RED RAG This is Red Rag Readings only newspaper - News and views always welcome. Box 79, Acorn. 17 Chatham St. Reading. Next issue Coordinator Sat & Sunday - 669694. Events - John 669694. Going out - Mark 868488. - - - HENGE The cost of preventing Stonehenge - the Police, the legal costs and anti-henge propaganda are way more than the cost of cleaning up every Stonehenge festival that there has ever been. The police who complain of lack of resources and the government who said they'd reduce public expenditure have been totally committed to spending time and energy preventing an event that is free, from happening. The reason, the only reason - because the land belongs to English Heritage and The National Trust - charities dedicated "to preserving the past for the future". Why is it only in the last two years that this attitude has been adopted and the police and government decided to act upon it? Protection of class dividing nationalist organisations, land owners & Tory loonies. Help us protect the past? Does that mean landed gentry, serfdom... What were the convoy called? Medieval brigands. I rest my case. F. Ihghell - - - FESTIVAL NEWS It is almost impossible to write an unbiased article about the "travelling free festival people" the so called "Peace Convoy" any more. So much has been said and written by people who don't know anything that really goes on. I live with these people and understand them so I'm going to attempt to write an article (as unbiased as possible) about the last few weeks. May 17th - Stonehenge was occupied, however no one was organised and the police presence large. The convoy of vehicles left peacefully 17 hours later. The next few weeks were strange - occupation of a farmers meadow and then after the Camel Hill eviction disillusionment saw the Rainbow Village people head to the coast, other people would have liked to have gone but lack of fuel prevented this. We had enough fuel to go 2 miles - another meadow, May 23rd, then the trouble began. General police harassment until May 30th - a 1 1/2 mile long convoy of homes heading towards the coast only to be met by 400 riot police on the A37 two miles into Dorset. We were trapped scared and tired. After long negotiation with the police a site was agreed and we agreed to move off in groups of 20. The site we'd been given was under 2 feet of water - totally unacceptable. Once again we'd been lied to by the authorities who said the site was fine. So we moved to Corfe Castle with the mass new convoy of police who were as fed up as us with the futility of it all. Also the new press convoy who now had a good story. June 1st (my birthday) Stonehenge? no, New Forest - an eventful day, by now tolerance was almost zero by both sides. Finally to Stoney Cross - a beautiful site - trees, streams, fields, bogs, no concrete jungle. The open free world? No, arrests came, some justified some not but at least in was a site, that is until Monday. At 4.30 am I woke to see 1,000 police charge. Over 120 homes were seized, I was arrested for threatening behaviour - all I did was ask a friend who'd just been hit by a policeman if he wanted a solicitor. I was angry - I'd lost my dog, my home and all my possessions but I personally am going to start again I won't give up. I shall continue in my struggle for freedom and hopefully keep you more informed, in more detail in the future, yours, Genetic Jim. - - - MONEY Red Rag is once again skint. Does it ever have money? This time the debt is over £100. This issue will cost approx £70... is it worth it? Is the Rag important? If you think it is then help us out. If you do not donate money the perhaps you could by filling in a standing order form (somewhere in this issue), by placing lots of pennies or as many as you think the Rags worth in one of the tins (Acorn etc ), by turning up to Rag benefits or perhaps you could suggest a new method of raising money so far we've only come up with blackmail, kidnap, bank robbery and holding a jumble sale. - - - RED RAG POSTIES Why not have Reading's only newspaper delivered by post? If you (or a friend) live outside the grass roots network community distribution area write to Pogle on Distribution about this but want to read Red Rag then:- 1) Write to Veronique at Box 79, 17 Chatham St., Reading, sending name and address and P.O. or cheque for postage. A pound will last for three months. Donations to cover printing also very welcome... Red Rag now has a distributor in Wargrave, any interested in receiving a copy in that area please phone Veronique 788558. - - - STANDING ORDER MANDATE To (your bank's name and address). Please pay to the account of RED RAG, Co-operative Bank, Reading (08-90-16), a/c no. 50148637, the sum of.........................