# vigil (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 3 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover vigil. Page: Feed: --- ## [Hard right blame the left for solidarity with Professor Jason Arday](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/22/hard-right-blame-the-left-for-solidarity-with-professor-jason-arday/) _2026-08-22 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Hard right blame the left for solidarity with Professor Jason Arday Whatever happened to the ‘not speaking ill of the dead’ mantra that made an appearance after the murder of Anne Widdecombe? In respect of the late Professor Jason Arday it has disappeared and it is the hard right defenders of Widdecombe’s memory who are \[…\] ## [Andy Burnham says there should be a cricket Test in the North, the ECB prefer the beautiful South](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/22/andy-burnham-says-there-should-be-a-cricket-test-in-the-north-the-ecb-prefer-the-beautiful-south/) _2026-08-22 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ 2027 is an Ashes year for England and Welsh cricket- England play Australia in five Test Matches. The ECB who run cricket have determined five venues including the Rose Bowl near Southampton but no ground further north than Trent Bridge (Nottingham). Old Trafford (Manchester) and Headingly (Leeds) miss out. Andy Burnham has said that there \[…\] ## [How Beer & AI are related](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/22/how-beer-ai-are-related/) _2026-08-22 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ As The New York Times recently put it, fear of AI is the “most bipartisan issue since beer”. Edward Luce Financial Times ## [Books former Starmer Cabinet Members read](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/22/books-former-starmer-cabinet-members-read/) _2026-08-22 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ There is a well known list of what the first Labour MPs in 1906 were reading. There is of course no Marx but Charles Dickens, William Morris and Henry George featured There is now a list of books donated to the Downing St library by MPs who have stood down from the Cabinet following the \[…\] ## [US Ambassador to Belgium demands racist who started Jason Arday witch hunt keeps University job](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/us-ambassador-to-belgium-demands-racist-who-started-jason-arday-witch-hunt-keeps-university-job/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Times (21st August) which played a key role in the media pile on in the tragic case of the late Professor Jason Arday has reported that the US Ambassador to Belgium, the appropriately named Bill White, has demanded that the University of Ghent lift the suspension of Nathan Kofnas, the racist whose allegations started \[…\] ## [Prince Harry returns…](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/prince-harry-returns/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [Red Wall news](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/red-wall-news/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ In May 2026 Reform took control of Barnsley Council, which had hitherto always been Labour. Reports suggest that while Barnsley Council was doing a decent job, within the limits of austere possibility, the vote was against Starmer Labour. That era has now passed, up to a point. Labour won the third seat in a three \[…\] ## [Red Wall news](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/red-wall-news/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ In May 2026 Reform took control of Barnsley Council, which had hitherto always been Labour. Reports suggest that while Barnsley Council was doing a decent job, within the limits of austere possibility, the vote was against Starmer Labour. That era has now passed, up to a point. Labour won the third seat in a three \[…\] ## [No. 10 North only has a cardboard cut out of Larry the Cat](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/no-10-north-only-has-a-cardboard-cut-out-of-larry-the-cat/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ In an interview with Caroline Simpson the new Head of Staff at Heron House in Manchester, No.10 North Politico’s Dan Bloom has revealed that there is no cat. Rather there is a cardboard cut out of Larry the Cat. Since Andy Burnham is a dog person there may be an agenda here… Instead it has \[…\] ## [Prince Harry & Prince William Royal Beard Wars to resume](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/prince-harry-prince-william-royal-beard-wars-to-resume/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Beard Liberation Front 21st August Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social Prince Harry and Prince William Royal Beard Wars to resume The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that with the return of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to the UK the beard wars between Harry and Prince William are \[…\] ## [One platform, from