RED RAG free 14th-28th Oct next issue Co-ordinator Clive 662302 News 662302 Events 591025 Going Out 669154 Distribution 669562 Copydate Thurs 25th Oct Send news, letters etc to Red Rag, c/o Box 79, Acorn Bookshop, 17 Chatham St. - - - 10 DAYS AT GREENHAM Greenham - 20th - September - 30th I arrived at Greenham on the last Thursday of the action - what follows is a personal account of the last few days. On Thursday morning there was a vigil at the main roundabout into Newbury. Women were singing, dancing and welcoming other women who making their way to Greenham. Just as everyone was about to go back to the base, the police charged, scattering women and knocking them over. A local resident, who had never been a supporter, invited some of the women into her house to recover, and was horrified by the polices' brutality. Indeed, over the 10 days many women spoke to local people, who assured them that they and many of their friends supported the Peace Camp. I met a woman who told me that she was glad when the Camp was set up, as before the people of Newbury had to "bear the burden" of the USAF presence on their own. It's important to recognise that R.A.G.E. (Ratepayers Against the Greenham Encampment) only represents a fraction of Newbury's population. On Friday night, when thousands of women began to arrive for the weekend, another vigil was planned at the main roundabout. This time the police tried to control the action and instead of merely attacking it they started to spray water over the fire at Indigo Gate, on the grounds that the fire was too near the road for safety. Earlier in the week the local Fire Officer had visited the camp at Indigo, and told the women that in his opinion the fire wasn't a danger to the police. So, the police started dousing the fire at 7pm - when he had left his Newbury office! This had the desired effect of diverting some of the women from the vigil. Those who went to the roundabout found themselves escorted by police, chivalrously helped across the roads and finally herded back to their gates, safely out of sight of the citizens of Newbury! At 8 O'clock on Saturday night women all round the base started yelling and singing and banging pots and pans to create a diversion while other women got into the base, eventually we started shaking the fence - at Orange Gate yards of it were brought down, and many other stretches of fence had to be repaired. This time the police weren't quite so gentle. After all, there were no local people or T.V. cameras around. Women were punched, kicked and thrown into bushes. Arrests were indiscriminate. One of the Reading women was arbitrarily arrested and later charged with criminal damage. Another woman, who had just arrived, was accused of having wirecutters in her handbag and told to empty it out. When she refused, she was arrested. Many of the police seemed to have been stationed in Notts, before coming down to Greenham - some said they couldn't wait to go back! it seems they're allowed more of a freehand when they're dealing with the miners. There were a lot of women who were at Greenham for the first time. Some had come from abroad - mainly Germany and the USA - but a considerable number were from mining areas. Many had come with Miners Support Groups and there was a lot of discussion about the links between the two issues. During the 10 days a group of women stole the agenda and reports of the Disaster Preparedness Planning Board from inside the base, and copies of these documents were circulated at each Gate. I won't go into much detail as many of the salient points were carried by the "Post" (Monday Oct. 1st). One of the most interesting points was that the USAF believe that this area would be the target for Biological and Chemical as well as Nuclear attack, yet they are ill-equipped to deal with any form of offensive. It appears that staff have been disregarding alarms - indeed one section warns:- "In the event of an alarm personnel must not go for lunch even if it is 11 or 12 o'clock"! The report also reveals that essential items of decontamination equipment, such as "buckets and rag mops" have not yet been assembled. Many units have not even received training officers, let alone made any preparations for an attack. If any woman wants a closer look at these documents, there's a copy at each gate at Greenham. By Saturday there seemed to be a feeling at Greenham that the 10 days had been a success. There's a spirit of optimism in the Camps, and many of the women who came for the action are already making plans to go back. Sarah Carmichael. - - - FIVE GLORIOUS YEARS Dear Red Rag. I have just read your magazine/newspaper and I was most impressed, however I was wondering how you came to decide that you were the only newspaper in Reading? I must admit that Red Rag is very good, but I would hesitate before I said that it was the only newspaper. Andrew McGuiness. - - - A WOBBLY STANCE Industrial Workers of the World 3435 N. Sheffield, Rm. 202, Chicago, Illinois 60657 - (312) 549-5045 September 12th, 1984 Friends and fellow workers, We have just received your August 9th issue, with a note from Paul about how you're going to pull us from the mailing list if you don't hear from us / receive money. Now, I had thought that we were exchanging publications, but when I checked our mailing plates I couldn't find one made out to you. So, some copies of the Industrial Worker are enclosed. Look them over, and let us know if you want to exchange. Frankly, we don't find much in the Red Rag that we can use, but we're always interested in maintaining contacts regardless, so let us know what you think. We don't have hardly any money so we can't help you out there. Hope things are going well for you. For a world without bosses, Jon Bekken for the IWW. * Education * Emancipation * Organization - - - HELP Yet again we need a new distributor. We've found one for Group J and now need someone to take on the NEWT round which covers Liverpool Rd, Manchester Rd and roads in between. There are 10 addresses on the round at the moment. Please phone Guy on Reading 669562 if you can take it on. - - - OUTLETS Red Rag outlets are many, various and increasing in number. Here is an up-to-date list: Acorn Bookshop, under Chatham St car park Central Club, London St Centre for the Unemployed, East St Continental Stores, Cemetery Junction Elephant Groceries and Off-licence, Derby St Eurofoods, Crown Colonnade, Cemetery Junction Fairview Community Centre, George St Fine Food Stores, 168 Oxford Road Harrison's Newsagent, Caversham Road Harvest Wholefoods, Harris Arcade, Friar St Jelly's Stores, Whitley St Kan's Kitchen, London Road Ken's Shop, Students' Union, Whiteknights Ling's Chinese Fish Bar, Wokingham Road Listen Records, Butts Centre