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In the 198os Neil Kinnock, Michael Foot, Tony Benn and others asked us to bring banners to their rallies and meetings but there was always those in the shadows trying to stop us.....The same party members are still being very negative about jeremy today. At Neil's Invitation we took banners to his big rally in Manchester Free Trade Hall.... Mandelson was at the front trying to stop us. Neil overrode Mandelson and the Banners went Up... After the rally/ meeting we met Neil and Glenys out the back and he said he wanted the banners for the Rally at the Beamish Out door Museum. in Northumberland.... It was in an enormous Marquee . Neil soon gave up his planned speech and used the banners as visual aids speaking about all the the issues depicted on the banners ...After this , hostility became open war fare with Mandelson et al

During the 1980s with my Housemans Peace Diary I was in contact with the peace movement around the world. My post cards of banners inspired by greenham were sold internationally. There was interest in sharing the banners so they were packed and parceled up to send around the world . First in brown paper parcels and soon in my husbands enormous naval kitbag in which I could pack over thirty. It was not costly to air freight them across the world. people displayed the in churches, schools, colleges, town halls, AND PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS and used on marches , some times they did not return to Borth in Mid wales for a year. THIS WAS SO POPULAR that people wanted to buy them. I gave many away had to make replicas. I asked the arts council for support but they refused...... all these contacts over the years made it possible to raise money internationally to set up the life size bronze of the greenham marcher with her baby where she joined the painting of princess Diana and the Victorian marble of Boudicca and her daughters who where very lonely in the sea of paintings and sculptures of men....

In the 1980s we made the stage back drop for the Daniel Ortega meeting in Central Hall Wesminster it was so big we had to make it in the garden at Glangors,,,, As we went to the hall we were screamed and sworn at by posh boys trying to attack us holding what looked like blood stained banners with violent slogans made from sheets, The police with linked arms had a very difficult job holding them back., Inside Daniel Ortega made a moving speech about his hopes and dreams and told us how he had just come from 10 Downing street and Mrs Thatcher had just refused his country aid. Graham Green made an affectionate speech praising Daniel Ortega and expressing support for the acheivments of Nicaragua, They hugged each other on stage.

In 1981 the first time we took the banners to display at a Labour Conference Dennis Healey was interviewed in Front of the large bi lingual Nuclear Free Wales Banner.The White dove looked battle scared as the purple curtain used in the banner was not colour fast...

Making the Oxford international Womens Day Banner - 1996 In Oxford Town Hall a group of women spent weekend, making fabric squares. They took them home to complete them .
A month later we gathered all the squares with the letters we needed and a central panel.
The Central panel depicts the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom Train To the UN Conference in Beijing in 1995 .I took it all back to Wales to put it together. Some of the squares were made by skilled needle women others by women with less experience.. but all full of ideas. They helped each other.One of the women from Oxford came to stay in Wales with us to help.
The group were of all ages and with differing political views. Their focus was on Oxford and what they cared about , and the facilities Oxford offered women,.with some history included... The main focus was Cooperation and Community, with peace and the environment important issues. It was a sociable time. The Cooperative movement helped fund the project and it was organised by Ann Mobbs
Thalia



Started in 1990 as part of the City Council’s Events programme with ten events and a large historical 100 Years of Women’s Banners Exhibition from Mary Somerville to the Suffragettes and the anti-Poll Tax banners

There will be a big international exhibition starting on March 10th 2011 on the History of International Womens Day in Erfurt Germany and Thalia has been asked to co-ordinate things from the UK

Do you have any quotes ,thoughts , photos of artifacts , badges , posters and photos to contribute

If so please contact Thalia via this site

click for imore information

The Banners exhibition was hosted by Oxford City Council in the Council Chambers, We found two historic Cooperative banners in a Coop Hall cellar. They were clearing the building as the lease had run out. Three elderly CWG members were with us when we found the long wooden Banner boxes with rusty hnges and locks. The locks fell apart as we opened them and the bright and shiny sewn and painted banners were unrolled. The women were very moved at seeing the banners not used since their youth. The TV wanted to film the finding of the long lost banners but we felt we could not recreate that exciting magic moment...We hung the banners in the exhibition and after wards they were given to Oxford Museum. In the middle of the Exhibition we had to take it all down because The Oxford V Cambridge Boxing matches took place. We were told there would be blood on the walls. There were brawls and fights all over the place as well as in the Ring! Very early on Sunday morning we went in to rehang it and there was a strong smell of bleach and stains where the blood had truly been on the golden stone town hall walls. I was concerned the Bleach could damage the Historic Banners. The caretaker was a real misogynist and gave Ann and ourselves a miserable time throughout the exhibition.

