REVOLUTIONARY NONVIOLENCE - WITH THANKS TO MILAN RAI, NOAM CHOMSKY, AJ MUSTE, AND PETER LE MARE

Milan Rai is nearly 60. I have come to appreciate him through his work over the last seventeen years as editor of Peace News, the newspaper I used to sell on the corner of Carfax in Oxford on Saturday mornings in 1968 and 1969 as a member of the Oxford University Peace Action Group. In September this year he wrote his editorial goodbye:

'I first bought, and started selling, Peace News when I was at school. Its vision of revolutionary anarcha-feminist nonviolence has had a deep and lasting impact on me.

It has been an enormous honour to have been co-editor, with Emily Johns, and then the sole editor of PN. Emily, you’re a star. 17 years have flown by.

It has also been an honour to be the first sole editor of colour.

I’m so glad to have carried the banner of revolutionary nonviolence alongside Emily, Emma Sangster and Gabriel Carlyle and, earlier on, Claire Poyner, Rebecca Dale, Nik Górecki and John Mcallister. I’m grateful to Ippy and to all the previous PN staff for having built the paper and for having kept this show on the road.'

Milan Rai

Milan Rai had earned his credentials as a nonviolent activist:

Rai first became politically active in the campaign against Pershing II and Ground Launched Cruise Missiles - nuclear weapons scheduled to be deployed in Western Europe in the late 1980s.

Along with fellow activist Maya Evans, he was arrested on 25 October 2005 next to the Cenotaph war memorial in London, for refusing to cease reading aloud the names of

MALGORZATA MIRGA-TAS - A POLISH-ROMA ARTIST OF DISTINCTION - HER TATE ST IVES EXHIBITION IN 2024/5

We visited the exhibitions at Tate St Ives celebrating the work of  Outi Pieski and Beatriz Milhazes earlier this year - see my earlier blogposts: 

Rob Donovan - Author: EXPLORING NEW WORLDS - OUTI PIESKI AT TATE ST IVES - AND REDEFINING BOUNDARIES

Rob Donovan - Author: BEATRIZ MILHAZES AT TATE ST IVES - A PORTUGUESE CELBRATION OF LIFE

Our friend, Stephen Vranch, took us round the latest show at Tate St Ives which is celebrating the art of Malgorzata Mirga-Tas on the morning of 1 November. It was a birthday gift for Louise. Stephen took the photographs that appear in the second part of this blog-post - they tell their own story. 

Malgorzata Mirga-Tas

In the first part below, I am indebted to the Guardian newspaper for the following insight into the artist and her Roma identity, as told by the Guardian's Charlotte Higgins:   

"Her dazzling textile works caused a sensation at Europe’s two most important art events. Mirga-Tas talks about defying centuries of anti-Roma prejudice – and turning her mother’s old dresses into art.

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas is the sort of person who hugs a visitor even before she says hello. She welcomes me into her home in the village of Czarna Góra, at the foot of the Tatra mountains in southern Poland, with a high-wattage smile. The artist’s house is right next to her aunt’s and her mother’s. The modern buildings huddle together, facing each other protectively round a flower garden. Mirga-Tas loves being close to so

MARK WAISTELL, QUAKER SINGER/SONGWRITER FROM DEVON - A CREATIVE VOICE

 A couple of weeks ago, I attended a concert given by Mark Waistell, a Devon Quaker, at the Penzance YMCA which is where the Penzance Quaker Meeting is held. There were around 30 Quakers in the audience. My new hearing aids found it difficult to cope with the acoustics of the room and the sound system seemed too loud but heh that sounds a grumble and what Mark was able to communicate through his playing and voice was poetic and thought-provoking. He took as his theme the wisdom to be found in the Quaker Advices and Queries, linking these with his own songs. I was inspired enough to buy a couple of his CDs at the interval and the all-important collection of his lyrics: Without Music (2020).  

Mark Waistell - the image from the CD cover of 'Latecomer'.