Mo's Place, London St Number Sixty, Christchurch Green Pop Records, 172 Kings Road Rag Doll, London St Reading Wholefoods, London Road Rib'n'Roast, Cemetery Junction Sugar Bowl, Wokingham Road Sutherlands, Erleigh Road Tech College, Kings Road UB Cycles, London St Impressive though this list is, there are no outlets north of the Thames, south of Christchurch Road or west of Reading West Station. Why not collect a few copies from Acorn, who usually have plenty to spare, and take them to your local corner shop? Help the underprivileged of Caversham and Tilehurst and give them the chance to read Reading's only newspaper! - - - STATE OF MIND? Thames Valley Police Wanted at Newbury Police Station Shorthand Typist Responsible to the Detective Chief Inspector for typing and audio/shorthand. Responsible for the preparation of files, letters and any other correspondence. The typing standard required is RSA III and a shorthand speed of 80 wpm. However other applicants who can produce work of a speed and accuracy falling short of the above will be considered. 37 hour week with a one hour break for lunch. Over 4 weeks holiday. Canteen and Social Club, facilities are available and the successful applicant will be required to join the superannuation scheme which currently runs at 6%. A pay award is currently pending. Apply in first instance to: Senior Administrative Officer, Newbury Police State, Mill Lane, Newbury. Closing date: Friday, September 21st. (From the Newbury Weekly News - Spot the typographic error - what a give away!) - - - SOVIET NEWS Siberian Peach Pie Mince finely (in fine mincer) hazelnuts and digestive biscuits, half and half or two to one. Add sugar - beet or brown: see last rag - to taste. (You can be super-sound and use all hazels with no sugar but the crust is likely to fall soggily to bits.) Add enough melted butter or marg to hold the mixture together when squeezed into a lump. Press around the sides and over the bottom of a sponge tin to a thickness of about l/8 inch. Cut fresh peaches - lots about at the moment; cheapest at the end of the market on Saturday - into chunks, enough to fill the crust (six or seven ordinary-size fruits for a deep 8-inch pie) and toss in a mixture of sugar and cornflour. Let stand for an hour or two till a bit juicy. Fill the crust with fruit, press down till juice rises to the top; sprinkle with ground or broken nuts if you like and bake in a medium oven till the top has browned. Let cool till the crust shrinks from the sides of the pan before serving. For those whose ideology permits, serve with double or soured cream. (It is not necessary to use actual Siberian peaches, or even desirable except by the regimented few: their content of exploited labour, nuclear fallout, atmospheric industrial effluent and shopworn rhetoric will not appeal to most readers - KR) - - - YOU LUCKY PEOPLE Wonderful news for the unemployed, and it must be true because the Evening Post tells us so. In the main front-page item on Thursday 4 October, the latest (official) unemployment figures, we are told, mean that the "Thames Valley escapes nationwide jobless gloom" as unemployment has risen by "only" 111 to 23,290. In their favoured attributive style, the writers quote the manager of Reading Jobcentre as saying that "Reading is a pretty healthy area for jobs". And that's not all. According to the Post the "best news of all" is that the number of jobless school-leavers is "down to just 2,665". Bet they feel really lucky. "Rag" readers will not need a rehearsal of the arguments against the validity of government employment statistics, and detailed criticism of such crassly insensitive journalism is also unnecessary. Suffice to say that it seems to mark a new low point in the depths to which the Post will sink in its contempt for its unemployed readers. Many of us buy the Post, especially on Thursdays, in the hope that among the "Do You Really Want A BMW and £25,000 A Year?" type of advertisements may be a real chance of a job. We do not expect objective reporting of relevant issues, elegant style or gripping investigative journalism. But have we not the right to all these? In common with most other local dailies, the Post is printed purely for profit, and to fill the blanks between adverts finds that sensational headlines are more important than hard facts. So it may be a totally naive hope, but does anyone have any ideas as to how the public might influence the content of what ought to be our local daily newspaper? If so, please share them. Iggy P.S. I think the near-daily piccies of that nice Mr Jewitt with his necklace are really great for my scrapbook. Please can the "Rag" remember its civil duty to give the man more exposure. And what about more regular Masonic news for those of us who want to find their meetings in the "Going Out" and "Events" guides????? *** Well, Iggy, hope this goes down well in your scrapbook. (Sorry about the clumsy scissor work.) Cute one, eh? - - - EVENTS sun 14 oct October 14th-21st is Prisoner of Conscience Week. Various activities organised by Amnesty: see Tues 16th. mon 15 Reading Tree Club: Autumn colour symposium with slides and exhibits. Reading University London Road site, LT (lecture Theatre?) 2, 7.30. Free. National Childbirth Trust Reading Branch: 'Breast-feeding today', talk by Anna Truesdale, Community Health Council, 10 Gun Street, 8pm. Admission 40p. tues 16 Reading Birth Centre meeting at 71 de Beauvoir Road, 12 noon. Please bring food contribution for lunch. Details from Bridget, 61330. Also urgently need help with paper collection at Palmer Park on December 1st. If you can do a two-hour shift between 8.30 and 12.30 on the day (it's a Saturday) ring 65648. Amnesty International Reading Group supper in support of Prisoner of Conscience Week, talk by a former prisoner from Pakistan. The Rose pub, King street, Maidenhead, 7.30. £2. International Youth Year meeting for young people age 16 to 25 organised by Berkshire Youth and Community Service; hear about and talk about the Year and how you can take part. Reading YKCA, Parkside Road, 7.15; refreshments. Further details from John Lee, 587260. Jersey Cattle Show and Sale. Cattle Market, Great Enoilys Street. 12 noon. Watch all the sweet-eyed moo-cows with udders bred so grotesquely large they have to wear bras; then go see the World Food Day and One World Week display organised by local Vegans at the Main Library, Blagrave Street. On till Saturday 27th. (Honest, we didn't plan these two events that way!) Communist Party: discussion on the the lessons of the miners' strike, with speaker. 