tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68871558247577580172024-03-14T09:20:18.225+00:00The Women Chainmakers FestivalUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-67776076434366941362014-03-10T12:49:00.001+00:002014-03-10T12:49:10.731+00:00Women Chainmakers' Festival 2014 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKDrycfwzkRGwSW4okjHfS0WjxKm0q_xOSCh7tOthi7V-FzCtHRFTYEabGj85MRW78fhESdQHnqvUeQ5kC8t21y5Vx2KNSwJTEot1CcoYOrb9dzhR2Fw51bCgstvOFd0pimEE6RZ-d597/s1600/Chainmakers2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKDrycfwzkRGwSW4okjHfS0WjxKm0q_xOSCh7tOthi7V-FzCtHRFTYEabGj85MRW78fhESdQHnqvUeQ5kC8t21y5Vx2KNSwJTEot1CcoYOrb9dzhR2Fw51bCgstvOFd0pimEE6RZ-d597/s1600/Chainmakers2014.jpg" height="261" width="400" /></a></div>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Women Chainmakers’ festival to return to Bearmore Park in Cradley Heath
</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Festival celebrating an historic strike by Women
Chainmakers will return to Cradley Heath in June 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The tenth anniversary Women Chainmakers festival will be held in Bearmore Park in
Cradley Heath on 7<sup>th</sup> June, preceded by our music event – “Friday night at the Chainmakers” on Friday 6th June. </span><br />
</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The venue for both events, Bearmore Mound, is in the heart of the
Cradley Heath community where the Chainmakers worked and lived - and fought
their successful ten week dispute to secure a minimum wage for their sector. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The festival has been jointly organised by the Midlands Region of the
TUC and Sandwell council and will feature the TUC Assistant General Secretary, Kay Carberry,
speaking at the festival.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Midlands TUC festival organiser Alan Weaver said, “We are delighted to
bring the Chainmakers back to Cradley Heath for our annual trade union celebration of the Women Chainmakers.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“This places our joint celebration of Mary Macarthur, who led the strike
in 1910, back in the heart of the community where the women fought for their
rights to a minimum wage.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It was a great achievement and we are once again indebted to Sandwell Council for
their support in helping us continue to celebrate this important event. We are
looking to make this festival an integral part of Cradley Heath for the
foreseeable future and look forward to a long and successful partnership with
the council to make this happen.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The festival will also include a commemoration at Mary Macarthur Gardens
where the monument dedicated to the Chainmakers is situated. This will start at
11.00 a.m. to be followed by a banner parade along Cradley Heath high Street to
Bearmore Park, along part of the very route used by Macarthur and the women
Chainmakers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Further information</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The festival
celebrates the achievements of 800 or so women Chainmakers who fought to
establish a minimum wage for their labour. The local employers sought to deny
them their rights but were met with forceful opposition, led by Mary Macarthur,
who founded the National Federation of Women Workers and later stood for
Parliament as a Labour candidate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Friday night at the
Chainmakers</b>
takes place on Bearmore Mound from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. on Friday 6<sup>th</sup>
June.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
<b>The tenth Women Chainmakers festival</b>
takes place at Bearmore Mound on Saturday 7<sup>th</sup> June from 11.00 a.m.