silicon to agent (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/TsW17rvZZ4yw) _2026-08-21 · **Sponsored**_ Serverless inference plus Inference Router to optimize cost and latency at scale. ## [Peak August ‘Silly Season’. Reform are trying but John Prescott in 1997 is still the benchmark](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/21/peak-august-silly-season-reform-are-trying-but-john-prescott-in-1997-is-still-the-benchmark/) _2026-08-21 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ It’s peak ‘silly season’ when there is limited news (what there is, is rather serious) and the media look for diversions. Reform have been doing their best with Richard Tice opining that there is nothing that can be done about climate change and so we should all enjoy the heat, along with the drought, food \[…\] ## [UK’s biggest cask ale brewer reports 9% increase in soft drinks sales & challenging conditions in biggest beer market: China](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/20/uks-biggest-cask-ale-brewer-reports-9-increase-in-soft-drinks-sales-challenging-conditions-in-biggest-beer-market-china/) _2026-08-20 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Carlsberg Britvic, who are the UK’s biggest brewer of cask beer, have reported a 9% increase in soft drinks sales in its latest results. Carlsberg beer was first available in the UK in 1868 and may well have been enjoyed by dedicated Pilsner drinkers Marx and Engels. In 2026 it owns Kronenberg, Skol, Holstein and \[…\] ## [Reform U-Turns on working from home](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/20/reform-u-turns-on-working-from-home/) _2026-08-20 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Where Reform is ‘in charge’ of local Councils it loses no time in demanding that Council staff work from the office and not home. This of course is not just a Reform obsession. The Tories, Rees Mogg in particular have been droning on about home working for a good while. The Times publishes regular breakdowns \[…\] ## [The Times claims the Green Party are ‘dangerously ideological’](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/20/the-times-claims-the-green-party-are-dangerously-ideological/) _2026-08-20 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Times which is not keen on anything green (except perhaps golf fairways) has published another Editorial attacking the Green Party. Its a mixture of issues it finds with Councils where the Greens have control, Hackney (named), Haringey (not named) and various aspects of Green politics, anti-racism, pro-Palestine it doesn’t like. Of course its right \[…\] ## [Speaking ill of the dead revisited](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/20/speaking-ill-of-the-dead-revisited/) _2026-08-20 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ When Anne Widdecombe was murdered there was criticism of her politics on social media, mostly from people broadly on the left. I did not participate. I was no fan but had nothing useful to add. However right-wing commentators complained that Widdecombe’s family and friends should be given time to grieve and criticism was inappropriate. Moving \[…\] ## [August. Not always holiday time, historically a time of class struggle](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/20/august-not-always-holiday-time-historically-a-time-of-class-struggle/) _2026-08-20 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ On August: no home but the struggle In the labour movement calendar August is often seen as a quiet month. Of course as Mayhew’s costermonger had it when it seems quiet, preparations are going on for future activity. However trade union conferences are completed and the annual festivals, the Durham Miners Gala and Tolpuddle, have \[…\] ## [Nathan Cofnas & David Starkey had a ‘good laugh’ about Professor Jason Arday](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/nathan-cofnas-david-starkey-had-a-good-laugh-about-professor-jason-arday/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Below is an extract from a piece by former Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger about how the media pile on about Professor Jason Arday which ended so tragically, very largely ignored what Nathan Cofnas’s role was. He promoted the recent allegations against Arday and he appears to be a proud racist. Rusbridger reveals (unreported elsewhere as \[…\] ## [Times Obit of founder of North London Fifth Column T-Shirts. T’s for the Clash, Paul Weller, Red Wedge, Anti-Apartheid…](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/times-obit-of-founder-of-north-london-fifth-column-t-shirts-ts-for-the-clash-paul-weller-red-wedge-anti-apartheid/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ A bit of radical history in the perhaps unlikely space of The Times. Fifth Column are based on the Lockwood Industrial Estate in Tottenham, where Beavertown Brewery were based and Pressure Drop Brewery still is. ## [You don’t need a weatherman. No rain for weeks. England