7.45, AUEW room, 121 Oxford Road. wed 17 UK Federation of Business and Professional Women Talk, 'Value your antiques' by Mr (!) W J Ripper (True!), Civic Centre, 7.30. Ring 786461 or 54786 for details. Oh well, we couldn't find anything else to fill the space, but there might be a Council committee meeting or something equally exciting happening somewhere. thurs 16 Revelations about Water in the Soil: talk by Dr Peter Gregory of Reading U Soil Sciences Dept. St Mary's Centre, Chain Street, 7.30. No more details, but sounds enthralling. fri 19 SFA in our diary. Why not go paint the Civic Centre red, or green, or blue, or any other colour? sat 20 Peace Fledge Union day out at Boscombe Down mixed peace camp near Salisbury; party and new games on MOD property half way down east side of base. Loads of people (4 cars), meet Caversham Road, 9 am early. Details from ? Dinton Pastures Country Park Bird Walk, Hurst near Twyford. Information from Twyford 342016. Reading Astronomical Society Talk by Peter Hunt, 'Planetary observations', St Peter's Church Hall, Church Road, Earley, 7pm. Further information from 62180. Rothmans Grand Prix Snooker: grand people-spotting event organized by Lung Cancer-and Emphysema Marketing Board. Goes on right through Sunday 28th with matches (no lighters? Fuel shortage?) afternoon and evening. The Hexagon Management Beard may not know anything about Arts, but by golly they know what they like. Lotsaloot! mon 22 Otters: talk by Elizabeth Lanton. Dinton Pastures, Davis Street, Hurst, 7.30. Admission 75p. Vegan and Animal Rights letter-writing group, 1 Orrin Close, Tilehurst, 8pm. tues 23 'Cooking with gravel' Lecture-demonstration on the advantages of an all-mineral diet. Organized by Reading Organisation for Vegetable Rights (ROVER). The Coal, 2 pm wed 24 Community Health Council. 10 Gun Street, 7.30. Open to members of the public. WEA 'Strategies for Jobs': Centre for the Unwaged, East Street, 7.30 to 9.30. No further details. Shetland Pony Society Show and Sale. Cattle Market, Great Knollys Street, 10 am. Start the kiddies early and they'll be hurting foxes before they reach puberty. thur 25 Railway Correspondence and Travel Society Talk 'Dublin Area Rapid Transit' by A J Barter. Bet you don't know anything about the subject yourself: St Mary's Centre. Chain Street, 7.30. Red Rag Editorial Meeting: be a collective part of Reading's Onliest Newspaper. Details from Clive, 662302. Copy date for contributions - put 'em in Box 79, Acorn. fri 26 Craft Market, Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey, 12-9pm; also Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 10-5. Admission 70p. Red Hag typing and headlines. Offers of help to 662302. sat 27 CND National Demo Barrow-in-Furness. Phone Ed or Gill on 594855 for details. Rag production day. Get stuck up with Cow gum (note to Vegans and ROARers: not made from real cows) in the vary best of company. Phone 662302 for when and where. sun 28 Red Rag folding and distribution. Spend the morning after the night before commiserating with each other. fri 2nd nov Illustrated talk: "The farm labourer in the 20th Century" followed by ploughman's supper and cider. ("An evening with local character Bill Petch"). 7.30, Lower Senior Common Room, Bulmershe College, Earley. £2. Tickets: Phyl Lawrence at Bulmershe (663387). If all else fails and you can't find anything here that grabs you, try the Civic Offices , for public meetings of the Council and its committees. Not listed here in detail 'cos the Eventsperson's lackey mislaid his Civic Notebook but see the notice in the lobby for dates and times. Probably ought to be listed under Theatre in the Infamous Going Out Guide - always a good show. See the World's (well, Reading's) Greatest Illusionists, the Host Amazing Escapologists, the Most Bodacious Balancing Acts! Try to guess which Councillor has the Responsibility - beats the Shell Game by a mile! Watch the money disappear before your very eyes! Decide for yourself whether Councillor Oliver really exists! Or is he a figment of the imagination, brought to life by the fertile tripe-writer of Citizen Cain? - - - REGULAR EVENTS Photography: sessions every Tues 10-12, 1-3 at Centre for Jobfree, East St. Housing and Welfare Rights: Thurs eves at Community House, 117 Cumberland Rd. Reading Gay Switchboard: Tues and Fri 8-10pm. 597269 Mini Market: Thurs 9~1 St. Mary's Hse., Chain St. Women's Centre: open Tues 10-2, Wed 10-2, Sat 11-3. All women and kids welcome. Free Pregnancy testing Tues 7-9. Bring urine sample from 1st pee of the day. Incest Survivors Group: meets regularly. Write c/o Rape Crisis Line, 17 Chatham St. for details. Anarchists: meet every Mon (starts again Oct) Details via Box 19, Acorn Bookshop. Also Autonomists. Peace Pledge Union: meets monthly. Pacifist group. Contact 588459, 374532 or Box 10 Acorn Books. Ecology Party: meets 1st and 3rd Mon of month at 8, College Rd and 38, Long Barn Lane respectively. Contact Maria 663195. Socialist Workers Party: meets every Wed at Red Lion Southampton St. 8pm. Regular Monthly books and records sale at 4 Culver Raid (side of College Arms) last Saturday of month 10-4. Contact 65533 New! A letter-writing group has recently been formed to campaign on vegan and animal rights related issues. First meeting - 8pm Mon. 22nd Oct. Phone Sandy on 872396 or Liz on 418505 for more. Beginners Class in Astrology starting mid-Oct. 6 weeks £18. Please ring Sue on Rdg 669571 for further details. Sahaja Yoga - for those who are seeking a truly spiritual path to self-realisation and inner peace. There will be a regular public meeting every Friday at 7pm in the Music Room, St. Davids Hall, 26 London Rd, Reading. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge. Tel. 01-673-1956 with any enquiries. Greenham Support Group (Women): meets fortnightly. Nightwatch every Thurs. Contact via Womens Centre, Abbey St. Alcoholics Anonymous: groups meet regularly in Reading (9 meetings a week), Pangbourne, Thatcham, Henley and Bracknell. Day and night info and help line - 597494. Labour History Group: meets monthly at Red Lion, Southampton St. Contact Kathy 590139 or Mike 867789 for details. Vegans: meet 1st Sun of month at 1, Orrin Close, Tilehurst. Contact Liz and Steve Shiner 21651. Amnesty: meets 2nd Thurs of month at St. Mary's Centre, Chain St. Contact Jean 472598. History of Reading Soc.: meets 3rd Tues of month at Abbey Gateway. Cyclists Touring Club: outings Sun 9.15am. from Caversham Bridge or Henley. For details ring Richard on Bracknell 50849. Wednesday is Women's Day: at Centre for Jobfree, East St. Coffee, advice, courses etc. from 10.30am. Silkscreen Workshops: at Community House, 117, Cumberland Rd. Details from Clive 662302. Cruelty-free Toiletries: market stall every Sat behind Tesco. National Council for Civil Liberties: meets 2nd Mon of month at St. Mary's Centre, Chain St. Ring Paul 661582. Reading Recreation Arts