{"id":404,"date":"2018-01-29T17:51:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T17:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/catchingstories.infamousarts.co.uk\/?page_id=404"},"modified":"2018-01-29T17:51:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T17:51:26","slug":"rose-hunter-banner-tribute","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/catchingstories.infamousarts.co.uk\/?page_id=404","title":{"rendered":"Rose Hunter Banner Tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Banner Theatre: Thirty Years of Memories<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A tribute\u00a0<\/span><\/b>by\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Rose Hunter<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Presentation for the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Catching Stories<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Banner\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Reunion\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Day<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>30<\/span><\/b>\u00a0September 2017<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rose Hunter is a member the North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group<\/span>\u00a0(NSMWAG)<\/span>. The group was formed during the 1984-85 Miners\u2019 Strike by women of the ten food centres which were set up around the North Staffordshire coalfields. Throughout the whole of the strike, the women were involved in building support for the strike, standing on picket lines, going on speaking tours,\u00a0<\/span>going on speaking tours and organising collections as well as major rallies and events<\/span>. When the strike ended, the group continued to give solidarity and support to others in struggle: striking print workers at Wapping, Silentnight workers, Seafarers, Liverpool Dockers,\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>W<\/span>omen\u00a0<\/span>from<\/span>\u00a010 Downing Street\u201d (the\u00a0<\/span>Asian\u00a0<\/span>factory workers striking for union recogni<\/span>tion at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Burnsall\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in Smethwick<\/span>)<\/span>, as well as\u00a0<\/span>anti-fascist and anti-deportation campaigns, and many more disputes all over the country.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I met Banner for the first time duri<\/span>ng the 1984-85 Miners\u2019 Strike. Although, i<\/span>t was\u00a0<\/span>probably Brenda<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[1]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who first met them through the Birmingham Trades Council\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0meetings, when she used to come down weekly to coordinate support for the<\/span>\u00a0striking North Staff<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0miners and their families.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I rememb<\/span>er seeing them at\u00a0<\/span>Hem<\/span>\u00a0Heath Club\u00a0<\/span>and being blown away by their songs about\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span><\/i>\u00a0struggle, and them recounting\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span><\/i>\u00a0stories from other coalfield areas<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 they went everywhere…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I felt \u2013 we felt \u2013 that we were not on our own. These were our protest songs and stories. And when you\u2019re in the middle of a strike,\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>rying to feed the kids, worrying about how you\u2019re going to keep a roof over your head,\u00a0<\/span>these songs \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Banner Theatre<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 gave us hope, strength, a feeling of camaraderie. They made us laugh with all the strike songs we could join in with,\u00a0<\/span>songs such as\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019d Rather Be a Picket Than a Scab<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>Kiss Me Goodnight, Arthur\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Scargill<\/span><\/i>, and my personal favourite:\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Snowman Song<\/span><\/i>…\u00a0<\/span>also<\/span>\u00a0known as\u00a0<\/span>Silly Bugger<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Mr\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Nesbitt<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[2]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then the real\u00a0<\/span>tear-jerkers<\/span>, like<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Walton Jail<\/span><\/i>, written about<\/span>\u00a0the Stoke lads who set the scab buses on fire and who were sent to\u00a0<\/span>prison as punishment<\/span>…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Banner didn\u2019t go away when the<\/span>\u00a0strike ended, and that\u2019s when t<\/span>he North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group decided \u2013 with a lot of persuas<\/span>ion from Banner Theatre and Anna Seymour\u00a0<\/span>[3]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0start singing. We couldn\u2019t believe this could be done. We thought we could hold a tune on the picket lines, shouting at the coppers and scabs. But in reality \u2013 despite me desperately wanting to sound like<\/span>\u00a0Tina Turner, we were hopeless.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Nonetheless, the most important thing for us was the message \u2013 the struggle, the politics \u2013 which all sounds a bit heavy, but what was the point of singing about stuff that didn\u2019t mean anything to anyone? Banner gave us the opportunity to express how we felt. The songs challenged us, challenged our audience. We sang about our experiences in Belfast.\u00a0<\/span>Belfast City<\/span><\/i>\u00a0was a perfect song for\u00a0<\/span>us. Written by Dave Rogers, it\u2019s our favourite one: raw, emotional, tender, strong, uniting all our struggles. Not everybody in our own community liked us singing that song, but we didn\u2019t care. We sang it loud and\u00a0<\/span>proud, and, in Belfast, we were always asked to bring it out as a single!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Banner are<\/span>\u00a0like our family. More than comrades, they\u2019re our friends, our brothers and our sisters. Thirty years have gone by in the blink of an eye.\u00a0<\/span>The NSMWAG have changed, sadly. Doreen Mason\u2019s gone, Hilary McLaren\u2019s gone, and just this year, our Bren \u2013 Brenda Procter \u2013 died. And Bridget \u2013 Bridget Bell \u2013 cannot be with us today either, as she\u2019s too ill to attend.