start a Test Match….](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/you-dont-need-a-weatherman-no-rain-for-weeks-england-start-a-test-match/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Much of England and all of Wales is in drought conditions with little or no rainfall for many weeks. In this case a weatherman was not needed. Rather England started a Test Match against Pakistan in Leeds and in short order it rained. ## [Reform purges leading figure after Farage criticism](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/reform-purges-leading-figure-after-farage-criticism/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Reform has purged Tim Montgomerie for reportedly breaking ‘party rules’ and making criticisms of Nigel Farage & Reform. Montgomerie founded Conservative Home and is a former ally of Iain Duncan Smith MP. He joined Reform 18 months ago claiming he supported it’s hardline policy on immigration. Montgomerie was critical of Farage’s failure to attend his \[…\] ## [Play Both Sides Of The Lie (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/K3CPiMksxzoR) _2026-08-19 · **Sponsored**_ Two operatives, one manufactured war — uncover the Complete Truth after both campaigns. ## [Karl Marx August Holidays. 1870, Brighton ‘too hot’ 1871 Brighton ‘stormy & rainy’](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/karl-marx-august-holidays-1870-brighton-too-hot-1871-brighton-stormy-rainy/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Marx on Brighton & Ramsgate 1870 & 1871. You do need a weatherman In August Marx was often to be found at the seaside, sometimes with his family, sometimes alone if had been banished there by his doctor for health reasons. In 1870 he stayed with his family in Ramsgate from the 9th to 31st August 1870. \[…\] ## [Beard Liberation Front pays tribute to ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/beard-liberation-front-pays-tribute-to-zz-top-drummer-frank-beard/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Beard Liberation Front 19th August Contact: BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has paid tribute to ZZ Top’s drummer Frank Beard who has died aged 77. Beard was the only one of the ZZ Top trio not to have a full organic beard. Dusty Hill died \[…\] ## [How Capitalism works(Reform UK variant)](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/how-capitalism-worksreform-uk-variant/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [Tim Martin returns Spoons to George Orwell’s Moon Under Water days, ‘always quiet enough to talk’](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/tim-martin-returns-spoons-to-the-moon-under-water-days-always-quite-enough-to-talk/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ In the Moon Under Water it is always quiet enough to talk. The house possesses neither a radio nor a piano, and even on Christmas Eve and such occasions the singing that happens is of a decorous kind. George Orwell, The Listener, 1943 Meanwhile Tim Martin has banned speaker phones and tablets playing music etc in all \[…\] ## [After Grant Shapps is Penny Mordaunt next on Badenoch’s purge list?](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/after-grant-shapps-is-penny-mordaunt-next-on-badenochs-purge-list/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Keni Badenoch is engaged in a Great Moving Right Show for the Tory Party. She is on record as saying that any Tory candidate including ex-MPs (there are lots) who wants to be on the Tory approved list must reject Net Zero and the ECHR. Both of course are already Reform ‘policies’. Former Minister Grant \[…\] ## [Standing Up To Racism. 30,000 at Trafalgar Sq Vigil for Prof Jason Arday](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/thousands-at-trafalgar-sq-vigil-for-prof-jason-arday/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Picture JM on Facebook An estimated 30,000 people have attended a vigil for Prof. Jason Arday in Trafalgar Square on 17th August. The vigil was called by Stand Up To Racism BBC Report Thousands gathered on Monday for a vigil organised by Stand Up To Racism in Trafalgar Square, where Labour MP Diane Abbott said \[…\] ## [Reform’s Richard Tice on heat](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/reforms-richard-tice-on-heat/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [August 17th 1839. Day Six of the Grand National Holiday against the smooth faced men](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/august-17th-1839-day-six-of-the-grand-national-holiday-against-the-smooth-faced-men/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ August 17th 1839: Day Six of the Grand National Holiday against the smooth faced men On 12th August 1839 the Chartists called a Grand National Holiday, a month long general strike to bring down capitalism. It had a good deal of popular support, it did actually happen but ultimately could not be sustained. A key populariser \[…\] ## [The Times led the pile-on but Times letter writers have a different view on Jason Arday](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/the-times-led-the-pile-on-but-times-letter-writers-have-a-different-view-on-jason-arday/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [Vigil for Jason Arday. 