People’s History Museum, Manchester

People’s History Museum

Few people, when we talk of Democracy, are aware of what a new idea it actually is and that the struggle for democracy went hand in hand with Labour rights and the development of the British Labour Party. Indeed it was only in the elections of 1918 in Ireland and in England that you had true universal suffrage for all without a property qualification for voting and votes for women, albeit over 30 – as women under 30 were considered too excitable and frivolous! Indeed!

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/10/first-female-member-of-parliament.html

The People’s History Museum tells the dramatic story of the British working class’s struggle for democracy and social justice - told at the only national museum in Manchester, the radical city where it belongs. The museum has reopened after a £12.5m redevelopment, which included the refurbishment of the existing Pump House and the construction of a four storey extension alongside it. The old and new buildings are joined together by a spectacular glass walkway. The museum galleries, changing exhibitions, education service, Labour History Archive & Study Centre, Textile Conservation Studio, corporate facilities, café and shop are housed in the new building.


Cotton Mill, Ancoats 1820

Two hundred years ago Manchester was at the centre of Britain’s Industrial Revolution. Based on the cotton textile industry, the town became the world’s first industrial city. Despite high wages in good times, workers endured appalling living and environmental conditions. Little could be done to improve these; there was no political structure and Manchester, for example, had no MP.



On 19 August 1819 a reform meeting held on St Peter’s Field in Manchester attracted over 60,000 mill workers and their families. Magistrates sent in soldiers to arrest the leaders. There were 17 dead and over 400 seriously injured. The event became known as the Peterloo Massacre and led to the first reform of Parliament in 1832.
The People's History Museum tells the extraordinary story of ordinary people. It is the only national museum dedicated to the working people of Britain and the world-changing events they led to change society, improving life for future generations.
The urbanisation of Manchester largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era, resulting in it becoming the world's first industrialised city.

“Cottonopolis” as Manchester became known has a notable place in the history of Marxism and left-wing politics; being the subject of Friedrich Engels' work The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844; Engels himself spent much of his life in and around Manchester, and when Karl Marx visited Manchester, they met at Chetham's Library. The economics books Marx was reading at the time can be seen on the shelf in the library, as can the window seat where Marx and Engels would meet. The first Trades Union Congress was held in Manchester (at the Mechanics' Institute, David Street), from 2 to 6 June 1868. The economic school of Manchester capitalism developed there, and Manchester was the center of the Anti-Corn Law League from 1838 onward. Manchester was also an important cradle of the Labour Party and the Suffragette Movement. Indeed it has been an inspirational city in many ways from the development of Laissez-faire capitalism to the United Society of Believers or the Shakers as they are better known.


Railway Banner

In these days of Banking Crises and dismay at lack of values what better place to rediscover the role of honest labour as the source of values in society than this museum celebrating how ordinary people changed the world we live in.


Website;

http://www.phm.org.uk/

People’s History Museum
Left Bank, Spinningfields,
Manchester, M3 3ER,
England.

Open Monday - Sunday
10.00am - 5.00pm

Bethnal Green Tube Disaster

Bethnal Green Tube Station with St. John's Church in the background.

The worst tragedy on London Underground was in 1943 during World War II in East London at Bethnal Green Tube Station. This was an extension to the Central Line which had not been completed when war broke out and the unfinished station was taken over by London County Council to be used as an Air Raid Shelter during the Blitz of London by the Luftwaffe. On March 3rd. 1943 the largest loss of civilian life in a single non-military incident during World War II, happened in the East End of London. 173 people perished at Bethnal Green tube station. They were crushed to death by the weight of their own bodies. 62 of the dead were children.

Alf Morris’s fighting spirit is intact - though his hearing is not what it used to be. He is trying to raise money for a memorial for the victims of “the worst civilian disaster of the Second World War,” according to the Trust of which Alf is chairman. Some 300 people were crushed into the stairwell of Bethnal Green tube station and 173 men, women and children died. Over 90 were injured. In the two years since it has been running, the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust has raised £70,000. It needs £650,000 to build the memorial. Alf estimates he is one of around 6 to 10 survivors left.


Alf Morris wearing a "survivor" waist coat

The Bethnal Green Tube shelter disaster took place on the evening of Wednesday March 3, 1943. 173 people died in a terrifying crush as panic spread through the crowds of people trying to enter the station's bomb shelter in the East End of London. However, no bomb struck and not a single casualty was the direct result of military aggression, making it the deadliest civilian incident of World War Two.

