Red Earth Dub – The latest CD release from local band The Soothsayers, giving us ‘authentic-sounding, vintage roots reggae with jazz, funk and afrobeat influences’. The album includes homage track to the Brixton Pound, aptly named The Brixton Pound.  Read their album review here, and click here to find out more about the band and to listen to the track. And if you like what you hear, get yourself a copy of the album from our Community Shop, for a very decent B£8, or £10.

The new B£ reusable cup

The B£ reusable cup is the latest addition to our products range – a barista standard cup, light to carry, easy to wash, and sleek in design. You can use this cup pretty much at any cafe you like (in Brixton and beyond) and help reduce the amount of packaging we produce. However, use it at designated Brixton Cafes (see blog below), and you can also get yourself a lovely discount on the price of your hot drink.

The B£ reusable cup is available for sale at our Community Shop, and also at: Rosie’s Cafe, Wild Caper, Café Sitifis, C@fe Brixton, Viva Café (next to Brixton Recreation Centre), Azmarini Café, Opus Cafe,  Bellantoni’s and Duck Egg Cafe. However do keep an eye on our website as this list is growing faster than you can say Espresso! Yours for B£6, or £6.50.

B£ t-shirt

Brixton Power t-shirt – all seasons and never out of fashion! This t-shirt is ethically traded and made of soft organic cotton. Designed by a local resident, and produced by a local business, it comes in natural white with black design, women and men’ sizes, and is available from our Community Shop.

Yours for a very affordable B£13, or £15.

Or perhaps you are looking for a stimulating read?

Funny Money, by David Boyle, offers a very accessible fresh take on our monetary system, and on the possibilities that various alternatives can offer. Buy if from our Community Shop for a bargain B£5, or £6.

The Wizard

Also by David Boyle, The Wizard, a whole new kind of Oz for our times. The novel is a modern wizard of Oz for the days of derivatives,sub-prime mortgages and Goldman Sachs.

A century ago, Dorothy and Toto set off down the Yellow Brick Road to encounter the Wizard.  Or was it the money system, as some critics claim? This Wizard is a tale for our own times of beauty, love and courage – and small dogs.

B£5 or £7.

Last, and by no means least, why not treat your friends or your family (or yourself) to a little bit of history, by giving them a B£ collector’s set this Christmas? Each set includes 1 of each of the four B£ notes denominations, all uncirculated, as well as a letter from our Mayor.

Collectors sets can be normally purchased online at £65 (UK), £67 (Europe) and £70 (Rest of the World), including postage.  However place your order by 6^th December and you can bag yourself a set for £55, £57 and £60 per pack respectively.

All orders received  under this offer will be fulfilled the w/c 6th December, and delivered on time for Christmas.

So what are you waiting for? Get those presents sorted early, and then kick back and just watch the mad scramble…

All proceeds are reinvested into the development of the B£ – a community interest company led by local volunteers.

Our Community Shop is at: Unit 6, Fifth Avenue, Granville Arcade, Brixton Village.

Noureddine with his B£ cups

Owner of Sitifis Cafe Noureddine Lalmi was photographed by Lambeth Life for an article about the Brixton Pound reusable cup scheme. Sitifis is just one of many cafes and eateries in Brixton offering a discount to customers using the cup. Get hold of yours now from participating businesses for B£6 or £6.50 and help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. See this earlier post for more details.

The Brixton Pound also featured in Friday’s Evening Standard. Brixton Village trader Mpho McKenzie said the Brixton Pound had helped boost local trade. Read the article in full here.

Stallholders will be accepting Brixton £s on the day so it’s a great opportunity to pick up the last (or, in my case, the first) of your Christmas presents. Shopping in the Dogstar – it’s got to be less stressful than Oxford Street!

On that note, we’d love to hear from anyone who’s decided to buy all their Christmas presents using Brixton Pounds. Simon Woolf did it last year and you can watch a video of him Christmas shopping here.

Watch this space for more hints and tips about how to support independent businesses in Brixton over the festive period…

I’ve pledged to do all my christmas shopping this year in Brixton Pounds, so this Saturday I went off round Brixton to do just that. Not only did I manage it with ease, I also found a whole load of wonderful new shops I didn’t know existed until a few weeks ago. Many thanks to Wild Caper,  Gruff and Tackleton’s Winter Menagerie, Bricolage, Brixton Cornercopia, No. 1 Village Bakeries, Remade in Brixton and Bookmongers for providing such great gifts. I also got my wrapping paper at Pound & Plus taking advantage of their 5% B£ discount.

You can watch a short film of the whole experience right here – I hope it inspires you to reject the west end, chain stores, supermarkets and big name brands and get down to Brixton to spend your money where it matters. You won’t be disappointed.