Where do they go?

Over the past year thousands of Brixtonians have been enjoying spending their Brixton Pounds (B£). But have you wondered what happens to your B£s when you use them to buy a coffee or a pair of shoes? Because the B£ can’t leave Brixton, local businesses need to find ways to spend their B£s locally.

Businesses have already found lots of ways to do this. Wild Caper pay their staff a proportion of their wages in B£s and business owners give out B£s in change or buy their lunch with it.

But the real change begins when businesses start sourcing more of their everyday needs locally. The Brixton Pound group is now offering an individually tailored service to businesses using the B£ that want to source more of their goods locally – whether it’s light bulbs, a plumber or fresh tomatoes. By mapping local supply chains we are linking up businesses that accept the B£, encouraging them to trade with each other and boost the local economy.

If you’re a business owner and would like to talk to one of our Local Source Advisors, or if you’re just interested in finding out more about this project or lend a helping hand contact Annie (07816119393) or Himi (07804701841).

Judging rhubarb in the Flower Zone

This weekend the Lambeth Country Show is coming to town! A well-established annual event (this is its 36th year), the show brings a little taste of country life to the urban wilds of Brockwell Park. From 17-18 July the park will be taken over by an eclectic mix of musicians, fairground rides, farmers, artists and er… an alpaca. With a seemingly endless choice of activities spread across Saturday and Sunday the Lambeth Country Show promises fun for all the family. You can try your hand at something new with skills classes including building a scarecrow, baking bread, jousting and even sailing. Or go all doe-eyed over the animals in the petting zoo, on loan from Vauxhall City Farm. And with food stalls offering dishes from around the world you won’t need to bring a picnic. For a full list of events, including a map, download the Lambeth Country Show programme here.

The Brixton Pound team will be out in force on both days. Make sure you stop by our stall in the Charities Zone and get hold of some B£s, which many stalls will be accepting on the day. We will also have for sale a range of locally-sourced merchandise, including our Brixton Power T-shirts, with discounts for those paying in B£s. There’ll be badge-making and kids’ activities too. Just in Brixton for the day? Come and chat to our friendly volunteers for recommendations on what to see and do in the area.

Carnival dancers at last year's show

Photos ©2009 Lambeth Council.

Products available in the Community Shop

Pop down to the Community Shop (Unit 6, Brixton Village) and take a gander at the brand spanking new items for sale. All profits will be reinvested in the Brixton Pound project.

From left to right:

- Copies of The Wizard: a whole new Oz for our times by David Boyle, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation. Based on the the idea that Frank Baum actually wove his famous tale around the monetary battles of the 1890s, The Wizard is ‘a modern Wizard of Oz for the days of derivatives, sub-prime mortgages and Goldman Sachs.’ The book also includes David Boyle’s celebrated speech at the launch of the Brixton Pound.

- The latest album from The Soothsayers and the Red Earth Collective inculding the track ‘The Brixton Pound’. See our interview with Robin Hopcraft of The Soothsayers here.

- A range of tasteful hand-crafted silver jewellery from Full Moon Designs who can usually be found at the Brixton Arts and Crafts Market next to Morleys on Fridays and Saturdays.

- The ever-popular Brixton Pound Sauce. Locally produced and market ’sauced’ (arf). Not available for purchase in the Community Shop but you can get your hands on a bottle just a hop, skip and a jump away at Brixton Cornercopia (Unit 65, 4th Avenue, Brixton Village).

- The new ‘Brixton Power’ T-shirts, available in men’s and women’s sizes, for patriotic Brixtonites. The T-shirts are made from 100% ethically traded organic cotton and feature graphics designed by a local resident. See one modelled by an unwilling volunteer here.

Make sure you pay in B£s, there are discounts available if you do!

Often referred to as ‘Brixton’s favourite giftshop’ Diverse aims to offer a range of products that truly reflects the varied community it serves: Afrocentric and contemporary greeting cards for all occasions, jewellery from every corner of the globe, recycled products and world music from Putumayo.

The downstairs gallery houses beautiful, affordable clothing by local label, Uma Jane, and a range of Australian designers.

Diverse has a permanent discount of 5% off for anyone using the B£, although during this feature-week B£ customers get 10% off both gifts and clothing (full-price items only; cards and gift-wrap not included).  So get down there, what are you waiting for?

Diverse
62 Atlantic Road
London
SW9 8PY
020 7733 1488
info@diversegifts.co.uk

Also on Facebook and Twitter!

Olley’s fish and chips

Whether for take-away or to have-in, you will be impressed by the quality of the food and the diversity of the menu, with a vast choice of over 20 species to chose from, which are cooked to order to suit your taste.  If you have a little space left in you, why not try their amazing vanilla ice-cream, smooth and velvety. Scrumptious! And if you sit at the restaurant, you will undoubtedly meet Harry, a most welcoming host who will unashamedly indulge your taste buds till you leave with a big smile on your face.

Olley’s is running a special offer for Brixton Pound paying customers only:

Every Tuesday, FREE CHIPS with any fish purchased.
(not to be taken in conjunction with any other promotion or offer)

Olley’s is at 65-67 Norwood Road, SE24 9AA, just opposite Brockwell Park: a perfect spot to sit and watch the world go by, especially now that spring is upon us.

Our beautiful B£ notes

Give yourself or someone you know a piece of local history: B£ collectors sets make a wonderful gift, and each consist of 1 x B£20 note, 1 x B£10 note, 1 x B£5 note, 1 x B£1 note.   Beautiful images of Vincent Van Gogh, CLR James, James Lovelock and Olive Morris adorn our B£20 note, B£10 note, B£5 note and B£1 note respectively – these personalities have all had important links with Brixton at some point in their lives.

Designed by a local designer, all notes are uncirculated, and all have matching serial numbers. They are also accompanied by a letter of endorsement from the Mayor of Lambeth and a Brixton Pound user guide. 

We can deliver in UK, Europe and Rest of the World, and each set costs £50, plus P&P. You can make your order here, where you can also order other combinations of uncirculated notes Or you could place your order at our Community Shop.

The same deadline also applies for anyone interested in becoming a B£ director: although there are some skills that we feel would be particularly useful (e.g. business experience, community links, accountancy) essentially passion and a commitment to making the B£ work are the most importance qualities for the role.

To learn more about the responsibilities of the directors click here.

To show your interest, please click here.