(words), £........(figs) on.....................(date), and on the same date every month / 3 months until further notice. Signed.......;.......................Date......... Your name......................................... Address............................. ............. Your a/c number................................... Please send this form to Red Rag, c/o Box 79, Acorn Bookshop, 17 Chatham Street, Reading. Not to your bank. - - - DISTRIBUTION The Rag needs a new worker to take over the post of distribution co-ordinator. Pogle has resigned due to pressure of full time work with his Light Show. If you think you could keep the distribution list up to date once a fortnight please contact us as soon as possible. If your Red Rag was late this week it was because at 3.30 on Saturday no one had volunteered to coordinate Sunday folding & distribution. Perhaps asking 1 of the 3,000 people who read the Rag to coordinate 4 hrs of folding + distribution is too much. - - - READING WOMEN'S ADVICE AND INFORMATION CENTRE Reading Women's Centre Collective are still working to ensure that Reading has a women's centre in the future. We've got the building, which will be used by various women's groups including the Well-Woman Association and Reading Birth Centre, and will provide office space, counselling space, a kitchen and a drop-in facility. But, before it can be opened, we need to do quite a lot of fire prevention work and other building work. It has been estimated that the costs of materials alone would be £2000... which we don't have. If you think Reading should have a women's centre you could: * Give us money! * Ask your friends and colleagues to give us money. * Fund-raise for us. * Put a collecting tin somewhere. Meetings are Tuesdays, 7.00pm, and all women are welcome. We need help. Please send donations to Janet Eldridge, 7 Downshire Square. Contacts: Karen (473296), Karen (669694), Lynette (584457), or contact Reading Women's Centre, The Basement, Old Shire Hall, Abbey Street, Reading. P.S. Anyone know of cheap building supplies? (plasterboard, plaster, wood, paint, etc etc etc.) Anyone got any building skills? Please let us know. - - - (paid ad) PEOPLE'S WRITING CONFERENCE Sat. June 28th (l1am-6pm) Centre for the Unemployed 4-6 East St., Reading Workshops include: Starting to Write Fiction What is Poetry? Black People Writing Women Writing Gaining Confidence as a Writer Getting Work Published Free Creche Lunch available Waged £1.50 Unwaged £1.00 Financially assisted by Southern Arts, Centre for the Unemployed and Caribbean Focus - - - EVENTS EVENTS EVENTS Monday 16th June Soweto Anniversary - Videos at University Student's Union 1.00pm Tuesday 17th June Reading Birth Centre Lunch 12 to 2.30pm. Bring food and drink to share and meet people for advice & chat etc.. phone 584191 for venue. v. informal. Equal Opportunities Sub-Committee 5.30pm Committee Rooms, Civic Offices. Housing Research & Development Sub-Committee 6.30pm same as above. Wednesday 18th June Housing Committee (circle seats only) 6.30pm Council Chamber, Civic Offices. Women's Career Development Opportunities - Talk by Valerie Hammond, Director of Research, Ashridge College. Venue Civic Centre, Committee Room 2 at 7.30pm BANC Planning Meeting, Friends Meeting House, Church St, (opposite Bingo Hall on London Road) at 8.00pm "down the pub afterwards" for a peace piss-up. Conserve Reading on Wednesdays - Conservation work at Ufton Court owned by Berkshire CC, create a wild flower nursery. Transport from British Rail car park at 10.00am & 1.30pm Look for grey minibus. Women's video course 10-1pm Reading Centre for the Unemployed. Thursday 19th June Leasure Committee. 6.30pm Council Chamber, Civic Offices. Friday 20th June Planning Committee 2.30pm Civic Offices. Saturday 21st June Marlow Amateur Regatta 9am to 7-30pm Adults £2:50 Children £1:00 (warm up session for Bash The Rich?). 