to 5.00 p.m. and will feature TUC General Secretary Kay Carberry and local black country performers. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-60770234912576052122013-06-09T22:14:00.001+01:002013-06-09T22:14:47.479+01:00Photo record of the ninth Women Chainmakers' festival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The ninth Women
Chainmakers festival took place on Bearmore park, Cradley Heath on
Saturday 8th June. The festival is growing year on year, with the help
of glorious sunshine both on the day of the festival and during the
setup on the Thursday and Friday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This
year we were honoured by the presence of the TUC President, Lesley
Mercer who headlined the speakers, together with Gloria Mills, Head of
Equalities at UNISON.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Local artist performed
in the Leftfield marquee, and we had new attractions with Birmingham
University Archery Club, the Jockey Mens Morris Club and Cradley (or is
it Dudley?) Heathens Speedway Team.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Our "Mile for Mary"
paper chain challenge produced - well, maybe not quite mile - but a
seriously long chain which decorated the Family Tent in a way not seen
before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">An expanded Community tent saw many more local organisations and traders on the site which was great to see.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We
also organised our first commemoration at the Chainmakers Monument in
Mary MAcarthur Memorial Gardens and our second banner procession along
Cradley Heath High Street to the festival.</span><br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Falanweaver17%2Falbumid%2F5887504472426666273%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-48995064815278229922013-06-09T22:10:00.000+01:002013-06-09T22:10:17.489+01:00Friday night at the Chainmakers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Our first "Friday
night at the Chainmakers" on the festival site at Bearmore Park in
Cradley Heath was an opportunity to showcase some of the best musical
talent in the Black Country - including the Sandwell Rock school based
at Holly Lodge. The Rock school are made up of local school children,
-who in my humble view are superb musicians and singers - plus those
that have left school but come back to support current members of the
group.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We were delighted that
the TUC President, Lesley Mercer from the Chartered Society of
Physiotherapists, was able to present a cheque for £250 to the Rock
School to show our appreciation of the work done in giving young people
such a fantastic opportunity.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Joining us for this special evening was Stacey Blythe who composed and performed the Chainmakers' song .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Falanweaver17%2Falbumid%2F5886893063795714929%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-57557866104137990762013-06-05T14:17:00.003+01:002013-06-05T14:17:23.748+01:00Parking at The Chainmakers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We strongly urge
that you do not attempt to park in the streets around Bearmore Park as
festival parking has been arranged a ten minute walk from the site. This
is at Hickman's Avenue, Cradley Heath, B64 5ND and we are running a
shuttle service between Hickmans Avenue nd Plant Strreet from 11.00 a.m.
until 5.00 p.m.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There are 20 spaces for disabled people with blue badges for their cars at the festival site, access from Clyde Street, B64 6DQ.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For
those of you who wish to attend the commemoration at the Chainmakers
monument we suggest you use the car park near Cradley Heath railway
station, bottom left of map below, £2 per day for parking.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPMZKqj4_n7s9AElFJl6DVFDiS1_ND5n8T6Em3PhvO0QG9QXtbWc9fT4cg5C09FBVT5_XJ_Y4Kt-BNKyBz7sEKY5j0nR3RVgbeyvWRfXvP_PlZny_U5t5Jqc3Sf1MMDqI567g9LT_naQ/s1600/WCF+Car+parking+v2+whole+site.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPMZKqj4_n7s9AElFJl6DVFDiS1_ND5n8T6Em3PhvO0QG9QXtbWc9fT4cg5C09FBVT5_XJ_Y4Kt-BNKyBz7sEKY5j0nR3RVgbeyvWRfXvP_PlZny_U5t5Jqc3Sf1MMDqI567g9LT_naQ/s640/WCF+Car+parking+v2+whole+site.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-81636821382392165342013-06-04T18:39:00.000+01:002013-06-04T18:39:00.636+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The final line up for the Women Chainmakers' festival and Friday night at the Chainmakers' has just been released..................<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaQDVk8vEixgbqdcxO83Ks1oxseQXK0g0qWOyiMHGUP-JkMkUJ7AYB0iqI7G4N-0MB0n_1aLSrkVklMP-3DXJbHvhjCiSs6GnzrvdngjIkMKFpGaCIcjZViiCVH5uXlMGzEwQCpkGRdZx/s1600/Chainmakers2013_PosterA3+Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaQDVk8vEixgbqdcxO83Ks1oxseQXK0g0qWOyiMHGUP-JkMkUJ7AYB0iqI7G4N-0MB0n_1aLSrkVklMP-3DXJbHvhjCiSs6GnzrvdngjIkMKFpGaCIcjZViiCVH5uXlMGzEwQCpkGRdZx/s640/Chainmakers2013_PosterA3+Final.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-33313121278039156472013-06-04T17:21:00.003+01:002013-06-04T17:21:53.709+01:00Women Chainmakers’ festival to return to Bearmore Park in Cradley Heath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZLh5tfnGFSH6L9hFeOOtcZnAUaM6Avh6Dyu1VTO8yLTwSExfetmUFK019BEQ78yKXSDqx2g9-wlcfHBXI93P0FqNxzVot9r4AP-P-Q4ZrFJqcyzhmvgIZunb5vw4vResjgDjMDkc_UKa/s1600/ChainmakersLogo2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZLh5tfnGFSH6L9hFeOOtcZnAUaM6Avh6Dyu1VTO8yLTwSExfetmUFK019BEQ78yKXSDqx2g9-wlcfHBXI93P0FqNxzVot9r4AP-P-Q4ZrFJqcyzhmvgIZunb5vw4vResjgDjMDkc_UKa/s400/ChainmakersLogo2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Festival celebrating an historic strike by Women
