onionbagblog

A pair of G Force winkle pickers.

Sharp, in every sense. So what if they are one size too big for me? This is only the second pair of G Force originals that I’ve seen appear online.

My main memory from the old Hockey shop back in the early 80’s wasn’t the knitwear; it was the front display of shoes similar to these.

I even bought a pair as a Boy About Town around ‘83. They were as Cool as Fuck then as they are now.

The pair that turned up this week must be over forty years old. The quality of the leather has served them well.

They’ve still got many more years worth of wear left in them. Chuff knows when I will get the chance, but y’know - that’s not the point, is it?

The chase is always better than the kill.

BUY NOW.

London’s cycling trips hit 1.5 million a day as ridership surges 43% since 2019

Chapeau!

RideLondon cycling event boss resigns from board after careless driving conviction for seriously injuring cyclist

Good.

Five ways we can fire up Your Party

Michael Gove Made Orwell Prize Judge Despite Record of Attacking Journalists and Dodging Scrutiny

You can’t underestimate how radical Cut is: an all female punk band back in 1979, singing radical lyrics behind Dennis Bovell’s bass heavy production. It still sounds fantastic, almost half a Century later.

It’s rare to hear an album these days where the music is made purely for the artists, and not the audience. This isn’t a criticism; it only adds to the drama and intense atmosphere throughout Cut.

OUTRAGEOUS comment: The cover of Grapevine is even better than Marv’s original.

I think the album cover is ironic? If irony was such as thing in 1979.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

We had two boats out along the Estuary Wilds for the WivGigs Monday social row. We also had an exceptionally high tide.

Waders were needed for launching and the recovery. I do bloody LOVE poncing around in thick rubber around my thighs.

This was the morning after the afternoon before. RACE DAY over on Mersea Island led to a most welcome - and unexpected - second place showing for the mixed crew.

Monday lunchtime was a much more sedate affair.

Rain threatened throughout the row. We left with bright skies peering down on us from downstream, and pressed on to the more uncertain upstream water, where dark clouds were waiting for us.

Just Bloody Get Out, etc.

Decent progress was made. We made it down as far as Buoy 18.

The main conversation was To Glove or Not? I’m not quite ready to expose my delicate palms to the dangers of raw rowing. Hand Cream for a Generation, etc.

A headwind greeted us as we battled it back to the Sailing Cub hard. The high water had almost covered the trailer that we had left up towards the Sailing Club.

Oh yeah - I had a bit of a zen moment midway through the row.

#rowingdick

And so after finally finishing Simon Hannah’s superb Radical Lambeth, I’ve started to watch some of the related videos to accompany the book.

It turns out that not only am I a slow reader, Im also a slow watcher of YT videos that are clogging up my browser tabs.

It’s a fascinating period in Lambeth politics, and one that also shaped and framed the national picture as well.

Hannah’s book documents the period roughly between 1978 through until 1990 in the borough. It tells the story of the rise and fall of radical politics at the Town Hall.

A follow up would be most welcome, explaining how the right wing cabal was able to take control, with the legacy still inflicting great damage for residents throughout Lambeth today.

But anyway.

Back to the videos.

Hannah has helpfully put together a standalone page that links to the relevant content. This includes relatively recent interviews with ex-Leader, Ted Knight.

Ted passed five years ago. Some of the conversation in the 2018 video interviews are already sounding very dated.

Even in his later years, he was still a powerful and eloquent speaker. You can see how at his pomp, he was able to mobilise thousands of residents to march with him to Westminster. You can’t see the current Cabinet fostering such political loyalty.

Some of the archive shots throughout the videos capture the borough and the associated protests of the time. The early 1980’s were a very different way of life.

Steve Nally from the Anti-Poll Tax Federation makes some powerful arguments:

“Be prepared to wage battle against the forces to survive.”

Forward Ever - Backward Never, etc.

“If the left cannot remember that movements are built on what people have in common rather than what divides them, this will be another in a long line of wasted opportunities. "

Built it or burn it, Comrades

“MPs should no longer have to be all things to all people. Instead, they should be able to represent the interests of their constituents by delivering on their core roles of parliamentary scrutiny, debate, policy making and legislating.”

What a load of hairy old bollocks. They Work For Us, etc.

A really interesting record, released between punk and the rise of post-punk. Pre-post-punk? Art house gets a bad press when it comes to music. But Real Life shows that it needn’t be up its own arse. Shot By Both Sides amplifies the fucked by left and right message throughout. No future, etc.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Art Deco: The Golden Age of Poster Design exhibition at the London Transport Museum

Why aren’t London’s lethal junctions being fixed faster? Transport chiefs happy with “acceptable” number of crashes to avoid impacting bus times, cycling campaigners say – as “people keep dying”

Nottingham Forest thrash lacklustre Liverpool at Anfield

From the Morning Star’s Tricky Tree Correspondent.