Centres: painting for pleasure at Town Hall, Blagrave St. Mon 7-9, Tues 10-12. Details 55911 or 861289. Berks. Anti-Nuclear Campaign: meets 2nd Tues of month at Friends Meeting House. Also neighbourhood groups. P.O. Box 158, Beading or Phone Gill or Ed 594855. Labour Farty Young Socialists: Weds at Fairview Community Centre, bottom of George St. 8pm. Reading Cycle Campaign: meets 2nd Mon of month at UB Cycles, London St. 8pm. Membership enquiries ring Chris Mayers 589178. General enquiries John Nixon 483183 Or John Rigby 64667. Reading Birth Centre: meets 3rd Tues of month for food and chat. Ring 61330 for venue. Beading Organisation for Animal Rights (ROAR): 1st Tues of month at The Crown, Crown St. Details from Alan 477790. Men's Group: meets weekly. For dates and venue, contact Box 28, Acorn Bookshop. Miners Support Committee: meets every Thurs 7.30pm at TGWU office, 36, King's Rd Ring 590311 for details. - - - GOING OUT GUIDE South Hill Park stuff not available; try Butts info desk or ring. Sunday 14 October Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, play Berlioz, Ravel & Debussy at 7.30 at the Hexagon, £4-6. London Mozart Players play at South Hill Park in Bracknell, at 7.30 £? Butler Chatham St has free jazz in evening (& next Sunday) Readifolk have something on at Caversham Bridge hotel, 8pm Monday 15 Henry IV Part 1 at Oxford Playhouse by their own theatre company. £2 for matinees & £4.75 or £5.25 in evenings Seamus Heany & Craig Raine - poetry reading at Bulmershe College, Woodlands Rd, Earley at 4.00. £1.50-£2. Phone 663387 Tuesday 16 Speakeasy at Orrdines, Bridge St, Caversham. Good disco £1.50 Tudor Arms, free gay disco & next Tuesday Everything but the Girl at Students Union of the University. £2.75, 8-1. Tickets from SU, Music Market or Listen Records. English Love Songs - a campus concert in G10, Palmer Building, Whiteknights. 25p. Mezzo soprano & piano. Wednesday 17 Grand Master Flash at the Hexagon, to be confirmed though. 8pm. £5.50 (dancing) Lady Chatterley's Lover at the Wilde Theatre, South Hill Park 7.30 £3-4.50. Till 27th La Traviata - film of Verdi's opera at Reading Film Theatre, Whiteknights. 8pm £1.10 or £1.70 Sit down for a minute Adrian - lighthearted comedy by Caversham Theatre at St Andrews Hall, Albert Rd 7.30 £1.25, 75p kids. 472985 Thursday 18 The Odyssey - Compass Theatre Co at Bulmershe College with mime, masks, puppets, music. 7.30 £2-3 Venus Observed at Progress Theatre, Christchurch Green, 7.45. £2.20, 1.80 till 27th 477594 Salad Days - enchanting magical musical! at Park Church, Palmer Park Avenue. 7.30 £1.50 or 75p kids till 20th 663809 Who says murder? Shinfield Players Theatre, Whitley Wood Lane, 7.45 till 20th. £1.25, 75p kids. Ring 587696 That's the end of the plays chunk. Friday 19 Paradise, London Street has Secret Troop and a bar till 2. £? Tudor Arms - free gay disco, & next Friday Saturday 20 Snooker at the Hexagon until 28th - Rothmans Grand Prix £4.50-8 Paradise Club has Hurricane Force Steel Band $2.50 in advance, £3 at door 9-2 Sit down for a minute Adrian - again tonight. See entry for 17th Sunday 21 Readifolk at Caversham Bridge Hotel, Steve Turner tonight. 8.00 free Berks Guitar Soc has Rose Andresier at South Hill Park, 8.00 £1.75-2.75 Tuesday 23 Habeus Corpus by Woodley Players at Headley Road, Woodley. £1-2 till 27th. Ring 690827 The Violent Femmes at University Students Union. 8-1 £2.75. Tickets from SU, Music Market, Listen Records Speakeasy, Orrdines, as last Tuesday Campus Concert with Mark Kesel (trumpet) in G10, Palmer Bldg, Whiteknights, 1.10pm. 25p Wednesday 24 Gorky Park at Reading Film Theatre, 8.00. £1.10 or 1.70 Thursday 25 The South (El Sur) at Reading Film Theatre, 8.00. £1.10 or 1.70 Friday 26 Adaptation of the art of Darkness (Conrad) - minimal set, solo actor. Arts Workshop, Northcroft Lane, Newbury. £2-2.50, 8pm. 0635 47851 Fear of Flying, Paradise Club, London St, 9-2. £? Saturday 27 Something at Paradise Club but they don't know what Vivaldi's Gloria: come and sing it yourself. WEA organised. At Reading School, Erleigh Rd. 2.00 register, practice all afternoon, 7.30 concert. Open to public at 50p. £4 or £2 with UB40. 861779 Sunday 28 Fires of London, contemporary music network concert at South Hill Park. 7.30 £? Monday 29 Wrestling Spectacular at Hexagon, 7.30. £2.50-3 Tuesday 30 Miners Benefit at Paradise, 7-late. - - - Sat, Oct 20th WINTER PLANTING DAY and sending of first wheat shipment from Molesworth to Eritrea! MOLESWORTH Over 300 people cane to Molesworth, Cambs: last Easter to plant wheat on the disused airfield meant to become Britain's next Greehham Common. This first crop has not done well, but with the help of donations a shipment of wheat will nonetheless be sent to Eritrea to help in some way relieve the terrible famine there. If even one life is thereby eared, it will have been worthwhile. * 12 noon - Gathering at Molesworth of people from every political party and persuasion who oppose deployment of cruise missiles at Molesworth and support the use of this land for helping people and saving lives instead. * lpm - Help hand-sow the next crop of winter wheat! This time with the help of local farmers a much larger and more successful crop is anticipated. Please bring tools, especially rakes and hoes. * 3pm - Lorry of wheat leaves Molesworth, Next time instead of a couple of tonnes, let's make it 20! Eritrea or Bust! Incidentally, 100 or so people have been occupying the base (1,300 acres all in the hands of the M.O.D!) for the past month and a half. Help support them, the peace camp, and the "Harvest for the Hungry" campaign by joining a number of us travelling up from Reading on the 20th. Please contact Pogle on Reading 599995 as soon possible in order that travelling arrangements can be finalised; we leave by car about 9.00am. - - - NEW GAMES (For anyone who ever said "let's play a game!) More Mew Games, (for all ages) - The New Games Collective still lives! Anyone interested in doing new games find out more by contacting The Games Conspiracy at box 52 Acorn Bookshop, 17 Chatham Street, Reading. New new gamesters welcome! An Autumn with New Games promises to be a lot of fun. Everyone invited to share and help get together a regular games gathering. P.S. A book called "More New Games" is available from Acorn and other places too. It can be ordered by contacting or quoting the publishers P Sidgewick & Jackson Ltd., 1 Tavistock Chambers, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2SG - ISBN-0283-988401. It costs £5.95. Smaller books at 50p are currently (I hope) available at Acorn. Playfully yours, Paul (52947) Psst... Would old gamesters on the last list please update their address and say if they're available for games events. - - - SWEET TALK