I am a writer and I was already realizing that Mark has the feeling and skill to shine as a word magician. Here's a taste of what we experienced - this song is called 'My England of Long Ago' and Tom Carroll

MARIE DE HENNEZEL - POUR LIRE LA VIEILLESSE - HOW BEST TO UNDERSTAND AGEING - AND THE INSIGHTS OF CARL JUNG

Stephen, a Quaker friend, recommended I read Marie de Hennezel's book, published in France in 2008 and then translated into English and published in the UK as The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting in 2011. The book was read on BBC Radio 4 and became a best seller; another Quaker friend recalls reading it when it was first published. The subtitle reads: Ageing without growing old. 

The Mail on Sunday heralded the work as 'Timely and admirable ... her essential idea is that old age should be a stage of life as full of potential as any other'. The Glasgow Herald said it was 'An exceedingly tender, wise book'. Some online reviewers were less flattering: 'I work in a Hospice, so I know all about death and dying, not only in old age. This book uses far too many quotations and passages gleaned from other writers works on the subject of old age and approaching old age. There is no epiphany, no true inspiration. It was depressing and dire...'.

Marie de Hennezel - French advocate for fresh thinking on ageing 

The subject of ageing and death does stir the emotions and in differing ways it seems. I did find the book worth reading; the subject matter is - to make an obvious point - of existential importance. De Hennezel's concern to highlight the transforming possibilities in growing older and understanding how best to approach death is admirable. Yet the way the book is written - its style - grates at times. Too often the pages become a scrapbook collection of sayings - usually wise - about ageing and dying, cut and pasted from books in French written in the first decade of this century. All interesting and usually admirable but it is not always easy to follow the path that has taken de Hennezel, the experienced clinical psychologist, to her present viewpoint.

Marie de Hennezel is two years older than me so she was born in 1946 and is now 78, making her 62 when this book of hers was first published in 2008. She graduated in English and then returned to higher

CATCHING UP WITH THE LABOUR AUTUMN BUDGET 2024

 I have been steering clear of political blogposts since the electorate in the UK showed the door to the Tory Party in the July election this year. There was no surprise that at last the British voters realized that there was something rotten in the Party that had been misgoverning us. In my less analytical moments, I have been known to mutter that Donald Duck could have won that election if he had been standing as the leader of the Opposition Party. Instead it was Sir Keir Starmer who became the prime minister, the man who lied his way into winning the leadership election within the Labour Party by claiming he was a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn's ten principles. In your dreams! One savage and toxic brand of neoliberal politicians who believe in prioritizing the market and the pursuit of profit has been replaced by another type of politician, less nasty but still in tow to capitalists who look down on those they exploit. The water companies are still safe in their privatized industry as they pump our sewerage into our rivers, knowing that this new government has refused to renationalize the water industry. Remember, this so-called Labour government has also declined to end the two-child benefit cap introduced by the Tories that means over a million children living in poverty - and they have actually ended the universal winter fuel allowance which will lead to some impoverished pensioners dying as they juggle choices between food and heat.  

Donald Duck - the inevitable PM?

I am a member of Transform, a new political party formed a year or two ago to challenge the Tory maladministration. This blogpost was triggered by the mailing I received today from them. Here it is:

Hi Rob,   Welcome to issue 14 of the Transform newsletter. This newsletter was written before the results from the American election started to come in. Like millions around the world, we await

MY 'MINE TO DIE' (2024) - REVIEWED IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER: 'THE ST IVES TIMES AND ECHO' BY ITS EDITOR, TONI CARVER

 I think most authors must be interested in the journey of their books after publication. I remember how calm I was when, a couple of years ago, I took the 600 surplus copies of my first book: The Road to Corbyn (2016) to the local recycling centre at St Erth for disposal in the skip. In my enthusiasm, I had ordered a print run of 1,000 copies. A big mistake. I have learnt the lesson. Actually that trip to the St Erth dump gifted me an encounter which was priceless. The guy employed to oversee the skip into which I was casting my books asked me what the book was about. He was in his late-thirties or early-forties, weather-beaten, a hard, tough physique. Not a man to cross. I explained. He paused. "Did you write this?" "Yes", I replied. He paused again. "Can I have a copy?" "Yes!" "Will you sign it?" "Yes!" - and then he explained that he was part of a Traveller community which was based in the Camborne area and on the three occasions that Jeremy Corbyn had come to Heartlands to speak in political rallies between 2016 and 2019, he and his family had been there to hear and applaud him - just as I had. We got on like a house on fire.

