tawai: a voice from the forest…

I went to the Watershed this afternoon (I was going to undertake a long walk to Ashton Court/Leigh Woods, but the weather forecast put me off). So, did I go to see Blade Runner 2049? Nope (especially after Jonnie Treloar’s recent negative review!)… but, hey, I haven’t even seen the original.

No, instead, I decided to check out Bruce Parry+Mark Ellam’s “Tawai: A Voice From The Forest” (you may well know Parry from his various “Tribe” documentaries on the BBC – although I don’t think I’ve ever watched any – in which he lived with indigenous peoples in an effort to understand their way of life). ‘Tawai’ is the word that the nomadic hunter-gatherers of Borneo use to describe their inner feeling of connection to nature.

Essentially, this is a film which looks at a deeper understanding of indigenous peoples and how their way of life can benefit those in the industrialised world. It’s a thought-provoking, poetic documentary (with some beautiful photography) – compiled from the forests of Borneo, the Saddhu of India on the Ganges, the Amazon jungle and the Isle of Skye – which explores what might have changed within the human psyche since we stopped roaming and began to settle. What can we learn from how nomadic tribes around the world live and how might this help us create more balanced ways of relating to each other and the natural world?

It’s a rather striking, sincere film – perhaps a little too earnest for my taste? Clearly, Parry has a great love and appreciation for his subject (plus lots of experience of living with nomadic tribes), but I was disappointed that most of the conversations (both with individuals from the various tribes and the ‘experts’) were all rather one-way, with Parry apparently unable to contribute to, expand on or question the things that were being said. Now, some of this might well be due to the difficulties of translation (but other documentary-makers have coped without undue difficulties) or perhaps it was Parry’s lack of intellect (I might be being rather unfair here?) or speed of thought? Either way, for me, the film’s message lacked a degree of clarity and emphasis.
It’s a fascinating film with a significant message: Tawai providing (in the words of the Watershed programme) “a powerful voice to indigenous peoples that demands to be heard before it is completely lost”… but didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

more on academy schools...

You won’t be surprised to learn that I don’t pretend to know the finer points of property law!
However, I do understand that, before the general election, councils in England held the title deeds to schools and land valued at over £2.5 billion.
Sadly, as far as I can tell, the government’s proposals for Academy Schools will have depressing and far-reaching (and probably irreversible) implications for education:
1. When a school becomes an academy, the title deeds of the school and the land are transferred to a private company
2. The government borrows £25,000 to pay the legal fees for the private companies to ensure the title deeds are transferred from the council (ie. us, the taxpayers who paid to build the schools) to these private companies.
3. To date, it seems that £1billion of title deeds for academy schools have been transferred from councils/taxpayers to private companies (high of it for legal fees alone).
It seems that Academy Schools are not primarily about education - they are about asset-stripping (with the directors and shareholders of the sponsoring private companies being the beneficiaries). I’ve come across one example of this via the internet – where an academy sold part of its school grounds to Sainsbury’s for £21million… and where the company running the academy is listed as operating from the Cayman Islands (ie. double whammy: with taxpayers missing out twice).
Be afraid. Be very afraid!
PS: if you know different and I’ve misunderstood things, please do let me know!

academy schools…

The government’s latest education “initiative”, to make ALL schools in England Academy schools by 2020, fills me with absolute horror.
Be under no illusions, the government’s plans for academies represent a disaster for our education system – a system that has already suffered devastating, damaging and potentially irreversible revisions since 2010.
Some years ago, I worked in a secondary school which took on Academy status. I certainly felt that the decision to change was taken quickly, with minimum meaningful consultation, and implemented without the full implications being explained to either staff or parents. Essentially, it appeared that the powers-that-be at the school were ‘told’ by the government that, if they wanted extra money for their budget, then Academy status was their only realistic option.
Of course, Academy status was being ‘sold’ to schools in a flagrantly sugar-coated way (schools would be able to “take control of our own futures”, “achieve confidence and independence”; achieve “innovation and creativity” and schools would be “free from the shackles of bureaucracy”!)…
The government has also been promoting Academy Schools as a way to improve standards in education. It endeavours puts a positive spin on its Academy status policy – but academic analysis has simply refuted much of its key assertions.
Academy status will mean (amongst other things): schools not having to employ qualified teachers; an end to parent governors (in future, professionals with the ‘right skills’ will replace the parents with a multitude of skills!); and removing schools out of LEA control. All academy chains and academies will effectively be able to operate in secret, avoiding any accountability to anyone, let alone society as a whole.
Ron Glatter, Emeritus professor of educational administration and management at the Open University, describes the government’s current policy as appearing “to be based on a combination of ideological zeal and extraordinary organisational naivety” (eg. “1,000 trusts, each responsible for at least 10 academies, will be required by 2020. As of last July, there were just 39 trusts with more than 10 academies. Each new trust will need a chief executive, and the heads of some of the largest chains now have salaries in the range £150,000 to £225,000”).