Since writing our little bit about the animal products associations or lack of same in cane and beat sugars we have found that both Whitvorths and Billingtons Demerara sugars are natural cane sugars, not white sugar refined with bone charcoal and then doctored with molasses. Also, Silver Spoon markets what seems to be the nearest thing to a brown beet sugar - it's a sort of dingey beige and can be got at the shop in Crown Colonnade on the Junction, and probably other Asian-owned shops. Pip and Dave - - - PPU Reading Peace Pledge Union invites everyone to am informal get-together on Wed. 7th November at 8.00pm at 15 Stanley Grove, Reading (please phone Reading 588459 beforehand to confirm). We hope to plan our Autumn and Winter programme. People from other local peace/CND/Eco groups are particularly welcome. Come and share your ideas on peace education, convoy tracking, urban peace camps, letter writing, new games, etc. etc.... For further info, on the PPU (50 years old this year!) contact Bridge on 374532 or Paul, 52947 or Box 10, Acorn Bookshop. - - - NOT AN AD Saood Superstore, Oxford Rd, (opposite Battle Hospital) is the cheapest source in town for Granose soya milk and vegetable margarine - at 29 1/2p a carton and 63p a tub respectively. It also stocks a range of Granose tinned vegetarian products - a word with the manager will secure any particular favourite. Perhaps of even greater interest to seekers of vegan food products locally is that they are now receiving regular deliveries of Bean Machine soya products (this industrial cooperative it based in Wales). The products available locally so far include: Tofu (plain, smoked and herb varieties), soysape - a savoury sausage and soyannaise - an egg-free mayonnaise. - - - ACORN IN COURT by our Court Correspondent Acorn Bookshop finally had its court hearing on Friday October 5th, to argue against the pulping (or is it shredding?) of some of the books taken by the Drugs Squad under the Obscene Publications Act(!) in April of last year(!). The magistrates decided to set aside a further month to read the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Marijuana Reconsidered (Harvard University Press) and the rest. Prison The case followed on from one in which a Rastafarian couple were remanded in prison for another week, charged with "wilful neglect" of a baby. Beautiful faces, unbroken by illness and humiliation, beautiful robes. Their silence reproached us all. Finally the man spoke, weakly - he was made to repeat what he said - he said, "I want to go home." The magistrates decided they had no home to go to. Nasty The prosecutor's job is a pretty nasty one. Having sent these two back to prison he turned to the bookstall in the middle of the room (37 assorted books and comics). Apparently the police have been lukewarm about Acorn's case since the Old Bailey trials of Airlift and Knockabout, in which only one title was deemed "obscene", but they had to continue with it as a magistrate had signed a warrant. So Mr Nicholls contented himself with the opinion that each of the books "tends to glorify and encourage the taking" of illegal drugs, which "would be a tendency to deprave and corrupt". There followed a parade of burly pin-stripe-suited police raiders who confirmed that the books on the table were seized from Acorn as alleged. Then Liz from the bookshop was cross-examined: why sell books on drugs? (otherwise people's responses are based on fear and ignorance), what do the Freak Brothers contribute to the overall knowledge and understanding of drugs? (it's humour and satire, heard of them?)... Quasi-criminal The defence barrister Andrew Nicol made a speech (sorry, "submissions") which seemed to me to get right to the heart of the matter. It was, he said, though not a criminal matter (no-one was charged with anything), a "quasi-criminal" one, as the same test of obscenity applied as in the criminal section of the O.P. Act. So the burden of proof should lie with the prosecution. Otherwise you could have books acquitted by a jury but still forfeited by magistrates. To be forfeited the books must be obscene as defined in the Act: "tending to deprave and corrupt" (t to d and c), which is strong language and a good deal more than "indecent". They must t to d and c a "not insignificant part of the likely readership". And the O.P.A. even allows a "defence of public good", if material is in the interests of science art literature or learning. And drugs books are not what the O.P.A. was designed for anyway. Ostrich-like Some of the books, he said, deal with drugs that are not illegal - magic mushrooms and peyote. There is much debate over de-criminalising cannabis; and some debate over LSD and cocaine. Many of the books are purely informative. Do they encourage people to use drugs? (And even if they did is that the same as "tending to deprave and corrupt"?) The one book to deal with heroin, Burroughs' Junky, emphasises the "horrors", and would have the net effect of putting anyone off. Some, the prosecution claimed, "emphasise the pleasurable effects and make them glamorous". It would be ostrich-like to pretend there were no pleasurable effects. It would be self-deception to deny that drugs can have a very powerful effect on the imagination. Coleridge's Kublai Khan was written about an opium dream. No-one has ever objected to Sherlock Holmes' regular use of cocaine. Is it to be obligatory for every story to condemn every illegal action? What would happen to Macbeth or King Lear in that case? Mr Nicol gave the movies of Steve MacQueen as an example of "anti-social activity presented in a highly pleasurable way". Fallacy It is, he said, a fallacy to suppose people do everything they read about. Does Batman encourage you to spread your wings and jump through windows? Why should a different standard be applied to the Freak Brothers? Certainly some of the material on the table "knocks values currently held by society". Acorn Bookshop does cater for "alternative tastes". But that isn't what the case is about. Is it? - - - DEPRUPT OR CORRAVE Dear Red Rag, Well there's no doubt about it. A morning in Reading Magistrates' Court number 4 can definitely have a powerful effect on the psyche. For example, by the time I left I was under the distinct impression that I'd spent the last two hours at a circus. And all the elements of hallucinogenic paranoia were there too - surely no-one in their right state of mind could possibly imagine quite so many drug squad officers in one place at one time? (Incidentally not the sort of citizen I ever want to meet in a dark alley.) But the "acid" test was to follow. Had this exposure led to a permanent effect on my consciousness? I had after all sat for two whole hours barely feet away from some