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>So, today, we remember them, as we remember Peter Yates, and Joyce Canaan who is going through her own personal struggle. They\u2019re all big characters in the struggle, comrades who have influenced and shaped and inspired me, along with Dave, Kevin Hayes, Dave Dale,\u00a0<\/span>Jilah<\/span>, Anna, Fred, Vince,\u00a0<\/span>Jacqueline\u00a0<\/span>… everybody.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>To you, beloved comrades<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We make this solemn vow<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fight will go on\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>i<\/span>l<\/span>l we win<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Until we win<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[4]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rose<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Hunter<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

30 September 2017<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For the women of the North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Bridget Bell, Pauline Bentley, Rose Hunter, Doreen Mason, Hilary McLaren, Debbie Patton, Pauline Plant, Brenda Procter, Maureen Rowley, Deana Welsh<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0<\/span>In the words of her son Ryan, Brenda Procter (1950-2017) was an activist and fighter for social justice who was first politicised during the 1984-85 Miners\u2019 Strike. With other miners\u2019 wives, she started the food parcel distribution centre at Florence Colliery Miners\u2019 Welfare in Stoke-on-Trent and helped form the National Women Against Pit Closures (of which she was elected Chair in 2003). Brenda was also a founder member of the North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group and campaigned tirelessly to support communities in struggle, standing on picket lines, singing at rallies, demonstrations and functions across the country and abroad, sharing platforms with Tony Benn, Arthur\u00a0<\/span>Scargill<\/span>\u00a0and Jeremy\u00a0<\/span>Corbyn<\/span>. She became a Labour councillor on Stoke City Council and studied for a degree in industrial relations at\u00a0<\/span>Keele<\/span>\u00a0University.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The song refers\u00a0<\/span>to the time\u00a0<\/span>one\u00a0<\/span>Chief Superintendent Nesbitt\u00a0<\/span>saw\u00a0<\/span>a snowman<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>built by striking miners at\u00a0<\/span>Kiveton<\/span>\u00a0Park\u00a0<\/span>Colliery<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and adorned with\u00a0<\/span>policeman\u2019s helmet<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Enraged,\u00a0<\/span>Nesbitt\u00a0<\/span>drove<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>his<\/span>\u00a0Range Rover\u00a0<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0the snowman, only to discover it had been built round a concrete\u00a0<\/span>bollard<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Banner Theatre\u00a0<\/span>turned<\/span>\u00a0the snowman story into a song\u00a0<\/span>snippet\u00a0<\/span>to the tune of\u202f<\/span>John Brown’s Body<\/span><\/i>, and,\u00a0<\/span>every time\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Chief Superintendent<\/span>\u00a0showed his face near a picket line<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Miners’ Support Groups taunted\u00a0<\/span>him<\/span>\u00a0with greetings of “Silly Bugger Mr Nesbitt”.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The song goes:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The miners built a sn<\/span>owman down on the picket line<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And Nesbitt went to knock it down<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Silly bugger Mister Nesbitt<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Silly bugger Mister Nesbitt<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Silly bugger Mister Nesbitt<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2019Cos<\/span>\u00a0he wrapped his Range Rover round a concrete post<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[<\/span>3<\/span>]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Anna Seymour\u00a0<\/span>worked with Banner Theatre\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0theatre director from 1984 to 1989.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In 1986, West Midland Arts\u00a0<\/span>funded the North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group\u00a0<\/span>to work with Banner on singing and writing songs about their experiences<\/span>. With Anna\u2019s direction, the group put on their first show,\u00a0<\/span>Unfinished Business<\/span><\/i>. This was followed by a long list of tours and gigs all over the country with workers and trade unionists booking the group to hear their songs of struggle.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[<\/span>4<\/span>]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Beloved Comrade<\/span><\/i>\u00a0was written by poet and lyricist Abel\u00a0<\/span>Meeropol<\/span>\u00a0(under his pen name Lewis Allan), originally on the death of Franklin Roosevelt. It became associated with Spanish Civil War international brigades.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Banner Theatre: Thirty Years of Memories\u00a0 A tribute\u00a0by\u00a0Rose Hunter\u00a0 \u00a0Presentation for the\u00a0Catching Stories\u00a0and\u00a0Banner\u00a0Reunion\u00a0Day,\u00a030\u00a0September 2017\u00a0 \u00a0Rose Hunter is a member the North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group\u00a0(NSMWAG). The group was formed during the 1984-85 Miners\u2019 Strike by women of the ten food centres which were set up around the North Staffordshire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-404","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nRose Hunter Banner Tribute -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/catchingstories.infamousarts.co.uk\/?page_id=404\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rose Hunter Banner Tribute -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Banner Theatre: Thirty Years of Memories\u00a0 A tribute\u00a0by\u00a0Rose Hunter\u00a0 \u00a0Presentation for the\u00a0Catching Stories\u00a0and\u00a0Banner\u00a0Reunion\u00a0Day,\u00a030\u00a0September 2017\u00a0 \u00a0Rose Hunter is a member the North Staffs Miners\u2019 Wives Action Group\u00a0(NSMWAG). 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