It is the Radical Book Fair in Edinburgh this week. The RBF is free and run by the famous independent Edinburgh bookshop, Wordpower and this is the 13th year of fabulous speakers and varied topics that I wouldn’t come across anywhere else.
I trundled off to view a documentary about the Angry Brigade this afternoon. What follows is apologetically ignorant comments I’m afraid. I know virtually nothing about this part of radical history, mostly because I was too young to know about it in the 60’s and early 70’s. I’ve heard of some of the groups involved, but could not have named anyone in particular.
From the programme:
This BBC film by Gordon Carr, first released in 1973, documents the events surrounding Britain’s longest ever conspiracy trial, in which eight young anarchists were charged as members of the Angry Brigade. Carr did extensive research amongst police and anarchists and the interviews are intriguing. Also fascinating is the film’s historical footage. It records inside communes, massive demonstrations and other revolutionary events of the time.The film began very well with a reasonably coherent outline of the history of anarchy in the UK, and Europe, tracing the movement back to Spanish anarchists who sacrificed much in their fight against Franco. However, I really needed to have more background for me to have properly followed the subsequent history of who did what and where. The links between the San Francisco hippies, the French student revolutionaries and the London anarchist movement was gone over too fast for me to really comprehend and I suppose if I was interested enough I’d read up on it all.
So I’m left analysing the film through the radical feminist lens. No women were interviewed in the film. Women who were involved in these movements and who went to jail were shockingly still referred to as ‘girls’. The only references to the women’s movement were spoken of sneeringly. In its defence, I believe the film was not an homage to the anarchist movement as it ended up praising the police for getting to grips with these types of movements.
Anyway, I remain aloof from ‘mainstream’ anarchy, particularly the extreme libertarian versions as they are dangerous to women rights and largely anathema to radical feminists. If you are feeling strong enough sometime just search for these types of websites and see how bloody-minded they are about radical feminism and their beliefs in censorship of women’s right to bodily autonomy.
On the other hand, I do respect people who have political convictions and who do try to make the world a better place and the section of the documentary where communes were discussed was good. The film makers obviously comprehended the aims of the communes in the way the children were treated and in the efforts to free women to become more actively involved and to break down the oppressive nuclear family structure. Of course, this didn’t work and the comment that the police on raiding the communes were horrified at the standard of hygiene in the communes raised a titter amongst the audience.
Here’s some boy writing about it all in the Observer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2002/feb/03/features.magazine27
I then spent time and money at the vast bookstalls, before joining with some old pals at a talk on Irish women’s abortion rights. Hint – they have none!
From the programme:
What happens when women are denied the right to choose? Irish law on abortion is the most restrictive in Europe and every year, around 6,500 Irish women travel to the UK to have an abortion. In this oral history, the writer and feminist Ann Rossiter tells the story of the London-Irish women involved during the 1980s and 1990s in the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group and the Irish Abortion Solidarity Campaign and presents a vivid and timely contribution to debates about the Irish feminist movement in Britain in the late twentieth century.Ireland's Hidden Diaspora - The 'Abortion Trail' and the Making of a London-Irish Underground, 1980-2000, by Ann Rossiter
ISBN: 9780956178503
Moving, inspirational and enraging. Politicians of all stripes in London, Belfast and Dublin sell women’s humanity down the river decade after decade and we are almost powerless to change this.
Women always are forced to give of their energy, time, and resources to help each other and over the desperate right to control our own fertility this is endless.
We were given a timely reminder that what was won in 1967 can all be swept away if we are not vigilant. For me, the only benefit of not being independent is that the forces of womb-hatred in this country would pounce pretty quickly to remove our human rights over our fertility-control. This is one serious flaw in the SNP and which will always cost them the feminist vote unless they ruthlessly weed out their reactionary and usually religious (of all flavours) influencers. Obviously the SNP are not alone in being infiltrated by the anti-choice medievalists, as these creatures infest all parties.
Ann Rossiter and her ilk should be awarded Nobel prizes for services to womankind and for peace and economics and all other relevant categories rather than overpriviledged American males (admittedly BO has done a little to correct the damage done by his predecessor.)
I think it is safe to say bodily autonomy is one thing that gets me riled every time.
The Auld Reekie Roller Girls took the prize for 'attitude', while the Youth Parliament were probably loudest in their calls for votes for 16 year olds.
Some progress can be claimed compared to 100 years ago. The suffragettes could only dream that policewomen would lead a march, the city council would be led by a woman councillor and speeches given by women elected to a devolved Scottish parliament, while women architects, builders and drummers would all turn up and support the event. We can never over estimate the debt we owe our feminist foremothers for what they achieved on our behalf in many cases through great personal sacrifice. But here’s why we still need to campaign.
However, right at the front, two mounted women police officers rode in advance of the sea of violet, white and green following behind. Green, white and violet were chosen as the suffragette colours standing for “Give Women the Vote”.
Thanks and congratulations are due the organisers for the work they put in over the last two years to make this event such a success. While the whole day was memorable, some things stand out. The elderly woman who stopped me in the street and told me her grandmother was in the original march and had been a militant suffragette, not a wishy washy suffragist!
The film director co-ordinating the filming (above) and who had the inspirational idea to have films and pictures uploaded online to make a permanent record. She also brought along media students who were positioned along the route to do interviews with people on the march.
Meeting many, many old pals who I just knew would be there. And the realisation, when seeing the massed ranks of long standing feminists from all walks of life in Scotland, how fortunate we are to have such dedicated women making a difference in academia, politics, VAW, education, business, commerce and everywhere in our society including the Public Safety Officer overseeing the event from the City of Edinburgh Council - a professional young woman who stopped to chat to me about her role.
Aren't we all?
The march ended at the top of Calton Hill with speeches and singing. Cathy Peattie MSP led us in singing Bread and Roses, the traditional protest song on these occasions. Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Education spoke of the need for gender equality and the Gude Cause Chairwoman read out messages of support from feminists across the world.
I think that everyone who got dressed up, made banners, or simply turned up and marched should be proud of themselves for making women's equality in Scotland just a little bit closer. 
Madrid has an abundance of art galleries and museums. We only had time for a speedy visit to one. 