Published in May 2024

My latest book: Mine to Die had an initial print run of 200 copies. I have learned to be careful, although there may well be another print run of 100 ordered soon - see this recent blogpost here: Rob Donovan - Author: MINE TO DIE GETS CLOSE TO ANOTHER PRINT RUN  The latest event in the book's journey since publication in May adds further encouragement and increases the likelihood of making that

WHAT BRITAIN NEEDS

 I am on the mailing list of a number of worthwhile voices of sanity in our distressed and muddled polity. Before I left Facebook, I would have shared on that platform - now I can copy a mailing that strikes me as being particularly insightful and paste it as a blogpost. I hope this gets read widely:

Dear Rob,   Leading economists wrote to the Chancellor this week demanding a change of direction. Concerned that the government won’t invest enough in public services and infrastructure, the group of economists – including top civil servants and academics – wrote an open letter to Rachel Reeves in the Financial Times. They argue the government is prioritising reducing government borrowing – and

FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY (11) - PART TWO: HUGH MCGREGOR ROSS 'THIRTY ESSAYS ON THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS'

 Hugh McGregor Ross has an American counter-part, Professor Stevan Davies; these two scholars have studied the Gospel of Thomas and each, in similar ways, has opened the eyes of readers to the spiritual wisdom of the sayings of Jesus as recorded by Thomas. Stevan Davies writes in 'The Gospel of Thomas Annotated & Explained' (2002): 'The Gospel of Thomas presents a vision of all human beings as potential children of God within whom already, unbeknownst to them, the divine light is shining.' How wonderful it is that our founder, George Fox, arrived at the same conclusion through his mystical experiences leading to his truth-finding in1647: we are all children of the light. 

1647, in England and 1945, in Egypt, when the only surviving copy of the Gospel of Thomas emerged from the ground in an earthenware jar, are key years and places when humanity was blessed. 

The Light and the Truth - in the Sayings of Jesus recorded by Thomas these are to be found within us.

In the first part of this blogpost, I summarized some of the knowledge and ideas of Hugh McGregor Ross recorded in his 'Thirty Essays on the Gospel of Thomas' (1990). In this post, I share the rest of his wisdom.

• The Gospel of Thomas was branded as heretical by Hippolytus, bishop of Rome, in the early third century. Ross notes that the original meaning of the word 'heresy' was neither abusive nor complimentary - it means literally a choice, for example of principles. But Christians such as Paul in the first century and then Ignatius in the second century began to apply it to views they regarded as erroneous - not representing a proper understanding of Christian belief. They were intent on creating a church for everyone with a defined dogma of belief. Other religions offer a pathway to a deeper personal spirituality: the Jewish faith has Hasidism; Islam has Sufism; Hindus have the

MINE TO DIE GETS CLOSE TO ANOTHER PRINT RUN

 My original print run for Mine to Die was 200; it had been 300 for Dying to Know and that seemed excessive given the number of unsold copies. A pity because DTK is a good piece of writing with very important messages about our misgovernment during the pandemic, some interesting bits of autobiography, and great photographs. If you haven't got a copy yet for yourself or if you are looking for a present for someone else, please press this link for a way to purchase. So I limited MTD to 200 copies with the hope that maybe the fates would be kind and the book would sell well enough to warrant another print run. 

I am getting closer to fulfilling that hope as you will read below. First, though, here is an extract from an earlier blogpost I wrote in March this year, shortly after MTD's initial publication:

"I am circulating this blogpost around the forty or so people in my network. If any of you are interested in buying a copy of any of my Matador books, they are available from that publisher, or from me directly for a signed copy using my website or just email me, or from any bookshop. I avoid Amazon myself, if I can (I only get around £2.50 for each copy sold by them and their warehouse system is not good news for their workers). It would be much to my advantage if you referenced any of my Matador publications in conversation with friends and family, encouraging others to support a writer whose only ambition is to be read more widely." 

