DannyB

Seascapes

The beach was deserted. The sea scapes and the sky scapes and the sense of being alone were ideal. A perfect time and place to plan a revolution. The container ship Hong Kong Express sailing from Antwerp to Southampton. The coast of France. Earlier I met some French swimmers in the harbour who are trainingContinue reading “Seascapes”

Emporium Temporay Sign

I went to the open studios as part of the Folkestone Triennial. It was great fun with interesting and entertaining people. Had a superb slice of lemon drizzle cake (left over from a private view but one must remember the relationship between ‘beggars’ and ‘choosers’). Listened to people explain their work and looked at drawings,Continue reading “Emporium Temporay Sign”

St Pancras – Labour vs Capital

At Kings Cross station militant suffragettes handed out leaflets to the crowds of football fans arriving in London for the 1908 FA Cup Final. There were sharp words at times. Local working class women joined in and said to the men that they should listen to the Suffragettes. ‘They’re the only ones who talk sense’.Continue reading “St Pancras – Labour vs Capital”

Radical St Pancras – Part 2

Friedrich Engels lived in 122 Regents Park Road from 1870 to 1895. Jenny Marx, the wife of Karl, had helped him house hunting. Jenny and Karl were frequent visitors, as were many members of the European revolutionary socialist movement. Wilhelm Liebknecht (‘Library’ as he was nick named by the Marx children), August Bebel, Karl Kautsky,Continue reading “Radical St Pancras – Part 2”

Abstraction, distraction

A different walk for a change of scene. I like all the abstraction and colour that can be found and how it changes with the light and tides. But this abstraction was in fact a distraction for things I should be getting on with. Still, it was pleasant to be absorbed in what felt likeContinue reading “Abstraction, distraction”

A Universe of Stone

We were in Norwich with plans. None of which involved the history of the city with it’s medieval churches and history of banking and insurance. Those must wait for other days. But we had to go into the town, and in the space of an hour managed to see a great deal. The city needsContinue reading “A Universe of Stone”

Look both ways

The relations of production are invisible. People work hereDesk topslaptopsendless powerpoint presentationsof great corporationscultureof great corporationsambitionsaims and objectivesmission statementsA red angle poise lamp In offices, at workstations,in the streetrailway stationsunderground andconstruction What strange symmetryof these contradictions and tensions

The Revolution could be televised

Does there need to be an explanation? I’m not sure myself how I came to be in St Pancras Way. There are of course factors. I had been to the office, had a ticket for a train, wanted a change of scene. On 99 out of 100 occasions when I arrive at St Pancras stationContinue reading “The Revolution could be televised”

These rafts carried life across dangerous seas

Toil and work are two separate things. Toil is what one must. For money. This critical fact is badly neglected. Whole books are written, television programmes, films, myriad newspaper articles without acknowledging this basic necessity. And yet even with immense amounts of toil immense numbers of people never have enough. And other people who toilContinue reading “These rafts carried life across dangerous seas”

The bus to Swingfield Street

There can be a certain camaraderie on an early morning bus. Today it was the driver, myself, a large man with a walking stick, two women in their sixties or seventies and a younger man covered in tattoos who spent the whole journey ‘doing something’ on his phone. Buses take you on journeys through aContinue reading “The bus to Swingfield Street”