HOW good a revolutionary cadre are you? How avidly have you been reading Socialist Challenge over the last year? Test yourself with this special festive, political quiz. All answers have appeared in issues of the paper this year. A clue is that the questions are chronological. Answers at the bottom of page.
1. The steel strike began on 2 January. How much, in percentage terms, was on offer to the steelworkers when the strike began? 2. Who said of whom that his 'eyes and affections are in Dublin, on Brussels, on the Vatican'? 3. Which major trade union backed the campaign against the Corrie anti-abortion Bill by 'urging branches to support the lobby of Parliament on Tuesday 5 February"? 4. Who said: 'I've been accused of interfering in the steel strike. I plead guilty'? 5. Who said of what that it was 'the single biggest domestic issue in the United Kingdom'? 6. Which island faced a two-month bombardment by US and British warships? 7. Who decided 'to the youth, industry and 8. How many seats did Robert Mugabe'sti ZANU win in the Zimbábwe election? Cafe? months? qualled'? 9. Messrs Murray, White, Freestone, Lake, Richardson. and Scottow were named as be. ing suspected of what?
10. Who or what was Alexander L Kielland? 11. What began at the Black and White 12: Who told Jimmy Carter 'hard luck' after the bungled raid in Iran? 13. The Queensland government. in Australia proposed a punishment of 14-years' hard labour for what? 14. Which country, where 30,000 US troops are stationed, saw mass uprisings in a number of cities?
Which city in the US was invaded by 3,600 members of the National Guard? 16. Which strike ended after nearly eight 17. Which Marxist historian and left-wing activist was murdered in the Caribbean? 18: Which privileged son died in a flying ac19. Who said, after being ordered to leave the room, 'My record for dissent is unecountry's press?
the first time? tion? 20. Which body, on its 59th anniversary, promised to eliminate 'feudal and bureaucratic influences? 21. Who, when he died, was described as 'the bloodsucker of the century' by his 22. Who said: "Wall Street here I come. Let's make millions of dollars together"?
23. Which navy announced that women sailors would be allowed to serve at sea for 24. Who said he would never permit a new Nicaragua, even if it must take the most reprehensible measures to prevent it? 25. Who told Socialist Challenge: 'After 20 years of silence on socialism you can't short cut it by industrial muscle"? 26. Who said, and where: 'I'm sure you asked yourselves what is that old bugger doing sitting on this platform'? 27. In whát country did Trotskyist can didates win 142,000 votes in a general elec.
28. Who wrote to Socialist Challenge to 'offer a true socialist challenge. Use all means
"The Christmas Party' is an extract from In the Ditch by Buchi Sancerer She Nigerian who has lived England for the past 18 years. Allison and Busby, E1.99 pbk book published and £4.95 hbk.
Christmas party at Carol's. The children were loaded with more gifts and goodies. Adah did not go to the party, for it was on one of tbose occasions when she felt fed up with being given things.
She felt her dignity as a human being was being gradually taken away from her. After all, they would move Sottie time in the New Year so she might as well start learning to live by herself, her own decisions.
On Christmas Day, she and her kids went to the church. It was extremely cold, yet the vicar was exceptionally inspired. His sermon dragged the Christmas carol was a joy to listen to.
'Oh, come let us annoy Christ the Lord. come s annoy bigger children shivered uncomfortably in wel new clotnes wnich Adan had bought through a mailDUCT Canoeye.
After church, they ran There was a small Sainsbury's turkey • 11 the oven. She had held back the rent for a week to buy lal. and she also bought a small ag ot coalite, just to give the living-room a festive air. The kids _the latter, They •Drelerrea tne ones they had at school. Adah did not brame them because she had never seen any food look so ugly.
They were lucky that Christmas. Many of her old African friends paid visits, and they paid indirectly the food Adah gave them with money. Ine money she kept to repay what she had 'borrowed' She kept the turkey for a week she kept slicing and re-heating it until there was nothing left but the bare bones.
She gave away many of the boxes of chocolates which She gave a box of giant After Eight mints to the nurses at the nurserv where her youngest went. She gave an assorted box of biscuits to the library assistants at her local branch. their way back from church, Adah and her children saw Christmas wrappers crackers all gaily dotting the otherwise flawlessly snow. A few children were being pushed out in the snow by enthusiastic parents to show off gleaming bicycles, and giant dolls that did everything Some of the parents stood by the door admiring their children. It was unfortunately too cold for much talk.
