German Invasion - Could it have happened here? Film Preston Library Saturday introduced by the co-director

'It Happened Here' will be shown at the Preston Community Library and Hub' on Saturday. Doors open 7.15pm for 7.30pm showing. Free to members (join at the door) - donations requested to finance future films.

The film explores how the British people might have responded if Germany had successfully invaded Britain in World War 2. Kevin Brownlow, the director of 'It Happened Here' will introduce the film.

Extract from review of a book about the making of the film:

How It Happened Here tells the story of the making of a film and the subsequent reception that the film received and the controversy and alarm that it stirred up when it was first released. The film-makers were two teenagers (18 and 16) and they started out with no budget and a borrowed 16 mm camera. The project took 8 years to complete. Part of the book is a humorous and detailed account of how the boys overcame all the practical and financial hurdles of amateur film making and saw the project through to completion and national release. This in itself would qualify the book as a thoroughly entertaining read and a sound basis for a course in film making or media studies of any kind. But this was no ordinary film. Kevin and his co-director Andrew Mollo took as their theme the "what if?" idea of a conquered and occupied England, after a hypothetical defeat and invasion following the Dunkirk retreat.

The Story of Wembley Park Studios - Preston Library Sat Sept 23rd

Fairtrade stall at Brent Civic Centre Friday March 10th

From Brent Fairtrade Network 

 

CELEBRATING FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT

FAIRTRADE STALL AT BRENT CIVIC CENTRE

ON FRIDAY 10 MARCH - AND A NEW FILM

By the kind permission of the Borough Council, Brent Fairtrade Network is holding a stall at Brent Civic Centre 10.00-14.00 on Friday 10 March.  We shall be encouraging library users, Council staff and others passing by to buy Fairtrade goods at local shops and cafes. Do look in if you are nearby. Here is how to get there: www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/brent-civic-centre/your-visit-to-the-civic-centre/

The Fairtrade Foundation has produced a film to bring home the shocking reality that Fairtrade is tackling.  Watch this. 

Fairtrade Fortnight ends on Saturday 11 March. Remember to look out for Fairtrade products in your shopping this week. 

DOES FAIRTRADE HAVE A FUTURE?

PUBLIC DEBATE ON 17 NOVEMBER

We had an excellent debate at St Martin's Church, Kensal Rise, on 17 November, jointly hosted with Fairtrade groups in Harrow, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston. Our speakers were Anne Cooper of Oxfam, Barbara Crowther of the Fairtrade Foundation, Stuart Singleton-White of the Rainforest Alliance and Vidya Rangan of ISEAL, the global movement of sustainability standards. Points that emerged included the following:

•   Is the Fairtrade model still a good one? Yes - but it will continue to change, as illustrated by the Cocoa Life partnership announced that day with Cadbury's.

•   Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade are complementary - but the scope for collaboration is shown by the fact that 80% of their standards are the same. There are now some 450 ethical labels, hence the need for ISEAL's work to clarify which can be trusted. 

•   The new Fairtrade Sourcing Programme enables products to be sold with a new Fairtrade logo when only the cocoa, sugar or cotton involved is Fairtrade. This will increase sales of Fairtrade products. 

•   Only 1% of world agricultural trade is ethically certified so there is huge potential for growth.

Feedback after the event was very positive. The consensus seemed to be that it was an excellent event with very good speakers. The main regret was that only 40 people attended. It was felt that a more central location could have attracted people from all over London. As it was, we welcomed several visitors from outside Brent, some of whom we now welcome as new readers of this newsletter. 

We are most grateful to the speakers and St Martin's Church for making this debate possible. 

From Fire to Fountain - Film & Television at Wembley Park - 20th January

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Philip Grant posted a well-received article about the closure of Fountain Studios in Wembley Park recently LINK and mentioned the above presentation that he was planning. 

