My father, Peter Frost, who has died aged 79, was a journalist perhaps best known for his weekly Frosty’s Ramblings column in the Morning Star newspaper – a witty and fiercely political wander through wildlife, working-class history and whelks. Running from 2012 to 2022, it was avidly read by, among others, Jeremy Corbyn.
The column came about after he wrote a well-received article for the paper on the mass trespass of Kinder Scout and then pitched the idea for a weekly “political nature column”. Thereafter, Frosty’s Ramblings roamed joyfully from canals to crayfish and from Rosa Luxemburg to the Headscarf Heroes of Hull. He liked to celebrate the small joys and big struggles of ordinary people, and delighted in connecting the politics of everyday life with the pleasures of good food and the natural world.
Born in Harlesden, north-west London, Peter was the middle child of Cis (nee Nobbs), a mattress factory worker, and Fred Frost, a clerk. As an early sign of his political activities, at Willesden county grammar school he stood as the communist candidate in a mock election.
Leaving school at 16, Peter began designing exhibition stands, the start of a creative life that combined artistry with activism. He joined the Young Communist League, editing their magazine Challenge, and met Ann Westbury when they were both canvassing for the Communist party of Great Britain during the 1964 general election campaign. They married in 1966 and both were active in the party throughout the 1960s and 70s, Peter as a volunteer activist and Ann as a paid full-timer.
Peter’s professional career reflected his blend of creativity and conviction. Initially working as a video editor for Visnews, an independent news agency, in 1975 he joined Soviet Weekly as the paper’s art editor, before moving in 1987 to become editor of Camping and Caravanning Club magazine, remaining there until he retired in 2006 – by which time he was its director of communications.
In retirement he chaired the Caravan Writers’ Guild (2007-09) and wrote on travel and environmental issues as a freelance. He also authored the Haynes Manual on Camping (2007) and wrote books exploring radical politics and popular culture, including a study of Marilyn Monroe’s political activism, Comrade Marilyn (2014), and Hidden from History: Women Who Changed the World (2016).
Politics for him was never abstract. He served on the Broads Authority (2004-12), in Norfolk, and was also on the How Hill Trust, overseeing a country park in the same county, and the Windmill and Pump Trust, which looks after wind pumps on the Norfolk Broads.
He and Ann shared a love of canals and camping, and travelled all around the world on various adventures with members of their family.
He is survived by Ann and me, two grandchildren, Elizabeth and Jamie, and his sister, Christine.