of the most dangerous paragraphs ever to be printed. At the end of the day, would I feel any more corrupt than usual? Don't these people know they're playing with fire? Isn't depravity incurable? There was only one way to find out. Once home I reached for my trusty tin of cannabis resin. Five minutes later I was breathing sighs of relief: my state of mind was intact after all. Mind you, I'm not too sure that it had improved to any significant extent. Next appointment: 10.30 am, November 2nd, Surgery 4. Barry Stir - - - RUMOUR AND DOGGEREL Bearfaced Effrontery The big builders are justly famed for their support for the Conservative Party, which has had MacAlpines and Laings among its officers & a man from Christian Salveson as an adviser to its Ministers. Heseltine & Jenkin are clearly willing to let the big developers rip through the countryside of Southern England. But the smaller builders are getting it rough. One cannot perhaps weep too many tears for Wokingham-based Bearwood Glass, which has gone into liquidation and might take Wokingham Town FC with it. Its sister companies at the same address are carrying on, and there were far too many double glazing firms at the Reading Show anyway. But 30 jobs have been lost, the reason is the VAT slapped on home improvements in the last budget, and Bearwood's problems are shared by a whole host of small companies in Reading and elsewhere. The small builders' trade union, the Federation of Master Builders, has for at least three years had its annual meeting dominated by attacks on the Government: for its lack of investment in housing, for its taxation policies, and for the high mortgage rates which are drying up the demand for new houses. Pity they can't match the giants' contributions to Tory funds! Vultures in the Park Property and football do seem inextricably entangled. Soon after former Reading FC Chairman Frank Waller (otherwise boss of Tory backers Adwest of Woodley Aerodrome) had announced that he was still interested in the Club he had lost to present Reading FC Chairman Roger Smee (otherwise boss of the Rockfort Group and friend and supporter of Reading Tory leader and local estate agent Deryck Morton), than it was revealed that the said Frank Waller was an intimate partner of Bryant Homes and was involved with them in a joint project in Woodley. Thoughts of another joint project in Elm Park? Come In No. 47 There was a report in the last 'Rag' about a squat in two houses in Newbury owned by Trencherwood, which have stood empty for a year and a half while awaiting development into offices. Trencherwood will of course be well-known to regular readers of this column, who might have spotted the report in the 'Sunday Times' that Trencherwood boss Northgate is now personally worth £12.4M and is the forty-seventh wealthiest individual in the country as a result of floating Trencherwood on the Unlisted Securities Market (USM) earlier this year. There's gold in them thar offices. Mayorsville On a smaller scale it should be noted that over the last three months two companies owned by Henley Town Councillors, both of whom have been elected Mayor by their admiring fellows, have been awarded contracts by Henley Town Council for repair work on Henley Town Hall. That in both cases they put in the lowest tender is of course purely coincidental. Mister Tory Reading's First Citizen Ron Jewitt (yes, him again) was wearing his County Council hat when he suggested that the Women's Centre when it had to leave the Old Shire Hall should move in with the Centre for the Unemployed "so they could co-ordinate their propaganda". I have commented before on Cllr. Jewitt's masterful attitude to women, of course, and this statement really only confirms it. There's only room for one campaigning woman in the Tory Party and other women can stay at the kitchen sink (ever strike you how odd it was that the Tories before the First World War opposed women's suffrage on the grounds that women couldn't handle politics after Queen Victoria had been meddling in politics for sixty years?). Victorian values indeed. Which values are no doubt why Reading West M.P. Tony Durant got the spare job as a Tory Whip instead of Thatcher clone Edwina Currie who was clearly expecting it. The Tories have given Britain its first woman Prime Minister: we are still waiting for another Tory woman Cabinet Minister, for the first Tory woman whip, and even for the first Tory woman Council Leader. Markhaming Time Mention of Ron Jewitt leads inevitably to mention of his Housing stand-in Tony "Readibus" Markham, who spent much of the last Council meeting playing chess on behalf of his constituents in Redlands Ward. From what could be seen from the gallery he won: Final Score - Markham 1 Tenants in damp flats 0. Culture generally seems to be spreading through the Tory ranks: other Tory Councillors were markhaming time by drawing pictures which they will no doubt display to their constituents as the real achievements of their years of office. For far too many of those elected back in '83 have still to say anything more than 'Against' at a meeting of the Council on which they serve. William's Ploy That long-time-dripping Tory wet William van Straubenzee has had enough and doesn't want his ultra-safe Wokingham seat in Parliament after the next General Election is hardly a surprise given the confrontationist strategy of his mistress. That he has made the announcement now and invited his constituency to select early next year is however certainly neat. For a selection in 1985 means that none of those Tory dries elected to Parliament to their astonishment in the 1983 landslide will be able to slide over to Wokingham and take over Old Father William's 30,000 majority. Two of those who have featured in this column, Simon Coombs (Swindon) and Steve Morris (Oxford East) are gnashing their teeth about this in Brighton as I write. The new realism that seems to have started to infiltrate the Tory Party as they realise Nigel Lawson has no answer to unemployment may even mean that William will be able to ensure that Wokingham stays wet next time round. On The Line A Blackpool note. Reading West delegate to the Labour Party Conference Pete Ruhemann is claiming that when he was giving a four-paragraph press release about the miners' strike to the 'Evening Post' down the line from the Winter Gardens the plug was pulled out three times and he had to redial and reconnect. Seems a bit much of a coincidence? Citizen Cain - - - NO ALTERNATIVE Some people insist on calling Reading Between the Lines an "alternative" guide. But alternative to what? One of the dubious pleasures of appearing late in the guide season was getting to look at all the other ones. One striking feature sums it up: none of the