Branch News (1961)

Party News from the August 1961 issue of the Socialist Standard

Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury Branch will not be holding meetings during August as Conway Hall closes for that month. Meetings recommence on Thursday, September 7th at 8 p.m.

Ealing

There have been several successful outdoor meetings at Earls Court. More support from members would be welcome as this is an excellent outdoor station, and experience proves that with such regular support these meetings will prove most valuable. Literature sales in particular have been most encouraging.

All members are asked to note that the Branch will close down for its summer break this month. There will be no Branch meetings on 18th and 25th August and 1st September. The outdoor meetings will be maintained during this period.

Glasgow

Kelvingrove Branch has been working very hard and taking advantage of the good weather. Nine outdoor meetings were held during June—four in Edinburgh. Average audience 125 with literature sales of £1 11s. 0d. and over £2 in collections. In Glasgow, five meetings were held—average audience 50, literature sales and collections over £2.

Wembley

Wembley Branch will not be holding a meeting on August 7th but will resume their meetings on August 14th. A Branch lecture is being held on Monday, August 2lst.

Literature Sales

The new Literature Sales Committee has gone into orbit with great success. One of the first assignments was to have a group of comrades outside the Russian Exhibition at Earls Court. Comrades have been there all day, each day, armed with Party literature, in particular the pamphlet Russia Since 1917. On one day alone 120 pamphlets were sold—90 of the Russian pamphlet—and on Tuesday evening, July 11th, an urgent call was received at Head Office that they had sold out and urgently needed fresh supplies. A comrade was hastily despatched on his motor cycle with fresh supplies and a call was made for branches to return any spare copies they may have had of the pamphlet. The archives at Head Office were also raided so that all available pamphlets could he sent to Earls Court.

The Literature Sales Committee are now regularly attending political meetings with literature, and comrades are urged to contact them at Head Office giving details of when they are able to sell literature at such meetings. The hackneyed phrase ‘Nothing succeeds like success' certainly applies to this aspect of Party activity. As the written word is our major form of propagating Socialism, all comrades can participate in distributing Socialist literature and so help the Party and themselves to bring about a greater understanding of our case by our  fellow workers.

Phyllis Howard