MATTHEW HAWKINS applauds a psychotherapist’s disection of William Blake
Capturing a state of spirit
ALEX GORDON introduces painter Inga Bystram - the picket line phenomenon
(L to R) RMT pickets at Euston station; Inga Bystram
New releases from Christina Alden and Alex Patterson, Odette Michell, Clementine Lovell
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a very readable account of Britain’s involvement in South America
Strip cartoons used to be the bread and butter of newspapers and they have been around for centuries. MICHAL BONCZA asks our own Paul Tanner about which bees are in his bonnet
GORDON PARSONS acknowledges the authority with which Sarah Kane’s theatrical justification for suicide has resonance today
RON JACOBS welcomes a timely homage to one of the IWW and CPUSA’s most effective orators
WATERCOLOUR artist Inga Bystram has become well known to RMT members on picket lines at Seven Sisters depot in Tottenham this year, as well as at Euston, Kings Cross, and further afield. Her colour-coordinated outfits fit right in alongside striking RMT members’ colourful hi-vis, flags and banners.
Bystram sketches and paints striking rail workers (RMT, Aslef and TSSA) as well as CWU postal workers, UCU university lecturers and even striking barristers outside the Old Bailey.
She lives on Tottenham’s Broadwater Farm Estate and describes herself as a “relative newcomer,” having moved there in 2005 when she married her late husband, Terry Burton, long-serving secretary of Haringey Trades Union Council (1986-2008).
More from this author
RMT’s former president ALEX GORDON explains why his union supports defence diversification and a just transition for workers in regions dependent on military contracts, and calls on readers to join CND’s demo against nuclear-armed submarines on June 7
RMT president ALEX GORDON exposes the government's bellicose foreign policy
ALEX GORDON details how Stop the War Coalition’s efforts have shaped the TUC’s stance, with motions calling for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel and workplace action for a ceasefire
ANGELO ALVES is a member of the political committee of the Portuguese Communist Party. He spoke to Alex Gordon on the 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution of April 25 1974 about the legacy and the struggle of young workers and trade unionists today against Portugal’s latest right-wing government