other three has an index of contents. All have an index of advertisers. The Finder's "Residents' Guide" ("distributed free to 80,000 households") is the newest and least sure of itself. Apart from advertisements it has the usual bits on services provided by the Council ('How to contact your councillor', 'The Hexagon - home of entertainment' etc) and advertising features on 'Care of your lawn' and suchlike. It is hardly a mine of information. "The Borough", it tells us, "has a colourful past, more of which is being revealed as each month goes by." Like it says, "you will find it as useful in six months' time as you do today." Throw it into your paper-for-recycling bin. The Post's "Citizens' Guide" is on glossy paper this year. It has a lot more in it than the Finder's (lists of dentists, schools and charities etc). Pictures too: there's a fine one of "Reading's busy Broad St" taken apparently during an earthquake, and a "Hitler Youth" image of girl guides to illustrate "Activities for the youngsters". "Playgroups for the toddlers" has an ad for a sex shop for decoration. All in the blandest school-essay style: "Reading was besieged by the Parliamentarians because the town was held by the Royalists" sort of thing, or "Reading's other pool is the Arthur Hill, a less central location but still popular with swimmers of all ages." But it's the Council's "official" guide which is the real treat. Where it can't just use material already available from the museum or library, it comes up with total gibberish: "Silicon Valley UK extends from Reading out into Berkshire where the microchip world has gained a firm grip on the local commercial scene. Not just making the hardware, but creating the software and selling the implications of modern technology to the extent of all its purposes." Say that again? "One of the definitions of the word Forbury is "wide open space", and this particular space has been the venue for most activities during the course of time." The "Walk Around Reading" is a good idea. Someone has been to a lot of trouble collecting information. Pity so much of it is wrong. (How could Oscar Wilde's cell be "no longer there" in the prison? Have they walled it up or something? And as for the next sentence the Ballad of Reading Gaol was not written "from his cell" but in France, while "his famous letters" to Lord Alfred Douglas should surely be in the singular. Just for instance.) There's a fine picture of "Police, fire, ambulance and County Council officials discussing options during an Emergency Planning exercise" - but remarkably little that might be of any use to anybody. James - - - READING BETWEEN THE LINES Red Rag's indispensable guide to Reading is available from all the bookshops in town (including W.H. Smith's but not Paperback Parade); also Reading Wholefoods, Harvest Wholefoods, Listen Records, Music Market and UB Cycles. It costs 50p. We printed 1,000 copies and have sold a third of these already. Corrections and improvements welcome for a reprint. - - - JOB FREEDOM The Department of Employment has changed the way it calculates unemployment again: having excluded those not claiming benefit, men over 60, young people on YTS and the like they've now changed the boundaries of the travel-to-work areas so as to make comparisons with the past even more difficult. But as the book "Unemployment: the myths" published by the Centre for the Unemployed earlier this year showed, unemployment in central and southern Reading is far from a myth, it is a dominant reality. Around a fifth of those who want to work are without a job. The question for people in Reading is where can we go from here, can we do anything to keep and create jobs? The WEA Reading Industrial Branch is running a teach-in on Wednesday October 24th called "Strategies for Employment" with help from the Centre. Helen Hathaway, who wrote "Unemployment: the Myths", will be talking about unemployment in Reading, and Branch Chairman Keith Jerrome, who is now responsible for strategic planning for the Greater London Enterprise Board, will be talking about local government initiatives. Workshops planned include 'The Impact of New Technology' (led by Chris Borgars of RTUC, Berkshire Council of Civil Service Unions, etc., etc.), 'Support for Manufacturing' (led by GMBATU District Officer Ian Keys), 'Work for Women' (led by the Centre for the Unemployed women's worker Anne Hillocks) and 'The Black Dimension' (led by black County Councillor Joe Williams). The teach-in will be held at the Centre for the Unemployed at 7.30p.m., and will be chaired by Gill Stewart from the WEA. Should be good. Is certainly important. Will be a good antidote to party conferences of all colours. Do come. Pete - - - DINE BY THE LINE. Veggie Dining is a regular, fortnightly feast of homecooking and live music which is held on a Friday evening at Fairview community centre (near the railway line at the bottom of George Street in Reading). There are usually about four to six cooks and helpers who prepare the food, set out the tables, serve the food, eat the food and clear up afterwards. The Musicians Turn up, set up, eat and play whenever and whatever. Thirty tickets are available to paying guests from Acorn Bookshop (17, Chatham Street). Tickets should be bought in advance and cost £2.00 each or £1.50 to the jobfree. For this you get a three-course animal-free meal and candle-light and tea afterwards if anyone has the incentive. Anyone who helps earns a free meal and help is always needed, especially if you can play music to about 40 people in a "terrapin". Any music goes down well and the space has been used for all sorts from folk to experimental cacophony (d'ya want somewhere to rehearse or meet other musicians?). Sing for your supper. The menu is made up by people deciding to cook a dish as part of a meal which is co-ordinated by yours truly. Cooks meetings are a thing of the past but don't have to stay that way. Veggie dining is an open collective (anyone can play). A profit is made which is used to pay for the hall, new equipment and vegetables. There is munny in the kitty to pay for whatever any cook wants to prepare their dish(es). The participants only personal gain is a meal. The next Veggie Dining is on 19th of October. If you want to help or know more please 'phone 588459. Clive and I have been talking about a group of bods taking turns at co-ordinating events, who else would like to? Nearly forgot - non-musical ents also ran. Mike - - - DRUG SCARE Dear Red Rag, It is conveniently timed, no doubt with the law'n'order frenzy of the next general election in mind: Minister Kenneth Clark's plan on behalf of the most drug-paranoid government since Smiling "I-have-been-influenced-by-a-number-of-facts" Jim was Home Secretary