Warren Buckland (Died May, 2013)
The speakers and hecklers of Speakers’ Corner mourn the demise of Warren Buckland, a speaker for decades.
Warren was a gentle, good-humoured man who informed, and misinformed, his listeners on a variety of subjects, from Welsh heros to Masai warriors. He was an entertaining speaker, and his favourite subjects were ‘the oppression of the worker’, and, mysteriously, pelicans. His penchant for talking about pelicans is a mystery which will never be solved.
Warren often brought to our attention problems we hadn’t heard of, then generously solved them. Always there was a message in his talks. Though the message was not always discernible.
Occasionally, Warren spent a night under the roof of a police station, for a minor offence. But after all, he was a member of the Anarcho-Syndicalist movement, and subscriber and contributor to the ‘Rebel Worker’ magazine. For decades he was the self-declared president of the ‘Muggers, Bashers and Robbers Union‘. At Speakers’ Corner he had no trouble prompting a lively discussion.
Throughout his long illness his passion for workers’ rights never waned. He suffered from kidney problems, diabetes, and more severely, from his own self-medication.
Warren was a warm and likeable man. Speakers’ Corner has lost one of its favourite soldiers, and it hurts.
From another speaker, Steve Maxwell: It was a surprise to hear that Warren Buckland, soapbox speaker for the Domain, has passed away. He was not well. Come to think of it, he was never well even when he was well. Warren was unique. He could have been successful. He had boundless imagination and energy. When I first saw him on the soapbox he was the president of the ‘Robbers and Bashers Union’. He even produced a newsletter. Anarchy is what he liked but anarchy did not like Warren. His companion was Smoky, a red cattle dog. Warren loved that dog but he could see that his home remedies were not working on Smoky. Eventually he was parted from his best friend. We all saw Warren at his best and at his worst. We all have tales of his uniqueness.
Let us not forget he had the guts to stand on the soapbox every Sunday and share his unique vision. Even when he was in outer space. And he didn’t need any drugs to do it.
Steve Maxwell.
Warren and Peter (with stupid questions from Mr Bashful)
In the 1800s the Reverend Bill Buckland discovered in a cave the skeleton of a mammoth and a human. The Rev. Bill’s crack team of anthropologists examined the human skeleton and determined from its wide hips and from DNA testing that it was that of a Roman prostitute. When the skeleton later turned out to be that of a male Druid warrior, the Welsh were so inspired they began to speak Gaelic. (Presumably astonishing the Irish.) If that wasn’t complicated enough, Peter the Heckler wanted to know why the good Reverend Buckland thought it was a prostitute’s skeleton. As always, Warren had the answers. Click here. To supplement Warren’s vast knowledge, consult Rev. Buckland’s entry in Wikipedia.
Ray and Warren discuss the origin of the universe.
Ray, a Christian, explains to Warren how the universe began. Warren, eager to learn, unfortunately misunderstands and leaves Ray speechless. It then gets worse, with Warren coming up with a theory Ray will probably reject.
‘The World Anarchists’ Conference’
Warren once organised a conference for anarchists and persuaded fellow speaker, Steve, to attend. Find out why Steve regretted his decision.
(When the going gets quiet, the speakers tend to have a go at each other. All part of the fun.)
Warren – The Anarcho Syndiclist Federation.
The Anarcho Syndicalist Federation is not, thankfully, a household name. Warren helped keep it alive, though. Click here to hear the beginnings of a new revolution.
A few highlights:
