Save Libraries Campaign, Saturday 5 February

Saving the libraries - a nationwide campaign that most of us care about passionately!! Most public libraries throughout the UK are threatened by the ConDem cuts, but we are united in our determination to preserve this lifeline; we will campaign for access to books and music for everyone. 
Libraries don't 'just lend books', this is the START of what they do....for many people, the public library has been the start of a life-long love-affair with literature, music and the arts. Our campaign is part of the campaign against cuts to the arts in general.

This is the link to the Coalition of Resistance page listing as many campaigns as possible - many towns and London Boroughs are planning read-ins.


http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2011/01/5th-feb-library-read-ins-planned-across-the-country/


La lotta continua!! We need to protect, save and - yes - PROMOTE our cultural heritage, and not allow the UK to be turned into a nation of philistines!!!

National Day of Protest against Benefit Cuts, 24 Jan

Monday 24 Jan will see nationwide protests against cuts to benefits and services.

In London, there will be a PARTY AND PICNIC IN TRITON SQUARE, Euston. 

Come to a picnic and party in Triton Square, London on the 24th January 2011 from 2pm as part of the National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts.

Bring music, drums, whistles, banners, food to share and let’s brighten up the faceless corporate wasteland that is home to poverty pimps Atos Origin Ltd.

Musicians, poets, orators, ranters, shouters, all benefit claimants and supporters welcome. Please help spread the word and invite your friends.

Triton Square is on the North side of Euston Road, a minute or so from Warren Street tube and less than five minutes from Euston/Euston Square or Great Portland Street tube stations.

Part of the National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts on the 24th January 2011.

Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126713940728397

There will be other protests throughout the UK, here are a couple of examples.

In Livingston,not far from Edinburgh, protesters will be visiting Atos Origin’s Scotland Office.  Visit the facebook page for more info, and be there from 10am.  There will also be anti-benefit cuts leafleting outside Atos in Glasgow.


Brighton – Using the 24th to publicise a bigger event against Atos Origin on the 5th Feb:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181302175222578


La Lotta Continua!

TANNHAUSER in the Venusberg.

Here is Beardsley's vision of the Venusberg - rather different from the minimalist setting of the current Covent Garden production!

......on quaint pedestals and Terminal Gods and gracious pilasters of every sort, were shell-like vases of excessive fruits and flowers that hung about and burst over the edges and could never be restrained. The orange-trees and myrtles, looped with vermilion sashes, stood in frail porcelain pots, and the rose-trees were wound and twisted with superb invention over trellis and standard.

Upon one side of the terrace, a long gilded stage for the comedians was curtained off with Pagonian tapestries, and in front of it the music stands were placed. The tables arranged between the fountain and the flight of steps to the sixth terrace were all circular, covered with white damask, and strewn with irises, roses, kingcups, columbines, daffodils, carnations and lilies;

 and the couches, high with soft cushions and spread with more stuffs than could be named, had fans thrown upon them, and little amorous surprise packages.

TANNHAUSER at Covent Garden, 2 Jan 2011

Richard Wagner, TANNHAUSER Royal Opera House, 2 January 2011


Cast




Venus                                                    MICHAELA SCHUSTER
Tannhauser                                         JOHAN BOTHA
Shepherd Boy                                     ALEXANDER LEE
Landgrave Hermann                          CHRISTOF FISCHESSER
Wolfram von Eschenbach               CHRISTIAN GERHAHER
Walther von der Vogelweide           TIMOTHY ROBINSON
Heinrich der Schreiber                      STEVEN EBEL*
Biterolf                                                   CLIVE BAYLEY
Reinmar von Zweter                           JEREMY WHITE
Elisabeth, Hermann's niece              EVA-MARIA WESTBROEK
Elisabeth's attendants                      KIERA LYNESS, 
                                                                DEBORAH PEAKE-JONES,
                                                               LOUISE ARMIT, 
                                                               KATE McCARNEY


(*Steven Ebel is participating in the Jette Parker Young Artists' Programme)


Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
Chorus Master                                     RENATO BALSADONNA


Conductor                                              SEMYON BYCHKOV


I rather liked the rather quirky production (by director Tim Albery), and the performance was of a very high standard, both musically and dramatically.
There was a delightful conceit at the very beginning - the curtains rose to reveal - the curtains of the Royal Opera House. The Venusberg scene consisted of a dance sequence, performed by very beautiful, fit and athletic young people - at one point one of the girls did a flying leap of the table, to be caught in the arms of one of the boys - unfortunately, however, at no point did it seem to connect with the erotic charge of the music - and the music really did carry an incredible erotic charge! I don't think I have ever heard it performed so passionately as on this occasion by the ROH orchestra under Semyon Bychkov. 