Chainmakers will return to Cradley Heath this weekend.</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The ninth Women Chainmakers festival will be held in Bearmore Park in
Cradley Heath on 8<sup>th</sup> June, preceded by a new addition to the
festival –“Friday night at the Chainmakers”. </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The venue for both events, Bearmore Mound, is in the heart of the
Cradley Heath community where the Chainmakers worked and lived - and fought
their successful ten week dispute to secure a minimum wage for their sector. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The festival has been jointly organised by the Midlands Region of the
TUC and Sandwell council and will feature the TUC President, Lesley Mercer,
speaking at the events.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Midlands TUC festival organiser Alan Weaver said, “We are delighted to
bring the Chainmakers back to Cradley Heath for the third year running.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“This places our joint celebration of Mary Macarthur, who led the strike
in 1910, back in the heart of the community where the women fought for their
rights to a minimum wage.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It was a great achievement and we are indebted to Sandwell Council for
their support in helping us continue to celebrate this important event. We are
looking to make this festival an integral part of Cradley Heath for the
foreseeable future and look forward to a long and successful partnership with
the council to make this happen.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The festival will also include a commemoration at Mary Macarthur Gardens
here the monument dedicated to the Chainmakers is situated. This will start at
11.00 a.m. to be followed by a banner parade along Cradley Heath high Street to
Bearmore Park, along part of the very route used by Macarthur and the women
Chainmakers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Notes to Editors:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>The festival
celebrates the achievements of 800 or so women Chainmakers who fought to
establish a minimum wage for their labour. The local employers sought to deny
them their rights but were met with forceful opposition, led by Mary Macarthur,
who founded the National Federation of Women Workers and later stood for
Parliament as a Labour candidate.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span>Friday night at the
Chainmakers</span></b><span>
takes place on Bearmore Mound from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. on Friday 7<sup>th</sup>
June.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>Performers
on Friday Night include Sandwell Rock School and Stacey Blythe singing the
Chainmakers Song.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><br />
<b>The ninth Women Chainmakers festival</b>
takes place at Bearmore Mound on Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> June from 11.00 a.m.
to 5.00 p.m. and will feature TUC President, Lesley Mercer, Gloria Mills,
UNISON Head of Equalities, and local black country performers including The
Laners, Phil Parton, Easy Street, Tom Martin Band, Steve Morris, Bill O’Brien,
East West Fusion, Brett Huckerfield and Marie Timmins, Folk Law, Carol
Widenbar, Tony Scott and Billy and Lozz. </span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-90244646519253052662013-05-30T00:53:00.001+01:002013-05-30T00:53:45.420+01:00Announcing Friday Night at The Chainmakers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Friday
night at The Chainmakers is to be held at the festival site, Bearmore
Park, Cradley Heath, from 7.00 p.m. until 11.00 p.m. This is a free
event and forms part of the Women Chainmakers festival which takes place
on Saturday 8th June. </span><br />
<br />
The new promotional video can be viewed below or on YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqiRWl-sdfU" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyVD0KEsQdSg3tMWFD8vCnYc08EMmJBwHBqxbdeXAQVgDpD2CYRGibm2K_cz41o3HC7uLj8PB9nTRfLWyqD6w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-15675191655428285922013-05-15T23:17:00.001+01:002013-05-15T23:17:37.276+01:00Women Chainmakers festival returns to Cradley Heath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The 2013
Women Chainmakers' festival will be held at Bearmore Park, Cradley
Heath on Saturday 8th June. Check out our promotional video on YouTube
or watch it here.</span><br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx-Ygwju0CPVhsRFZbPwbS4HUxxBRXr1rL8SqPgko783muZiwNynI_YuOWlgdCw1WxwJBHFDZloMnbv3CanWw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The You Tube link is available <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRSQ6swKoQg" target="_blank">here</a> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-57419849797432226762012-06-26T16:29:00.002+01:002012-06-26T16:29:23.737+01:002012 Festival grows - and the sun shines!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The 2012 Women Chainmakers' Festival is over for another year. Bigger crowds, more tents and things to do - and the weather on the day was kind. </div>
