Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Back to basics: euphoria and reaction in the ’90s
John Major’s moral crusade running aground defined the decade, but Labour’s ship had already taken on too much stagnant water, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
A punk protester feels the pressure during a march for striking Liverpool dockers in 1997 that was strongly supported by political-rave group Reclaim The Sreets
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
PEOPLE say to me: “Hey, older guy who had your finger on the pulse once. What happened in the 1990s? Was it all grunge and flannel shirts? Or flappy jeans and baggy tops and Madchester and the house music? Or did Britpop sweep all that away?”
And I say: “Yes, it was all those things. Wide eyes under Kangol hats, then boozed up nights in the Good Mixer. Ladettes and irony and Cool Britannia and Girl Power all entranced the nation.”
There was enough to fill dozens of cheap It Was All Right in the ’90s TV shows.
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