 The dance, however, was NOT erotic - rather too sane and healthy for the Venusberg, so that one didn't really feel that Tannhauser was suffering from the surfeit of pleasure he claims to feel. This was slightly disappointing - the dance sequence was very good, but not particularly decadent!

Michaela Schuster was a very sultry-voiced Venus, wearing a suitably slinky black dress.

And another minor criticism of the actual production - when Tannhauser returns to the earth, and meets up with his former colleagues again, the stage is almost bare,  and there is a large gulf between Tannhauser and the others, into which at one point someone falls (don't ask!!) ....and the gulf gradually closes once Wolfram welcomes Tannhauser back, and the others follow suit. Uh - this is obviously meant to let us know that there is a PSYCHOLOGICAL GULF between the singers. Thanks, Mr. Albery, but I think most of us can work that out for ourselves!!!
I'll say a bit more about the production before I turn to discussing the individual performers. By and large, I did quite like it, but I wanted to get the criticisms out of the way first. The Song Contest is set in  a ruined hall - the Wartburg, but in ruins, so that Elisabeth's 'Dich, teure Halle' has the implication that not only she will start to live again now that Tannhauser has returned, but that the ruins can now be rebuilt and the Hall of Song will have a new lease of life.

People have criticised Botha's size, and he is indeed somewhat - ah - larger than life, and spends most of the time sitting down....he has a limited amount of movement and gestures which he uses when necessary. (I think it is a bit unfair to criticize Botha when Pavarotti was allowed to get away with it for decades - he sang roles like Rodolfo, Cavaradossi, the Duke of Mantua, etc. etc..... who are supposed to be young, handsome and attractive to women!!)

 To be honest, I don't have a problem with this - I just didn't look at him! I listened instead to the beautiful clear, bright voice, which didn't flag even during the difficult Rome Narration. I found his portrayal of the tormented artist very convincing - I must confess that I find TANNHAUSER a very disturbing work in many ways....not so much the conflict between sacred and profane, but the wallowing in guilt; it's as if Tannhauser almost ENJOYS being wracked with guilt about the time he has spent in the Venusberg. And I don't care what Botha looks like, since he managed to convey the passion and the ambiguity so convincingly.
The Elisabeth of Eva-Maria Westbroek was an ideal contrast to the Venus of Michaela Schuster, so that one believed in Tannhauser's conflict.

This Elisabeth isn't just a saintly virgin, although sainthood is what she achieves thanks to her sacrifice for Tannhauser's redemption - she's also a young woman with emotions, who has been genuinely in love with Tannhauser - I think we sometimes tend to overlook that Wagner's stage directions specify that, when Tannhauser contradicts Wolfram by singing in praise of sensuality, she starts to express her approval......("Elisabeth starts to make a gesture of approval, but when everyone else stays gravely silent, she shyly refrains").  
The Wolfram of Christian Gerhaher  was also richly deserving of the high praise it has received from most critics. He is almost understated, in contrast to the passion that Tannhauser expresses, but one can feel the desperation of his unrequited love for Elisabeth, and his singing is very lyrical and nuanced, his 'O du, mein holder Abendstern' a shining example of lyric technique.

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The theme chosen by all the other singers in the Song Contest - i.e. devotion to pure virtue rather than sensuality, which Tannhauser praises - actually rather misrepresents the Minnesingers, though obviously it is necessary for Wagner's dramatic purpose. The real Walther von der Vogelweide was not such a prissy little man as Wagner makes him out to be, and would never have written so disparagingly about sensuality! (I've included a link to one of his poems, in case anyone wants to follow this up  .'under der linden', by Walther von der Vogelweide.     And a translation!   Translation of 'under der linden' )


Here is a link to a YouTube clip of a performance of  Unter der Linden.

Fightback against cuts in the arts and sport

This is reproduced from the home page of Counterfire; I have added links to some of the institutions that are now threatened.