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This year's festival coincided with the unveiling of the Chainmakers' monument at the Mary Macarthur Memorial Gardens in Cradley Heath, and gave us the opportunity to march on the very streets that the women chainmakers' made their own in 1910.</div>
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Our friends at Union News covered the festival and their video can be seen <a href="http://youtu.be/x6LNKMhgoV0" target="_blank">here:</a></div>
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Thanks to all those unions that put so much energy - -and financial support - into making this years festival a success. And thanks too, to Sandwell Council who were so supportive of the event. Without you all, it just does not happen.</div>
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Alan Weaver</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Festival Organiser</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-37675557008774725052012-03-10T12:29:00.001+00:002012-03-12T09:08:38.476+00:00Women Chainmakers’ Festival returns to Cradley Heath in Sandwell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="widget Blog" id="Blog1"><div class="blog-posts hfeed"><div class="date-outer"><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry"><div class="post-header"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XrV_z0lPd9YGs6JHpaW4G1SRlb4V5g6kBXUeKqCT5Kp1HbVkpiJFcj-WqnmXMiL20QnrggCrkadpp6HWTtMigaMd_akekAbwKkDRDJznuEQ6ROlBkG0RkC-p90AwNCwpY2Ba4QeMHkc/s1600/ChainmakersLogo2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_e1lpg8="2" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XrV_z0lPd9YGs6JHpaW4G1SRlb4V5g6kBXUeKqCT5Kp1HbVkpiJFcj-WqnmXMiL20QnrggCrkadpp6HWTtMigaMd_akekAbwKkDRDJznuEQ6ROlBkG0RkC-p90AwNCwpY2Ba4QeMHkc/s400/ChainmakersLogo2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="post-header-line-1"><style>
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</style> </div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1354595135772757664"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The festival celebrating an historic strike by women chainmakers’ will return to Sandwell in the summer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The eighth Women Chainmakers festival will be held in Bearmore Park in Cradley Heath on 9 June.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The venue, Bearmore Mound, is in the heart of the community where the chainmakers’ lived and worked - and fought their successful ten week dispute for a minimum wage for their sector in 1910.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The festival will be jointly organised by the Midlands Region of the TUC and Sandwell Council. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: “We are delighted to bring the Chainmakers back to Cradley Heath. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">“This places our joint celebration of Mary Macarthur, who led the strike, back in the heart of the community where the women fought for their rights to a minimum wage.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">“It was a great achievement and we are indebted to Sandwell Council for their support in helping us continue to celebrate this important event.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">“We are looking to make this festival an integral part of Cradley Heath for the foreseeable future and look forward to a long and successful partnership with the council to make this happen.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Sandwell Council Leader Councillor Darren Cooper said: “We are very pleased the TUC is again prepared to organise the festival in conjunction with the council.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">“This is an event which celebrates our local history and marks one of the most important events to take place anywhere in the country – and it is here on our patch in Cradley Heath.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The festival has been moved forward to June to coincide with the unveiling of a statue of a woman chainmaker at Mary Macarthur Park in Cradley Heath, </span><span style="font-size: small;">organised by the council and the Friends of Mary Macarthur Gardens Group.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"><i>Further information:</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The festival celebrates the achievements of 800 or so women Chainmakers who fought to establish a minimum wage for their labour. The local employers sought to deny them their rights but were met with forceful opposition, led by Mary Macarthur, who founded the National Federation of Women Workers and later stood for Parliament as a Labour candidate.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-80903325327617241932012-02-20T21:42:00.002+00:002012-02-20T21:42:42.019+00:00Festival 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Watch this space for news of the 2012 festival date and line ups.................</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">more happening this year......................</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-15713556198584951162011-09-13T10:12:00.000+01:002011-09-13T10:12:57.488+01:00Women Chainmakers festival in new home - back to Cradley Heath!