in the late '60s. In the 1985-6 session, legislation will raise the penalty for (to coin a loaded phrase) "trafficking in hard drugs" to 14 years to life behind bars. In addition, the paltry sum of £85 per addict is to be diverted to their treatment, rehabilitation and so on. Spectacular, eh? This business of setting the liberty of a few against - in the case of heroin - the safety of many others is, to me, a diversion. For something in the small-print worries me greatly. "Ministers hope that life sentences for trafficking in class 'A' drugs will lead to a knock-on effect on sentences for lesser offences." (Guardian, 11/10/84) So the whole of class A and not just heroin will be subject to this new law. (Class A also includes cocaine and LSD - neither of these are in the same league as heroin and the health minister should know it.) And with unpleasant consequences to the country's 6 to 8 million cannabis users, is that "knock-on effect". It flies in the face of every study ever commissioned by a British government (or any other). The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (7 volumes, 1894) remarks "how little injury society has hitherto sustained." The Wootton Report (1963): "Legislative treatment... exaggerates the dangers of the drug and needlessly interferes with civil liberty." Report by the Advisory Council (1979): "harm from cannabis doubtful". But now this arbitrary method for keeping the populace in its place looks set to have its screws tightened by the back door. Who's going to do anything about it? Labour's health spokesman Frank Dobson has commented on the £85 bit but not, it would appear, on the penalties or that knock-on effect. I think a fuss needs to be made about this. How do you feel? Bill Reading Cannabinoids, c/o Box 23, Acorn Bookshop, 17 Chatham St - - - WHAT IS RED RAG? Red Rag is Reading's Only Newspaper. It has just had its fifth birthday. It is free and comes out every fortnight, and is financed entirely by donations and benefit gigs. It is produced by a collective, to whose next meeting, on Sun 21st October, 4 pm at 92a London Road, you are very welcome. Help is always welcome too, as are articles: most of the Rag is written by people outside the collective. All articles should have a signature, and a contact phone number or address. Copy deadline is the Thursday before production: for details see front cover. - - - SUPERGLUE CITY A police spokesman said today: "We don't know exactly, who these people are, but they are all anarchists." The police put in a good showing at the "Stop the City" demonstration in Birmingham on Tuesday 11th. They arrived punctually at 10.30 to welcome protestors near the City Cathedral. However, nobody else turned up. "You can't expect anarchists to turn up on time," one exasperated senior officer complained. Meanwhile the demonstrators were busy elsewhere. More than thirty premises - mainly banks and building societies - were found to have had their door locks jammed with superglue. Glue was also poured into cashpoint machines. After this arrangements were made for meeting points throughout the day by word of mouth. Unfortunately the police were not informed so never knew where a large group of demonstrators would spring up next. At one o'clock it was Central TV. After all, they'd been chasing round trying to get TV coverage all morning. Demonstrators swarmed into the foyer and sat around under the chandeliers. They were followed in by the police, who then couldn't get out again owing to other demonstrators crowding round the doorway, peering in the windows and jamming the swing door by going round and round in it. Then we went for a walk about the town, escorting the police wherever they went. Police vans following managed to block the traffic at major roundabouts and lots of police ended with tired legs. We visited fur shops, cosmetic counters, and all went to the Army and Navy recruitment offices to find out about joining. Shoppers in one of the major department stores were bemused to see a line of punks coming down the escalator passing a line of police going up; then as the police came down the punks went up. One policeman said, "Well, you must have a sense of humour, demonstrating like this." We had a great time. Next venue is rumoured to be Bristol in a couple of weeks, but, you know these anarchists, check with the police for details. N. Tropy - - - Paid Advertisement Reading's only Workers' Co-operative UB CYCLES same day bicycle repairs renovations new & second hand bikes spare parts... UB Cycles 67 London Street Reading phone 509089 Open 8.30-6.00 Monday to Saturday 10.00-12 noon Sundays - - - RED RAG'S VERY OWN NAKED APE The bit of graphic design reproduced below really is a piece of wrapping paper used by members of the British Hardware Federation! Having the degree of imagination displayed by the Executive Council of that body in other matters it is almost certainly unfair to blame them - the likelihood of any of them realising the significance is remote. More likely they were offered the design by some agency practical joker and swallowed it whole. Suggestions, please, for appropriate designs to be adopted by the Federation of British Software Suppliers. Scherzando Manontroppo (with thanx to Michelle and Dave) - - - SMALL ADS Accommodation Wanted:- Self-contained accommodation required by couple, as from now. Max £40 pw. Flexible tenancy. Contact Liz or Dave on 873672. Very loving home needed for 3-year-old female (spayed) cat. Very pretty tortoiseshell and white markings, docile and affectionate, well behaved in every way. Good with children but dislikes other cats and dogs. Phone 588459 Enthusiastic and creative part-time typist wanted for a new theatre in education company based in Reading. £2.23 per hr. Community project, so must have been unemployed for 6 months. Reading 665556 (office hours). Want to speak Spanish? Need to translate revolutionary literature picked up on your last package holiday to the Costa Brava? How do you ask for a vegan menu in a Spanish restaurant? Your desires can now be made real. A new non-hierarchical self help teach yourself Spanish collective hopes to start its new 84-85 class soon. Ring John (669154) if interested. Lifts wanted:- between Reading and Bristol. Irregular but frequent. Contribution to costs. Phone Nick 666681 - - - ADVERTISING IN RED RAG Small ads are free, as are listings in Events, regular events and Going Out. Rates for paid ads are: £12 for a half page (20.5 cm across x 14.5 down) and £7 for a quarter page (10 cm across x 14.5). We will put "Paid advertisement" on if you haven't. We reserve the right to reject any ad for any reason! - - - $Id: //info.ravenbrook.com/user/ndl/readings-only-newspaper/issue/1984/1984-10-14.txt#3 $