Clean air campaign groups

https://www.uk100.org/clean-air/

Activist How-to Guides

https://campaigning.friendsoftheearth.uk/general-resources/work-elected-representatives

Kim Gordon

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/kim-gordon-interview-sonic-youth-thurston-moore-book-albums-no-home-record-a9161876.html

Successful sourdough storage technique

How to Store a Sourdough Starter

H Street graffiti

Taking back control: a note on Matthew Bolton’s “How To Resist” (2017)

Matthew Bolton has been at the heart of Citizens UK‘s successful Living Wage campaign. In 2017 he published a really valuable book: How to Resist: Turn Protest to Power (Bloomsbury, London).

The case can be made that this book has the wrong title, and Matthew says as much right at the start: “in the word ‘resist’ there’s a danger of starting off on the back foot, of handing over the initiative to others: someone else has the plan and we are just reacting to it” (page 2). The book isn’t about resistance; it is “about how those without much power can come together and change things” through community organising, which it presents as “a method and tactics for how people can take on those with financial power and authority, and win” (page 3). What matters for Matthew is not just the winning, though: it’s about democracy.

Democracy doesn’t just mean ‘to vote’, it means people power. It means embedding political action into our day-to-day lives, in our communities and workplaces. It is a vision of a society where power is distributed amongst the people, not concentrated in the hands of the few. It’s not an end state, but a constant struggle for people to fight for a seat around the decision-making table. (pages 4-5)

Matthew astutely links this to the Brexit vote and the election of Trump, two political events with the idea of ‘taking back control’ at their heart. His book presents a method for taking back control: “Not through a once-in-a-lifetime referendum vote or through a one-off symbolic protest, but through practical tools that can be used in your everyday life to give you more influence over decision-making and to realise your power as a citizen.” (page 23)

A copy of the book is available in Bromley’s central library. Or will be, when I return it tomorrow.

Travels in Eco-land: Naked Larder

Saturday was my third trip to Naked Larder. I try to make it an adventure for my young daughter. At Herne Hill station we go through the ‘underground tunnel’ and then the ‘secret passage’ (under Academic House) before turning to head up the hill, then left on Kestrel Avenue (what a great name for a road) and ‘look for the glove on the gate’. And before we even get to the shed there’s the mystery of the ‘treehouse’ with no tree and no ladder, always prompting the question “how do we get up?”

My wife discovered Naked Larder, not me. I got sent there on the first trip with our daughter, a print-out of our order (made by my wife), and a selection of tupperware and some pillow cases. Gazed round in wonder at all the boxes, and quickly realised that filling up our containers could be easily turned into a game.

I could explain what Naked Larder is, but their website does it better than I could: “We buy dry goods and eco-friendly cleaning products in bulk to minimise packaging and reduce cost. Our customers collect their orders using their own reusable containers. Join us in our quest to create a brighter future for our planet.” Do I feel virtuous as I leave with my coffee beans, bread flour, oats, rice and sugar? Of course I do. I also feel hopeful.

Margaret Glaspy Tiny Desk

Margaret Glaspy’s Tiny Desk Concert made my afternoon. Especially the riff in the third song (“You and I”), which was jaunty, understated, fresh and tasty.

Altin Gün – Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

Turkish folk meets Black Sabbath. Refreshingly different.

Future of work: a reading list

Ours to hack and to own (available for download here)