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uMKVCDLMSrraW7vBCz7nF7eJ-QMaDJXL70g0hpt8S9YEAReeUsE3V5-ybpXA2lMQ7uyPExSr-LK9ITfNrz6YZs2cxNB2GfhdAJJaAbQM1blsp2zXdmDxKSXmnJm87ozsxMz9C2WpbiVM/s1600/Chainmakerslogo11black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uMKVCDLMSrraW7vBCz7nF7eJ-QMaDJXL70g0hpt8S9YEAReeUsE3V5-ybpXA2lMQ7uyPExSr-LK9ITfNrz6YZs2cxNB2GfhdAJJaAbQM1blsp2zXdmDxKSXmnJm87ozsxMz9C2WpbiVM/s400/Chainmakerslogo11black.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This year will see the Women Chainmakers festival at a new home - Bearmore Park in the centre of Cradley Heath, right at the centre of where the historic dispute was played out to a successful conclusion.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is a small entrance fee to the festival this year - £5 for adults, with children 16 and under entering for free. Tickets are available from:</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Midlands TUC</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">24 Livery Street</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Birmingham</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">B3 2PA</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tel: 0121 262 6383</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">email: <a href="mailto:midlands@tuc.org.uk">midlands@tuc.org.uk</a></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cheques payable to the TUC</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-1770278483987648472010-09-22T16:35:00.000+01:002010-09-22T16:35:42.620+01:00Centenary festival does credit to The Chainmakers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZrHdi-a8nz1kG9zQVM2hLPXfTNs5pQHWb5PIW8u-nVVBRT7_Z9s2c321iB-g-EMeSLs8jk7Sgm2HabkhdepdO4P3yqRJ8z63hSUPUNuyiR-9jt3ibT5MtLvDsDHh_lMToOdXiD7mbs-h/s1600/Tony+Benn+at+the+Chainmakers+2010+v1+IMG_2568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZrHdi-a8nz1kG9zQVM2hLPXfTNs5pQHWb5PIW8u-nVVBRT7_Z9s2c321iB-g-EMeSLs8jk7Sgm2HabkhdepdO4P3yqRJ8z63hSUPUNuyiR-9jt3ibT5MtLvDsDHh_lMToOdXiD7mbs-h/s320/Tony+Benn+at+the+Chainmakers+2010+v1+IMG_2568.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The 2010 centenary celebration of the historic victory of the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath saw over 4,000 people in attendance. Visitors came from far and wide with delegations from the south west, Ireland, Soctland and Kent all enjoing some late summer sunshine in the Black Country</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They heard speeches before the banner parade from Billy Hayes of the CWU, Mary Turner, President of the GMB, and Sylvia Heal, former local MP and past Deputy Speaker of teh House of Commons. After the Banner procession - the biggest by far so far seen at the festival - speeches were received from Eleanor Smith, Vice President of UNISON and legendary figure of the Left, Tony Benn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Music this year was provided by excellent Black Country musicians, both in the Leftfield, aroung the Museum village and on the main UNISON stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stacey Blythe gave a perfect rendition of her Chainmakers song, backed this year by the Nottingham Clarion Choir. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jo2nx0CRjZIIv92HDw-QCnn3zVj7vk4kc_ySah1yMCPAJBY1uLS09mdFdIMGRVKK2Vulmt1_YU3ofBAKNTMqHWoW1KACsMSWggdXhg9RVjz3yjKnLiem3_TGygLy7lTwIA8I4Vj2LM-p/s1600/Unthanks+at+the+Chainmakers+2010+v1+IMG_2603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jo2nx0CRjZIIv92HDw-QCnn3zVj7vk4kc_ySah1yMCPAJBY1uLS09mdFdIMGRVKK2Vulmt1_YU3ofBAKNTMqHWoW1KACsMSWggdXhg9RVjz3yjKnLiem3_TGygLy7lTwIA8I4Vj2LM-p/s320/Unthanks+at+the+Chainmakers+2010+v1+IMG_2603.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our headline act was The Unthanks who played despite the crowd being decimated by late rain showers.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-87267726878056955892010-09-17T23:41:00.000+01:002010-09-17T23:41:46.019+01:00Friday night at the Chainmakers <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NQbqnPU1DfIOs-Jn-D_bl37lytJb9CQktMYnAQmP067g3RYhXkSsjBDp-PbcRTTEQUndJcUfzVQXt4l7aQk-gR5Ac6WTxNZskmsChfrESMEkSYKZwTOLyHGGmkUB6R0iAoeRq7dWRmgl/s1600/Sylvia+Heal+Friday+night+at+the+Chainmakers+v2+low+res.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NQbqnPU1DfIOs-Jn-D_bl37lytJb9CQktMYnAQmP067g3RYhXkSsjBDp-PbcRTTEQUndJcUfzVQXt4l7aQk-gR5Ac6WTxNZskmsChfrESMEkSYKZwTOLyHGGmkUB6R0iAoeRq7dWRmgl/s200/Sylvia+Heal+Friday+night+at+the+Chainmakers+v2+low+res.JPG" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sylvia Heal</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tonight saw the eve of festival launch of the new Black Country Living Museum display depicting the harsh working conditions suffered by the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath. The display, introduced by Museum Director Andrew Lovett and financed by the TUC and affiliated trade unions, is located in the exhibition halls in the main building of the Museum. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The launch was followed by music in the Workers Institute and short speeches by Sylvia Heal, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, and TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon. The evening was rounded off by Stacey Blythe singing the Chainmakers song, which she will reprise at the festival on Saturday 18th September.