When the exhibition was in MerthyrTydfil at Cyfartha Castle in the old iron masters home, now a school and museum we found a long temperance poem. There were 3 temperance banners in the exhibition. This poem started an ongoing debate on the long forgotten and despised temperance movement...Was it about coercing a compliant work force and depriving the lower orders from enjoying the pleasures of the rich or caring paternalistically for their health and moral welfare? This debate rolled on at following venues.....Another story the locals shared with us was that in the past hell hole that Methyr was with people crippled, burned, and starving working in filthy dangerous smoke polluted valley there was a protest march. One woman carried a banner with the word Brawdr (Traitor) on it, She was arrested and sentenced to be transported to Australia. On the way the ship stopped to take on water on an African Beach where she was eaten by a lion.

The exhibition was hosted by Bristol Cty Council and Bristol University/ . The Council took down all the large oil paintings of Male Civic Dignitaries....The City Council House is Enormous, 30 foot high, marble floors, like an indoor Italian piazza. We asked if the Portrait of the Queen could stay. The Council allocated us two workers to help us hang the Exhibition . They were very friendly bricklayers. They supplied a large scaffold tower on wheels. Angus Helped us. On one End Wall all the names of Mayors were carved and gilded., eventually an amazing contrast with the temporary womens rags (banners) The queen looked Beautiful set between “Womens struggle won the vote.......” and The Bi lingual Nuclear free Wales Banners.

Bristol continued - Our Exhibition was in the early 1980s when there were Womens Committees with budgets. They decided to print a catalogue, we had the text. The young woman at the Councils Printing Department expressed surprise at the council printing it. When it came to proof reading the chapter on women's history i...n the trade unions she was in tears... Among our Speakers were Jo Richardson MP, Moira Vincentelli UCW and an 84 year old pensioner who had lived in a terraced house which became a bomb site during WW2 and now the grand council house. She had Marched with banners in the 1930s against the Japanese attack on China. During the month long exhibition on one Saturday there was a Naval Recruiting day watched over by the banners! One of the male city councillors saw the exhibition and said he was coming in with a box of matches to set fire to the banners. This made headlines in the newspapers. Many banners were borrowed from museums which made his threat worrying. As our Exhibition touted the country it was a litmus test of misogyny, male power, leading to political censorship which we did not accept.

In the 1980s we made the stage back drop for the Daniel Ortega meeting in Central Hall Wesminster it was so big we had to make it in the garden at Glangors,,,, As we went to the hall we were screamed and sworn at by posh boys trying to attack us holding what looked like blood stained banners with violent slogans made from sheets, The police with linked arms had a very difficult job holding them back., Inside Daniel Ortega made a moving speech about his hopes and dreams and told us how he had just come from 10 Downing street and Mrs Thatcher had just refused his country aid. Graham Geen made an affectionate speech praising Daniel Ortega and expressing support for the acheivments of Nicaragua, They hugged each other on stage,

During the miners strike there was a benefit concert at the Piccadilly Theatre. I was asked to bring up banners to cover the stage and curtains , There was a big problem that the banners should have been fireproofed. we were unhappy about the chemicals and the effectcs on the banners so in the end they were not fireproofed, There was the safety curtain.. The theatre was packed and many famous threatricals entertained for free to raise funds for the miners. Many were members of Arts for Labour. It was a memorable evening . I took the banners down and took the night train to north waies met up with Ian and went to see the Bersham miners go back to work in the dark early hours . The police were hiding in the hedges in the narrow lane and beat and kicked the miners, their wives and children on their way to the pit.Ian made himself known as the Euro Candidate for N wales and The violence ceased

Labour Party Conference Bournemouth, we were there to set up as Arts for labour, we provided an exhibition of trades union and other banners. one banner "Thatchers Thugs Orgreave 1984" the assistant chief constable stormed to Larry Whitty t...hat if the banner was not taken down he would witdraw security and close the confernce, He was stung into telling us Orgreave was a military Opersation and not a police operation. it was set up to defeat Scargill

Soon after the nuclear industry started putting up their enormous stall at L.P.Conference one year women MPs MEPS And Delegates decided to wrap up the stall in peace banners so it could not be seen. we encircled it holding the banners....we had also wrapped up some of the men on the stall in peace banners . Because we were women it did not escalate into violence. It was us Bringing Greenham to the Conference. we had lively debates with the men on the stall.

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