MEETING - FIGHTBACK AGAINST CUTS IN THE ARTS AND SPORT. December 15 2010

If you are a writer, artist, actor, musician, filmmaker, librarian, sports teacher, or in any way involved in entertainment, the Arts or Sport, you are invited to the inaugural meeting of Fightback Against Cuts in the Arts & Sport (FACAS) which will take place at The Lucas Arms, 245A Greys Inn Road, WC1X 8QZ at 7 pm on WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER 2010
map ref: (nearest tube Kings X) http://tinyurl.com/bufuhr

The first meeting of FACAS will discuss how we can best intervene in the campaign against cuts in the Arts and Sport and how to use our talents in support of the wider campaign against the cuts.

This country has always had a deficit. Indeed we had a much larger deficit in 1945 and yet went on to set up the NHS and many of the welfare services which are now threatened with the axe. The Arts Council was set up a year later! The government are using the deficit to carry out ‘shock and awe’ cuts to community, health, education, welfare and the arts. They plan to cut public spending by £81 billion over four years. In that same period the rich and corporations will avoid paying £100 billion in tax.
The effect on the Arts is catastrophic.

ARTS COUNCIL: A £350 million cut in the Arts Council of England budget is going to decimate national, regional and local arts projects across the country. Take one example from many; the charity ‘Creativity, Culture and Education’, which is is to lose 50% of  its ACE funding. Their national  ‘Find Your Talent’ programme will go. This  encourages young people to learn a musical instrument, perform and go to concerts and has 2,500 schools in its scheme, helping 400,000 children.

LOCAL AUTHORITY CUTBACKS
Cuts in local council funding have already started. Lewisham Council have shown us what to expect. They voted for a massive cuts package on 29 November with the protection of the riot police and had already announced that five libraries were to close as well as extra-curricular sports activities for school kids. At the time of writing Birmingham City Council have announced that they are cutting a third of their workforce!

MUSIC / DRAMA SCHOOLS / MUSEUMS
Prestigious arts institutions are not to be spared. Leeds College of Music, The Courtauld Institute, The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music, The Royal College of Music, The Rose Bruford College and the Central School of Speech and Drama are losing their entire teaching grants. Among museums, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Geffrye Museum, the Horniman, the National Coal Mines Museum and the People's History Museum will be losing their Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) grant.

(Cezanne's CARD PLAYERS, one of the many paintings held at the Courtauld Institute).

This first meeting of FACAS has to be London-based so if you are not in the SE let us know about your campaigns. If you are unable to attend, but want to get involved, let us have your contact details.

The meeting has been called by members of the Coalition of Resistance (www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk) – a broad united national campaign against cuts and privatisation in our workplaces, community, educational and welfare services. The meeting can decide whether or not to affiliate to CoR

For updates on cuts to the Arts go to:

http://falseeconomy.org.uk/cuts/sectors/type/arts-and-culture
For news about the campaign against tax-dodgers go to:

http://ukuncut.org.uk/

Please let us know if you are attending the meeting.

David Wilson
david.wilson@talktalk.net
07951 579 064

Support the students who are leading the way in the fightback. ULU, Malet Street,12 noon, Thursday 9 December and march to Parliament for lobby.

Royal Wedding in the Nineteenth Century

I had intended to keep this a Royal Wedding-free zone, but could not resist reproducing this article from THE COMMONWEAL, Vol. 1, No. 7, August 1886. (Bear in mind that the sums quoted are from the late 19th. century, but the principle of the Royal Family being a drain on the public purse has hardly changed!!)
 The Commonweal was the journal of the Socialist League, and was edited by William Morris, who was also one of its major contributors. I came across this in the course of my research for a paper I'm about to give on Morris.

The author signs him- or herself J.B. - it is not clear who this is, but reader would probably have recognised the identity.

A CONTRAST.

            The marriage is about to take place of a young lady of the Royal Family. The veteran manipulator of the taxes of the country obtained  for her £6,000 a year. It being subsequently discovered, apparently, that the intended husband had no money, £30,000 is proposed to buy their furniture. The couple have never worked, nor want to; they live on the earnings of the people. 

            In a room in Chelsea live a young man, his wife, and their child (an infant). The husband has been out of employment four months and owes rent. On Saturday night came a loud knock, followed by a timid 'Come in'. The landlord appeared. He wanted his rent. The woman answered, she had no money to buy food. "Then go on the streets and get some", replied the property-holder. The husband has sat silent, but this was too much for even a broken-spirited man. He rushed to put the landlord out - was seized; a scuffle ensued. The poor fellow being weak from want of food was easily mastered. "He might have killed me", he said afterwards; "he had me by the throat". His wife wept as she bathed his bruised face, and trembled at the cursings of the retiring landlord. This couple are workers, willing to work when work is obtainable, but compelled to assist to keep the Princes and Princesses in idleness.