</span> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmkflooX7Md77MLaBIrAS-4mBy2vkWFNOu4YPfzH8FP69sd8qXMhZlRjxaM0P7HBuY9x9o3pR5N9z2xXKmNWpT5WTFWVHcu_opFuKvoQBxSUR_MMTspvKMPvCHGaoeDpTVGfkzYZ8KGTO/s1600/IMG_2230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmkflooX7Md77MLaBIrAS-4mBy2vkWFNOu4YPfzH8FP69sd8qXMhZlRjxaM0P7HBuY9x9o3pR5N9z2xXKmNWpT5WTFWVHcu_opFuKvoQBxSUR_MMTspvKMPvCHGaoeDpTVGfkzYZ8KGTO/s200/IMG_2230.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stacey Blythe singing the Chainmakers' song</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-17661892589623985082010-09-09T09:35:00.000+01:002010-09-09T09:35:19.644+01:00Music headliner announced for the 2010 Women Chainmakers Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6b8k_JoQ-Kmy6RZc8o821uxhYtJZbCPGnqLazGu4xv7qJNoeRpUDFE22UPLi3ce5_lhhBG-4B4duAjZM0vrOewL1ilz_5d8oHpOftVsVnVBoTdjJHo3a-uJMgIa-Ze7gzublJQsr5wX3/s1600/theunthanks.rachelandbecky+low+res+for+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6b8k_JoQ-Kmy6RZc8o821uxhYtJZbCPGnqLazGu4xv7qJNoeRpUDFE22UPLi3ce5_lhhBG-4B4duAjZM0vrOewL1ilz_5d8oHpOftVsVnVBoTdjJHo3a-uJMgIa-Ze7gzublJQsr5wX3/s320/theunthanks.rachelandbecky+low+res+for+web.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Women Chainmakers festival is delighted to announce that The Unthanks will be headlining the music at the Centenary Women Chainmakers festival to be held at The Black Country Living Museum on Saturday 18th September.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Not many bands can count Radiohead, Portishead, Elvis Costello, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Ewan McGregor and Nick Hornby amongst their admirers, but The Unthanks occupy a unique place in music. Northumbria sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank are unsentimental young storytellers outside of time, forging links between folk worlds old, new and other. Staunch traditionalism and sonic adventure ought to be polar opposites, yet they are easy bedfellows in the gentle hands of The Unthanks; the British counterpart to the leftfield folk leanings of Sufjan Stevens, Bonnie Prince Billy, Tom Waits and Fleet Foxes, nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and present in The Best Albums of the Decade (worldwide, all genres) in The Guardian and Uncut. Described by Britain's leading music journalist Paul Morley as "absolutely exquisite", new album Here's The Tender Coming employs a kaleidoscope of unlikely instruments and arrangements.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Haunting, original and magnificent" The Guardian</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"an exquisite mixture of light and dark, instinct and artistry" Uncut</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"once in a blue moon type of every now and again, you hear music that is so complete, so wonderful, unique and yet familiar that it stops you </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">in your tracks. They have that blue moon magic about them, and they have it in spades" BBC Music</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Music as tough as it is gentle, as ancient as it is modern, and as coldly desolate as it is achingly intimate.. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a sensationally graceful sound that can be epic and subdued, dreamy and specific, as well as supernaturally ancient and defiantly modern."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Paul Morley, Observer Music Magazine (Britain's leading music journalist)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.the-unthanks.com/">http://www.the-unthanks.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/rachelunthank">www.myspace.com/rachelunthank</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/TheUnthanks">www.twitter.com/TheUnthanks</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">RabbleRouser Music and The Unthanks</span><br />
<a href="http://www.the-unthanks.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">www.the-unthanks.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/rachelunthank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">www.myspace.com/rachelunthank</span></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-86345519135563044052010-09-09T09:17:00.000+01:002010-09-09T09:17:55.370+01:00Tony Benn to headline at Women Chainmakers festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLcb95Uzl-brw00t1yTg-fEsC6EzCKTgFXz-sqUR8tLvYEYMwthyphenhyphenHMZRy2vhSoQTQICchQyhrql_oZy4RuTPCbt96xsogJIMjqW5UFlvZqDT1sq70crDjU1I7RX4L6bSPRBPEVaqq20ik/s1600/Tony+Benn+2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLcb95Uzl-brw00t1yTg-fEsC6EzCKTgFXz-sqUR8tLvYEYMwthyphenhyphenHMZRy2vhSoQTQICchQyhrql_oZy4RuTPCbt96xsogJIMjqW5UFlvZqDT1sq70crDjU1I7RX4L6bSPRBPEVaqq20ik/s320/Tony+Benn+2007.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The pioneering work of a formidable group of Black Country women will be honoured at the Women Chainmakers' Festival held at the Black Country Living Museum on Saturday September 18, 2010. The event celebrates the 1910 Women Chainmakers strike –100 years after the women, led by Mary Macarthur, marched for better pay and shaped industrial relations in Britain. The main speaker at the TUC organised event will be former cabinet minister Tony Benn. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Benn, who is the longest-serving Labour MP in the history of the party, retired from the House of Commons in 2001 after 50 years in Parliament to ‘devote more time to politics’. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He said:"The Chainmakers' dispute, 100 years ago this year, was a classic trade union battle led by women who inspired the whole trade union movement. This year we will be remembering that battle and honouring those who fought it."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cheryl Pigeon, TUC Regional Secretary said: “The Chainmakers struggle for a minimum wage marked a turning point in the campaign for better pay for women workers. The lessons from the Chainmakers are still with us today in campaigns to improve pay and working conditions for all workers.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In 1910 the Women Chainmakers of Cradley Heath won a fight to establish the right to a fair wage following a bitter 10 week dispute. This landmark victory changed the lives of thousands of workers who were earning starvation wages. The employers and unions agreed to a minimum wage of two-and-a-half pence an hour - an amount which equaled a 150 percent pay increase for the poorest of workers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Andrew Lovett, Director and Chief Executive of the Black Country Living Museum commented: “It has been said that the Cradley Heath Workers’ Institute – now part of the Black Country Living Museum – is the last physical reminder of the Women Chainmakers Strike of 1910. That maybe so – but the more important legacy is the fairer treatment of working people and the development of a more respectful and tolerant society – one that isn’t built on a kind of semi-slavery of others.”<br />
The story of Mary Macarthur and the Women Chainmakers will be brought to life through stirring speeches, historic re-enactments, theatre and music. The highlight of the day will be a re-creation of the strike march when the women walk to victory once more!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-11352814935234860142009-10-17T12:17:00.000+01:002009-10-17T12:17:04.305+01:002009 Women Chainmakers’ festival a great success<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvSsw4dROkJk9KNTA1BjwXrMv2PwtTmRG_UkSRj1Wl-s6YNQCvs-ciBJMnadxHIbFTKU11dyAQN-hGYTc2zA5DYMG7jGQp2ts1AKAldv7QFTgjQ2q4Uo1qCAIJNAAH4-k6bogAz7zs7fD/s1600-h/_1000860_lzn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvSsw4dROkJk9KNTA1BjwXrMv2PwtTmRG_UkSRj1Wl-s6YNQCvs-ciBJMnadxHIbFTKU11dyAQN-hGYTc2zA5DYMG7jGQp2ts1AKAldv7QFTgjQ2q4Uo1qCAIJNAAH4-k6bogAz7zs7fD/s320/_1000860_lzn.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The crowds came, the sun shone, the speakers and acts turned up – all in all a great day for the 5th annual Women Chainmakers’ festival! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“This was a brilliant celebration of our history and heritage”, said Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon, “and vitally important as the Chainmakers’ is the only festival in the country to mark the achievement of women in an industrial dispute”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The festival continues to attract senior figures from the trade union and labour movement, with both Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT, and Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary of Unite, speaking on the stage. Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Sylvia Heal MP, was also present in her role as Patron of the festival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With some 3,800 people attending this year’s festival, well up on the 3,000 who attended in both 2007 and 2008, Cheryl Pidgeon, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary and master of ceremonies on the stage said, “This festival is building nicely towards next year’s centenary festival. I am incredibly pleased that the trade union movement has taken the Women Chainmakers’ festival to its’ heart in this way and is supporting the celebration in ever increasing numbers”.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-23233971924268194982009-09-08T13:38:00.000+01:002009-09-08T13:38:09.718+01:00Christine Blower Headlines at Chainmakers Festival<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Christine Blower is to be the main </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">speaker at the 2009 Women Chainmakers' Festival which returns for its fifth year at the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Black Country Living Museum, Dudley on Saturday 12th September, 2009.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blower, who was elected as Deputy General Secretary of the NUT in 1997 joined the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">union as a student and has been a career-long NUT member. She has held the post of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">President and Secretary of the NUT in Hammersmith and Fulham and had a 33 year </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">career in teaching.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers said: “It is a great </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">privilege to be speaking at this festival. The courage and determination shown by the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">women chainmakers to demand a decent living wage is a message that is as relevant </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">today as it was nearly 100 years ago. The campaign to make the minimum wage a living </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">must still go on.