London: The Modern Babylon August 15, 2012
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
For those able to access the BBC online player can I recommend London: The Modern Babylon which is available for another two days. It’s a great overview of the history of London – and fairly markedly a people’s history – in the last century and on into this one and directed by Julien Temple. And it’s surprisingly – or perhaps not, given Temple’s role as film biographer of all things punk, unsentimental too. It is also – and this is not a surprise – particularly progressive in its outlook. Highly recommended.
Interesting fact – Nina Temple, last General Secretary of the CPGB (as was), is his sister. If I knew that once I had forgotten it.
Though it could be said that many of the cuts we deplore amount to less that any of the figures mentioned. Again we need to relook at income tax and make it more progressive. cap public sector wages, 100k. Is it 4 or more billion Noonan has to either cut or tax. What did the troika say
And this fascinating programme. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jt9bv on the history of certain London streets. Quite a bit on the Irish. Though in one the commentator missed a kids street gang with the tricolour. I think it was a joint BBC/Open University programme.
That was a really fantastic series. There was quite a bit on the Irish in the one about Caledonian Road. I used to live adjacent to one of the streets, Camberwell Grove, and occasionally drink in another, Deptford High Street.
Not a hope of RTE ever doing anything like this sadly.
I agree the streets programe were great, I never new those flop houses/flats existed under ground on the Caledonian Road. My daughter went to an exhibition of Temple’s art in Brighton, said it was great, she also recommended his TV programe. I often walk down that street as a friend lives nearby when in London and I never realised what lurked below, Peter Rachman lives.
For a wonderful, extremely bleak, look at the Irish emigrant experience in London see Bernard Canavan’s art.
http://www.newirishart.com/BernardCanavan/index.htm
I won’t pretend to understand it all but I’ve seen those faces on the boat train from Hollyhead.
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