This is a story that appeared in my research for the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum to celebrate the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade back in 2007. The bare bones of the story are that Samuel Gist was an orphan from Bristol who was educated at one of the city’s charity schools … Continue reading
This seems to be the book that makes most people prick up their ears when I mention the title. Which is great, because it is an amazing story, full of humour and surprises. It also provides a lot of challenges to the notion that women were powerless. When trawling through old newspapers some years ago … Continue reading
Here’s another horror story from Bristol’s past which serves as a warning of where we may be heading. The 1840s was a time of massive social upheaval across Europe, echoing the previous century’s ‘hungry forties’, but the problems were soaring in the 1830s. In Bristol, trade declines, so many workers were reduced to pauperism and … Continue reading
Here’s a monument from Gloucester Cathedral which is very much out of the ordinary. It says Eli Dupree was “abused unto death” at Hayes Middlesex. My immediate thought was he was a child somehow mistreated in school or but the man was 74 years old. I asked one of the guides what this meant; she … Continue reading
In the second and final episode, of this fine investigative programme, ‘The Persuasion Machine’, Jamie Bartlett took us from the big players in Silicon Valley to what they actually do, and in some way sit was more frightening than the big bucks involved. This is an aspect of the internet few of us pay much … Continue reading
This is the first of 2 documentaries by blogger Jamie Bartlett whose intelligent, low key investigation of the big tech companies are seen to be very different to what they claim. He visits Silicon Valley, the main source of so many inventions that claim will improve our lives, but he finds they are based on … Continue reading
This documentary featured the pioneering journalism and activism of Jane Jacobs who led the battle to stop the wholesale replacement of cities and their vibrant communities with freeways and tower blocksin New York City. Her main opponent was Robert Moses who became a local hero for promoting open spaces and building public parks, but after … Continue reading
This book by J.D. Vance, born a hillbilly in Kentucky who graduated fromYale Law school is loaded with rave reviews on both sides of the pond. Claims have been made that it provides an insight into Trump and Brexit. It’s a short, but intriguing read, with the feel of a man chatting to you, so … Continue reading
This documentary was screened as part of the BBC’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, i.e., that of males, as the law always assumed that women don’t do such things. It tells the story of journalist Peter Wildeblood who was put on trial with his friends Lord Montague and Michael Pitt-Rivers … Continue reading
This is an intriguing book by Wendy Moore, a journalist and author who I’d never heard of. The story fills in a lot of gaps in my historical knowledge, especially featuring the poet Thomas Day who I knew from his famous abolitionist poem The Dying Negro and his book on child centred education. He was … Continue reading
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