Ron The Builder

The morning after the Page 3 night at Cargo, I travel over the river to south london, with a mighty hangover made worse by a blazing sunshine I find my way to a building site in Brixton to meet up with Ron The Builder.

I originally had met Ron for pints one evening where he shared many stories on his involvement and reflections on Class War. Again we met at the dismal “Stop The War Coalition” 5th Anniversary (?!?) where Ron and many others heckled the speakers due to their passivity in not supporting direct action to stop the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ron passionately burst the bubble of pomposity out of his arch nemesis George Galloway! Having shared in our mutual joy of pints and roll ups a number of times, Ron tells me the story of his wedding, the chapter that is missing from the “Bash The Rich” book when he first met Ian.

I will let him tell it in his own words in this video.

Leaving the building site we walk together through Brixton, Ron takes me through a brief history of the development and gentrification of the area, filling me in with stories of how it was in the 1980’s. Stories of squats, riots, pubs and Crowbar magazine – a South London zine similar in fashion to the Class War paper.

After eating jerk chicken we have a pint at a local pub where we bump into Phil Thomas who tells me about his sister JayJay, Swansea, The Alarm and Class War. Ron’s recollections and input really help me understand a clearer picture of  life in Thatchers 1980’s and his passionate zeal still fights on. He can often be found at Speakers Corner and if you need a wall plastered then he’s your man.