NO PUDDLES AT TOLPUDDLE!

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2012 :: RMTnews 15 Hardy Tolpuddle festival goers and marchers this year were rewarded with an almost rain- free weekend as the predicted deluge didn’t materialise. This meant the annual round of seminars, debates, musical and cultural happenings and a large processional march from the festival site to the nearby village of Tolpuddle went ahead in glorious style. For a flavour of the Tolpuddle festival go to www.union-news.co.uk to see an excellent film of the event and its importance in the trade union calendar. Each year thousands descend on the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset to celebrate the victory of the Tolpuddle martyrs, farm workers deported to Australia in 1834 for the ‘crime’ of forming a trade union. Their story is now part of the development of a free and democratic society. It is celebrated in the small museum in Tolpuddle and at the festival on the weekend of the third Sunday in July every year with the climax being a march through the village. Organised by the South West TUC, this festival takes up different themes and events each year. The year was the 100th anniversay of the birth of legendary communist singer Woody Guthrie and he was remembered with a line-up to mark the legacy of his music on the main stage and at the open mic event. In and around the Martyrs Marque at the festival stalls were selling ideas as well as goods and there was fun and workshops for kids and creative adults. The Sunday welcomes lots more people who come for the day and the grand procession of banners through the village and wreaths are laid on the grave of Martyr' James Hammett. So try to get there next year, you won’t regret this unique experience. For more information go to www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk NO PUDDLES AT TOLPUDDLE!