'Bread not Bombs' walk from Burfield bomb factory to Intervention Board, Queens Walk. Buses from St Mary's Butts 9.15am & 10.15am Lesbian Strength March in London, further details contact Brenda 484120. Sunday 22nd June Monday 23rd June Tuesday 24th June Transportation Committee 6.30pm Civic Offices. Wednesday 25th June Environment Committee 6.30pm Civic Offices. Last week of Women's Video Course 10 - 1pm RCU Community Health Council meeting 2.30pm Thursday 26th June Pangbourne Peace Group meet at 1 Short Street, Pangbourne, 8pm. Resources Sub-committee 5.30pm committee rooms. Friday 27th June Saturday 28th June Divided Britain C.P.A.G. day conference at University of London Union, more details on Reading 596639 contact Martin or Judith for possible lift. March for Freedom in Namibia & South Africa in London. Rally Hyde Park 11.00 - 12.00, festival Clapham Common 3.00pm People's Writing Conference 10.30am - 5.00pm, everyone welcome. Workshops led by Amryl Johnson, James McClure & others. Details Penny 662646. Sunday 29th June Oxfam Open Day, Shinfield Grange, Cutbush Lane, Shinfield. 2pm - 6pm. 20p kids. 60p big kids & 40p for kids over 65. No dogs. Communities at Risk from Environment Gp - fund raising sponsored walk/run between R0F Burfield & AWRE Aldermaston. Sponsorship forms from Richard Massey Mortimer 333147. Monday 30th June Tuesday 1st July Wednesday 2nd July Conserve Reading on Wednesdays, California Country Park rhododendron controls. Transport see above. Play Council 7.00pm in Council Chamber. Saturday 5th July Gay Pride March, coach leaves Reading 11.00am, leaves London 8pm, £4:00 return. £3:00 single. - - - DON'T LET HOUSES ROT - SQUAT I never thought: that 'squatting' (or to give it it's proper name - trespass) could receive such concerted state agretion. But since June was declared open season on squatters, local government up & down the country has been making efforts to disperse & defuse the spontaneous organisations of the homeless. Homelessness & squatting is nothing new in this country. Ex-service personel demonstrated & occupied empty property after the second world war; until post war building programs depleated their numbers & to some extent solved the problem. "Homes for Heroes" was a priority that the Labour Government of the time was quick to recognise. Not just because of the effective propaganda that such a group could muster, but also because no parliament wanted a dissatisfied demobed army who were well skilled in taking out bad governments. Maybe thats where 1940s squatting differs from todays situation. In 1986 a squatting movement with no power gets creamed by the state for demanding the right to live somewhere, in the 1940s any authority that did that would have had a revolution on its hands. The Conservative counties and the Labour Borough of Southwark have both done favours for the state this month. 'Hippies claiming dole' a 'squatters the council list' are the latest victims of those in power. John H - - - SMALL ADS (are free) One side board - any offers? Contact 868488. Wanted: Borrow/buy a copy of Patti Smiths "Horses". Phone John 666528. Wanted: Lift to Glastonbury Please phone Dave 666774. Poems: Barley poetry is published free 3/4 times a year. If you would like a copy or wish to submit a poem or two write to 18 Somerton Gardens, Barley, Reading. For sale/swop - 3 speed black push bike in jolly good condition. So ring Paul on 667085. Mind That Child He May Be Deaf car stickers 20p from Acorn bookshop or 218 Liverpool Rd. 3rd person wanted to share house in West Reading. Non Smoker, vegetarian preferred £90 pcm share bills. Phone 599574 weekends & evenings. - - - GOING OUT monday 16 June rcu - video screenings at 7.30, free: this week it's women's videos; greenham, self defence & others. bull, nettlebed - folk at 8 with singers cap & gown - waste of space, 8, free(band) shp - kiss of the spiderwoman (15), 7.45 £2:50. tuesday 17 June cap & gown - fine line, 8pm: pop/rock, majestic - advertised nation, dog'ouse & mr. harringtons washing. £2:50. rok'n'roll tudor arms - gay disco, mainly men: 8pm free shp - kiss of the spiderwoman (15) 7.45. wednesday 18 June rcu - women's video workshop, 10-lpm, free toad & stumps, eversley - folk at 8pm, free; sheila march and alison murie. cap & gown - live music, 8pm ish majestic - the heartthrobs / raildogs / wotza 8pm, £2:50 studio bistro - funk / soul 9-12, 75p / 50p paradise - raiders hi-power sound system plus timmy John, 9-late, £2:50. rft - the emerald forest, 8pm. rainforest drama of long lost son who rescues daddy shp - kiss of the spiderwoman(15) 7.45pm happy birthday maggie. thursday 19 June rft - the emerald forest (15) 8pm as last night but with UU40 discount shp - live local bands in the cellar, 8-11 shp - video workshop, 7.45, free - scratch video angies - john otway 9ish. rose inn, king St., maidenhead - folk with ewan mcall & peggy seager, 8pm, free cap & gown - namoza, 8pm, £1: talking heads? friday 20 June ub40 discount films at the odeon (pm only) shp - firework display at 10pm shp - rambo shp - the lighthouse; "the most important piece of music theatre since Britten" at 7.30pm. £3:50-£5:50 angies - outside edge womens centre, the basement, old town hall abbey street; party 8-late. bring food & drink... women only... rft - the official version (15) the impact of the malvinas conflict on an argentine family. 8pm. ub40 discount. saturday 21 June solstice day at stonehenge, glastonbury and everywhere else. or take the xl to wapping in the evening. marlow amateur regatta, 9am-7.30pm...£2:50 or £1 for kids... bash the rich!!! cap & gown - darts competition shp - the lighthouse (as last night) shp - folk 3pm, £1:00 shp-rambo... angies - we're only human, 8pm, £1 sunday 22 June happy birthday mum the fun goes on at glastonbury and stonehenge caversham bridge hotel - ceilie, tel 597532 butler, chatham st - jump/jive/bop music shp - rambo. monday 23 June rcu - video screening at 7.30, free - a very good tape about the media's treatment of the republicans in n. ireland. bull, nettlebed - folk with johnny collins shp - rambo. still. tuesday 24 June gay disco at tudor arms, 8, free, mainly men shp - more rambo. majestic - turin / terminal 37 / the complaints 8pm £2:50 probably a gig at the university. wednesday 25 June rcu - womens video workshop 10-1pm, free toad & stumps, eversley - folk at 8, free rft - colonel redl (15) - the rise and fall of a colonel in the ausrto-hungaian army looks good. directed by istvan szabo, who did mephisto. 8pm. studio bistro - funk/dance music, 8-12,75p shp - rambo Paradise - "Pandemonium in paradise" Mayhem Quartet and Pandemonium Orchestra also Surgery Sound 9.30. £1:50/£1 before 10. £2 after thursday 26 June rft - insignificance (15) 8pm ub40 discount - nic roeg's acclaimed film of the fictional meeting of monroe, einstein, mccarthy etc rose, king st, maidenhead - folk, 8, free red rag editorial... see details on cover shp - live local bands 8-11,50p shp - video workshop 7.45 free...VIDA (???), clarendon, hammersmith-reading band them howlin' horrors are playing. friday 27 June tudor arms - gay disco, 8, free: mainly men. paradise - planet earth project benefit - ozric tentacles / military surplus / rubber rubber vortex, 8-late, £2/£2:50 on door. cap & gown - live band 8pm, £1 shp - festival of music celebrating the influence of spain & usa on "british" music (classical). london college of music orchestra tonight. shp - exhibition of photographs of writers and musicians. til 13 July too saturday 28 June red rag paste up... see front cover red rag printing... .who does it?? reading's gay collective go swimming details from acorn / newsletter. rcu - people's writing conference shp - festival of music; carlos bonell, the nash ensemble, bernard roberts, nicholas cox, sophie langdon, the kreisler string orchestra. sunday 29 june red rag folding and distribution at acorn from about 11 am onwards. phone no on cover to volunteer... shp - music festival day three; bouremouth sinfonietta, london gabrielli brass, lontano, barry guy, andrew ball, nigel hutchinson. oxfam open day at shinfield grange, cutbush lane 2-6pm. 60p. univ. botanic gardens open 2-6pm 50p lots of open gardens...details from the civic offices. key paradise - paradise club 112 london st tel 576847 cap & gown-kings rd, nr tech: 586006 shp - south hill park, bracknell: tel bracknell(91) 484123 rcu - centre for the unemployed, east st rft - reading film theatre, university campus palmer building... anyone can go. majestic-caversham rd. smart dress. this has been a ludicrously short and vague going out because we cannot afford to