The East End, with its industry and docks, had been a target for German bombers since the Luftwaffe had failed to establish air superiority in the Battle of Britain. Furthermore, the East End was seen as a barometer of British civilian morale. So, even though the Blitz had ended almost two years ago in May 1941, bombing raids and sirens was still an everyday part of life for East-enders as Germany and Britain carried out tit-for-tat raids in an attempt to demoralise civilian populations. Bethnal Green Underground station, as one of the few deep-level stations in the East End, was an obvious choice for a huge public bomb shelter. Situated in a densely populated urban area, the shelter had at times held 7000 people, and contained 5000 bunks.



The Bethnal Green disaster was one of a number of tragedies at London Underground stations during World War II. Balham underground station in Wandsworth, South London was the site of a catastrophic bombing during October 1940. A fragmentation bomb exploded at street level creating a large crater which a bus subsequently drove into, penetrating a water pipe. Water and debris flooded into the station causing the deaths of 111 people and numerous injuries. The attack, which has since been portrayed in popular culture, such as in the 2007 film ‘Atonement’, was one of several fatal disasters during the air raids of the World War II.



The deep level of underground stations created ideal refuge for the thousands of Londoners who sought shelter during attacks by German aircraft. While regarded as safe, several incidents resulted in civilian casualties. One of the most damaging attacks was on Bank station in January 1941. A bomb directly impacted upon the ticket stall of the underground station, taking the lives of 56 people, injuring 69 and causing considerable damage to the building. The station was forced to close for two months and a bridge implemented over the crater to allow traffic onto the roads. Some 20 civilians were also killed by a bomb blast while taking shelter in Marble Arch station in September 1940.



Through both the First and Second World Wars, London's transport system and its staff played an important part in keeping the city moving. Their contributions went well beyond the normal call of duty. During the First World War, drivers took buses to France, transporting troops to the Western Front. Women worked as 'conductorettes', making their first forays into the male preserve of the bus garage.

Women played a much larger role during the Second World War, replacing male staff who had joined the armed forces. Many women took factory jobs doing war work, including aircraft construction as London Transport facilities were turned to the war effort. Amazingly, the Tube was able to keep running throughout the war, despite providing an underground home every night for thousands of Londoners during the Blitz.



London Transport (LT) played a crucial role in the Home Front of WW2. The transport system operated whilst sustaining severe damage through enemy bombardment. Much of the correspondence between LT and the Government refers to the financial and material resources available. Deep level shelters were created and made available not only for the general public but also munitions factories and government agencies. LT's 'Works' (e.g. Acton Works), which were usually used for the production and maintenance of rolling stock continued to do this, but also formed munitions factories - including forming a major part the London Aircraft Production. The LT fleet of buses and coaches were used for the mobilisation of troops, particularly when the American troops entered the war - some being converted to ambulances.

Staffing was drastically altered. Many staff joined the Armed Forces, and served at home in the 84th (LT) Anti-aircraft regiment. Those who remained working in London as 'reserved personnel' took on many additional responsibilities and found themselves working alongside increasing numbers of women who filled the vacancies - which in turn altered the nature of labour records such as Trade Union agreements, Rules and Regulations, Training and Personnel. By 1942 the total number of staff was 76,263 of which some 15,500 were women (of which 11,500 were employed to release men for the Services). The total of staff employed with the Services was 20,448.



Throughout the War, London Transport suffered heavy losses in London as well as on active service. In the 1944 Annual Accounts & Reports, the total from the outbreak of hostilities were: 548 staff killed whilst on active service, 463 prisoners of war; 179 killed and 1,609 injured whilst working for the Board with an additional 222 killed and 907 were injured whilst off duty. The high loss of staff due to the Blitz indicates the devastation London Transport faced in the War and the difficulties faced in retaining services. By 1942, 2 officers and 44 staff had been awarded honours by the King. By 1944 the total was 74, including 29 appearing in the New Years Honours Lists. Indeed it is a token of the regard and respect felt for the sacrifice of London Transport Staff during World War II that for many years they were the only civilian organisation to march in the Armistice Day Parade by the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday.


http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/11/armistice-day-2009-end-of-generation.html

On 3 March 1943 a crowd of people entered Bethnal Green tube station which was used at the time as an air-raid shelter. After the searchlights went on and an anti-aircraft battery a few hundred yards away in Victoria Park launched a salvo of a new type of anti-aircraft rockets the crowd surged forward. Someone tripped on the stairs causing many others to fall. 300 people were crushed into the stairwell within a few seconds, 173 of them died and over 90 were injured.


