Author: Glen Berd

Elkie Brooks was born Elaine Bookbinder in Broughton Park, Salford, the daughter of Marjorie Violet (née Newton) and Kalmon Charles Bookbinder. She was raised in Prestwich. She attended North Salford Secondary Modern School, Her older brother is Anthony Bookbinder (born 28 May 1943), who went by the stage name of Tony Mansfield, and was drummer for Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, on their run of 1960s hit records. According to Brooks, her unofficial debut was a gig at a club called the "La Ronde" on Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester, when she was 13 years old. She first sang professionally at the age of 15, and her first record, a cover of Etta James's "Something's Got a Hold on Me", was released on Decca in 1964. Brooks spent most of the 1960s on Britain's cabaret scene, a period of her life that she did not particularly enjoy.[8] In the mid 1960s she supported the Beatles in their Christmas show in London, then,...

Day 137 - my open letter to HRH Prince William From : Deborah Nathan Dear Prince William, I want to start by saying that I am writing to you as an admirer. I am a long term supporter of the British Royal family in general and of you and the Princess of Wales in particular. I am sorry that your family members have been going through a rough time recently and wish both the King and the Princess of Wales speedy and complete recoveries. You and the Princess of Wales seem to be such thoughtful, intelligent and caring people (and wonderful parents) and I am sure that you took advice and thought long and hard before making your statement today about the situation in Gaza. It is unusual for the Royal Family to involve themselves in political matters so I understand you must be deeply concerned by the situation to have made this statement at all. I do hope it isn't used to cause...

This picture was taken on April 11, 1909, in Tel Aviv. It was a raffle to give away land lots upon which these people would build Tel Aviv's first houses. These courageous men and women decided to come to this patch of empty sand to achieve one mission: to build the first Hebrew city. Tel Aviv was literally built from nothing. Tel Aviv, unlike many European cities, was not built around its river (The Yarkon river). The city was built facing towards the sea because it was intended to be for the Jewish nation what New York is to the US—the gateway. The gateway for all Jews from all over the world to come and build a country of their own. From its very beginning, Tel Aviv was a city of entrepreneurs. Who would agree to leave Europe to live in an empty patch of desert? Only crazy entrepreneurs. These were men armed with nothing but their vision. ...

War Cannot be Sanitised FEB 10, 2024, “War is cruelty. There’s no use trying to reform it. The crueller it is the sooner it will be over.”   W. T. Sherman I regard myself as being a reasonable guy, trying very hard to understand the arguments on both sides of a  dispute; but there are occasions when the issues become so mired in illogicality and emotional hype that navigating to the crux of the problem becomes a Herculean task. This is the way the world’s media have presented and continue to showcase the Israel-Hamas War. There is much talk about a ceasefire; about the need for humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza; to avoid civilian casualties; to reconsider the two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict; but very little about the the primary issue: hostages. Clearly something is complicating the present scenario by ignoring what is self-evident: release all hostages held by Hamas and its affiliates = a ceasefire and potential peace negotiations.  Netanyahu,...

An Interview with Louise Ellman DBE - Scroll down to click on the video Louise Ellman DBE   An Accidental Start Adventures at Lancashire Parliament Beckons Transport, Israel and...Antisemitism The youngest member of Lancashire County Council when she was elected in 1970,Louise, now Dame, Ellman rose to become Council Leader from 1981 to 1997 and was elected MP for Liverpool Riverside, with a huge majority, from 1997 to 2019 . Her Parliamentary career  made  significant strides in Transport, miscarriages of justice, work with refugees and maintaining a strong vocal presence on Israel and Jewish affairs.  She resigned from the Labour Party in 2019 because of Labour’s anti-Semitism under Jeremy Corbyn, only rejoining in 2021 when she became convinced that Keir Starmer was tackling the party’s anti-Semitism.  She was warmly welcomed back by Sir Keir. Louise was made a Dame in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours. A  Mancunian, with an M.Phil in Social Administration, Louise is married to Geoffrey. They have two children and five grandchil   https://youtu.be/ru1EndmnWJU...

The real Popeye, Frank "Rocky" Fiegel was born into a Jewish family, in 1868 in Poland.  The family emigrated to the U.S. when he was a child where he later became a sailor after settling in Illinois. His 20-year maritime career earned him a reputation as a skilled fighter with a deformed eye and a pipe-always-in-mouth habit. As a bouncer at Wiebusch's Tavern in Chester, Illinois, he entertained patrons with tales of his sea adventures. Elzie Crisler Segar, creator of Popeye, met Rocky in Chester, inspiring him to model the iconic character after the retired sailor. Segar also loosely based other characters, like 'Olive Oyl,' on real individuals. Over the years, Segar maintained a connection with Rocky, financially supporting him with a percentage of his earnings from Popeye illustrations. The revelation of Popeye's real-life inspiration adds a new dimension to the beloved cartoons. E.C. Segar, Popeye’s creator, was also Jewish.  Segar was born on December 8, 1894, and raised in Chester, Illinois, a small town...

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 A poem by Peter Beyfus What other species takes delight in embracing destruction as its fate? But humankind, the pinnacle of creation, thirsts for blood; And down the ages the “other” has been the target of hate; A Lucerferian curse that formed humanity’s DNA from before the flood. Hubris is no respecter of race, creed or gender, claiming the “I” as supreme; While the majority remain silent, as if lulled and dizzied by rhetoric. The bell rings out the litany of crimes too monstrous to even dream; Innocent folk, like you and me, free today but tomorrow, philosophic. Atrocities have names, flickering images of countless lives lost; Armenians, Romanies, Jews, Poles, Russians, Rwandans, Bosnians have been slain; To cite those etched on our memories but many more, covered in time’s frost. And the mantra we hear “Never again, never again, never, never again!” Believe it, pray for it, but know easier said than achieved; And yet we have more than a mere spark of God within; Let that grow and banish the...