NICK MATTHEWS recalls how the ideals of socialism and the holding of goods in common have an older provenance than you might think
Durham, our school of socialism, our day of pride
HEATHER WOOD, national secretary of Women Against Pit Closures charts her journey and the journey mining community women like her, from 1984 to Durham Gala 2024, explaining why this day remains vital for families decades after closures
FOLK ask me why the Big Meeting is so special. My answer is always the same.
It’s our day, a day when we celebrate who we are, it’s a day when we fly the flag, our flag, the red flag. It’s the day we hold our banners high, it’s the day when we show our children what solidarity means.
I always think of our communities as families and I think it’s best explained by telling folk about my theory of the three worlds.
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HEATHER WOOD tells the story of how she led the women of her mining community to tackle Christmas 1984 with militant working-class organisation and dedication, from cataloguing each family to collecting and distributing presents



