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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Historic struggles brought to life in Braunston
Narrow boats, strikes, trade unions and wartime female skippers will all be remembered and celebrated at this inimitable annual rally, says PETER FROST
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
This weekend the canal wharfs of the Northampton village of Braunston will come alive with a huge and colourful gathering of traditional canal narrow boats.
It will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the nationalisation of Britain’s docks, ports, canals and inland waterways by the Labour government in 1947.
Sadly it is also the fifth anniversary of one of the most devious examples of de-nationalisation by Cameron’s Tory government — one that changed British Waterways into the begging bowl wielded now by the Canal and River Trust charity in 2012.
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