Saturday afternoon session –

Saturday afternoon session – The Occupy MovementDiscussion between Ian Barker (Occupy Norwich) and Stair (SPGB)Has there ever been a protest movement as dynamic, imaginative, practical and global as the Occupy Movement?  But it seems that most of its energy and hope was focused on just a few short months.  Was the movement just a flash-in-the-pan, or will it prove to be a crucial part of the emancipation of the working class?The Occupy Movement encompasses the views of many different people.  Ian Barker, who has been involved in Occupy Norwich, gave his own thoughts on the movement’s aims, strengths and difficulties.  Stair presented the views of the SPGB on how the movement fits in with capitalism as a whole, and whether it has been a viable way to challenge the system.  Saturday evening session – What Did The Romans Do For Us?This talk was not about Romans.  It had nothing to do with Romans.  It was about stories. Stories of protest, and the stories protestors tell.Taking at its basis an examination of how four hundred years ago Shakespeare’s Coriolanus presented a two thousand year old myth of a parable of a protest in response to real protests of the day, this talk looked at how the play in turn has shaped and in return been shaped by the events.  In turn, it looked at the metaphors of protest, and how the many headed hydra becomes the people.It also attempted to relate all of this to a lump of mouldy cheese discovered in the pouch of ‘Captain Pouch’, otherwise known as John Reynolds, a tinker who led the Midlands Revolt in 1607…………….