Goodbye to Berlin

In the mid-1970s, I spent quiet a bit of time in Berlin, researching my biography of Christopher Isherwood. I often used to cross through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin for the day (you could only stay 24 hours without a full visa); the contrast with the West was astonishing. The East had most of the historic heart of the city, including Museum Island and Unter den Linden and the atmosphere was very weird. One knew all about the Stasi and the unpleasant side to life in the DDR, but that was not visible superficially and there was also a certain old fashioned charm about the place — and I don’t just mean the trams! There was a sort of no-man’s land near the Wall, inhabited by large numbers of rabbits, and some abandoned buildings that locals used for illicit trysts late at night. This all came flooding back to me this lunchtime, listening to Canterbury LibDem member Janet Berridge talk on ‘Life in Berlin pre and post Wall’ at the Wednesday Luncheon Circle at the National Liberal Club. Janet and her husband have bought a flat in the eastern part of Berlin and a lot of what she said made me feel quite nostalgic. Very different from the brash, self-confident Berlin that hosted the big party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome the other day.

After lunch, I crossed the Thames and walked along the South Bank to the.gallery@oxo, at Oxo Tower Wharf, to catch the exhibition of photos by Lewisham LibDem member Pete Pattisson ‘Forgotten but Not Gone: Slavery and Resistance 200 Years after Abolition’. There are some striking images of bonded labour in Punjab, child domestic workers in Haiti, girls surrendered to fetish priests in Ghana and forced labour in Burma (Myanmar). I particularly liked the shot of a rackety old lorry loaded with released Indian serfs and their possessions as they headed to freedom. The accompanying texts are helpful and lucid and there’s a very attractive catalogue. The exhibition has been organised in conjunction with Anti-Slavery International and runs until 15 April.

Link: www.petepattisson.com