print anything larger. Get off your arses and support the Rag - or isn't it worth the effort??? Mark 868488 - - - Sort of solstice-ish PARTY Friday 20 June at 8pm Reading Women's Centre, Old Shire Hall, Abbey Street Bring drink & tapes to share Colourful dress Don't be a wet fish. All women welcome. - - - (paid ad) Planet Earth Project presents OZRIC TENTACLES Military Surplus & Rubber Rubber Vortex At the Paradise Club 27th June '86 Tickets £2:00 £2:50 on door - - - 365 DAYS OF HATE Saturday 7th June: The day the NF planned to march through Liverpool to publicise their campaign to get Joe Pearce (leader of the Youth NF, and editor of the YNF's magazine, Bulldog) released from jail. (He was sentenced for inciting racial hatred) Saturday 7th June: The day that all the anti-nazi gangs came together to stop that NF march. Saturday 7th March: (extract from my diary!)... Got up, caught that Merseyrail train into town... And a one thousand strong anti-nazi rally...And no sign of any nazi inarch. But we had "allies" positioned round town on lookout duty ready to report sightings of the nazi enemy! And, sure enough, after a long wait, the walkie-talkie (real-spy style!) detective work eventually tracked down those NF "people" to "behind the Town Hall" - so the rumour spread, and 300-plus of us went looking for them. But they weren't at the Town Hall. Or the Pier Head. Or the shopping centre. Or the Tube or mainline stations. We learnt later that the (30 or 40) NF had been escorted away by the boys and girls in blue and put on the first trains out of town - to London mainly. (The number of NF activists in Merseyside,like in most other areas, is in single figures... and let's keep it that way!) But the rumours kept flying so we kept looking. 300-plus Labour, SWP, Anarchists... Militant and the Black Caucus... all side by side... Casuals, Punks, Soul Boys, Hippies, Skins, Hastas... all on the same side. Racing through the streets of Liverpool sniffing out the NF scum. Stopping the traffic. Dodging the police (in their vans at 50 mph - remember Davey Koore). Stopping the Maritime Carnival Procession! ("Look! - Union Jacks - NF! - Charge!... no; just Girl Guides in the procession!!") We never found the NF. But that didn't matter. They never had the march they wanted. And the most important thing had already been achieved: unity. And I'll never forget the feeling (of hope, inspiration, and all those other things that are too often just bullshit cliches) that I felt as we ran through the town with the one aim: all the Left divisions and all the Youth divisions united in their determination to Stop the Nazis. P.S. Don't accuse me of romanticising with cliches. This is the truth. This is. Action through unity - unity in action - solidarity in reality! -Phil Utterance. - - - EVENTS P.S. Reading Gay go swimming again. 9th. July £1 from Acorn. - - - (paid ad) AN ARK HIVE - TAPE RECORDING Live Conspiracy Tapes Available; Robyn Hitchcock & friends..................C60 £2:00 Robyn Hitchcock & friends / Jo Jo Mamoza...C90 £2:00 Ozric Tentacles 15/4/86 Paradise Club......C90 £2:00 Three Johns 14/4/86 Paradise Club..........C60 £1:50 Lost Week-end / John Cooper Clarke.........C60 £1:50 Military Surplus 5/4/86 Paradise Club......C60 £2:00 All of the above tapes will be available at any of the future Conspiracy Gigs, or contact Pogle on 788358 Quality blank tapes are available for sale at prices better than Readings cheapest retail outlets, i.e TDK SA90 £1:50/SONY HF90 £1:00/TDK AD60 £1:00 plus many more good names at unbeatable prices! Also: Tape copying service at reasonable prices. - - - THE CONSPIRACY 9th June - Military Surplus, Chocolate Teapot + The Mere Mortals An experiment for the Conspiracy - a donations only gig hoping to make some pennies for Palmer Park adventure playground. The Mere Mortals played a popular set (how many people on stage ?) and as for Military Surplus and Chocolate Teapot... well they were cosmically good. Money donated was £137:42p and thanks to the bands and lighting people (cheers Pogle) we made £22:42 after expenses which is enough to buy a small earth ball for the playground. Anyway many thanks to the people who played, helped out and turned up... Paul h's. - - - $Id: //info.ravenbrook.com/user/ndl/readings-only-newspaper/issue/1986/1986-06-15.txt#2 $