Station Entrance with plaque

During the winter of 1940-41 the pounding of London had been relentless during the Blitz, with the city being hit 57 nights running at one time. Then on 29th December 1940 the 'Second great Fire of London' occurred as firebombs rained down on the capital. Air raid sirens went off regularly, but quite often it was a false alarm, people just got used to going down the shelters for the night just in case it was another raid. However, most Andersen or Morrison Shelters situated in back gardens were cramped, with little air, no light and a chamber pot for a toilet. So, many preferred to shelter in the Underground.

Bethnal Green was a new station as the Central Line had been extended from Liverpool Street in 1936, but work had been interrupted by the outbreak of War. The Tube was big, light and there was a community spirit with group sing-alongs, tea was dispatched from large urns and there was even a library. With the track not yet laid, there was plenty of room with up to 5000 bunks and a further 2000 people could be accommodated. So, many East Enders preferred to go down the station.



Although things had been quieter of late, on the night of 3rd March 1943 there was some concern as we had bombed Berlin quite heavily two nights earlier and people were expecting reprisals. With the sound of the Siren and the closure of the cinema, 3 buses had just disgorged nearby and their passengers dashed for the shelter. A woman carrying a baby tripped and fell as she went down the steps to the platform. A man tripped over her and a domino effect started. At the top of the stairs came shouted warning of bombs falling and when a different deafening sound was heard they thought it was a new kind of bomb (it turned out to be a new, secret, anti-aircraft gun being tested in Victoria Park near by).

People pushed more quickly into the shelter in a panic. The way was blocked but still people poured down. There were no handrails in the middle, no white edgings on the steps and no police on duty. It was dark and the steps were slippery from the rain. Around 300 people were wedged into the stairway – an area measuring approximately 15 x 11 feet. By the time they were pulled out 27 men, 84 women and 62 children had died of suffocation. Over 60 of the survivors needed hospital treatment. The tragedy was that there was no air raid or bombs dropped that night in the East End, it was just the sound of the new gun that had been secretly placed nearby and tested for the first time that night that caused the panic.



According to the official statement by the Ministry of Home Security: "According to accounts so far received, shortly after the air-raid Alert sounded, substantial numbers of people were making their way as usual towards the shelter entrance. There were nearly 2000 in the shelter, including several hundred who had arrived after the Alert, when a middle-aged woman, burdened with a bundle and a baby, tripped near the foot of a flight of 19 steps which leads down from the street. This flight of steps terminates on a landing. Her fall tripped an elderly man behind her and he fell similarly. Their bodies again tripped up those behind them, and within a few seconds a large number were lying on the lower steps and the landing, completely blocking the stairway. Those coming in from the street could not see what had taken place and continued to press down the steps, so that within a minute there were about 300 people crushed together and lying on top of one another covering the landing and the lower steps.


South east view of proposed memorial

"By the time it was possible to extricate the bodies it was found that a total at present estimated at 178 had died and that a further 60 were in need of hospital treatment. Statements from a large number of eye-witnesses and members of the police and Civil Defence services make it clear that there was no sign of panic before the accident on the stairs. No bombs fell anywhere in this district during the evening. Preliminary reports received by the Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security indicate that police, wardens, soldiers, W.V.S. and civilians worked hard and well to rescue the victims. Mr. Morrison has instituted the fullest inquiries to establish in greater detail what took place and to see whether any structural or administrative weaknesses have been brought to light"

To prevent loss of morale in the British people it was decided not to release news of the disaster. There were reports in newspapers but the location was not mentioned and the true magnitude was suppressed. It was not until two years later that an inquiry was held and several factors were found to have caused the chaos. Among the main causes was the lack of proper supervision by the Air Raid Police, inadequate lighting (due to the blackout?) the fact that the handrails had not yet been installed and the lack of any crash barriers. The last two, no doubt, were caused by lack of council funds and the shortage of metal due to the salvaging for the war effort. It was the largest loss of civilian life of the war. After the tragedy new handrails were installed on the steps down to the station. Each step was marked with white paint.

