Do they owe us a living?

Of course they do....Thursday saw me boarding a Basil bound for Norwich to hear Steve Williams, inshore lifeboat man  formerly Steve Ignorant, from Dagenham via Dial House, an anarcho pacifist commune set in  South West Essex with his compardres in Crass, in conversation with Prof Matthew Worsley as part of a project investigating protest song in England from 1603 to 2020 ( more info at  oursubversivevoice.com)  

An early train there and back as to be honest I didn't fancy hanging round after to catch the vomit comet and I just had time to get the Gregg Wallace hat, or poppadum a pint of ok ish 5 quid Kobold( a spirit that protects mariners). Cold and fizzy anyway, and a squint at the fanzine promo. I didn't hit the Crass merch table (tee hee). Nearly didn't get in as my Covid Pass wouldn't load.

The venue was the Norwich Arts Centre in what was formerly St Swithins Church, an irony not lost on Williams who's Crass certainly courted blasphemy. William's upbringing was in the Russell Kane vein, and his first moment of awakening he told us was via a neighbour's snappy two tone get up, and then Bowie, via another stand out and bullied school mate which was where his burning hatred of injustice began. Jolted into forming a band by the Clash and their retort to disgruntled punters to form a band if they thought they could do better. Don't think the hippy academia and right-on ness behind Crass really sat that well with him in the end.  I traded my Feeding the 5000 and some other bits for a battered bass and tried to follow the Clash's call to arms myself back in my day but it didn't go well.

I left before the Q&A in search of another pint and this Old Ale at a reasonable £4.30 from the Rumsey Wells was very nice indeed. They do pies as well.

I really ought to get a tripod and make a proper stab at night time photography but I did point my phone at  a couple of things on the way  back to the station

"Our" Shard

A new and ghastly faux Oirish Pub on Prince of Wales Road

The Wondrous Wensum

And a very becoming Basil waiting to carry me home at the dizzy hour of 9.15 pm. If memory serves me right my last gig before this was at the Arts Centre in Jan 2020, to see the screening of  Upstairs Planet and it's subject Martin Newell as we awaited the spectre of Covid. Masks and Covid Pass willing I'll be going to a few more this year. Though it is rumoured that Operation Save Big Dog  will include a scrapping of all Covid precautions from the end if the month as a populist sop to save Spaffalot....

Just checked, my last gig before Covomania's trumpet bought the walls of going out in Jericho crashing down was 1st of March to see Jay Rayner at the Assembly House.