Hogmanay

This Hogmanay, we decided to host a kind of party. "Kind of" because it was more like an open house, we wanted it to be friendly, informal, family friendly and non-committal. So that people could drop in for 10 minutes or 10 hours. As ever, we are very spontaneous with family life plans, and it was extremely short notice. Encouraged by a pre-Christmas get together hosted by our neighbours, and how lovely it was to get to know the people living in our street a bit beyond the 5 minutes between doors, we invited everyone on our street plus a few close friends.

  
I admit I was nervous. Nervous that everyone would turn up and there wouldn't be enough space for us all. Nervous that nobody would turn up (it has happened to me before that I organised a party and nobody came).

And when we said goodbye to the last people at 2am and finally the children agreed to nod off to dreamland, we realised it was potentially the best idea we've had in years. We had people in the house from 4pm to 2am, but at no point did it get too busy. There were kids having heaps of fun throughout. And then all those wonderful gestures: bubbly for the bells, real turf for the open fire, sparklers for lighting outside, treats for the kids and oh so much food. In fact, we're still surviving on left overs.

There were neighbours I'd never seen before, others whom we know well already, and a lot of merriment and laughter was had, cultural differences explored, and anecdotes shared, commonalities found and plans for future get togethers made. Even those who couldn't make it (all due to health reasons, we live in a street with quite a few elderly people) dropped a note and made a commitment to come along next time.

Nothing world moving, just a sense of belonging and community. I kept wondering why this kind of thing never happened in the various tenement flats I stayed in, where we could have easily had a get together to have fun and potentially solve a few of the communal issues that old tenement housing brings with it. In the tenement flats I lived in much closer proximity to people yet some neighbours wouldn't even give you the time of day when you bumped into them on the stairs. It was lonely at times, a bit depressing actually.



So if I've learned something from our Hogmanay adventure it's that it's easy to come together and have a brilliant time, and that it can make such a difference to how you feel about where you live. And that some wonderful people are living right next to you. All you need to do is open the doors and let them in.



Not quite first footing but definitely the spirit of Hogmanay.

"And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine,
And we'll tak a right guid willie-waught
For auld lang syne!"

Photos taken on our 2nd January outing to Palaceriggs Country Park, and George Square Glasgow

United we will swim!

A good few years ago, when I'd first arrived in Glasgow, I had a lovely Wednesday evening routine. I would meet up with my friend and colleague who stayed locally from me and we'd go to the ladies night in our local swimming pool. It was a fabulous weekly treat, right in the middle of the working week. First we went for a swim in the wonderful Victorian bath, and it's dim lightening which so reminded me of traditional Turkish baths. Next up was a session in the Sauna, a dip into ice cold water, some steaming in the steam room too. There were always sociable and interesting people to chat to in the sauna, and it was nice and inclusive where everyone felt comfortable with everyone else. The evening was finished off with a yoga class. It was pure bliss.

And then they closed the pool.

I tried to keep up the routine at other locations, but nothing was the same, nor did the distance to travel do any good for having a weekly routine.
When the pool was announcing the plan to be closed, we were instantly gutted. Such a beautiful historic building, right in the centre of the maybe most densely populated part of Glasgow. It didn't make sense. While we were gutted, others were up in arms. On the day the pool closed, people chained themselves to the building so it couldn't close. It was then occupied for weeks. No, months. There was a vigil 24/7. I did but a couple of meagre day time shifts, but there were many who for months spent hours and nights in front of the building.

The campaign to save our pool made me think about what it was that I liked about it. I'd never rationalised it but the campaign bit by bit did. The inclusivity was due to it being right in the centre of a very diverse area of Glasgow, which traditionally is an area where people who come into Glasgow from other countries settle. It's an area not too far from the centre, with lots of local shops, a self contained part of the city, close to a wonderful park yet with house and rent prices that are affordable because the tenements of the area are old and not greatly looked after, with no gardens, so they are not the same quality compared to those nearby, partly because many aren't owner occupied. Lots of migration to the area meant that middle class folk preferred to move somewhere else. There were homeless hostels nearby and yet, the shops run by people from many countries provide all you can ask for, and having lived there, I felt safe and snug there. The pool was right in the centre of it, and its Victorian built meant that it was perfect for anyone who didn't want to display their body to the public. There are no windows and the changing areas and ways to the sauna were separate for women and men. I wasn't conscious of it, but admittedly being body conscious it must have played a part in my choice of pool. And yes, it was the one place where I had conversations with total strangers, some disabled, some of different skin colour, of different faiths and different backgrounds to mine. I didn't find it worth mentioning at the time, it was only later, in the pool of the neighbouring council, where the middle class population won't talk to strangers, that I noticed what was lost.