Many of the victims were buried in Tower Hamlets Cemetery, which was cleared by members of the Drapers Company with help from the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery in time for the 60th anniversary.




The Stairway to Heaven Memorial

The proposed and long overdue memorial to these forgotten victims is an inverted stairway at Bethnal Green Tube Station with the victims names inscribed on the steps. The memorial known as “The Stairway to Heaven” has been designed by local architecture practice Paticas Architecture, with initial help from Jens Borstelmann. They have therefore designed a massive bronze cast of the staircase, which will appear to float alongside the stairs where the people actually died, with 173 small beams of light will represent those who lost their lives. The memorial will vividly describe the historical facts of the Bethnal Green tragedy and will provide shelter form the rain as well as illumination for people entering or exiting the station. It will create a landmark at an important junction on an Olympic Route. Full planning permission has now been granted by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for the Memorial to be built. Now all that is needed is to raise the money. For details of the fund raising and more information see the appeal site from which I’ve also used part of the material for this piece. Please give your support to this worthy cause.

http://www.stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org/

As well as having a song written about it, the disaster is commemorated with a plaque that can be found at Bethnal Green station's southeast entrance on the corner of Cambridge Heath Road and Roman Road, above the step where the first woman fell. It reads:


Commemorative Plaque

In Memory of the 173 Men, Women and Children
who lost their lives on the evening of
Wednesday 3rd March 1943
descending these steps to Bethnal Green
underground air raid shelter
Not forgotten


Eastbound Platform today

Today the station is a fine example of the typical "New Works Programme 1935 - 1940" style adopted by London Transport for its new tube stations. Extensive use is made of pale yellow tiling, originally manufactured by Poole Pottery. This has been replicated during the 2007 modernisation although several panels of original tiling were retained on the platforms. The finishes include relief tiles, showing symbols of London and the area served by the London Passenger Transport Board, designed by Harold Stabler. The station entrances, all in the form of subway access staircases to the subterranean ticket hall, all show the design influences of Charles Holden, the consulting architect for London Transport at this time.

See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/give-my-regards-to-55-broadway.html

St Valentine in Dublin

Carmelite Church, Whitefriar St. Dublin

The Sage’s regular Blogistas will not be astounded with his latest revelation as we approach the feast day of lovers on the 14th February, St. Valentine’s Day, that the good saint himself is, like Count Dracula, in fact a Dubliner! It is a little known fact as we approach the highly commercialised Feast of St Valentine that his bones are under an altar in an unassuming Carmelite Church in Dublin. Now you may feel as Dublin is a highly popular weekend destination for young people from all over Europe and America that there are adequate ad hoc tributes (sometimes in private) being paid to the good Saint around Dublin. However on the 14th February there is an extra effort to commemorate the saint at his resting place in the unlikely setting of Dublin Town. There appears to be little basis for any of the St. Valentine’s to be patron saints of lovers in the famously misogynistic early Christian Church other than they lost their heads!


St Valentine with head attached

St Valentine's Feast Day falls on 14 February, on which day lovers have customarily exchanged cards and other tokens of affection. It is not clear why Valentine should have been chosen as the patron saint of lovers, but it has been suggested that there may be a connection with the pagan Roman Festival of Lupercalia. During this Festival, which took place in the middle of February, young men and girls chose one another as partners. Legend, no doubt embellished if not entirely fictional, has it that the Roman Valentine resisted an edict of the Emperor forbidding the marriage of young men bound for military service, for which offence he was put to death.



Valentine's Feast is also linked with the belief that birds are supposed to pair on 14 February, which legend provided the inspiration for Chaucer's “Parliament of Fowls”. The crocus, which starts to bloom in February, is called St Valentine's Flower. The earliest Valentine letter is found in the fifteenth-century collection of Paston Letters. The general custom of sending tokens on Valentine's Day developed during the nineteenth century, and in the present century has spread to the east, where it appears to be particularly popular in Japan. The exchange of Valentine cards, flowers, sweets and other gifts has thus become a multi-million dollar international industry. It is estimated that in excess of one billion Valentine cards are sent each year in the United States of America alone.




