Another great weekend at Tolpuddle. It is a great credit to Nigel Costley, regional secretary of the South West TUC, that he has turned this event around from being a rather dull bureaucratic affair, into a lively festival that celebrates solidarity and trade unionism, but also provides a great weekend’s entertainment whether you are there with your mates for a few beers and the music, or looking for a more family friendly time with your children.
I spent most of Saturday just hanging out: the activities in the childrens’ area this year were good – particularly the story teller – Clive Pig. The Saturday is a great time for mooching about and bumping into other trade unionists – I was impressed that Unison and FBU activists from Swindon were camping for the weekend this year. And on Sunday the GMB laid on a nearly full coach from Swindon in conjunction with the T&G, and I think Unison may have put on their own coach.
Mark Steel gave a barn-storming performance on Saturday night to about a thousand people, which includes very funny but affectionate impersonations of George Galloway and Bob Crow. He even had to deal with six year old hecklers with whistles!
On Sunday supporters of the National Shop Stewards Network leafleted the parade through the village, including some help from my sons. The leaflets got a very warm response. You can look at the leaflet here:
More pictures at Socialist unity.
