Saved by the post

Yesterday was not the best of days. You don't need to know why, but it was saved by the post. You know, that old fashioned stuff that comes through a hole in your door. Top of the charts here was the Searchlight Education Trust special publication on the 75th anniversary of Cable Street. Never mind that it drew on and gave great coverage to our five new books on the subject, Steve Silver has put together a very attractive and readable pamphlet, which included his own family stories of the Battle. You can get hold of Steve's pamphlet on http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/shop/cablest for four pounds. On the same subject, the latest of the dozens of Cable Street events is a party by Jewdas in Brick Lane on 1st October. "Party like it's 1936" they say. Kids, eh? Also in the post was a tenth anniversary compilation from Jewish Renaissance, a magazine that regularly reviews our books, features the occasional article by me and whose poetry editor is Liz Cashdan (currently waiting patiently for Five Leaves to publish her "New and Selected" in 2013). Janet Levine, editor of JR, said that people doubted the journal would last two years (or even two issues) when it started. Congrats to her and her team for JR's success.

Back to Cable Street - we now have a bundle of brochures advertising Cable Street 75 March and Rally on 2nd October, which we are sponsoring. The speakers at the rally include Maurice Levitas, aged 96, a Cable Street veteran, who will also be at our collective book launch the same afternoon.

Sticking to the labour movement, I also received Voices of Wortley Hall: the story of Labour's Home, 1951-2011 by John Cornwell. Some years ago I was one vote in the crowd at Wortley, a stately home near Sheffield (pictured) owned by the labour movement, taking part in a bitter inter-union dispute about the level of modernisation necessary at Wortley. I can't remember now whether I voted for the FBU or the AUEW slate, but I was in favour of en-suite bedrooms for all. Nothing is too good for the working class. Wortley has continued to modernise - it is a major wedding venue - and keep its links with the trade union movement. The best stories are of course those of the early years when strong characters, and passing strangers, achieved the impossible. In passing, one of the descendants of the Earl of Wharncliffe (whose family originally owned the building) trying to join as a member. He was turned down as he did not have a trade union card. He promptly joined the Musicians Union so he could, presumably, buy the odd pint in the bar in his old family home. The book does not have an ISBN but can be ordered over the phone for £10 plus £2.50 postage from Wortley Hall on 0114 2882100.

Five Leaves' review coverage

This has been a good month for reviews of Five Leaves' books so far. Here's a summary: PN Review for Feb includes a long review of Three Men on the Metro by Andy Croft, Bill Herbert and Paul Summers, drawing attention to a collective poetry venture being truly collective in its writing. Hackney citizens can find a wonderful two page feature on our Roland Camberton novels in the January Hackney Citizen (http://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2011/01/23/scamp-and-rain-on-the-pavements-reviews), the only pity being they did not mention the publisher or price. Jewish Renaissance also features both books, concentrating on Rain on the Pavements. Ken Worpole has a big feature on our other current New London Editions writer, Alexander Baron, in the current New Statesman (http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2011/01/baron-novels-war-jewish-class), though the Morning Star was not big on his Rosie Hogarth. Carousel for spring will include reviews on Alan James Brown's Tolpuddle Boy (also covered in the RMT journal) and Dan Tunstall's Big and Clever, while Teen Titles likes Follow a Shadow by Robert Swindells. The current Leicestershire Chronicle lifts a couple of pages from Ray Gosling's Personal Copy. Southwell Folio features Next Year Will Be Better by John Lucas and Fae Nation goes for The Rose Fyleman Fairy Book. Evergreen gives review coverage to Colin Ward and Dennis Hardy's Goodnight Campers. The only international coverage we've had in the last month has been for Jazz Jews, picked up by the San Diego Jewish World, Shalom Life and the jazz programme on the Canadian station CKCU, though that is really piggy-backing on coverage of Mike Gerber's now regular jazz Jews programme on UK Jazz Radio, which is available on their play it again, Sam, scheme. Now then, does review coverage lead to sales... a bit. But not as many as you would think and in some cases not at all. The big test will come for some forthcoming Scottish books where we expect a lot of coverage in that small nation.

Hackney Limmud

Limmuds (or more correctly limmudim, I suppose) are something-for-everyone Jewish study days. Sessions can be academic, religious, political, controversial or about puppets (though I can't actually recall anything about puppets, but you get the picture). There is a big national one held over the Christmas break - what else are Jews supposed to do for Christmas? - and local ones all over the country now. I'm just back from Hackney, one of my favourites as the attendance tends to be a bit more alternative, a bit poorer, a bit more varied, a bit more working class and a lot more secular - though our stall was next to Lubavitch, which we and they found amusing. Our stall had the new print of the great Hackney Jewish novel Rain on the Pavements and Ken Worpole was talking again about Alexander Baron, that great Hackney novelist, so we did a bit more than cover the train fare. I've never been to a big Jewish event without seeing Janel Levin from Jewish Renaissance, who must be the hardest working magazine editor ever.
Sadly our little green "truck" - veteran of many a bookstall - is off to landfill. Overloaded as always, dropping it off a bus did not help. I blame Boris Johnson.