The rock drill the miners called 'The Widow Maker'. This image was taken by J.C. Burrows in 1904 and appears in MTD on p.30. The account of rock drilling developments is on pp.28-33.

If and when you have read Mine to Die, I would really appreciate it if you would leave a review on the Matador and Waterstones website. There are nine good reviews of Dying to Know on the Matador website and three on the Waterstones webpage. It all helps. I do have two reviews for MTD on the Amazon UK Books site and they needed verified purchases - so only if you must!

Thank you all for any part you can play in this exciting adventure which isn't just about me; those young Cornish miners and their families from the 19th and 20th centuries with their tales of bravery, strength, and suffering are the core of my story. MTD is my

FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY (10) - PART ONE: HUGH MCGREGOR ROSS (1990) 'THIRTY ESSAYS ON THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS'

 In 1987, Hugh McGregor Ross's work: The Gospel of Thomas, Newly presented to bring out the meaning, with Introductions, Paraphrases and Notes was published. It had been nine years in the making, during which time Ross, dissatisfied with the first English translation of this Gospel, had learnt the ancient Coptic language of the manuscript to gain a deeper understanding. These thirty essays on the Gospel of Thomas published in 1990 serve as a companion, three years in the writing, each one following an idea Ross felt compelled to tease out. I am in awe of this scholar who has made such an important contribution to Christian theology from a background of scientific and engineering excellence. This is a man who had joined a specialist computer company in the week of the very first commercial sale of a computer anywhere in the world - see this link here for my earlier blogpost on Hugh McGregor Ross, his scientific background, his achievements, and his Quaker faith centred on the teachings of Jesus. 

Some of the contents of the jar found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi

What follows is a summary of the key ideas in these essays:

• Where did the Gospel of Thomas come from? It was amongst a group of twelve volumes discovered in a jar in 1945 at a site near Nag Hammadi in Egypt, mid-way along the Nile. They were buried by the monks of a nearby monastery at a time of persecution. The Gospel begins with this statement: 

These are the hidden logia

 which the living Jesus spoke

 and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote.    

A logion is a saying, given by a master, that has both an outer and a deep inner meaning which provides great reward for one's life. The manuscript we have is the only known complete version - written very clearly in black ink on papyrus.

• In the early 4th century AD, Diocletian was unifying the rule of the Roman Empire and saw Christians and Jews as a threat so he persecuted these monotheists. Sections of the Christian

FRUITS OF THE MARZION QUAKER LIBRARY (9) - KATE THOMAS (2022) 'FALMOUTH AND THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE' AND THREE OTHER GEMS

 I discovered Kate Thomas's booklet on Monday this week in the course of labelling books on the shelves of our library. The full title is 'Collective Amnesia: Falmouth and the Transatlantic Slave Trade' and somehow this booklet and its subject matter had remained unknown to me. 

I shall make contact with Falmouth Quakers and seek more information and understanding about the campaign to raise awareness of the evident racism . One way forward is to move from prominence the wall monument to a slave trader in the Anglican church in Falmouth, adding detail beside it that reveals the truth about Thomas Corker's role in the slave trade. Online, I have found that the latest reference to such a campaign is in 2022; the Church of England hierarchy and bureaucracy, whilst in agreement that action needs to be taken, seem to be stalling further

BEATRIZ MILHAZES AT TATE ST IVES - A PORTUGUESE CELBRATION OF LIFE

 Around a month ago, Louise and I joined our friend Stephen Vranch to view the latest special exhibition at Tate St Ives featuring the work of Beatriz Milhazes. 2024 has been a rich year at our local Tate - in May, I published my blog post about the Tate exhibition focusing on the work of Outi Pieski that we had seen in March - see this link here. From Scandinavia to the north and Brazil to the south, the cultural reach of the Tate has been magnificent. We have had such a riot of colour and form to savour, as you saw with Outi Pieski and see again with Beatriz Milhazes. 