The campaign went on. A charity shop was set up, fundraising continued, the Govanhill Swimmers went around the neighbourhood in swimsuits practicing their swimming on dry land, i.e. the streets of Govanhill. There was a community garden. A local councillor was elected to push the case in the council. A singing group was established who penned songs about the pool and its closure to well known melodies. There were art projects too.

And so it went on.

On Saturday, 11 years (!) after the pool shut its doors to the public, it was once again opened to the community. It marked an extraordinary victory. And yes, victory it is. I hate to use words like that, but 11 years of relentless campaigning and the refusal to give in and continue to campaign for what we all knew was right paid off. As much as the powers that are had decided to take away the one community facility this empoverished yet vibrant part of Glasgow had, that decision was wrong and the pool is once more open to the community. Still dry, it has entered the first phase of being developed into a Wellbeing Centre. In maybe a year and a half or so we will hopefully be able to swim in it again, and I can show my girls where mummy used to swim. I so can't wait.

It was very emotional seeing the huge crowd who turned up for the opening, and being able to see the pool from the inside again after 11 years. It seemed like nothing had changed, yet so much had, so much effort for this moment to happen. Govanhill, for all that counts, is richer for having gone through this community campaign and stands as a glowing example what community power and persistence can achieve, even if the politicians have turned their backs on Govanhill.

Oh yeah, Peter Mullan and Nicola Sturgeon opened it. It's good to have some well known people support the baths and to get the launch into the news, but the work was done by the campaigners. So I didn't take there photo, sorry.

A movement close to my heart

This is a sponsored post for which I receive money. However, it is a cause very close to my heart and I'm delighted to be able to support the Co-operative Group on this little blog of mine.

In 1844, the Rochdale Pioneers established the first successful co-operative and with it started a revolution which is still going strong. The Co-operative Group today has six million members and 5,000 outlets across its family of businesses. Every customer has the the opportunity to be a part of the Co-operative Group in a small way, and the group demonstrates its strong ethical credentials by providing funding for local projects that benefit the community, inspire young people, combat climate change or tackle global poverty - all areas that I strongly support.

A little while ago I introduced the funding opportunities for local projects that the Co-operative can support. Today I'd like to share some inspiring examples of the work that the group have funded, to support their launch of a high profile advertising campaign. The exciting bit is that anyone with a great idea can make it happen with the backing of an ethically sound movement, so what are you waiting for?

One such example of a local initiative funded by the Co-operative Group is Urban Bees. It was set up by bee-lovers Brian McCallum and Alison Benjamin. They wanted to help protect dwindling honeybee populations in urban areas by educating city-dwellers in beekeeping. Having already invested £500,000 into Plan Bee, the Group's own bee protection and education programme, funding from The Co-operative helped Urban Bees to run training courses for beginners, give talks and work in partnership with other organisations and companies. 

Brian and Alison have now established 20 new hives on rooftops and in community gardens and allotments across London, and they will have given training and start-up equipment to approximately 300 people by the end of 2011.

In a time where the bee populations are declining, such an initiative is very welcome, and it also enables urban dwellers to source local honey.

Another fabulous project the Co-operative supported is the UK’s first community owned wind farm, Baywind Energy Co-operative which was established in 1996. The project has always favoured local investors, that way the economic benefits of the wind farm are kept within the community it serves, which in general is rarely the case, so it's an exemplary initiative.

In 1998 Baywind secured a loan from The Co-operative Bank to purchase two turbines for their Harlock Hill site. It has also received several grants from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub to develop new, co-operatively owned wind farms across the UK.

Baywind now typically generates around 10,000MWh of electricity each year – enough to power around 30,000 homes. And along with educational visits throughout the year, it funds environmental books for local schools.