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blower led a one day strike over teacher’s pay in 2005, the first national strike by the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">union for over 20 years. She has also criticised government plans to fast track </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unemployed executives into teaching in six months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Women Chainmakers' Festival celebrates the pioneering work of the women </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chainmakers of Cradley Heath through music, drama, dance, poetry and performance </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and 'flies the banner' for the historically important role of women within Britain's </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">working and industrial heritage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 1910 Women Chainmakers' dispute was a significant moment in labour history with </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hundreds of low paid women, earning pitiful wages for their work, successfully </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">prosecuting a dispute which laid the foundations for today's National Minimum Wage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emma Middleton, Marketing Manager for the Black Country Living Museum said: “We are </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">enormously pleased Christine Blower has agreed to speak at the 2009 festival. It is, we </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">believe, a recognition of the importance of the women chainmakers' strike and the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">festival and raises the awareness of the role played by women worldwide in the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">workforce.”</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-3670031705759955632009-09-02T22:35:00.000+01:002009-09-02T22:35:26.879+01:00Festival Signs Up Headline Act<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKaOnaZwQCK_06UOl1wunGNmApjtPGLxhqJLQryeVq9PcncwEz4yS0XXyfp2tiS_9z7291FaPTN9Cuy435bYaUJbNbVSHrHDis9gnJp4hW_TwsyIRgKTnOTwayQXLJ9lzlZXv5IwmrduE/s1600-h/Robb,+Roger,+Charlie,+John+seated+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" lk="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKaOnaZwQCK_06UOl1wunGNmApjtPGLxhqJLQryeVq9PcncwEz4yS0XXyfp2tiS_9z7291FaPTN9Cuy435bYaUJbNbVSHrHDis9gnJp4hW_TwsyIRgKTnOTwayQXLJ9lzlZXv5IwmrduE/s400/Robb,+Roger,+Charlie,+John+seated+pic.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Robb Johnson, one of the finest singer/songwriters working in the UK today, along with his band the Irregulars will be this year’s headline act at the Women Chainmakers’ Festival which takes place on Saturday 12th September, 2009 at the Black Country Living Museum. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Robb and the Irregulars were voted the Daily Telegraph’s Folk Album of 1998 and Johnson is recognised by many as "Britain's finest songwriter of the last decade" for songs that are "incisive, clever and witty and you can sing them on your way to work". Together with the Irregulars Johnson plays solid no-nonsense rock ballads with a folk edge and counts former cabinet minister, Tony Benn, amongst his fans. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Women Chainmakers’ Festival is the only event in the country specifically celebrating the achievement of women in the workplace. Mary Macarthur’s vision and the 1910 'Lock Out' by the women chainmakers was an historically significant moment, focusing the world’s attention upon the country’s lowest paid workers. The women’s landmark victory laid the legislative foundation upon which today’s national minimum wage is built. It also led to the building of the Cradley Heath Worker’s Institute which was saved from demolition and has been rebuilt at the Black Country Living Museum.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emma Middleton, Marketing Manager said: “The Black Country Living Museum is delighted to welcome Robb and the Irregulars to the Women Chainmakers’ Festival and we very much hope it will be the first of many visits. The Festival aims to continue the Macarthur vision and promote, support and inspire the positive role of women in the workforce. Robb and the Irregulars will bring a new dimension to celebrating the 1910 women chainmakers’ dispute.”</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6887155824757758017.post-26616399988933886242009-02-02T21:32:00.004+00:002009-02-03T15:03:22.115+00:00Women Chainmakers' Festival<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Welcome to the official blog for the Women Chainmakers' Festival. This festival takes place at the Black Country Living Museum, Tipton Road, Dudley, on Saturday 12th September 2009. The festival commemorates the 1910 dispute in which 800 women chainmaker's were "locked out" of work for demanding the employers paid them the agreed minimum wage for their labours. The women won the dispute - and established their right to a minimum wage which set the scene for 89 years of campaigning before the establishment of a national minimum wage in 1999.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Announcements will be posted to keep you up to date with the events taking place at the festival including speakers and entertainment.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2