I love the insight in Milhazes' words, referenced in the Tate show:

My context has been surrounded by forests, mountains and coastal experiences; the development of a 'tropical' way of thinking. In St Ives it is very special for me to experience the same ocean as in Rio de Janeiro. Same water, different cultures, but in the end it is all about life.'

Her paintings and collages draw on a range of sources - from the natural and urban landscapes of Brazil to the histories of art and architecture. 

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1960, Milhazes rose to prominence in the 1980s as part of an 80s art movement that took a new direction away from the austere abstractions of previous decades. Artists within this new paradigm embraced painting as a medium for energy and expression. Milhazes has

LIVING THE GOOD LIFE - MEET ALAN NEWTON, A MARAZION QUAKER

 

Frank Musgrove, who was professor of sociology at the University of Manchester when I was there as a postgraduate student in 1976-77, had a memorable line that has resonated with me from that time to this. ‘The health of a society’, he said, ‘lies at its margins’.

 

Becoming and being a Quaker identifies the person who has taken that path as being different from the mainstream. Quakers live at the margins of society, seeking to change themselves and the world for the better. That’s why we can be a force for good. At our best, we are the health of a society.

 

All of which brings us to Alan Newton, clerk at the Marazion Meeting House, who has recently accepted clerking duties within Cornwall Area Meeting. When I first met Alan my judgement was that he was a good, kind man with a quick wit and accomplished in his role as a clerk. He seemed a modest man, confident in some ways but self-effacing. Now I know his story I can appreciate his character more deeply. Alan has lived a life at the margins in a fashion which I find inspirational. More people should know about his alternative take on how to live well, how to live the good life.

Living the good life in the home that Alan built - June 2024 - Alan Newton and Beryl Brookman, with a Friend, Louise Donovan, in silhouette between them, sharing a simple lunch  

Alan was born in 1958 in Hornsey in north London before it became gentrified and posh. When he was five years old, the family moved to Wimbledon into a house that had been inherited from an aunt. Their new home was in a middle-class street with bankers and city commuters as neighbours. Alan’s dad was

MAKING SENSE - REMARKABLE INSIGHTS FROM PROFESSOR MARTIN STANTON

Those of you who follow my blogposts will know that my journey - my odyssey through my lifetime - has been enriched by discovering the writings of Richard Rohr (Silent Compassion, 2014/2022) and Hugh McGregor Ross's analysis of George Fox as a mystic (George Fox - A Christian Mystic, 1991/2008). I have also found Ross's studies of the Gospel of Thomas a deep source of wisdom, but as yet have not read enough to create a post on these matters. Here are the relevant links:

For Ross: https://robdonovan.blogspot.com/2024/01/fruits-of-marazion-quaker-library-hugh.html

For Rohr: https://robdonovan.blogspot.com/2023/11/fruits-of-marazion-quaker-library_21.html

I can now add the ideas and writings of Martin Stanton to my list of guides to a deeper understanding of how best to make sense of the odyssey we all make by virtue of being alive. 

Martin Stanton - circa the 1980s

Making Sense (2020) is Martin Stanton's remarkable critique of mainstream psychoanalysis in its academic and clinical ideology and practice. Martin is the child declaring that the emperor's clothes are only imagined. Professor Judith E. Vida in Los Angeles hits the spot when she writes:

'Making Sense  is a radical proposal that the real life complexity of thought, emotion, and experience will always resist closure, resolution, fixing, getting over it, interpretation, diagnosis, and so-called 'normality'. Martin Stanton generates poetic new metaphors for living that are as supportive as they are expansive, providing morsels of practical wisdom, each at once juicy, sweet, and savoury - and full of new nourishment.'

I should also say at this point that I did not find Making Sense an easy book to read. Martin has more learning than I do. My grasp of Greek mythology is only basic; Martin moves with ease and fruitfully

EXPLORING NEW WORLDS - OUTI PIESKI AT TATE ST IVES - AND REDEFINING BOUNDARIES

The boundaries of our world shrank during the Covid pandemic, as did those of the rest of the world. Much of the world has now forgotten those self-protecting days of isolation - but there are still many, including Louise and myself, whose boundaries are more limited than they used to be. [The official Covid-19 Inquiry is now taking place and will eventually issue its Report; reading my work 'Dying to Know' (2022) will give you access to the bits that the official report will gloss over or leave out altogether. Press this link here if you are interested in buying a copy.]  

