Recent updates

Stalled in the pre-launch

Jul 11 2015

Thank you very much for supporting the JDT's campaign to explore digital heritage opportunities for the Isle of Jura.

Unfortunately, this method of raising funds for the consultation phase, which we knew entailed certain risks, has not realised sufficient ooomph for us to be able to take forward our plans. It means that on this occasion, your pledges will not be collected. Your generosity and willingness to come with us into the great unknown has meant a lot to us, however, so thanks again!

With Best Wishes,

Jane Carswell, on behalf of the Isle of Jura Development Trust [oralhistoryjura@gmail.com]

We've got there

An update for 'Sound of a City' - a documentary about live music in Bristol

Jul 5 2015

Hi all,

Great news! Sound of a City has officially reached it's target of £2000, which means we will receive the money from the crowdfunding campaign and we will be able to make the film. Phew! We obviously have to say a huge thank you to all of you who are directly responsible for this success. We are really happy that the project has already made a real impression on so many people. Filming will start in two weeks and we are sure, based on the people we have talked to so far, that the project will live up to expectations.

The campaign isn't quite over yet - still another 5 days to go! We want to use this time to get our total as high as possible before the period ends so (as you are sick of hearing I'm sure) please continue to tell anyone who may be interested about the project.

On to the production..

SOAC x

Post-Congress: first update

An update for A Green Party presence at Co-operative Congress

Jun 27 2015

That's Congress over. The last few people have left to get their trains and buses home, or drifted back to their hotels.

Today's sessions were group discussions around the key issues chosen for this year's Congress: co-ops raising capital without compromising democracy, and (close to our hearts) environmental sustainability. Delegates tweeted the progress of the debates with the hasthtag #coopnow (check it out). There are some exciting co-op initiatives in the pipeline.

We gave out loads of leaflets and badges, and sold a few t-shirts. Again, lots of good conversations with co-operators from an incredibly diverse range of co-ops. Being a member of a worker co-operative (www.graphics.coop), I tend to gravitate towards that sector, but it was brilliant being there with housing, consumer and credit union co-ops too. A special comradely shout-out goes to members of the Radical Routes network (www.radicalroutes.org.uk).

Margaret (Birmingham Greens), who was on the stall with me today, is relatively new to co-operatives, so she found it particularly enlightening, but we all learned something from each other. Jon (Islington Greens and The Woodcraft Folk) helped us at intervals throughout the day. Rory (Sheffield Greens, Fair Shares Foundation and Sheffield Hallam University) headed off to London very early this morning to speak at another event, at the instigation of Green MEP, Molly Scott Cato.

As a Scottish Green, it's been brilliant making close links with Greens from the England & Wales party – especially getting to know Rory, Margaret and Jon. This has definitely been the start of something bigger. Co-operative Greens are Go!

Embarrassingly, I forgot to take any photos. Hopefully, I will be able to find some that other people took (anyone?).

cheers,

Steve West
Co-convenor, Co-operative Greens special interest group
Scottish Green Party

PS: The fundraiser runs for another 3 days – hopefully we will cover all of the outlay. We have plenty of badges and t-shirts left and they turned out a bit cheaper that we thought, so I've lowered the donation thresholds for these.)

So here we are at Co-op Congress

An update for A Green Party presence at Co-operative Congress

Jun 27 2015

The first day of Congress went well. Rory and I stood out a mile wearing our Co-operative Greens t-shirts and the stall was very visible. Everyone definitely noticed us.

We had lots of good conversations, meeting Green supporters and some "not-quite" supporters from various co-ops. Several people from the Co-operative Party also came over to talk to us (their stall is in the opposite corner).

Much of the afternoon was taken up with the AGMs of Co-operative News (see www.thenews.coop for Congress updates) and Co-operatives UK (www.uk.coop). Rory joined in the discussion during the Co-operatives UK AGM, where the most dramatic announcement was Pauline Green stepping down as President of the International Co-operative Alliance (www.ica.coop).

Today I'll be on the stall with Margaret from Birmingham Greens. Looking forward to more conversations and I'll try to remember to take some photos.

cheers,

Steve West
Co-convenor, Co-operative Greens special interest group
Scottish Green Party

PS: The fundraiser is still open until Tuesday, as we haven't quite covered all of the costs yet. Please spread the word.

How the money is being spent

An update for A Green Party presence at Co-operative Congress

Jun 25 2015

Here's a list of the expenses we've incurred to date.

