9.50 for the weekend. Hexagon: Free lunchtime music with Jim Couza, an 18 1/2 stone "Wizard of the Hammered Dulcimer". & The Hollies with support Waterfall. 8pm £4-6. Reading Festival: Holy Trinity Church, Oxford Rd. "The Canterbury Clerkes". "A varied and interesting programme ranging from mediaeval and Spanish Renaissance carols to a keyboard fantasy and folksongs" £4 inc. "gourmet dinner" and wine in the garden £2 concert only . £1 for the concert for students. Also, at the Old Town Hall, children's opera: Britten's "The Little Sweep".£2.50. Angies: Duke Jump. Target: Truffle (not certain) Sunday 10th Readifolk: Caversham Bridge Hotel Butler: Chatham St. Free jazz. SHP: "First Name Carmen" as above, find the Dyeing workshop continues. Hexagon: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with Reading Bach Choir. Beethoven Missa Solemnis. 7.30pm. £4-£6. £1 off for NUS & UB40. Reading Festival: "Twin Town Concert. Performance of vocal & instrumental works by composers from Reading and Dusseldorf. At St. Peter's Church, St. Peter's Hill, Caversham. 3pm. £1.50, NUS £1. Upper Deck, Duke St. Mike Cooper and friends. "Celebrated folk-blues guitarist of the 60's, innovative jazz musician of the 70's and musical explorer of the 80's". In fact an all-round clever devil. £1.50 at door. Licensed bar. Angies: Espionage. Monday 11th Festival Fringe: Public Property Tneatre Company presents "Immigrants" by Jacques Kraemer, an anti-racist play originally written for French Marxist theatre co. University Faculty of Letters Theatre, 8pm, £1.25-ish. 0n tomorrow too. Festival Unfringe: "Another Country" by Julian Mitchell at the Hexagon. Stirrings of insurrection in public school, much acclaimed and be-laurelied. 8pm. £2.50-£4. Nightly till Sat. Saturday matinee at 5pm. Old Town Hall: Carlo Curley: Organ works by Bach, Stanley, Pierne, Joplin, Bonnet, Davies, Franck. 7.30pm, £3.50. Today till Friday: Free lunchtime concerts at St. Mary the Virgin, by young professional and student musicians, 12.30-1.15 pm. SHP: film, "Nostalgia" 7.45pm. Till 13th. Tuesday 12th Angies: New Orleans Jazz. Watermill Theatre. "Wood Worm" by Fay Weldon. Prices as usual, i.e. extortionate. On till July 7th. SHP: Wilde Theatre: Cambridge Opera Group present "The Tales of Hoffman" 7.30pm. £3-£5. & Literature talk with Peter Pegnall: Poetry by Salvatore Quasimodo. 8pm. 50p. Festival: Art Gallery, Blarrave St. 12.30pm. Talk on "the vast wealth of art that Reading possesses" by Eric Stanford, Keeper of Art. & University Palmer Building G10 at 6pm: Talk on "the Garden in England", an historical survey. Exhibitions 26th May - 16th June; The Berlin 20's: works by Richard Ziegler in the Town Art Gallery. 8th - 17th June: Pictures from the collection of Dr. Heinz Rowland: works by Bonnard, Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland. University Art Gallery, London Road site. 9am - 5pm. Mon - Fri. 8th - 17th June: University Library: Animal pictures in books of the past five centuries. 8th - 17th June: Exhibition of contemporary sculpture in the Mayor's garden. 8th - 17th June: Tapestry exhibition and demonstration by Grace Erikson in the Ramada Hotel. Key: Town Hall: Blagrave St. Art Gallery: above Main Library, Blagrave St. Watermill Theatre, nr. Newbury.Tel: (0635) 46044. Hexagon, Queen's Walk. Tel: 591591. Paradise Club: 112 London St. Tel: 51312 or 56847. Central Club: bottom of London St. Tel: 54421. South Hill Park Arts Centre: Tel: Bracknell 427272. Angies Wokingham: Tel: 789912 & ask for Angie or Tessa. - - - RED RAG The aim of Red Rag is to provide a decent alternative coverage of local news and issues from a radical, non-aligned position; to promote subversive and creative initiatives; to provide a forum for unorthodox views, and to allow for some sort of co-existence between a huge variety of interests. It is produced and printed by a nebulous collective and has no connection with any political party or line, nor with the University. Red Rag is free, read by about 4000 people, and can be picked up at any of the outlets listed inside. It is funded entirely by readers' donations, apart from, the odd advert for which we charge £5 per 1/4 page. To donate some money either write a cheque to Red Rag and post it to Box 79, Acorn Bookshop, or leave money in the collecting