Towards the more snow fell, obliterating the footmarks made. in morning by the few people who had ventured out. Inside flat, there warmth and laughter. children were already getting bored their The doll's cot which was the baby's had been dislocated.
She came to Adah, tears in commanded ing and retrying this, it difficult to know which part belonged to which, when she heard Mrs Cox, what Adah later found out to be Christmas carol. baby momentarily forget her unmendable •dolly cot' listened: sucking her fingers thoughtfully.
Knock Adah knew that Mrs Cox was trying to knock door. She was either drunk to do it properly, too cold to know what she was doing, for she was banging at Adah's toilet window instead. She lumbered when the door was opened, The and white children. pain.
Mummy, oh, denly evening, 'You Mum, you Whoopey was up.
Her toys. in Adah.
else.' Bulk finding 'I shan't miss this place God knows she heaved her bulk from the couch. 'Adah, come here. Bubu The has been sick all 'called Whoopey and Adah dashed into the corridor and saw Bubu in a mess.
Whoopey hurried
green children out. outside bitingly was They all shivered involuntari. ly when Whoopey opened the at her door to go out.
too The or Christmas party had been a success. Adah cleared up the sick. Life at the Pussy, that Christmas, in spontancous." Nuthing planned, everything was done towards Members and a Proletariat.
DAVID of wine had first stirrings Wing class?
They were Gwyn in on, about, and Mummy working class. mums sud- Javeli Wales there had awake rather than food or the • lot, • snapped while Mrs Once more put really began workforce countryside, effective union said Mrs Cox, as backward.
over the to be irrelevant.
her two lock-out.
The cold. who the Fed finally unprepared their policies was always like remained decentralised was THE threat of civil disobedience triple alliance of steelworkers in Wales in the event of further redun. dancies in the steel plants is being treated seriously by political commentators. sions of Welsh militancy and radicalism before now.
of Llafur, the society, have done much pioneering work in recor ding these developments. been published: The Fed, Fields of Praise, and People SMITH made a major contribution to '-these books. Ric Sissons asked him about historical developments in working class life in Wales.
Irish play We have to go back to 1831 Merthyr rising, which Williams has written which he sees in signalling the birth of the Welsh before that in South been strikes, were Tredegar, There had been guerilla activity in the coalfields in the 1830s and — scotch cattle, as it was workforce called, the intimidation of scabs In the early 1870s there were again attempts to form unions the strikes failed. .But from the 1870s the coalfield features expand The arriving was enormously fluid, coming from the century?
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. It population; was generally non-unionised. traditions;
In South Wales there was no tradition. The WElC considered They had a sliding scale system whereby the price of coal affected the wages, union activil was Orch Cousi established There were two great strikes in 1893 by the hauliers, and then in 1898 the owners imposed a tions.
In a sense it was the owners created the South Wales Miners Federation (SWMF) district The seven but English merged. At the old leadership accepted that wait fol working and thus the Fied was formed. Then very much federal within South wales. body was dustry.
In the first decade of this A pit pony, 190€ (left)
Troops in Pontypridd in December 1910 at the time of the Tonypandy riots Mardy miners and their tamilies with Soviet banner December 1926 moves miners, rail and There have been explo • Welsh labour history , Three books have recently There were large numbers of workers wno went on a prominent part in the Labour an South wale and also in the Communist Partv. some of them were brought during the 19th century as strike breakers.
There were anti-Irish riots in the Rhondda in the 1870s. There anti-Jewish riots in Monmouthshire, Bevan's home town, 1911 This was no holier than thou were the decisive which gave the Welsh working class SUCH militant tradition in the 20th had large, fluid non-union; few effective union; and a history of defeat not victory. So why then do they become a militant workforce?
It is partly because by the early 20th century there were so many workers. in a fairly pro. gressive, dynamic industry with institutions.
Democracy had been absorbed extent through the chapels and self-help organisaIncreasingly cosmopolitan populatioN. Until 1900 half was Welsh speaking was becoming the lingua franca and with it came more progressive socialist ideas.
there the economic conditions of the inAn industry that had been making profits very quick-
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first strings do political the tivity within the Welsh work-