Anyone needing an antidote to “Jubilee”-related nonsense would have benefited from being present at Burford this year for Levellers’ Day. The area outside the church was a sea of colour as the banners of organisations from CND to the Communist Party – via the Woodcraft Folk, Trade Unions & Women’s Movement – came together to honour & remember the three Republican martyrs who fell in a hail of musketry nearly four hundred years ago, upholding to the last their commitment to equality, justice & socialism.
Raise a cheer for our Glorious Dead
Hearing their names read out, and listening to a contemporary account of their last living moments, I was struck anew by the human reality of this historic event. Far from being characters in a dusty book, these were living, breathing people with emotions, dreams, hopes & fears; no different in this respect to us. They are our political ancestors & we are honoured to bear their tradition – of which we, too, are a living part and which we, in turn, pass on to those who come after.
And for a sheer boost & “feelgood” tonic, the day couldn’t be beaten for me; the hairs rose on the back of my neck as the music started playing & the procession moved off. And how the locals of the stockbroker & golf-club belt love us & what those flags represent! Truly, my heart was gladdened.
A sad contrast came later in the day, when I walked with Ian around the college premises at Walton Street, knowing that the building is soon to pass to Worcester College. With it goes a massive part of the heritage of not only the British, but the worldwide labour movement. I wonder if Balliol, Christ Church or any of the “establishment” colleges would so readily surrender their tangible history & the culture & ideology which they represent.
Yield ground to the Hooray Henrys? Me, I’d rather stuff wasps up my arse.
Anyway; a brilliant day. I have to say that it would have been good to see some of our year group there. In connection with absence, a special mention must go to a certain ex-ISTC member of ethnically Scottish persuasion: despite being actually employed at Ruskin, and despite being present when I arrived on the Friday evening, he managed to miss both the Friday “beer & curry” session and the reunion itself. It must have taken a very special effort to avoid what was happening under his very nose, so my congratulations are due for an outstanding display of determined apathy! I can assure you, Comrade, that your colleague Tracy did an excellent job in representing our college & keeping Ruskin’s historic role in Levellers’ to the fore. Well done, too, to the current students who ran the college’s stall & information point.
I was browsing through a few of the photo albums at Burford & came across a picture of the late, great Craig Schofield from back in 1990. I know that he was there in spirit, raising a pint glass & ciggy in approval.
Venceramos!
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