17th August 6pm Trafalgar Sq.](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/vigil-for-jason-arday-17th-august-6pm-trafalgar-sq/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Supported by the London Socialist Historians Group We stand with the University & College Union (UCU) in supporting this vigil. There can be no space for racism or racist pile-ons in academia or in wider society. ## [Know before it drops (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/FFrYm0lVZFPp) _2026-08-17 · **Sponsored**_ Follow a show, artist, genre or rocket and get notified before release ## [Marxist historian Christopher Hill & Geoffrey Boycott had one shared ambition..](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/marxist-historian-christopher-hill-geoffrey-boycott-had-one-shared-ambition/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Christopher Hill. His highest ambition was to be a Yorkshire cricketer but be became one of the most well-known British Marxist Historians A biography of the British Marxist Historian Christopher Hill(1912-2003) has long been awaited and Michael Braddick has now written one (Verso 2025). There is a wealth of interesting information and some fascinating incidental \[…\] ## [So. Farewell then The Hundred 2026. Crowds were \*not\* flat](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/16/so-farewell-then-the-hundred-2026-crowds-were-not-flat/) _2026-08-16 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Sunday Times 16th August 2026 The Hundred has finished for another year. The first year it had been franchised. Crowds were down at all venues except Cardiff were ticket prices were not increased. In the last few days any amount of official bluster has been deployed to explain a) smaller crowds were all part of \[…\] ## [Jason Arday. Sunday Times enters ‘not guilty’ plea](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/16/jason-arday-sunday-times-enters-not-guilty-plea/) _2026-08-16 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Sunday Times (Editorial 16th August) has entered a ‘not guilty’ plea in relation to the media pile on that appears at the very least to have played a part in the tragic death of Jason Arday. To an extent that is fair enough. The paper only published three pieces on Arday. However it appears \[…\] ## [Ambridge Socialist: Missing Climate Change, wildfires, drought…](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/16/ambridge-socialist-missing-climate-change-wildfires-drought/) _2026-08-16 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Ambridge Socialist 16th August What BBC reports from Ambridge are missing The Archers is recorded weeks in advance but there has been a heatwave since June. So far little or no mention of: Climate Change Drought Poor crop yields Wildfires Veg Boxes David decides Sgt Burns has put Monty in the frame for the \[ \] ## [Jason Arday. The media pile on was from the top of the market, not the tabloids](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/jason-arday-the-media-pile-on-was-from-the-top-of-the-market-not-the-tabloids/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Peter Jukes has analysed the media pile on that took place before and indeed on the day of the tragic death of Jason Arday. A key conclusion is below One honest finding up front: this was not a red-top phenomenon. The Mirror ran two pieces and the Daily Star one; the BBC and Sky covered \[ \] ## [The Hundred 2026. The Whack It Index (Men and Women)](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/the-hundred-2026-the-whack-it-index-men-and-women/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The tournament director of The Hundred which concludes at Lords on 16th August Vikram Banerjee is on record as saying that the newly franchised business is now second only to the Indian Premier League in terms of short form leagues. Anyone who has watched the IPL will know that the bottom line KPI are the \[ \] ## [Ending Israel](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/ending-israel) _2026-08-15 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ The genocidal settler colonial state, guilty of crimes as severe as those of the Nazis, won’t stop itself. How do we bring it to an end? ## [More detail on Farage Fest: the chance for a sleepover with Farage…(free bar, Farage spoke at 3am)](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/more-detail-on-farage-fest-the-chance-for-a-sleepover-with-farage/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Spectator edited by Michael Gove is Reform friendly but not 100% so. Below is an extract from a report by Madeline Grant (14th August) with a rare account of what was going on at Farage Fest, a festival at an airfield near Harwich in Essex. Its 25 