I STRONGLY recommend that you watch this excellent 55 minute documentary, made by parents and teachers from Downhills School in Tottenham in their battle to stop Education secretary, Michael Gove, forcing them to become an Academy School in 2013.

As you might imagine (and no doubt read some yourself), there have also been lots of worthy words written about Academy Schools, following the Chancellor’s Budget announcement last week (nothing about such a policy in the Tory general election manifesto, of course!). You might to check out some of the following:
1.    An article in the TES by a Hampshire headteacher.
2.    Another article in the TES by a Suffolk headteacher.
3.    Reaction from the teaching profession in The Independent newspaper.
4.    Letters to The Guardian newspaper.
5.    An article in The Guardian on former education secretary David Blunkett’s reactions to the policy.
Hey, but these are just a few! No doubt, you’ll have your own examples…

Peter Bunyan, in a recent letter to The Guardian, maintains that “'executive' heads of multi-academy trusts… will have to be creative, and that is finding ways to cut costs and save money, as the supply from central government is reduced. The obvious way is to employ fewer teachers on lower salaries and employ more poorly paid teaching assistants. Another is to extend the school day, but add time saved on to extra holidays so that less money has to be spent on cleaning, general maintenance, office staff and providing meals. That is, cut down on hourly paid workers, the poorest in society. It will be interesting to see, over the coming years, what other ‘creative’ strategies will be adopted as all schools become small businesses, competing with each other for that valued ‘client’, the child”.

Apologies for all my negativity!

I read one anguished comment on facebook a couple of days ago, about the government’s latest education initiative, from a worn-down, disillusioned and angry teacher. She said: “Thank goodness that I’ll be retiring in a couple of years… I can’t stand much more of this” (or words to that effect).
I can only sympathise with her sentiments.
Sadly, it’s today’s children and tomorrow’s children (and society in general) who will have to suffer the consequences of the government’s ideology.
PS: Oh, and just in case you thought university education was all hunky dory, you might like to check out this article in The Observer newspaper: "a government adviser and crossbench peer has warned there could be an 'American-style catastrophe' in English higher education if ministers push ahead with plans to expand opportunities for private providers to become universities".

window wanderland

The past three nights have seen the “Window Wanderland” event take place in Bedminster, Southville and Ashton for the first time - and we’ve taken part… with the basement, living room and bedroom front windows featuring a drawing of a rather tall harbourside crane!
What on earth is “Window Wanderland” (I hear you ask)?
Well, the website describes it thus: “an inclusive grassroots event which lights up neighbourhoods with playfulness. It provides a common festive focus and encourages ‘hidden creativity’ to emerge. The displays from each event form galleries which celebrate their diversity and showcase the displays to the wider Wanderland Community, leaving a very positive legacy”. For a flavour of the event, I suggest you check out this video from the BS24/7 website.
Created in Bristol last year by Lucy Reeves Khan, the event saw lots of homes in Bishopston adorned in light-up art displays for the enjoyment of their neighbours and encouraged people to walk around their neighbourhood in groups to see the impressive creations of their fellow locals. 
This is the first year that homes within Southville, Ashton+Bedminster have participated in the event and over 150 houses, businesses and schools are taking part this weekend!

At one stage, I thought we might be able to put together something which incorporated contributions from all our Bristol family members… but, as the deadline drew closer, it became obvious that it wasn’t going to happen (busy, busy people!). So, in the end, I’m afraid it’s MY drawing work - with invaluable contributions from Iris and Rosa and their fat colouring pens!! It was all a bit scary: We had no idea how the image would come across to people walking past… Would it be readable? Would the limited colours be visible enough? Would it all disintegrate when we tried to “hang” the images? Would we be able to find enough decent spot-lamps to illuminate the images?

Well, in the end, our window stuff all seemed to work reasonably well (with a few misgivings)… and without too many mishaps!
All that remains to be done now (the morning after the weekend before…) is to take down all the art stuff, remove all the spotlights and cables… and allow normal daylight back into our lives!
The really lovely thing about the weekend was just how many people participated in the event – whether by producing their own window art or simply by roaming the neighbouring streets enjoying the spectacle… and, thankfully, the weather was very kind to us.
Lots of very happy, smiley people… it was very good fun!

