The Politics of Experience - Drugs - the ups and the downs 7.15pm Friday 8th February 2019

All welcome

I'll be riffing on the night - and I've only got 15 minutes - so no idea what I'll actually say - but my pull at this moment is toward an exploration of that '60's trajectory from the wild surmise of acid, dope and anarchy - and the hope thereof - as echoed in the work of R.D. Laing and others - into the dreary domesticity and conservatism of narcotics, benzos and all - technicolor to tarpaulin and primal roar to a round of whispering in the hushed drab homespun of the therapy room in 50 years.... what happened?

“Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive
But to be young was very heaven.”

What is it about the freedom of that moment – the Heraclitean Fire - that always evokes – or has us reaching for - a Cromwell, a Napoleon, a Thatcher...or a strong narcotic to restore 'law and order', contract the universe to the reassuring safety of the parish...and make us all miserable again? inevitable? I don't know... but worth exploring…

It would be really good to see folk who have been part of this history – who participated  and can bear witness – from the PA, from The Site, The Arbours…and everywhere else where the sparks of that time still glow.

Yours in fellowship

Nick Mercer