Statue of St. Valentine

The Roman Martyrology commemorates two martyrs named Valentine (or Valentinus) on February 14 which seems to indicate that both were beheaded on the Flaminian Way, one at Rome the other at Terni which is some 60 miles from Rome. Valentine of Rome was a priest who is said to have died about 269 during the persecution of Claudius the Goth (or Claudius II Gothicus). The other Valentine was allegedly Bishop of Terni, and his death is attested to in the Martyrology of St Jerome. Whether there were actually one or two Valentines is disputed. One possibility is that is two cults – one based in Rome, the other in Terni – may have sprung up to the same martyr but that in the mists of time his true identity became confused.


Juno - A great goddess in her day, the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses


In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno - the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. At the time the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and they would then be partners for the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns.



Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military Legions. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Claudius had also ordered all Romans to worship the state religion’s idols, and he had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians. But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ, and not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs. Valentine and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, in either 269 or 270.



Throughout the centuries since Valentine’s death there have been various basilicas, churches and monasteries built over the site of his grave. Many restorations and reconstructions took place at the site, therefore over the years. In the early 1800s such work was taking place and the remains of Valentine were discovered along with a small vessel tinged with his blood and some other artefacts.

In 1835 an Irish Carmelite by the name of John Spratt was visiting Rome. He was well known in Ireland for his skills as a preacher and also for his work among the poor and destitute in Dublin’s Liberties area. He was also responsible for the building of the new church to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Whitefriar Street. While he was in Rome he was asked to preach at the famous Jesuit Church in the city, the Gesu. Apparently his fame as a preacher had gone before him, no doubt brought by some Jesuits who had been in Dublin. The elite of Rome flocked to hear him and he received many tokens of esteem from the doyens of the Church. One such token came from Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) and were the remains of Saint Valentine.




Whitefriar Street Church

On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Dublin and they were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street Church where they were received by Archbishop Murray of Dublin. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they went into storage. During a major renovation in the church in the 1950s/60s they were returned to prominence with an altar and shrine being constructed to house them and enable them to be venerated. The statue was carved by Irene Broe and depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hand.


High Altar, Whitefriar Street

Today, the Shrine is visited throughout the year by couples who come to pray to Valentine and to ask him to watch over them in their lives together. The feast day of the saint on February 14 is a very popular one and many couples come to the Eucharistic celebrations that day which also includes a Blessing of Rings for those about to be married. On the feast day, the Reliquary is removed from beneath the side-altar and is placed before the high altar in the church.

The Shrine to St Valentine is found on the right hand side of the church as one enters the main body of the church. The casket sits beneath the marble altar in a niche which is protected by an ornate iron and glass gate. Above the altar stands the life-sized statue of the saint set into a marble mosaic alcove. The saint is also barefoot. The casket is wooden and on top bears the papal coat of arms of Gregory XVI along with two large gold plates which have the letter of Cardinal Odescalchi inscribed in English upon them. Between these two plates and beneath the papal crest is a smaller plate with the inscription: “This shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.”



St.Valentine and disciples


The Reliquary contains some of the remains of St Valentine – it is not claimed that all of his remains are found in this casket. Indeed the Catholic Church has a somewhat ghoulish interest in dismembering old Saints and dispersing their "relics" far and wide for the "veneration of the faithful." For this particular Valentine Bits of his body are found in the Basilica of Santa Maria, Rome; in the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, Dublin; in the collegiate church in Roquemaure; in St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna; in John Duns Scotus' church, Glasgow; and the Oratory, Birmingham. Here in Whitefriar Street there is also included a small vessel tinged with the blood of the martyr. These are contained within a small wooden box, covered in painted paper and is tied with a red silk ribbon and sealed with wax seals (which is the usual way in which relics are contained within reliquaries). This container is inside the casket which is seen beneath the altar. The outer casket has only been opened on a couple of occasions and then only to verify that the contents are intact. The inner box has not been opened or the seals broken.


St Valentine's Casket

When the Reliquary arrived in Dublin it was accompanied by a letter, in Latin, which reads:

St Valentine

We, Charles, by the divine mercy, Bishop of Sabina of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Odescalchi arch priest of the sacred Liberian Basilica, Vicar General of our most Holy Father the Pope and Judge in ordinary of the Roman Curia and of its districts, etc., etc.

