On this day, 18th March 1834, six farm labourers from the small town of Tolpuddle in Dorset were sentenced to be transported to Australia after forming the friendly society of agricultural labourers to protest against the gradual decrease in wages. The society had many of the features of a trade union and swearing an oath of that sort was considered illegal. 2 years later 5 of the 6 men were allowed back home after 800,000 signatures petitioned for their release

An annual festival is held in Tolpuddle to this day organised by the Trade Unions Congress, featuring a march through the town with many trade unions banners sported for the event. 

There's an exhibition, alert the media!

So, about that announcement that was so alluringly alluded to last week. here's the news, Hurdy Gurdy member, Matt's been busily preparing for an exhibition of his MA project at the Bill Douglas Centre for the  history of cinema and popular culture at the University of Exeter. The exhibition features a selection of work from Matt's MA project about the films of Austro-British actor Anton Walbrook, star of Powell & Pressburger's classic film of art and obsession, "The Red Shoes". Alongside the existing illustrations on display are seven new illustrations created specifically for this exhibition which exapnd on Walbrooks' early career in Germany and Great Britain in the 1930s as well as a selection of Walbrook-related artefacts, including original programmes, cigarette cards and a costume from one of Walbrook's "Queen Victoria" films, where he played the role of Royal Consort, Prince Albert. The exhibition's running until June, admission is free. Make sure you see it!

The Bill Douglas Centre's website

  

Illustration of the Day: 11th of March

 

 

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku was a magnitude 9.03 (Mw) undersea megaearthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred on 11th of March 2011. It was the most powerful known earthquake ever to have hit Japan. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 40.5 metres and which, in the Sendai area, travelled up to 10 km inland. The earthquake moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) 2.4 m east and shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 10 cm and 25 cm.

 

Belated March 4th illustration

An illustration about March 4th. The date which brought us the first recorded case of the 1918 Spanish flu, ushering in a global pandemic that killed 50-100 million people, the landslide election victory for Robert Mugabe in 1980 starting him on the not very long road to dictatorship and the 2001 bombing attempt of the BBC television center.

(Nice things did happen on the 4th of March too, like the US congress sitting for the first time, effectively putting the United States constitution into effect as well as the writing an proposition of the Bill of Rights and the first female member of the house of representatives is elected.)

Flotian Exhibition in Beijing

Some of the Hurdy Gurdy members would like to let you know they have work being exhibited in the first Flotian exhibition in Beijing that opens this week. If you happen to be in the area go check it out. There are loads of great artists involved. You can learn more about Flotian here. Above image by Alix Bigois-Jeambrun