minutes drive away from Clacton. Farage was \[ \] ## [Tony Benn on politics in mid-August 50 years ago](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/tony-benn-on-politics-in-mid-august-50-years-ago/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Tuesday 16th August 1977 ‘Little bit of sunshine. Went shopping. The rabbit died’ Tony Benn Diaries ## [Engels, Lords Cricket Ground & W G Grace](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/engels-lords-cricket-ground-w-g-grace/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Engels was not a cricket fan, but as the letter below underlines he was aware of Lords (he lived quite nearby in Regents Park Rd) and of cricket. He mentions both in a matter of fact way. Sam Moore was the US translator of Marx s Capital into English. The scorecard from that day s cricket featured \[ \] ## [15th August 1848, Chartists meet in a South London pub to finalise plans for an insurrection](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/15th-august-1848-chartists-meet-in-a-south-london-pub-to-finalise-plans-for-an-insurrection/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ August 1848: Chartists meet daily to plan an armed rising in central London It’s a largely forgotten part of London’s radical history. Frustrated by peaceful attempts to secure the vote, sections of London Chartism decided to try an armed rising instead. There had been a gradual move towards militant action after the failure of the \[ \] ## [Wild Fire Alert: Farage Election Night Party featured firepits](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/14/wild-fire-alert-farage-election-night-party-featured-firepits/) _2026-08-14 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Farage addresses Farage Fest in a field near Clacton in the early hours of Friday morning Everyone in England and Wales received a mobile phone alert about wild fires on Friday evening. Some Councils had already issue warnings including Tendring in Essex, which covers Clacton Farage did not attend the Count for the By-Election he \[ \] ## [Farage, Clacton & the £5m](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/14/farage-clacton-the-5m/) _2026-08-14 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [Clacton By-Election. The winner vanishes](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/14/clacton-by-election-the-winner-vanishes/) _2026-08-14 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Nigel Farage won the Clacton By-Election on Friday morning. The result was announced at 6.30am. He was not there. As often with Farage there were several explanations. He claimed he didn t want to share the stage with nobodies . But then he also claimed there was a, not detailed, security issue. The police did not agree. \[ \] ## [Guantánamo: the source of so much of the 21st century’s depravity](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/guantanamo-the-source-of-so-much) _2026-08-10 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ Photos from the 43rd monthly global vigils for Guantánamo’s closure, marking an ongoing crime scene of extraordinary resonance. ## [Hamas agrees to disarm, but only if Israel leaves Gaza](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/hamas-agrees-to-disarm-but-only-if) _2026-07-31 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ Will it happen? Will the US restrain Israel if it refuses to abandon its obsessive commitment to the ongoing extermination of the Palestinian people? ## [Israel’s ghoulish settlers eye up Gaza for settlements](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/israels-ghoulish-settlers-eye-up) _2026-07-22 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ Despite it being an unprecedented site of genocidal slaughter, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Daniella Weiss and over half the Knesset want to colonize Gaza. Will anyone stop them? ## [Competing visions for Gaza’s future](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/competing-visions-for-gazas-future) _2026-07-13 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ Ongoing occupation and extermination on the one hand; sterilized techno-concentration camps on the other. Will Hamas’ dissolution of its government, in place since 2007, help? ## [Guantánamo vigils expose fake freedom from executive tyranny as the US turns 250](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/guantanamo-vigils-expose-fake-freedom) _2026-07-06 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ No celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the US’s independence are deserved, when 15 men are still held at Guantánamo under a modern-day form of executive tyranny. ## [1,000 days of genocide in Gaza](https://andyworthington.substack.com/p/1000-days-of-genocide-in-gaza) _2026-07-01 · Andy Worthington · Andy Worthington’s Substack_ A detailed overview of 33 months of unforgivable horrors, and how Gaza can legitimately be described as the modern-day equivalent of a Nazi death camp.