Despite being referred in some quarters as being communists, we didn’t attend the inaugural event for the Isle of Wight Communist Movement which took place last weekend. Tony Kelly, however, did. Ed
A Brilliant and historic event.
On Sunday November 7th, a highly successful event took place in Ventnor. After 40 years the Isle of Wight Communist Movement was inaugurated once more.
A significantly large gathering of communists and sympathisers gathered in Ventnor to mark the occasion with a notable amount of women taking part.
Strong female presence
Women in particular are showing that they are seeking enlightenment and organisation and are specifically interested in the development of modern communism and social progress.
Even though there was a small contingent from the mainland, by far the biggest representation was from the island itself with people coming from all corners to Ventnor.
The creation and opening of a space for modern communism, strikes a blow at the reactionary political parties of the status quo at this time. We see this particularly on the Island at the moment where we have anti-popular mainstream parties carrying out arbitrary public service cuts in the service of capital.
Tour around house Karl Marx stayed
The day’s events were marked by a warm and comradely atmosphere, a guided visit to the house where Marx stayed and a tour of sites of historical significance such as the place where the London Match girls stayed in the 19th century.
Also people visited the Spring Hill community gardens and commemorative site of where popular folk hero, ‘Skimbo’, is marked and also the spot where the wonderful mosaics in the car park has been created by local volunteers.
Screening of Great October Revolution
The day continued with showings of footage of the Great October Revolution in Russia, of which the weekend marked the 93rd anniversary.
A commemorative album of photographs of historic and modern communism contained a signatory page for participants to sign to mark their attendance at the historic occasion at the location in Ventnor.
Lively discusssion
The day belonged to the participants in a highly democratic fashion where each decided how it should go. The most important factor in the day was the discussion amongst the participants about many aspects of life and in particular what modern communism is about.
In a friendly atmosphere people exchanged views and told stories of their experiences and literature and photographs were on display and freely passed round.
Music played its part
Musicians played compositions and pieces on piano and guitar and some music from Cuba was also played on a sound system. Beautiful food and drink was created by participants with English, Greek and Indian recipes amongst the permanent buffet for people to enjoy all day long.
People left the evening relaxed and happy with the entire day, feeling the significance of the gathering and the prospects it has opened up for further meetings and political activity.