For more  information you can also contact Philip directly Philgrant69@aol.com

SUFRA offer free tickets to see 'I, Daniel Blake', at the Tricycle Cinema on December 10th

From Mohammed S Mamdani of Sufra NW London

If you haven’t had a chance to go to the cinema and watch the most coveted film of the year (give me credit, I’m trying to convince you), Sufra NW London invites you to an exclusive, private screening of “I, Daniel Blake” in the presence of the Mayor of Brent on Saturday 10th December at 10:30am at the Tricycle Theatre. Book your tickets here.

You regulularly hear my rantings about the welfare system and the reality of poverty in the UK. “I, David Blake” is a heart-wrenching drama about an elderly gentleman who suffers a heart attack and resorts to applying for government benefits.

The film follows his journey, attempting to navigate the red tape of the benefits system, alongside his new friend, a single-mother, who relies on a food bank to survive.

There’s also plenty of comedy – including Daniel’s attempt to use a computer for the first time to apply for Job Seekers Allowance. No offence to old people None taken - Martin), but trust me, it’s hilarious. And if you’re in any doubt about who is to blame for poverty in the UK or how difficult it is to survive on benefits, this film will convince you.

FREE tickets are available to all Friends of Sufra. If you’re a volunteer or a regular donor (that means you make a monthly donation of at least £5/month by standing order) you can come for free AND also invite an UNLIMITED number of guests at no cost! (We ask for a refundable deposit of £2, but that’s just to make sure you turn up. You won’t even see it appear on your debit/credit card bill). 

Book your tickets HERE using the promotional code "FRIENDS TICKET'.  We just want as many people as possible to gain an insight into how the current benefit system works.

Film: Great Grunwick Strike Saturday at Preston Library

Broken promises threaten future of Preston Community Library

From Philip Bromberg of Preston Community Library

On September 13, Brent Council's Cabinet will consider plans to re-develop the Preston Library site. The intention is to build flats and a new 'community space'. These plans are a serious threat to the existence of  Preston Community Library, and we need to act now.

As most of you will know, in May 2014 Brent Labour Party made an election promise to "offer the building at a peppercorn rent to any local group who can provide a sustainable community library. We will not open to competitive tender in order to give preference to local groups". But, under the current plans, the new community space will be offered for open market tender, with an anticipated rental income of £51,000.

Please write now - today or tomorrow - to Mo Butt, the Leader of the Council, cllr.muhammed.butt@brent.gov.uk . Please tell him that we wish to continue to operate in the existing building, and ask him to guarantee that any new community space will contain a library at least as large as the current library, and that it will be offered at a peppercorn rent as he himself promised two years ago. If you prefer to phone him, his mobile number is 07867 169 879.

Please also contact your local ward councillors. For Preston ward, these are Matt Bradley,    cllr.matthew.bradley@brent.gov.uk  Jean Hossain,    cllr.jean.hossain@brent.gov.uk and Pat Harrison, cllr.patricia.harrison@brent.gov.uk .

With your support over the last five years (and, incidentally, with the support of several sympathetic councillors), we created Preston Community Library, and that's something we should all be immensely proud of. At the moment, despite considerable obstacles caused by our licence, we continue to run a fully functioning public library at virtually no cost to the Council. Our English classes, our IT classes, our art class, our storytime sessions for children, our wonderful community cinema - all of these and more are now under threat.

I urge every single one of you to contact our councillors today to ask them to protect our library. Please copy me in to any correspondence. If any of you want to read the report, it is HERE

With thanks,

Philip,
Chair, Preston Community Library,

'Trade unions are not just for white men' - Grunwick film and panel at TUC on Friday

Friday April 15th at Trade Union Congress 23-28 Great Russell Street WC1B 3LS 7pm

The TUC Race Relations Committee in association with the SERTUC Film Club presents a screening of ‘The Great Grunwick Strike 1976-1978: A History’, followed by a panel discussion on the lessons that can be learnt from the dispute.

This documentary film takes a look at the Grunwick dispute which erupted at a photo processing plant in Willesden, London, in the summer of 1976 and lasted two years. A predominately East African and South Asian female workforce went on strike over appalling working conditions and the issue of trade union recognition.  The dispute is remembered as one of the most significant in the history of the British labour movement.

