Speakers' Corner: STRAIGHT TALKING

SPEAKERS' CORNER in the north-eastern extremity of London's Hyde Park, alas, is not as respected a British institution as it might be.

Over the many decades since 1872 when it was officially sanctioned as a 'designated area' for public speaking, the Corner has hosted advocates of many political philosophies, religious viewpoints and even advice on sexual techniques! (Nothing like that here, though)

In recent years the Corner has become largely polarised by religious fundamentalists, which accounts in part for its decline, in terms of public interest. That plus the advent of the World Wide Web, where anyone 'connected' can easily access almost all the divergence they might crave.

HUE SAYS, "I've been speaking there since February 1987, so it's virtually 27 years now. Alas, there were no camcorders then. In the early years, I spoke regularly. That was when a corps of vicious hecklers were active, and they damaged the Corner as an experience for serious rhetoric. Look at the place now: it's almost moribund.

"For a long time, around the turn of the millennium, I didn't go. Shame, because I might then have been included in Tony Allen's affectionate book on Speakers' Corner. Nowadays, though, I still find it incredibly discouraging: the same arguments over the same two holy books, every week. On any one Sunday, you would have no idea what had actually happened in the world.

"I always sought to change that. I tell you, anyone who goes there hoping to hear 'the issues of the day' discussed... will be very disappointed! It won't be so bad if Heiko is there, but he's a bit limited ~ it's all 'capitalism falling apart; things looking good for Marxism'.... Yeah, right!

"The single greatest thing that has ever happened to the Corner has been the invention of the camcorder. But when I looked on YouTube, there was nothing of me. Like I'd never been there. I just wasn't on people's radar.

"It can't just be because of the shouting and swearing ~ largely through frustration, because medication has shot my memory to hell. Which is a shame! Because, up on your 'platform' with no text, no notes ~ you really need (at least I do) I need to be able to recall all sorts of ideas and info. So, I'm afraid I'm not what I was as a public speaker, although one of the best of my talks can be heard in my video 'STARSKY & HUTCH GET ANGRY’.
https://dai.ly/x6h8vy3

But of course that was some years back, before Sodium Valproate did its damage. If anyone is on that stuff, get off of it!

"In this short talk, edited for YouTube, I touch on a number of topics, including animal welfare.

AND …like all my Speakers' Corner videos, it’s now also on YouTube and Vimeo.