Comedian and quizmaster Trevor Lock

We are delighted to announce that our very first fundraising event at Olley’s Fish Experience raised a whopping £805 for the B£!!

So a big thanks to everyone who came down!  It was a fantastic night with lovely food, live sea shanties and a Brixton-themed quiz that could put any Mastermind to shame. Of course we couldn’t have done it without the generous help of the businesses and individuals who support the Brixton Pound so (in no particular order) a tremendous thank you to:

The wonderful Harry at Olley’s Fish Experience for being such a generous host, and donating the food and the venue for the night.

The White Horse, Bellantoni’s, Agile Rabbit, Healthy Eaters, Amaru Hemp and Ossie’s Fresh Ginger for providing prizes for the worthy winners of the quiz and our raffle, and the Brixton Society for contributing material to our quiz.

Trevor Lock, hilarious quizmaster extraordinaire.

Theo Bard for his lovely music and encyclopedic knowledge of sea-related tunes.

We hope everyone that came had as much fun as we did. If you missed out, fear not! The Brixton Pound’s first birthday is coming up on 16th September and we will be taking over Granville Arcade for a late-night spectacular! Watch this space…

Music from Theo Bard

Portuguese is the third mostly widely spoken language in Brixton and the Latin American community has a huge cultural influence on the area. You can spend the Brixton Pound with many Latin American businesses including Restaurant la Cabana in Brixton Village and A&C Continental Grocers on Atlantic Road.

The Brixton Pound user guide is available in both Spanish and Portuguese from our website. Just scroll down to the ‘download the flyer’ section on our website and select your language.

The evening will start with a champagne reception, followed by a two course meal and entertainment, including a Brixton Pound quiz to test your local knowledge! Join us and show your support for the Brixton Pound and the local community. Tickets are £25 per person – available in advance only. All proceeds will go to the Brixton Pound project. Please email clarelakerallsop@hotmail.com for more information and tickets.

There will be singing, dancing, eating, drinking. What more do you need? Oh yes, that Brixton staple… A MASSIVE sound system!

The Brixton Pound group will be manning a stall in the craft market in St Matthew’s Peace Gardens. We’ll be exchanging Sterling for B£s on the day so make sure you grab hold of some as plenty of stalls will be accepting them. Look out for our street volunteers too (you’ll know them by their B£ badges). They are founts of knowledge and will be able to answer any questions you might have about the B£!

Dancing in the street at last year's Brixton Splash

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!

1. Phillip’s Fruit + Veg, Brixton Village [previously Granville Arcade]

Phillip's Fruit + Veg in Brixton Village

Phillip has been running this greengrocers in Brixton Village for almost seven years. He sells a huge variety of fruit and veg, including Brixton staples like yams, green bananas and coconuts.

2. Take 2wo, Brixton Village/Coldharbour Lane

Take 2wo in Brixton Village/Coldharbour Lane

Take 2wo is a friendly café/restaurant serving great value Caribbean food. It’s often open late and on Saturdays there’s a BBQ just outside where you can take your pick from jerked meats and roasted fish.

3. The Agile Rabbit, Brixton Village

The Agile Rabbit Pizzeria in Brixton Village

The Agile Rabbit [note the bunny on the unicycle] is a very recent addition to Brixton Village, having only been open for five weeks. Run by Victor, they serve up excellent quality pizza to takeaway or linger over in their sun-trap of a restaurant.  Look out for their bicycle-powered delivery service launching this Summer.

4. Etta’s Seafood Kitchen

Etta's Seafood Kitchen in Brixton Village

In her charmingly decorated kitchen Etta cooks up a wide range of delicious fish dishes like crab fritters, steamed mussels and seafood linguine. Prices are incredibly reasonable and there’s an (even cheaper) children’s menu too.

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

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