Attercliffe Stupid Club A Political Manifestival

An account of Attercliffe Stupid Club. A satirical club dating from the time of the Sheffield Outrages in the 1800’s.When terrorism was rife and going on strike could get you thrown into prison, members of Attercliffe Stupid Club went fishing in empty buckets, made bunting from carrots and were frequently mentioned in the Houses of Parliament.Very little is remembered about Attercliffe Stupid Club because the members always read their minutes backwards, rescinded them and burnt them on the fire. By collating short mentions from multiple sources the author has re-established the club’s existence.The book lists the initiation rites, formalities and rules of the club. Everything they did was jokey and pointed the finger at the exploitation of the working classes. They awarded Fibiology certificates for lying, sent jesters caps to politicians and grew funny shaped vegetables. This book is also a record of the violence of the times. It explains how terrorism eventually led to the unionisation of the work force and going on strike became legal.Readers can award membership to anyone they consider to be stupid enough to deserve it. Full instruction for testing stupidity and blank certificates are included. There are also playful activities to promote political activism.It is a book for people who want to know more about Sheffield history and who take politics seriously but who don’t take themselves too seriously.Carmel Page is a Sheffield based storyteller who works for Sheffield Museums.