We no longer have the desire to cross the continent of Europe in an aircraft to reach Athens and then take a ship to cruise the Aegean to reach the holy island of Patmos, a journey we first undertook in 1988 and then repeated in eighteen of the thirty years before SARS-CoV-2 struck. These pilgrimages brought rest, rehabilitation, and a touch of wisdom - but we have moved on. The memories remain - and the inspirations.

If the motivation to travel distances has declined, the love of discovery has remined intact. It was therefore a joy to accompany our friend, Stephen Vranch, on a visit to the new exhibition at Tate St Ives, featuring the work of Outi Pieski, in March this year.  

Outi Pieski 

Outi Pieski is a Sámi visual artist based in Ohcejohka (Utsjoki), Finland. 

Pieski's paintings and installations explore several themes, including the culture and identity of the Sámi people – who live in the region of Sápmi, which now includes the

FRUITS OF THE MARAZION QUAKER LIBRARY (8) - DAVID OLUSOGA (2020) 'BLACK AND BRITISH - A SHORT, ESSENTIAL HISTORY'

     David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian and broadcaster whose professorship is at the University of Manchester. In 2019 he was awarded the OBE for services to history and community integration. 

In this book of over 200 pages, David Olusoga has achieved what he set out to do: he has written for a readership of children the history of Black people in Britain. The version for adults had already been published to acclaim; now there is a text for younger readers - and any adult such as myself who has not read the earlier work can get so much from reading this book with its short, straightforward sentences and unearthed details. 

Professor David Olusoga - New York Times photo

I will shape this blogpost around ten points that I discovered for the first time in reading Black and

MY LATEST BOOK: 'MINE TO DIE' HAS A DAY OUT IN TRURO

 I'm writing this blogpost on Sunday morning, 3rd March, in my study looking out on the scaffolding that appeared on Friday. Yesterday, Roofing Legacy took the roof off our home as part of a masterplan to stop the leakage of water through the ceilings of my study and the landing when the heavy rains come and the wind is blowing in a certain direction. Hopefully, no more need for buckets now. Today, they are due to put the roof back on with new tiles.

Scaffolding for the roofers 

All this roofing kerfuffle has delayed the production of this blog. My day out in Truro was last Tuesday, 27th February, and when I got home I knew I wanted to write about the day. My personal copies of Mine to Die arrived on Wednesday and the book has been very much in my thoughts. The week before, I had visited the only bookshop left in St Ives to see if they were interested in stocking my latest work whose official publication date is 28 May 2024. I showed the two women on the front desk the flyer of the front and back covers (image below) and was thrilled when one of them exclaimed: 'How extraordinary! I was looking at that image only a couple of hours ago'. She had already ordered a copy after seeing details on

WHAT PRICE SECURITY? WHERE ARE THE THREATS COMING FROM?

 OpenDemocracy provides some useful detail, asks the right questions - and comes up with the obvious answer:

GLOBAL WARMING 

Expanding the UK military won’t tackle the biggest threat to security   by Paul Rogers       We are reaching a period of near-global militarisation. Military spending worldwide soared by 9% to a record high of $2.2tn last year and is likely to grow further in 2024, aided by Russia’s war in Ukraineand Israel’s assault on Gaza. Against this backdrop, Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO military committee and an admiral in the Dutch Navy, last month said that countries must increase their capacity to produce weapons and consider plans for mobilisation, increasing the size of reserve forces and even conscription. This spending and messaging mean the world’s military-industrial complexes are looking forward to boom times in the coming years – and senior British politicians and military are as keen as any to help bring it on. Defence secretary Grant Shapps last month warned that we are moving from “a post-war to a pre-war world” and must respond accordingly, while the head of the British Army, General Patrick Sanders, said the UK should take “preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing”, such a change being