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

Also on Facebook and Twitter!

Idris Rahman and Robin Hopcraft of the Soothsayers

The Soothsayers are a Brixton-based band whose music fuses dub, afrobeat, jazz, funk and West African rhythms to produce a distinctly urban sound. Uncut magazine called them “one of the finest slices of a Anglo Caribbean fusion since The Specials in their prime”. At the core of the Soothsayers are Robin Hopcraft and Idris Rahman who started playing together twelve years ago, on trumpet and sax respectively. They collaborate and perform with a wide range of talented musicians, including Johnny Clarke and Maxi Jazz, who are jointly known as the Red Earth Collective. Their latest album, Red Earth Dub, includes an instrumental track called ‘The Brixton Pound’ that was inspired by the launch of Brixton’s local currency.

The Brixton Pound interviewed Robin Hopcraft of the Soothsayers about the band and their attachment to Brixton.

Brixton Pound: How has your music been influenced by Brixton?

Robin Hopcraft: I’m not originally from London, but I moved to Brixton in 1983 from Worcester to study at Goldsmiths University. I used to go to Brixton Library a lot to borrow records. I was influenced by the people and cultures of Brixton and seeing Jamaican and African music at gigs. I was also influenced by the general atmosphere of Brixton in the Eighties, a time usually remembered less positively in the history books, but when the music scene was really buzzing.

B£: Why did you make a record about the Brixton Pound?

RH: The Brixton Pound song is really trying to encapsulate the atmosphere of Brixton and people moving around the streets. The beat is frantic at times, maybe evoking Brixton Road on a Saturday. It’s a little bit dark in places to convey the different elements of Brixton, both the positive and more edgy. The strong reggae rhythm has a dub undertone, giving it a more urban feel. It seemed to make sense to call it The Brixton Pound. It’s really a double entendre that also refers to the pounding beat on the track. I love the idea of the Brixton Pound. Local people spending money locally just makes sense.  In Brixton you can always find something different. In the market there are things you won’t find anywhere else. I’m sick of the Tesco domination. High streets nowadays just look like they’ve been bought out of a catalogue.

B£: Do you make a conscious effort to ‘keep it local’?

RH: The Soothsayers play in lots of local venues. We have sessions in The Effra [Hall Tavern] and Mango Landin’. The local music scene is really picking up with things like Plan B reopening. There weren’t many venues a few years ago but now it’s becoming reminiscent of the Eighties when venues like the Hootenanny were a real draw. Our latest album was also produced in Brixton in Sonica Studios on Acre Lane.

B£: What’s next for the Soothsayers?

RH: We’ll be touring around Europe this summer. Our first stop is the Czech republic – not so local! But our next gig in The UK will be at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green on 11^th July. We’ll be playing as part of their Afro Cup Festival to celebrate the South African World Cup. The Soothsayers will also be performing at a few festivals around the UK. And no doubt we’ll be back in Brixton soon.

The Soothsayers’ latest album ‘Red Earth Dub’ featuring ‘The Brixton Pound’ will be available at from the Brixton Pound stall at various events this Summer including Lambeth Country Show and Brixton Splash.

The T-shirts are made of very soft and ethically traded organic cotton and feature graphics designed by a local resident.  They come in both men’s sizes (S/M, L/XL, XXL) and women’s  sizes (S/M, L/XL).

To get your hands on one call in at the shop (unit 6, Granville Arcade, Brixton Village) or pre-order by email (brixtonpound@gmail.com), and we’ll make sure we have your size ready at the shop for collection.

Yours for £15, or B£13.

Pempamsie

The store sells an eclectic mix of items, such as wonderfully patterned clothing, cool jewelry, books, art, home furnishings, as well as lifestyle and health and natural beauty products. These are made out of an array of African plant ingredients, which you’ll be forgiven for not recognizing!
Workshops and talks are also held in the shop.

Whether you are interested in all things African, or you are just looking for a stylish gift, this is the place for you: Pempamsie, 102 Brixton Hill, SW2 1AH. Tel: 020 8671 0800

Pempamsie supports the B£: do ask in store about any B£ special offers.

Branded by the B£!

The B£ team were out in force, selling pounds on the night, manning the Community Shop and painting the B£ logo on anyone who was willing!

There was a real carnival atmosphere in the Village, helped along a little by the BOY policy. Brixtonian Rowan Sawday said, “It felt like the community was thrown open. Everyone was just relaxed and mingling and I had wicked conversations with about five new people. I’ll be there for the next one!” So far the plan is to keep Brixton Village open late every Thursday, with the possibility of extending this to Market Row (fingers firmly crossed). Make sure you get down to the next one and show some support!

The "democratree"

On Saturday Power 2010* hosted ‘Blow-up Politics in Brixton’, an informal event where Brixtonians had the opportunity to have a chat with parliamentary candidates from the three constituencies of Streatham, Vauxhall and Dulwich and West Norwood.

Candidates sat on bright pink inflatable sofas while constituents queued to have their say or add their thoughts to a “democratree”. The street outside KFC became a real political melting pot for the afternoon with candidates from both ends of the political spectrum as well as the three main parties.

Despite the candidates looking a little uncomfortable at times (it’s hard to strike a confident pose on inflatable furniture) there was a real buzz around the event itself, which drew a large crowd of spectators throughout the afternoon.

Never one to miss an opportunity to talk politics, the Brixton Pound posed a few questions to the candidates about the local economy and independent businesses.

Lib Dem candidate for Streatham Chris Nicholson had some encouraging things to say. He stressed the importance of attracting new business to Brixton and highlighted the late-night and Sunday openings for the market as something that could draw in custom from further afield. Nicholson mentioned his own personal frustration at never being able to find time to eat in foodie hotspot Franco Manca.

Chris Nicholson talks to a constituent

Green candidate Rebecca Findlay was adamant that business rates need to be readdressed to give new independent businesses a fighting chance, especially in areas where they are being crowded out by commercial chain stores. On the high street, independent businesses can currently be charged up to four times the rate that chains pay. Findlay was supportive of the Brixton Pound project as an economic initiative, especially its accessibility for people outside the mainstream banking system.

Unfortunately Socialist candidate Daniel Lambert didn’t approve of the Brixton Pound. Then again, he didn’t approve of the use of money full stop. Can’t win ‘em all…

*Power 2010 is a political pressure group campaigning for parliamentary reform in the run up to the general election. Go to www.power2010.org.uk for more information.

• wood carving
• stone sculpting
• costumes making
• banners making
• stainglass making
• drumming
• bicycle repair

So whether you are artistically inclined, or need some help fixing your bike, or you simply enjoy making stuff with your hands, do pop over and say hi to resident sculptor and painter Jose and bicycle-repairs man Jimmy. They will be very happy to get your hands dirty.

New Generation also sell a number of paintings and sculptures, which you will be able  to purchase using Brixton Pounds.

The unit is open every day, except Sunday, until Saturday 17th April, between 10am and 5:30pm.