And let me introduce a third example, because again, I think it's a great idea on so many levels, serving the people involved and the community, as well as having a sustainable transport agenda: The Oxford Cycle Workshop is a community-owned enterprise that sells recycled bicycles. It took advantage of the free business advice and support offered by The Co-operative Enterprise Hub to expand its service to local people. The Enterprise Hub connected the Workshop’s founders with the right people to advise them on how to move forward as a business, and to achieve their long-term goals. Now they have established a training centre that hosts cycle skills events and tailored maintenance programmes. They also hold workshops in community centres, and work with schools and organisations like the Youth Offending Service. All with the central aim of making cycling accessible for everyone in Oxford.

A similar project actually exists in Glasgow, Common Wheel, where a cycling workshop recycles and sells bikes, but also offers people suffering from mental health issues an opportunity to work, learn new skills and enter the workplace in a supported way.

I found these initiatives quite inspiring and I'm keen to find out if there are any projects local to me that the Co-operative Group supports, so I've liked their facebook page to stay in touch. I can think of many ways how co-operatives could work in my local area - for example I'm part of a co-operative vegetable box scheme, where a number of people have signed up for their organic vegetable box from the same farm. The veg is delivered centrally thus saving on food miles and us a few pounds because we get it cheaper. It is quite informally arranged, but it still needs some financial support to run and expand, for instance to include other locally and organically sources produce.

I'm always quite keen on skill share initiatives which would bring people locally together and enable them to exchange skills they have or buy in tuition in those skills they don't yet have locally, thus making communities more resilient and stronger. Even something like an outdoor playgroup could benefit from joining the Co-operative Revolution: with a bit of financial backing there is a lot of potential to make such playgroups accessible to more children. Do you have ideas that you would like to see implemented in your local area? Please do share, and do have a look to see if the Co-operative Group could lend a helping hand and contribute to making it happen.

You can stay in touch and Get involved with The Co-operative through their Facebook page and their Join the Revolution page.

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Have an idea? Here's money to make it happen!

The Co-operative Community Fund have money to give away.

Yes, you've heard right, someone is giving away money.

 

What you need to do for it? Well, this is what it's all about:

 

The Cooperative are looking for groups of people carrying out positive work in the community. For this, they are running the The Co-operative Community Fund grant scheme, which helps local communities throughout the UK. Thousands of clubs, community groups and local charities have already benefited. The scheme is funded by members of The Co-operative donating some of their share of profits, which is then given away in the form of small grants. This year The Co-operative Members have donated £1.2 million to local community groups across the country. 

To qualify for a grant, projects must:

• 
  address a community issue, 
• 
  provide long term benefit to the community, 
• 
  support co-operative values and principles & 
• 
  be innovative in its approach

 Groups do not need to have charitable status, so basically anyone can apply.

The grants vary from a minimum of £100 to a maximum of £2,000 and you do not have to be a registered charity to apply for a grant. You can apply by completing the application form which is available on the Cooperative Memebership Fund website.

I think it's an excellent opportunity for anyone to make something happen locally. So what would you do if you had a grant and could make a lasting change? In my workplace, groups of young people have come up with creating a community garden, another group completed a make over of their local youth centre. 

 

Of course, local areas are different and what works in one may well not be the right thing for another. I could imagine a whole range of projects and if I can get my act together, who knows, I may well be applying for a grant. 

For example, I could think of organising a street party for our neighbourhood, a party where people got to know each other a bit better - for ongoing support of each other. You see, we have lots of elderly people living here and I've never been asked for help, though I'd be happy to help when needed. It would be great if everyone in this our small estate felt confident enough to ask for help.And what better way of introducing people than a bit of a party!

Another idea that springs to mind is to organise a monthly skill share happening in a local community hall - where you could learn say sewing, knitting, crocheting, felting, weaving, basket making, seed saving, xyz making, or handy skills around the house. The grant would pay for hall hire, tutor fees and advertising.

 

Then there's different types of playgroups that I think would work well as a positive contribution to the community - the grant could really help the German Kinderclub, maybe even to set up a south Glasgow branch, by paying for hall, toys and craft materials. Or it could pay for organising an outdoors playgroup. It could also pay for setting up a sports group, to get kids more active.

 

Do you have any ideas for your own community? Please do share them in the comments, they may spark off an idea for other readers! And if you do have an idea, go for it, there's nothing stopping you!

 

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Ths a sponsored post for a grant scheme that in my opinion deserves maximum exposure so that anyone with a project idea that would benefit their community is aware of this scheme and can apply.

Cooperative Membership Fund









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