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
It’s easy to feel a bit useless stuck indoors while an unprecedented disaster unfolds outside, especially if you’re normally out on the picket lines or waving placards outside parliament. But don’t hang up your megaphones just yet.
Droves of campaigns have quickly adapted to the lockdown, with hundreds of political webinars, digital protests, podcasts and more to keep your activist diary full.
So here it is, the Morning Star’s first guide to the upcoming week’s virtual-lefty events.
To kick off your week, tune in TODAY (7pm) for Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s Webinar: Palestinians in Jerusalem (mstar.link/palestinejerusalem). Unsurprisingly, Israeli apartheid has not been put on hold during the crisis, with one response for its citizens and another for the Palestinians. Today’s discussion on Zoom* will look at the complicated situation in occupied East Jerusalem, hearing from residents living the crisis first-hand.
The bard celebrates two other fine practitioners of the art, and laments a lost brewer
MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026
Since 2023, Strike Map has evolved from digital mapping at a national level to organising ‘mega pickets’ — we believe that mass solidarity with localised disputes prepares the ground for future national action, writes HENRY FOWLER
Fiery words from the Bard in Blackpool and Edinburgh, and Evidence Based Punk Rock from The Protest Family