tins in Acorn or Pop Records on Kings Road. Standing orders are even better - pick one up from Acorn or ring 374532. - - - RETURN TO SENDER - JUNE 9th. Demo in London to oppose U.S. occupation and missiles Buses leave Alder Valley Station at 10.00am and pick up in London (somewhere near Trafalgar Square) at 5.30pm. More information on the bus. Tickets: £3 waged / £2 unwaged / £1 kids from Acorn Bookshop Details from Duncan: Rdg. 476196 - - - RIPPING YARNS? Has anyone seen those chunky t-shirts which can cost about £25-30 - "What a rip off" I hear you cry. Well, with a bit of ripping off of your own, you can make your own. First get an old sheet and rip it into 1cm. strips, tie the strips together end to end with reef knots, until you have a long length of strips. Roll the long joined strip into a ball. Then take a pair of knitting needles (size big - 00) and knit a big square (get someone to show you how to knit - it's easy to do but difficult to describe in words!) Cast on enough stitches to fit across your widest part (ie. beer gut etc.) and knit until the square is long enough to cover your requirements. Repeat the above until you have two squares the same size. Sew up using unknotted strips of material like so..... - - - EVENTS May 28th. to June 14th. Mon 11 West Reading Carnival: parade starts 12.30pm from Great Knolly's Street, goes along Oxford Road and back to Richfield Avenue. Tue 29 Vocal and harmony workshop, following on from sessions at the "Beating Time" festival. 7pm at 71 Hamilton Road. Hoping to continue... Wed 30 Peace Pledge Union meeting to prepare for June 9 demonstration. 8pm at The Willows', Nursery Gardens, Purley. Details: 374532. Animal Aid benefit in Slough - see Going Out. Thu 31 The Mansion House (in Prospect Park): talk by Maureen Weller, 8pm, West Reading Library, Oxford Road. Fri 1 First of the Month meeting of Reading's Women's Centre. 7.30, the Women's Centre, basement of Old Shire Hall, Abbey Street. All women welcome. "Is Britain a police state?": Labour History Group meeting, 8pm, Red Lion, Southampton St. All welcome. "Veggie Dining": 7.30, Fairview Community Centre, George St. Tickets £2 (£1.50 unwaged) from Acorn Bookshop. Beating Time Musicians Workshop, first meeting: bring instruments and/or ideas; help decide what the workshop is going to do and how it will work. Reading Centre for the Unwaged, East Street, 2.30 to 4.30. Also Fri 8th. Sat 2 Homeworking: national conference, County Hall, London SE1, 9.30 - 7. Details: 01-633-1493. Botha demonstration: 11.45 Hyde Park. If you're interested in organising a coach from Reading, contact Brendan or Frankie McKenna on 470208 as soon as possible. Cycle ride round Greenham Common. Meet Reading Station 11am for train to Thatcham. All women welcome. Sun 3 New Games: Palmer Park, by the Adventure Playground, London Road. 2pm. Red Rag: Collective meeting. This six-weekly meeting is Red Rag, and anyone interested is very welcome. 4pm, 19 George Street. Mon 4 Cycle Campaign meeting, 8pm, the Rising Sun. Tue 5 Woodley Peace Group meeting, 8pm, 1 Halstead Close, Woodley. Details: 694542. Nat Assoc for Primary Education meeting: "A panel of Berks headteachers (the heart quails!) will answer questions on the transfer of children from primary to secondary school" 8pm, Westwood School, Honey End Lane (nr Meadway Precinct). 50p. Wed 6 East Reading CND meeting: 8pm, 71 Hamilton Road. Thu 7 Red Rag: copy deadline and editorial meeting to sort out the next issue. Contact James on 724087 for what's happening where when if you'd like to help. Fri 8 Red Rag: typing, tracing headings...... Sat 9 Red Rag: lay-out and paste-up, and printing. "Return to sender" demonstration in London. Assemble 12 noon Hyde Park, march through central London to rally Trafalgar Square 2pm. Buses leave Alder Valley bus station 10am, returning c6pm. Tickets from Acorn Bookshop, or Ed Wilson (594855). Please buy as early as possible. NVDA: "non-violent direct action" at the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square. If you're interested, ring Bridget on 374532. Sun 10 Red Rag: Collating, folding and labelling, from 11am. For venue phone James on 724087. Then distribution in the afternoon. Mon 11 NCCL meeting: "Police and criminal evidence bill" 8-10, St Mary's Centre, Chain St. Feminist Book Week: a celebration of women's writing with Reading Women Writers' Group. 