The following panel debate will be chaired by Kamaljeet Jandu and participants will include Chris Thomson (Filmmaker), Dr Sundari Anitha (Striking Women) and Sujata Aurora (Grunwick 40).

ORDER YOUR FREE TICKET HERE

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The Grunwick 40 campaign is raising funds to install a huge mural close to the factory site in Willesden as a permanent public reminder of the unity that the Grunwick strike represented.

Support their appeal by donating or asking your union branch to donate via www.crowdfunder.co.uk/grunwick40, or via www.paypal.me/grunwick40, or send a cheque payable to Brent Trades Council c/o 375 High Road, London NW10 2JR.

Message from Grunwick 40

We need your donations to commemorate the heroes of the Grunwick Strike

40 years ago a group of Asian women asked for the right to join a union and were sacked by their employer. Their bosses thought that Asian women were passive and obedient and wouldn't fight back.
But that group of workers gained the support of thousands and went on to wage one of the longest and most important disputes in post-war British history.

They changed the idea that trade unions were only for white men. They shattered stereotypes. And at a time of enormous racial prejudice they brought people together in unity and solidarity.
40 years on we want to celebrate them.

We have ambitious plans to install a big mural close to the original factory site in Willesden, as well as stage an historical exhibition and a conference. But we need money to make it happen.
Please give whatever you can afford.

We have some exclusive rewards for people who donate including badges, posters, DVDs and rare artwork from the 1970s so please consider making a personal donation or asking your union branch to make one. Every £ helps to ensure that the legacy of the brave Grunwick strikers is not lost.

Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/grunwick40 to donate.

Arsenic and Old Lace at Preston Library Community Hub tonight

Excellent Halloween entertainment tonight (Saturday) at Preston Library Community Hub Cinema. 7.15pm for 7.30 start. This week's film is Arsenic & Old Lace (1944), a murderous comedy starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane & Raymond Massey.

'The Invisible Woman' tonight at Preston Library. Children's show tomorrow

Tonight's film at Preston Library, is The Invisible Woman, about the secret love affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan. Doors open at 7.15, and the film will start promptly at 7.30. Our films are free to members of the library, and you can join at the door. We will be collecting donations towards the work of the library.

 "This is an engrossing drama, with excellent performances." Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian

SELL-OFF film about the transformation of the NHS into a business ready for corporate takeover - Tonight 7pm

Your NHS has been quietly transformed into a business ready for corporate takeover and conversion to the American private insurance model. In 'Sell-Off', filmmaker Peter Bach exposes the two decade covert privatisation which has occurred without public mandate and against the public interest. It challenges the lies put out by politicians and mainstream media.

Join us at IHRC for a screening of 'Sell-Off'

WHEN: Wednesday, 26 August from 7-9pm

WHERE: IHRC Bookshop & Gallery, 202 Preston Road, Wembley, HA9 8PA (Nearest tube: Preston Road / Metropolitan Line)

Refreshments will be provided. Call 020 8904 4222

Peter Bach's powerful new film, "Sell-Off" maps out the steady privatisation of the National Health Service which is going on right now. Nobody listening to the evidence of a range of practitioners on the film can be in any doubt that this coalition government has accelerated the process of outsourcing of NHS services started by the Blair government, using the vehicle of the Care Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and Foundation Trusts. Despite this, MPs and the government at continue to insist that the NHS is not being privatised. - The HuffingtonPost UK

Watch the trailer: https://vimeo.com/108492812

You MUST see Salt of the Earth if you are alive on this planet in 2015

 

Guest blog from ‘Our Man in the Cheap Seats’

This is the just-released Cannes and Academy award-winning documentary about the photographer Sebastiao Salgado directed by Wim Wenders. If you are interested in politics, social history, environmental issues, humanity, inhumanity, Africa, the rainforests, the power of images or just being alive on this planet in 2015, you must see it.

Salt of the Earth is on at the Tricycle Cinema, Kilburn High Road, until July 30th