St George

I took this photo in the William Morris gallery in Walthamstow last month. I love the work of William and his contemporaries but this is actually a pretty ridiculous image. Whilst I'm not big on realism, this sort of impression paints a very wrong image that simpletons love to feed on.

I'm an atheist so I don't approve of religious symbols either but if you are going to feature a historic figure in a picture then it is quite offensive to change that figure's ethnic identity. The geezer that was George came from the Middle East therefore would have had a much darker complexion. The above Northern European looking person is just plain wrong.

Socialist chanting

I've long been a fan of Darren Hayman. He was in a spiffingly brilliant band called Hefner. I was reminded of his work upon discovering the existence of David Woodcock another fine singer/songwriter from Essex. I've always loved the strand of quintessentially English style of music that mostly blossoms in and emanates from the Essex/London area. A style that no doubt had its roots in music hall but was defined by the Kinks and the Small Faces and then via Ian Dury, Dr Feelgood, The Kursaal Flyers, Sham 69, The Members, Billy Bragg, Depeche Mode, Billy Bragg, Blur, The Libertines and many , many more.

Anyway back to the business in hand; one of Darren Hayman's recent projects has been to produce a musical offering based on a pamphlet of Socialist chants by William Morris. The left most certainly has the best music: