8 minute read
Meet Book Mongers’ Popeye
Bucket bomber, anti-racist and gardener
David Horsley recalls the life of Brixton resident Gordon Hutchins, who has died at the age of 87
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Gordon Hutchins was born on 13 December 1933. “On graduating from an ‘approved’ school, BTS Formidable, Portishead, Somerset, I joined the Merchant Navy,” he wrote of himself.
He sailed to many countries and ended up in New Zealand where he became a citizen and lived for several years.
As a young working class man, he was aware of the exploitation of working people and joined the Communist Party. He became very involved in solidarity action with the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori.
By the early 1960s, he had returned to Britain. In a demonstration outside the London embassy of the then fascist regime in Spain, he was arrested and served 30 days in Brixton prison.
In mid 1960s, the leaders of the liberation movement in South Africa were either in prison or in exile and the remnants of the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party were underground.
The ANC approached white radicals in London to travel to South Africa as tourists and then distribute leaflets by means of harmless “bucket bombs”.
Later known as the London Recruits, these extremely brave people were warned that if they were caught, as two were, they would be tortured and imprisoned. Nonetheless, all those approached to volunteer did so, and Gordon was one of those.
In 1971, he travelled to Port Elizabeth with a friend and comrade Bob Condon.
“Our mission came together when we visited the Ford Motor Works and felt we just had to set up a bucket bomb near the main workers’ entrance,” he wrote in London Recruits, a book about the volunteers.
“In all we set up six bucket bombs in various places. We heard one go off at a memorial in the centre of Port Elizabeth. It gave us a certain satisfaction, but not as much as a front page photograph in the following day’s paper. It depicted a policeman chasing a floating leaflet. The leaflets were written in Xhosa and addressed to Black South Africans.”
Gordon continued working in small factories in London, always an active trade unionist and anti-racist. Gordon later became a campaigning pensioner in the Lambeth Pensioners Action Group.
He was a keen supporter of women’s rights and remained, as ever, a firm anti-racist.
The Veterans League of the ANC in South Africa said in a message: “Our people owe a great deal to internationalists such as Comrade Gordon Hutchins and their courageous solidarity in action which played a significant role in assisting our people in overthrowing the brutal apartheid regime.”
Gordon was a member of the gardening group at the Jennie Lee garden at King’s College Hospital.
“I have many photos of Gordon, my favourite being him poring over the NHS wormery at Jennie Lee of which he was the proud keeper,” wrote Ed Rosen, project director of Lambeth GP food co-op which builds gardens in local GP surgeries and NHS hospitals.
“We all have personal histories and Gordon, although reluctant to share his with us, will always be remembered as someone who was much, much more than a ‘patient’. His life will be celebrated by his friends, comrades and fellow gardeners in the Jennie Lee garden.” Gordon Hutchins at a launch event for London Recruits in Brixton in 2015
“Think Big and support each other” is Dionne Gooding’s advice to women who would like to follow in her fashion footsteps, writes Simone Richardson.
Her own journey to success, which included a “Project Earth” collection for Selfridges last year, has not been a walk in the park.
She was almost ready to quit fashion when Selfridges came calling.
Starting out in 2012 as a women’s footwear designer, she was hit, like so many others, by Covid and lockdowns. They forced the closure of the shoe factory in Italy she was using. But, rather than give up, she switched to creating sustainable fashion.
Her own clothing brand – Dionne Gooding – sees her design and make “hand-crafted apparel using pre-loved clothes and scrap African fabrics”. She has also moved into making masks.
The change of direction in her work coincided not only with lockdowns but also the birth of a son.
“During lockdown I challenged myself to creativity months on social media,” Dionne says. “I got on to my sewing machine and made accessories, masks and clothing. This was fun as I was able to explore, and my followers would let me know what they thought of my designs. It was during lockdown that I changed my business from footwear to clothing.”
Her daily routine is still busy now. “I wake up at 5am most days, so I can get a few hours work done before my baby wakes up.
“Our days vary, so he is either at a childminder, with my mum, or with me. The days when he’s with me, we go swimming or to Clapham Common – this tires him out. When he sleeps, I’m able to get more work done and prepare food.
“Other days I’m able to go to the gym, complete orders throughout the day, post orders, and purchase sewing equipment when necessary.”
As well as her social media followers, Dionne also gets and offers support through REALWORK, an online group for women in business.
She also plans to organise workshops to teach women and families how to extend the life cycle of their clothes.
Dionne has lived in Brixton since 2009. “I enjoy living and working here as everything I need is on my doorstep,” she says. “Simply Fabrics for all my sewing supplies, hair shops, Superdrug for eyebrow threading, the Underground if I need to get to Oxford Street, and all the delicious restaurants.
“I love the food in Brixton! My favourite places are Bushman’s Kitchen for jerk chicken roti, Healthy Eaters for all Caribbean food, Eat of Eden for vegan meals and Satay Bar for cocktails!
“I also love the Ritzy cinema and the cute messages they put on their noticeboard. They always put a smile on my face.
“I used to enjoy going to the Lambeth Country Show. I plan to go to City Splash in Brockwell Park this year, the line-up looks really good!”
Brixton has more than one magical place, but Book Mongers on Coldharbour Lane, with its succession of canine assistants and its crazy cat Popeye, draws you into its mysterious and enchanting interior like a Harry Potter creation, says Simone Richardson
It’s almost 30 years since Patrick Kelly opened Book Mongers on Coldharbour Lane in May 1992 and Robert Coyne has worked there with him for 20 years.
Patrick has travelled a long way from his Boston, USA roots. After finishing a degree in political science he visited London for a break and travelled back and forth in the early eighties.
He was living in Brixton before he opened Book Mongers and today still lives on the same street – Brailsford Road near Brockwell Park’s Brixton Water Lane entrance.
Robert Coyne is also a Brixtonian, arriving here when he was a few months old, and staying.
Book Mongers draws you in – not just for its books – but also its magical, atmospheric feeling – as if it was something that existed in the Harry Potter Dragon Alley.
Lockdown changed things. “A lot of reading and walking kept me sane,” Patrick says. “Rob and I took turns to come in to feed Popeye” – Book Mongers’ formerly stray cat – “I came in the morning and Rob the afternoon. We had a routine.
Before Popeye, Book Mongers was known for Patrick’s canine friends.
“A few months before lockdown,” he says, “I rescued another dog, but he can’t come to the shop because Popeye is crazy and would rip his eyes out! “The entire time I have lived here I have had dogs, so I have been in Brockwell Park twice a day for over 30 years.
Patrick explains how the business is managed: “We buy from the public; we get donations; I buy from auctions and warehouses.”
His love of books goes deep. He can instantly recall his childhood favourite, Orr on Ice by a hockey player Bobby Orr, that he read at about eight or nine years old
Robert Coyne says not much initial training was required to work at Book Mongers – “You learn on the job – but a love of books has certainly been helpful.
“My working day begins with greeting and feeding Popeye when we open at 10.30, which is always a great pleasure
“He has a fairly well-deserved reputation for grumpiness, but is actually very soppy and cuddly in the morning.
“After that, I’ll price and put out books as they come in – a steady stream of second hand books and regular large consignments of remaindered titles – researching them if necessary.
“Quite often something wonderful finds its way to us, valuable or not.
“I replace books on the shelves as they’re sold, talk with customers and friends that drop by, give Popeye his lunch and an evening meal – he eats quite a lot, but he is a very big cat! I finally close up at 6.30.
“It’s a lovely job, and I’m grateful to still be doing it after 20 years.”
