Lawrence Batley Theatre 'Cloth, Culture & Communities' funding bid to commemorate 1812

The Huddersfield-based Lawrence Batley Theatre (LBT) is planning to commemorate the Luddite uprisings of 1812 on the bicentenary next year, and tomorrow are hoping to win the regional final of a funding competition which will enable them to bring the project to full fruition.

The LBT have applied for £55,197 from the Jubilee People's Millions fund, part of the Big Lottery Fund for the project, which is entitled 'Cloth, Culture & Communities' which will also involve the Mikron Theatre Company. If you are in the Yorkshire ITV region, you can view a short film about the project tonight between 6.00 and 6.30 p.m. and everyone can vote for the project by telephone tomorrow by calling 0871 62 68 141. We will update this blog post, as well as our twitter and facebook pages with the number when we know it.

We'll leave you to ponder the irony of a project that celebrates Luddism as part of a 'Jubilee' jamboree!

The Luddites - a public meeting in Huddersfield tomorrow night, with Alan Brooke

Huddersfield Anarchist League have called a public meeting in Huddersfield tomorrow night (Monday, 6th June 2011) to discuss their plans to mark the bicentenary. The main speaker is local historian Alan Brooke, the co-Author (with Lesley Kipling) of 'Liberty or Death: Radicals, Republicans & Luddites, 1793-1823', which is being relaunched at the meeting.

This is the first meeting we're aware of in the heart of Yorkshire Luddite country, and it has also drawn some attention from the local press. The venue is the Albert Hotel, 36 Victoria Lane, Huddersfield, HD1 2QF. The meeting starts at 7.00 p.m. and is free of charge.

We hope to provide a report of the meeting at a later date.