£480 fee paid to Co-operatives UK for the stall and delegate places
£98 trainfare to Birmingham
£110 for accommodation in Birmingham
£33 to deliver materials for the stall
£115 cost of 10 t-shirts for the £50 donors so far
£36 cost of badges for the donors so far
£30 estimated postage to send out t-shirts & badges
£58 estimated Fundsurfer fees incurred so far

Total costs so far = £960

As I write this, we've raised £730, so we are still a bit short. As we raise more, we will incur further costs with badges, t-shirts and fees, so we really need about £1000 to break even.

Please spread the word and encourage others to chip in. The fundraiser closes on 30th June.

cheers,

Steve West
Co-convenor, Co-operative Greens special interest group
Scottish Green Party

We're almost there

An update for 'Sound of a City' - a documentary about live music in Bristol

Jun 24 2015

A few weeks to go and a mere £415 off our target, but we won't reach it if people don't keep pledging, so now is the time to share it with friends, family, co-workers, jazz lovers, reggae lovers, music makers and the rest.

Thanks again to everyone who has generously pledged. Rewards will come soon after the edit is complete.

We're working on our next interview so watch this space for more updates.

Have a great Wednesday.

SOAC x

Co-operative Greens badges and t-shirts

An update for A Green Party presence at Co-operative Congress

Jun 23 2015

The badges have arrived! There are two sizes, 25mm and 32mm. Everyone who donated at least a tenner will get one of each.

T-shirts are due on Thursday, so I should have them in time for Congress. (I ordered them a month before the event, giving the suppliers plenty of time, but they have been unexpectedly busy and now expect to just make the deadline.)

I'll be taking stocks to Congress, so if you donated and are attending, please come to the stall to collect your goodies.

Everyone else who is expecting badges or a t-shirt, please send me a message with your contact details (unless I already know you): You can message me through the link on the fundsurfer page, or email co-operative@scottishgreens.org.uk

If you are due a t-shirt, I'll need to know your size. They are unisex S, M, L or XL. If you are collecting yours at Congress, please tell me your size in advance, so I can keep yours aside (they might sell like hot cakes!).

cheers,

Steve West
Co-convenor, Co-operative Greens special interest group
Scottish Green Party

Natalie Bennett on the campaign trail again!

An update for A Green County Councillor for Cambridgeshire!

Jun 18 2015

Brilliant help from Natalie Bennett today, the only national party leader to endorse their local county council candidate in this by-election! We can do this, and get an anti-austerity voice on the county council, but only with your help! We're half way there - a push in the last week of the campaign can really help us!

Meet the team on the stall

An update for A Green Party presence at Co-operative Congress

Jun 17 2015

We've finalised who will be running the Green stall at Co-op Congress.

Friday 26th
Steve West (Edinburgh Greens)
Rory Ridley-Duff (Sheffield Greens)

Saturday 27th
Steve West (Edinburgh Greens)
Margaret Okole (Birmingham Greens)

Also helping out will be Jon Nott (Islington Greens).

Some background on who we are...

Steve is a co-convenor of the new Co-operative Greens special interest group of the Scottish Green Party. He works at graphics.coop – a worker co-operative design agency in Edinburgh.
Rory is an educator, writer and (part-time) composer. He's a co-founder of the Fairshares Association, which promotes a philosophy and practical model for creating and sustaining networks of solidarity enterprises that share power and wealth.
Margaret is an independent publishing professional and is Branch Secretary of the Birmingham Green Party. She stood as the Green candidate for Birmingham Ladywood in the recent Westminster election.
Jon is General Secretary of The Woodcraft Folk.

If you're going to Congress, do come and talk to us.

Week 4 - Andy Sheppard

An update for 'Sound of a City' - a documentary about live music in Bristol

Jun 17 2015

Hi all,

We are pleased to be able give you an extended clip of the great Andy Sheppard who we interviewed last Friday. We've selected 3 unedited answers he gave which we thought were particularly interesting in relation to the subject of the documentary. This is only 4 minutes of the full 50 minute interview we had with him, so there is plenty more to come in the full film coming later this year.

Password: Sheppard

Hope you enjoy it. We'll be in touch soon with more news and clips. In the meantime, please do share this with friends and family and music lovers. We are still £490 off our first target so we still need loads more people to get involved and support the project.

SOAC x