7.30, Centre for the Jobfree, East St. Free. Details of all events in Reading from Acorn Bookshop, 584425. All meetings are mixed. Tue 12 Feminist Book Week: Jill Miller, author of 'Happy as a Dead Cat', talks about her work as a working class woman writer. 7.30, Centre for the Jobfree. 50p (free to unwaged). Berks Anti-Nuclear Campaign: meeting with Labour "Euro-candidate" Brian Bastin and spokespersons from Conservative and liberal parties on their attitudes to nuclear disarmament. Discussion on matters arising. "Why Religion?": talk organised by Reading Baha'i Faith. 8pm, AUEW House, 121 Oxford Road. Reading's Art Treasures: talk by Eric Stanford, Keeper of Art. 12.30 - 1.30, Art Gallery, Blagrave Street. Free. The Garden in England: historical lecture by Dr Thacker. 8pm, room G10, Palmer Building, Whiteknights University campus. Free. Thu 14 Feminist Book Week: multi-racial and non-sexist children's books: a session with Bub Bridger, Maori author from New Zealand. 7.30, Lecture Theatre, Bulmershe College, Woodlands Avenue, Earley. Free. Amnesty meeting. 8pm, St MaTy's Centre, Chain St - - - FESTIVALS & FAYRES May 28 Smokey Bears - Hyde Park, London 31 Stop the City - Bank LT Station, London June 2 Strawberry Fayre - Midsummer Common, Cambridge (noon - 9) Recommended. 2-30 Stonehenge Free Festival (drugs, decadence and the pleasant aroma of 30,000 people trying to keep warm by burning green wood and plastic). 5-11 Tudor Fayre - Newbury, Berks. 1 Buskers Fair - Meanwhile Gardens, Gt. Western Rd., Notting Hill, London. 18-19 Festival of the Earth Spirits - Gateway Aquarius, Wintergardens Hall, Malvern. 9-10 Leamington Festival - Pump Room Gardens, Leamington Spa, Warks. 22-24 Glastonbury CND Festival - nr. Shepton Mallet. Music, theatre, cinema, kids world. 23 Bristol Malago Festival - ring Bristol 640888 - - - EVENTS Do you read the Red Rag Events diary? Do you find it inspiring, challenging, stimulating? Does it jolt you out of your usual cynicism and apathy? Well, even if not, are you concerned that it should continue? Because we desperately need somebody to take it over. If you're remotely interested in the idea, please get in touch! - - - 1st INTERNATIONAL FEMINIST BOOK WEEK Monday 11th A celebration of women's writing with Reading Women Writers' Group. At Reading Centre for the Unemployed, 4-6 East Street. 7.30. Free. Tuesday 12th Jill Miller, author of "Happy as a Dead Cat" talks about her work as a working-class woman writer. Same place. 7.30. 50p entry (free to unwaged) Thursday 14th Bub Bridger (Maori author from New Zealand) and Rosemary Stones talk on multi-racial non-sexist children's books. At the Lecture Theatre, Bulmershe College, Woodlands Avenue, Earley. 7.30. Free. All welcome! Further details from Acorn Bookshop, 17 Chatham St Reading, tel 584425. During the week 11th - 16th June there will be events all over the country centred around books by and about women. There will be a large Bookfair on 7th, 8th and 9th June (in the Jubilee Hall, Covent Garden in London), then, for the first time, women from all over the world will be travelling the country giving readings and talking about their work. In Reading the week starts with the Reading Women's Writing Group celebrating women's writing, including their own. The group has been meeting together since the autumn and is producing some very exciting work. On Tuesday, Jill Miller will visit Reading to talk about her work, sexism, being a working-class woman writer. Her excellent novel, "Happy as a Dead Cat", was published by the Women's Press last year. The Thursday meeting, at Bulmershe College in Earley, will centre around children's books. Rosemary Stones, who has done a great deal to further multi-racial, non-sexist children's books, will be talking alongside Bub Bridger, a Maori children's author from New Zealand. Her publishing house, Kidsarus, specialises in multi-racial children's books. The Reading events are being organised by Acorn Bookshop, with financial assistance form Southern Arts and the Workers' Education Association. It's hoped that further events and visits will be possible in the future. - - - $Id: //info.ravenbrook.com/user/ndl/readings-only-newspaper/issue/1984/1984-05-27.txt#3 $