The team news dropped. No changes from the DIRTY Leeds match, two weeks ago.

OK…

This was more out of necessity than any sign of strength. We’re working with what we’ve got available.

Remember when Roy Keane made his debut up at Anfield?

It was good to see CHO back on the bench as he comes back to full fitness. You get the impression that he rather likes making a late impact when playing Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Liverpool made five changes. Isak always scores against Forest, right?

It was a nervy first fifteen minutes or so. You feared that if Forest went a goal down, four more might follow. They don’t call me Mr Optimist for nothing. I was shaking my fist at the telly when we couldn’t score an eighth against Brighton last season.

And then something remarkable started to happen. The game settled down. Forest returned to a Nuno masterclass of DEFEND, DEFEND.

DEFEND! DEFEND! DEFEND!

…and then occasionally spring a break if you get the chance.

Yeah yeah - we’ve seen it all before under Nuno. But this one was down to Dyche.

He’s had to pick the players up after they’ve had all confidence coached out of them by the Comedy Clown. GOOD EFFORT with the Back to the Future approach.

It was clear what was happening here:

“A tenner to mind yer car, Mister?”

Fuck off, you cheeky little Scouse. We’ve brought the bus, thank you very much. We have no shame in parking it right in front of your Kop.

A goal from Murillo.

Blimey.

It’s happening again, Arne, etc.

OH WHAT? Jesus as well.

Fuck VAR.

Still, a 1-0 lead to take in at the break is bloody brilliant. Silence the Anfield crowd, regroup and… DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND.

Easy stuff this, isn’t it?

After a patchy first half down the right for Savona, I was hoping that Ola would be back in contention once again.

Two minutes into the second half and nope, he’ll do.

GEDDIN.

No one told us we were buying an Italian goal machine. I still have sleepless nights over Solenzi.

And so two goals up at Anfield, two goals from defenders.

On the other side of the pitch and Neco was all over Salah. I know which player I’d rather have in my team right now.

I was all set to take a walk outside for the final fifteen minutes when up popped Morgan.

[hands in ears as I slide across the lounge carpet, etc]

That’s four goals in six for MGW. He should get dropped by England more often.

Murillo was bloody magnificent all afternoon. I was only thinking this week how those £100M Real or Barcelona stories have gone a little quiet. I suspect they might spark up again.

Plus the Boy from Brazil was brilliant in his BBC Interview with Sir Colin of West Bridgford. His English is almost as rounded as his backside.

One of the lasting images coming out of this match was the sight of Van Dijk continually shaking his head. He looked like a string puppet that had gone a little wrong.

I started watching the game thinking that a point away at Anfield would have been amazing. Three didn’t even enter into my mind.

In the run in to Christmas back in 1977, Forest gave Man Utd a lesson in the perfect away hit and run display, with a 4-0 away win at Old Trafford.

Just to be clear, I’m not making any claims that we will be lifting silverware come May, but this was a similar performance.

Big boys Vs underdogs, away from home and hitting them on the break.

BC would have been proud - especially with the clean sheet. The only downer was that it wasn’t four goals this afternoon.

Like I said: FUCK VAR.

Shame about D***y as well.

We had to break the ice ahead of a WivGigs Winter Warmer midweek row.

Not any ice over the mass of water stretching all the way downstream to Brightlingsea, but the water that had formed in the boat.

This was always going to be a row where we were fighting the elements; the bitter coldness, a strong wind blowing through the Estuary Wilds, and my misjudged toilet call.

It’s very difficult to cross your legs in a boat when you are rowing as part of a team.

Just don’t think of water, right?

Oh shit.

The Big Essex Blue Sky up above was beautiful. Given the coldness, our cox chose the safer option of heading upstream and over towards the Hythe.

It was a wise decision.

Some drills were carried out before we reached Rowhedge. They involved plopping the oars into the water whilst stationary.

It didn’t make much sense to me, either. I just wanted to row and keep bloody warm.

Windy Corner ahead of Rowhedge was navigated. We started to drift a little towards the Muddy Banks under the gusts.

A turnaround took place with no rower involvement. Why do the work, when the changing tide can do this naturally for you?

I had a little time coxing the boat back towards the Sailing Club. I bluffed it, natch, but just about got away with it.

A masked up brave solo kayaker passed us. We admired what must have been two hundred or so pigeons perching on a roof that presumably had insulation.

Brrrrr.

I will get to wear my club rowing vest. But probably not until mid-May.