Photo: harbourside crane view from our living room.

mount pleasant terrace street party

I’m not entirely sure, but I think the street party held in our street today was the first one for nearly 70 years - since the party held in 1945 to mark VJ Day (I met a bloke named Roy who used to live at number 44 and who showed me photographs of the event). I also have to admit that a) I had absolutely nothing to do with the planning/organisation of our street party, b) I didn’t participate in any of the organising or setting up of the event and c) I simply turned up (somewhat embarrassed) at 2.30pm carrying a couple of bottles of wine and three chairs (note: Moira also made excellent cake!)… and we later brought along some burgers and salad for the BBQ.

I have to admit that it wasn’t something I was particularly enthusiastic about or looking forward to… but I freely admit that I was WRONG.
In the event, lots of people turned up – including lots of neighbours I’d never met. There was music, games, food, drink and… crucially, conversation.
It was simply brilliant.
I met lots of people I’d never spoken to before today. Children played happily… without the threat of cars. There were an awful lot of friendly, happy people enjoying themselves… and I was one of them!
Simple pleasures... with lots of people delighted to be celebrating the community in which they lived.
Happy day!
Photo: the truly amazing Roy Gallup... and just one of his magnificent creations...

southbank bristol arts trail

Our local arts trail is over for another year. This was the tenth consecutive year we’ve been participating.

We were very fortunate as far as the weather was concerned and so there were lots of people wandering around the streets of Southville+Bedminster over the course of the weekend. It’s always difficult to know just how many visitors come through our door but, some years ago, we tried to estimate numbers and came to the conclusion that it was probably in excess of 500. This year’s trail certainly produced a constant stream of people and it could well have been our best ever in terms of attendance.
Although people did purchase a lot of our art stuff (inevitably, some more “successful” than others due to the type of work), the weekend is NOT all about selling. For us, one of the huge attractions is that it offers a great opportunity for re-connecting with old friends and colleagues (and even potential clients in some cases!).
On the other hand, for most of us, the weekend does also provide a focus/deadline for putting together a body of work (as well as the discipline of an annual clear-out/tidy of the basement!) and it’s always good to receive words of encouragement/appreciation!
It’s also a wonderful opportunity for the local community to come together (over 130 artists/performers within a half-mile radius!) and celebrate something about the local neighbourhood.
Photo: mid-afternoon on day one in our basement.
PS: This year’s exhibiting artists at number40 were: Stuart Low, Jen Orme, Hannah Hickman, Sarah Duncan, Hannah Broadway, Ruth Broadway and me.

more big six supermarket stuff

It was depressing to see and read recent news of the “Bristol Riot” over a new Tesco Express store. According to reports in The Guardian: “Police were left guarding a severely-damaged Tesco Express store in Stokes Croft as local residents complained that heavy-handed tactics had provoked a night of violent rioting. It seems that police were responding to reports that petrol bombs were being assembled in a squat opposite the new store and were acting because of the “real threat posed to the local community”. I obviously don’t know if this was true or not and I don’t condone violence in any circumstances but, in some ways, I’m not at that surprised by the turn of events (note: local campaigners have made it perfectly clear that they are against any form of violence and I’ve read a categorical denial from the four squatters who were occupying the building at the time). People feel completely powerless against the financial might of the big-six supermarket.
The sad fact is that it’s REALLY easy for ANYONE to get a change of use for such stores (Tesco’s agents made the original change of use application without having to mention Tesco’s name). Indeed, under current planning legislation, you don’t even need planning permission these days to obtain any change of use to A1 shop classification (or post offices, funeral directors, dry cleaners, travel agents for that matter!) from any other “A class” establishment (eg. banks, building societies, betting offices, restaurants, cafes, public houses, wine bars, hot food takeaways etc). The only planning application that a supermarket might need to submit (depending on the store’s location) would be for a new shopfront and/or signage – by which time the deal is already done. In Bristol, Tesco alone already has SIX stores within half-a-mile of the city centre and FIFTEEN within a two-mile radius of the city. We’re about to have a Co-op Express (or whatever it calls itself) open here on North Street in Southville/Bedminster – approximately 70m from a Tesco Express. Apparently, the Co-op is promising us that it will have its own in-house bakery. Just brilliant – don’t they know we already have FOUR bakers within 350m? Absolutely ludicrous.
Of course, this is all set alongside the “support” for local communities from our beloved national politicians. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has stated:
“For far too long local people have had too little say over a planning system that has imposed bureaucratic decisions by distant officials in Whitehall and the town hall. We need to change things so there is more people-planning and less politician-planning, so there is more direct democracy and less bureaucracy in the system. These reforms will become the building blocks of the Big Society.”
Greg Clark, Minister for Planning and Decentralisation, clearly agrees:
“Most people love where they live, yet the planning system has given them almost no say on how their neighbourhood develops. The Coalition Government will revolutionise the planning process by taking power away from officials and putting it into the hands of those who know most about their neighbourhood - local people themselves. This will be a huge opportunity for communities to exercise genuine influence over what their home town should look like in the future. It will create the freedom and the incentives for those places that want to grow, to do so, and to reap the benefits.“
I’ve previously expressed my frustrations and fears about the big-six supermarkets taking over our local communities but, frankly, they’ll continue to do so unless some form of planning legislation is introduced to limit their numbers – but, even now, you feel it’s too late.
Be afraid. Be very afraid!