        Are there not some things to account for the spread of Socialism?

Attack on the poor- protest march 23 Oct.

The Comprehensive Spending Review has now been published, and, as we feared, the poor are going to suffer most. The people who have most need of support are having the rug pulled from under their feet. Even the  Institute for Fiscal Studies says the cuts are unfair!!! Although Clegg, predictably, says this is 'complete nonsense'. Of course, the rich and the bankers are going to be as protected as ever.
Which is worse - the cuts to benefits for the sick and disabled, or the cuts to Housing Benefit?
This is the position about Disability Benefits - what was previously Incapacity Benefit, and is now known as Employment Support Allowance, WILL BE STOPPED AFTER A YEAR.

ESA was brought in to replace incapacity benefit and supports people who are unable to work because of ill health or disability. These cuts mean that people who moved on to ESA and who previously worked will only be able to claim it for one year. At the moment, there is no time limit and people can claim ESA until they find another job.
After one year, people with assets, savings or partners who work will no longer receive benefits. Single people with no assets may be able to qualify for a means-tested safety net, but everyone else will have to manage on their husband or wife's salary – no matter how low it may be – or dip into any private savings they may have.

The change will affect hundreds of thousands of people, as 1.7 million Britons have moved from incapacity benefit to ESA. Many of them are likely to have been put on the contributory version of the benefit.

Critics said the announcement penalised people who had paid national insurance contributions for years precisely to cover them in the eventuality that they are unable to work through sickness or incapacity. They also said that the decision would make it much harder for disabled people to find jobs.
(Anna Bawden, Guardian, 21 Oct 2010)
Do they think anyone who is too ill to work is going to make a miraculous recovery after a year? Or, more likely, the Old Etonians hope they will die off, so as not to have to feed these useless mouths.
 
The cap on Housing Benefit is another attack on the poor - again, those in most need are the hardest hit. There should instead be a limit on THE AMOUNT OF RENT THAT PRIVATE LANDLORDS ARE ALLOWED TO CHARGE.
 
On top of the widely-publicised cap on housing benefit to the equivalent of a four-bedroom property, an overall limit on benefit receipt and the limiting of Employment and Support Allowance, Chancellor George Osborne has announced that local housing allowances will be calculated by taking an average of the lowest 30% of rental values in the locality, rather than an overall average. He also raised the threshold whereby a single person with no dependants would only be entitled to the equivalent in housing benefit on a single room in a shared property from 25 to 35.
(Information from BBC Wales, 22 Oct)



There used to be a Rent Tribunal, which was able to control rents - this seems to have been phased out years ago, leaving people at the mercy of the market. The intention seems to be to drive poorer people out of London, as it is already almost impossible to find affordable accommodation, and the new measures will make it worse. (Although presumably some of us will have to stay there to work for the rich, so that we can clean their toilets, scrub their floors and look after their kids....although I suppose we can come in from our ghettoes on the night bus).
 
These are two of the concerns I wanted to discuss - I haven't even STARTED on the threats the education and the arts!! But just briefly - the Arts Council of England has suffered a 30% cut,
 
 
 

and national museums a 15% cut.
 
 

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We have to start the protest and fight back now!!
We can start by going on the protest marches on 23 Oct.

This is the info from the Coaltion of Resistance  about the Protest March.

March against cuts Saturday 23 October

Assemble: 11am, RMT HQ, Unity House, Chalton Street, Euston, for a march to the anti-cuts rally at Congress House
RMT London Transport Region are organising a march to the TUC to support the TUC’s anti-cuts meeting. We are organising together with NUT, FBU, NSSN and CWU members and others. We are seeking support from all other unions, community organisations and individuals. Please come along and oppose the ConDem cuts.


Assemble at RMT HQ, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD at 11.00am.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=148201075219859
March to TUC, Great Russell street, London WC1B 3LS where rally will be held from 12 noon.
Invited speakers include:
•Mark Serwotka
•Christine Blower (NUT)
•Billy Hayes (CWU)
•Bob Crow (RMT)
•Matt Wrack (FBU)
•Linda Perks (UNISON)