To all and everyone who shall inspect these our present letters, we certify and attest, that for the greater glory of the omnipotent God and veneration of his saints, we have freely given to the Very Reverend Father Spratt, Master of Sacred Theology of the Order of Calced Carmelites of the convent of that Order at Dublin, in Ireland, the blessed body of St Valentine, martyr, which we ourselves by the command of the most Holy Father Pope Gregory XVI on the 27th day of December 1835, have taken out of the cemetery of St Hippolytus in the Tiburtine Way, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood and have deposited them in a wooden case covered with painted paper, well closed, tied with a red silk ribbon and sealed with our seals and we have so delivered and consigned to him, and we have granted unto him power in the Lord, to the end that he may retain to himself, give to others, transmit beyond the city (Rome) and in any church, oratory or chapel, to expose and place the said blessed holy body for the public veneration of the faithful without, however, an Office and Mass, conformably to the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, promulgated on the 11th day of August 1691.

In testimony whereof, these letters, testimonial subscribed with our hand, and sealed with our seal, we have directed to be expedited by the undersigned keeper of sacred relics.

Rome, from our Palace, the 29th day of the month of January 1836.

C.Cardinal vicar

Regd. Tom 3. Page 291

Philip Ludovici Pro-Custos





Flower Market, Moore St, Dublin

For those wishing to visit St Valentine's Shrine in Dublin, Whitefriar Street Church is located between Aungier Street and Wexford Street, and is just a few minutes' walk west of St Stephen's Green. Within the Whitefriar Street Church building there is a shop where one can purchase various souvenirs, such as cards, key rings and other material bearing Valentine's image. Unlike most other surviving inner city churches in Dublin, Whitefriar Street always seems to be busy, and as well as the shrine to St Valentine, there are shrines to the Black Madonna and St Albert. The Whitefriar Street Fathers today emphasise St Valentine's association “with young people and their needs as they grow into maturity and adult life”. To express it more romantically, the Whitefriar Street Shrine to St Valentine has been and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for those celebrating love - as well as for those who have lost it or have yet to find it!

The Irish poet and Dubliner W. B. Yeats expressed the feeling of falling in love maybe somewhat better than an old saint’s bones which ended up in Dublin by a strange circumlocution!

A Drinking Song
by William Butler Yeats

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

As for Saint Valentine himself we may ask the not unreasonable question is he happy in Dublin or would he have preferred to stay in the sunnier climes of the Eternal City of Rome? Well, Valentine didn’t get where he is today by having good negotiating skills or indeed asserting control of his own destiny. But last time I visited him I tried to assuage his sense of isolation by saying “Cheer up Val! It could have been worse; you could have ended up in Wolverhampton!”

This Sunday, have a great St. Valentine’s Day!

Stop Iranian Executions

On Monday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed to deliver a "punch in the mouth" to those who might exercise their right to peaceful dissent today during Iran’s national holiday. But a "punch" is a far cry from the two executions recently carried out for the same reasons. Don’t let Iran execute any more people for expressing their dissenting views!

Today during Iran's Victory of the Revolution Day, when words like "revolution", "independence" and "freedom" are on everyone's lips, fears of torture, repression and death still remain.


Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

The shock is still very much palpable over the two horrific hangings that took place in Iran just weeks ago. The two hanged men became the "fall guys" for the post-Presidential election violence that consumed the streets of Iran last summer. This happened despite the fact that the accused men were nowhere near the widespread demonstrations – they were already in prison!

Now fear mounts again that 9 more men will hang based on similarly outrageous charges. Help focus Iran's attention on its real problem. Urge Iran to stop the executions!

Amnesty International has stated;

“Today as Iranians pour onto the streets once again by the thousands we can't help but fear that their fate may be the same. They are Iranian citizens who gather to peacefully protest and demonstrate against the actions of their own government. But they are corralled like cattle, beaten back with sticks and even dragged away to cages.

But even Iran must answer to someone for these human rights abuses. On Monday, the United Nations Human Rights Council will conduct an in-depth review of Iran's human rights record and recommend concrete actions to improve its standing. Even Iran, known to be strongly resistant to external parties investigating these issues, has called the Council the most competent body in dealing with human rights.

Amnesty's researchers have recommended to the Council that they include the following points in their final review of Iran's human rights record:



• Halt all executions of juvenile offenders

• End the use of indefinite prison sentences, torture and other forms of ill-treatment in detention

• Prohibit the executive use of excessive force by riot police and Basij paramilitaries

• Most importantly, we ask that Iranian authorities finally allow independent investigators into the country to observe and report on torture and other human rights abuses directly.