the super marketplace

Following Bristol CC’s recent appalling decision to approve Sainsbury’s proposals for a new megastore at Ashton Gate, I’ve been reflecting just how much the big supermarkets appear to be taking over local communities (or perhaps the world?!).
In Bristol, according to BBC research, “at least 21 new supermarkets from the 'big four' chains were given the go-ahead” in and around the city in the past two years.
Outrageous.
The relatively small market town of Thame in Oxfordshire, where we lived for over 20 years, is now facing the threat of another supermarket (Sainsbury’s) – it already has a Waitrose, Co-op and Sainsbury’s Express (plus ASDA and Tesco’s within 5 miles). A number of our friends have mounted a campaign to fight the proposals.
Yes, most of us use supermarkets for a proportion of our shopping but, worryingly in my opinion, they also have the financial muscle in both retail and town planning terms to transform communities for the worse (eg. they’re more than happy to throw big money at lawyers in the knowledge that Local Planning Authorities won’t be able to compete). It’s now all about market share – with one supermarket competing against another for prime (and not-so-prime) sites. It’s about profits for shareholders and the bigger you are, the more “successful” you will become.
To me, this just seems fundamentally wrong.
But the even more worrying thing is that people don’t seem to be “alive” to what is happening. It’s so easy for the big supermarkets to offer hard-pressed Local Authorities “town planning incentives”. Before we know it, supermarkets (both big+small) will become the ONLY source of food shopping for any of us.
I’m afraid today’s budget hasn’t done anything to help. According the BBC website:
“There will also be sweeping changes to the planning system - to make it more difficult for local people to block ‘sustainable development’” (note: it'll be very straightforward to tick such a sustainable box).
As a former architect, I am well aware of the frustrations of the town planning process but, even as the BBC’s Robert Peston acknowledged on tonight’s PM programme, some of the principal beneficiaries of this change will be… the supermarkets!

Unsurprisingly, a spokesman from Morrison's on tonight's Channel 4 News also welcomed the changes to the planning system and the 2% cut in Corporation Tax - acknowledging that it would "aid Company growth".

Oh good!

sainsbury’s megastore at ashton gate?

Last night the Bristol Planning Committee considered the planning application for the Sainsbury’s proposed megastore at Ashton Gate. It seemed all very depressing – especially as the City Planners had recommended approval. A number of us demonstrated outside the Council Offices on College Green. Lots of people had devoted an awful lot of time putting together detailed submissions arguing the case against the proposals. A number of people from the local community were prepared to speak at the planning committee meeting.
Amazingly, according to lovely friend Gareth (who spoke at the meeting), the application was rejected by 4 votes to 2 (with two abstentions).
It’s very unlikely that we’ve heard the last from Sainsbury’s and they’ll no doubt wheel in their big legal team and appeal against the decision to the Secretary of State… but, for the moment at least, let’s celebrate this stunning victory for the local community against the big guys!
Photo: at yesterday’s demonstration on College Green, these youngsters decided to form a guard of honour for each of the campaigners entering the building to plead the case for the local community (a very nice, spontaneous touch).

BERATE

For those who don’t live in South Bristol, the blog title stands for the very impressive “Bedminster Residents against Tesco Expansion into Ashton Gate” group. Tesco has submitted a planning application for a 24-hour superstore development at Ashton Gate and lots of us vehemently oppose the proposal and fear that, if permitted, lots of our local stores would be forced to close. It’s been estimated that the store would generate 5 million car trips a year - equivalent of roughly 7 weeks traffic on the M5! Today, local residents formed a human juggernaut and walked down North Street and most of the local shops displayed large “Closing Down” signs to highlight the damaging impacts that a new superstore would have on the local community.

It was a hugely impressive demonstration and yet another reason why I love living in Southville.
Photo: part of the human juggernaut in North Street today.

street party

As we often do on a Sunday morning, Moira+I wandered down to the Tobacco Factory Market yesterday to buy or two things. It’s a very friendly, lively market that has a great community “feel”. Yesterday, it got a little more crowded than usual because our visit coincided with the “Creatures of Southville Carnival” street party.
Southville is very nice place to live!