Yes, it used to be an old country manor house but I decided to convert it into a vicarage two years ago. Harry Enfield, Norbert Smith: A Life, 1989
His father was a man, and his mother, a woman, but not all his life is as well documented as this. ibid. Melvyn Bragg commentator
On a cold December morning in 1919 just after 4 a.m. Emma Goldman, her companion Alexander Berkman, and more than 200 other foreign-born radicals were roused from their Ellis Island dormitory beds. In the freezing darkness the deportees began a journey into exile. Emma Goldman: An Exceedingly Dangerous Woman, PBS 2004
The newspapers called her a modern Joan of Arc, a heretic, a woman possessed of uncompromising single-mindedness. ibid.
American anarchists were idealistic, articulate and organised. Though few in number they had surprising influence. ibid.
Government would be replaced by a spirit of free cooperation. ibid.
To create a more perfect society acts of political violence were occasionally justified. ibid.
Her talk of insurrection, of doing without government, of encouraging the unemployed to take matters into their own hands, of thousands of workers going door to door demanding food, was terrifying to authorities. ibid.
Goldman was sentenced to one year in prison. ibid.
Considered the most dangerous woman in the country. ibid.
The Espionage Act went into effect: it decreed stiff fines and prison terms for anyone who obstructed the draft. A year later the Sedition Law threatened those who defied the government with expulsion. ibid.
Throughout the Autumn of 1919 Attorney-General A Mitchell Palmer directed round-ups of radicals in what would come to be known as the Palmer Raids. ibid.
Revealing the truth about the Bolshevik regime became a crusade for Goldman and Berkman. ibid.
For a few brief months in Catalonia 1936 history’s only anarchist experiment flourished. And it was a women from the far side of Europe who reported its rise and its final defeat to the world. An Anarchist’s Story: Ethel McDonald, 2006
‘Spain is the place where the future of the world is being determined. It’s not just another local difficulty.’ ibid. Professor Mike Gonzalez
Radical thinkers like Ethel McDonald, now 27 years old and with 8 year’ anarchist activism behind her, quickly picked up on the importance of what was happening in Spain. ibid.
Spain was the arena for a showdown between Left and Right. ibid.
‘We supported the concept of loyalty, honesty: those are the basic values of anarchy.’ ibid. witness
For ten extraordinary months in 36 and 37 the region of Catalonia became the centre of one of the most radical revolutions in world history. ibid.
‘This is the kind of international that will united the human race.’ ibid. Ethel
While Ethel hid out in Catalonia trying to find a way home she was becoming famous in her native land. ibid.
The fate of volunteers trapped in Spain attracted international criticism. ibid.
‘I helped anarchist comrades in and out of prison.’ ibid. Ethel
Fred Dibnah was born in Lancashire and from his earliest years his heart was set on a life at the top. Fred Dibnah: Steeplejack, BBC 1979
Fred has worked on churches for many years. But the greater glory is and always was – the Chimney. ibid.
It’s not so pleasant on a Monday morning when it’s cold and the wind’s blowing. ibid.
You get addicted to ’em [chimneys]. ibid.
You only fall off one of them once, like. ibid.
Four hundred for little’ un and five hundred for big ’un. ibid. Fred quotes for demolition of two chimneys
Having served his screen apprenticeship he went on from being documentary subject to documentary presenter. Fred Dibnah: A Tribute to Fred, BBC 2004
Fred served his apprenticeship as a joiner but all the time despite parental disapproval he pursued his goal of becoming a steeplejack. ibid.
‘I have neglected my business, everything really, for the sake of his ten ton of iron.’ ibid. Fred
‘Traction engines are good things; they don’t answer back.’ ibid. Fred to group of old ladies
‘He was a great television presenter.’ ibid. Paul Daniels
But there was always a sense of sadness, a great sense of loss for the sights and sounds of industries that have long disappeared. ibid.
As a young man Fred went to art school. ibid.
Fred’s cancer was first diagnosed in 2001. ibid.
Ted Heath was the most musical of British prime ministers. But Heath was also one of the most controversial of prime ministers. A Very Singular Man: A Film Portrait of Edward Heath, BBC 1998
His singular personality often made him his own worst enemy. ibid.
Ted Heath was a prophet largely without honour in his own party. His critics have tried to airbrush him out of Tory history. And his record as prime minister is hotly disputed. ibid.
He’d come to power in 1970 promising to create one nation. ibid.
1937: He visited Nazi Germany … where he was to witness the Nuremberg rally. ibid.
He enjoyed the disciplined army life … He was put in charge of the firing squad … ‘I felt uneasy.’ ibid.
In 1947 Heath was selected as the Tory candidate for Bexley. ibid.
Within four years the organisation man was made chief whip. ibid.
Harold Wilson described him as a shiver looking for a spine to run up. ibid.
Heath had pulled off the biggest election upset of the century. ibid.
He was pledged to tame the trade unions, slash public spending and cut back the social services. ibid.
He was determined that this time he would at last take Britain into the Common Market. ibid.
His annus horribilis continued when he lost a second general election. ibid.
In 1964 a remarkable woman came to the world’s attention. Her husband had just been sent to jail for the rest of his life. Few could imagine that 45 years later she would still be in the news. The Real Winnie Mandela, BBC 2018
‘With our necklaces we shall liberate this country!’ ibid. Winnie
Throughout her life Winnie Mandela has divided opinion. Some see her as the mother of the nation. Others cannot forgive her for her crimes. ibid.
It was left to television to shine a light on the iniquity of apartheid. ibid.
Winnie became the focus of their harassment. ibid.
Mandela United Football Club: ‘But of course it degenerated very quickly into pure thuggery really.’ ibid. R W Johnson, author & journalist
Winnie seemed to revel in the darker side of the revolution. ibid.
In particular the disappearance of four boys said to have been kidnapped on Winnie’s orders was causing concern. ibid.
She was no longer the darling of the ANC. ibid.
But the marriage could not survive the kind of salacious details that emerged in court. ibid.
There was no beginning of the universe. Past, present, future. The universe has always existed and it always will. It stays the same. Hawking 2004 starring Benedict Cumberbatch & Michael Brandon & Tom Hodgkins & Lisa Dillon & Phoebe Nicholls & Adam Godley & Peter Firth & Tom Ward & John Sessions & Matthew Marsh & Alice Eve & Rohan Siva et al, director, Fred Hoyle on the box
There’s nothing wrong with feeling in science. Feeling matters. ibid. Hawking