To date, we've relied on the brave reporting being done by citizens in Iran to give us this information. Despite the best efforts of their government to clamp down on all media and communications carrying these stories – even the most recent banning of Google's email service, Gmail – they manage to break through.

We especially can't shake the eerie memory of Neda, a young woman whose brutal death during last summer's demonstrations was captured on video and shared on YouTube – stunning and saddening viewers by the millions.

As we expected, once again YouTube videos, messages on Twitter and Blogs from those participating in today's demonstrations are surfacing – telling the true stories of what's happening on the streets of Iran. Remember that today we're counting on you to help us raise the voice of those calling for freedom and justice in Iran by showing your support online. All your messages, Blogs, videos and emails are helping to build a stronger case against Iran's human rights record. And Iran will have to answer for it one day very soon.



Nine people are at imminent risk of being executed for their alleged involvement in the post-June 12 election protests in Iran. The nine were convicted of "Moharebeh" (enmity with God) after unfair trials that did not adhere to international standards; it is believed the nine were coerced into making confessions. The names of two of the people are known: Naser Abdolhasani and Reza Kazemi.

Judging from reports that have appeared in Iranian media, the "evidence" against the convicted individuals is very tenuous. They have been accused of vague crimes such as assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security, insulting top government officials, and propaganda against the state.



The fear of their execution is heightened since two men; Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour were hanged in public on January 28 after being convicted in unfair trials of "Moharebeh" and being members of Anjoman-e Padeshahi-e Iran (API), a banned group which advocates the restoration of the Iranian monarchy. They were in detention prior to June 12.

Hardline cleric and member of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ali Jonati welcomed these executions. Given his prominent position amongst the ruling elite’s "hardliner" faction, his statement is interpreted as a green light for further political executions. He explicitly stated that if widespread executions had taken place following the post- election unrest, the protests would not have lasted so long.”

Robin Hood Tax

I’m grateful to my good buddy on the Blogosphere “The Girl in the Café” (see the site on my Blogroll under Blogs I Like) for the heads up on this excellent video on the Robin Hood Tax. The girl has one of the loveliest sites around and is, let us be honest, a bit of a Bill Nighy obsessive. Indeed the site takes its name from a short movie featuring the self same Bill!

This is a campaign video by Richard Curtis and Bill Nighy, about the Robin Hood Tax, a tiny tax on bank transactions that could raise hundreds of billions for public services and to tackle poverty and climate change at home and around the world. Add your own voice to the campaign at;

http://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk

Dracula the Dubliner!

Dracula

As it’s doppelgänger week on Facebook I’ve chosen another Dubliner for my alter ego, Count Dracula! OK he was based on Vlad the Impaler in Wallachia (now Transylvania in Romania) but inspired by Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu's 1871 "Carmilla", about a lesbian vampire who preys on a lonely young woman, Dubliner Abraham (Bram) Stoker was the author of the 1897 novel “Dracula.” Indeed, whilst Vlad did impale 25,000 Ottoman Turks defeated in battle (They were lowered onto a stake inserted in their rectum and left to die as they slowly slid down) the inspiration for the stake through the heart came from Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin. There suicides were interred in an unconsecrated vault outside the wall and a stake put through their heart to stop “the Devil claiming their soul.” That will teach them!

Although, loosely based on the macabre and cruel character of Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, a 15th century prince of Wallachia in Transylvania, a region also renowned for stories of vampires and werewolves, Stoker had plenty of material to draw on from early and contemporary Irish history. The Great Famine (1845-47) and subsequent cholera outbreaks fuelled many stories of horror and of people being buried alive. In Celtic times storytellers were passed on of dreadful tales of the "undead", those who were destined to wander the earth forever seeking the blood of others. These ghouls were known to have had bad blood or droch fhola (pronounced as druc ula!).


Bram Stoker

There is another Dublin connection to classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme. The birthplace of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, is 15 Marino Crescent Dublin and when he and Oscar Wilde when young they were both in love with a girl who lived at another house in this short crescent on the Northside of Dublin. Oscar Wilde used the Crescent and the room in the garret as a setting of his only published novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” There are passages in this novel, which has a certain autobiographical content, which ring true today.

“Each class would have preached the importance of those virtues, for whose exercise there was no necessity in their own lives. The rich would have spoken on the value of thrift, and the idle grown eloquent over the dignity of labour.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula


Marino Crescent, Dublin