THE VIEW FROM BARD TOWERS

People have wondered about the origin of the site name Bradlaugh's Finger. Let me see if I can explain.

I sit across the road from the statue of Charles Bradlaugh every day waiting for my bus home. And he's pointing, rather sternly. I found myself beginning to wonder: what's he pointing at? Of course, Bradlaugh was a politician, so the sculptor's intention was probably to show him in mid-oration in the Commons. Who was he? The first to insist on his right to affirm as an atheist when being sworn in at parliament. An advocate for birth control who came within a whisker of prison for publishing a pamphlet on the subject with Annie Besant. A believer in trade unionism, universal suffrage, Irish Home Rule and ending the monarchy. In other words, an extremely pugnacious vocal advocate for every cause likely to get a public figure in trouble in the Nineteenth century. And in Bradlaugh's case, it frequently did. Northampton has a tradition for breeding, or taking to its heart, brilliant, illuminated and sometimes downright curmudgeonly individuals. There was Bradlaugh. Violet Gibson, who shot Mussolini and was thrown into St Andrew's when her only real crime was missing. Lucia Joyce, daughter of James Joyce, incarcerated in the same institution in highly questionable circumstances. She didn't want to live or die in Northampton, but her grave is well-tended by local people. There is Alan Moore too, who did want to stay in Northampton, even after achieving immense fame. There is Norman Adams, scourge of every self-serving morally-bankrupt local government official within a thirty mile radius of Shoe Town. And there are Jimtom James, Jono Bell, King's Gambit, the Brewer's Daughter, the much-missed Denigrata, Extinction Rebellion Northampton.These are some of our people. This is the tradition that I work in when I sit down to write. When I look at the statue of Charles Bradlaugh I prefer to think his extended finger doesn't show him emphasising a point when he speaks in parliament. I want to think he's saying to all of us, 'Well, I'm going in that direction. What about you lot?' And we don't have to go with him, not unless we really want to. His question tells us there might even be a better road to the utopia Bradlaugh is fighting for. We all find our own path using our own logic and reason, our own taste and judgement, and yes, even in these febrile modern times, we can disagree and still be friends. Our site aims to be a place where, however briefly, those paths all cross. Sit down a while. Take your shoes off and rub your blisters. Have a listen to a few new (or new-old) ideas before you continue on your journey. (BH)