Cumbria Wide Ad Campaign

 
TV campaign.

This was based on a 20sec add running over 6/7 weeks with a total of 86 slots, 34  slots being aired in peak viewing time and 52 being shown at off peak times. 
The total cost of the campaign was  initially . £9678 Inc. VAT

Due to the number of slots and the use of the D&S  VAT exemption the discounted cost paid bye D&S was £7540 . This price included a contribution paid directly by Carlisle credit union. (overall saving  £2138)

Newspaper Campaign
this was based on 6 34 x 24 adverts appearing in the Times and  Star and Whitehaven News.  2 full page editorials being placed in the West Gazette, and an eight week advertising Campaign on both Times and Star and Whitehaven News web sites with links to the individual credit unions web pages.
The full campaign was set to run over eight weeks ( July to august)  with the online adverts being live at the same time as the newspaper adverts.
Production costs of the advert and all amendments where included in the above. 
The total cost of the campaign was initially  £10,963.36 Inc. VAT
Due to the existing relationship with the local CN sales reps and a bulk  orders the total price paid was £4000. 
 
OTHER ADVERTS
Credit union articles were placed in the local housing magazine of , Home  Group , Westfield Housing and  D&S,
The TV add was placed on YouTube (with much needed help from Allerdale CU) Facebook accounts where also used to link to the advert and web pages.
D&S placed the link on it's  intranet and the Newspaper adds where added to our internal customer information monitors and are currently still showing.
Link TV adverts where sent to contacts at Two Castles, Home Group, Impact housing, Westfield Housing , Riverside housing and D&S
.
Total costs
Total RETAIL cost  £20,641.36
Discounted cost    £ 11,540
Total saving            £9,101.36

Office Hours

Maryport Office

49 Wood Street

Maryport

Cumbria

CA15 6LD

Telephone: 01900 816111

MARYPORT OFFICE HOURS from 1^st OCTOBER 2012

	9:30– 12:00	12:00-2:00 COUNTER OPEN TO PUBLIC	2:00-4:00	Comments
MONDAY	Terry Pavol John	COUNTER CLOSED (JB Wktn default control)	John (Reports etc) Loan apts	General Ledger.
TUESDAY	Julie John SOs	Julie John	Julie John Loan apts	Standing Orders. Wigton collection
WEDNESDAY	Julie John Loan apts	Julie John B (Catherine)	Julie John Loan apts
THURSDAY	Julie John Loan apts	Julie Ted	Julie John Loan apts	Loans Committee. Cockermouth Collection
FRIDAY	Julie SOs John Maryport Default Control	Julie Mary B Ann with School collections	Julie John Loan apts	Standing Orders. Defaulters letter mailing
Saturday	CLOSED	CLOSED	CLOSED
Sunday	CLOSED	CLOSED	CLOSED

Borrowing from ACU - what to do

‘Borrowing from Allerdale Credit Union’

Eligibility to borrow: Members aged 18 years and above are entitled to apply for loans.

• New members must have saved a minimum of £50 for three months and have demonstrated a pattern of regular saving before they can apply for a loan.
• Lump sum deposits may be paid in at the office. For new members these must be deposited for at least three months before they can be used as a basis for loans. For other members, they must be deposited for one full calendar month.
• Members who have not repaid a previous loan according to their loan agreement may be refused a loan, or the loan may be deferred, or they may be offered a smaller loan.

Limits on Borrowing (Standard Credit Union Loans)

• For first loans members may borrow up to the equivalent of their Shares.
• For second loans, members may borrow twice the value of their shares, up to a maximum of three times for third and subsequent loans.
• Members may borrow up to a maximum three times the sum saved, subject to certain limitations. This may be depending on the funds available.
• A member can apply for a top-up loan after six months or when 50% of an existing loan has been repaid. Top up loans will be granted on the basis of a maximum of three times the amount in savings, less the outstanding sum.
• Repeat Top-up loans are at the discretion of the Loans Officers.
• The maximum that can be borrowed as a Standard Credit Union Loan is £5,000. The board may set a lower maximum depending on the availability of funds or other factors.
• Loans are discretionary and the credit union can refuse to grant a loan, defer granting a loan or limit the size of a loan in the following circumstances; if funds are not available; if there is reasonable doubt about the member’s ability to repay the loan.
• The maximum repayment period is 5 years, although loans for Christmas must be repaid within one year only, and this will also apply to holidays and such items such as travel passes, which are renewable annually. Usually loans will have to be repaid within 1 – 3 years.

Rate of Interest

• The rate of interest for a Standard Credit Union Loan is 1.5% per month (19.68%APR), charged on a reducing daily balance.
• The rate of interest for a Handyloan is 2% per month (26.82%APR), charged on a reducing daily balance.

Procedure for applying for and receiving a loan.

• Members must complete a loan application form fully and accurately. Loans application forms will be available from head office or from local credit union representatives.
• Completed loan application forms must be sent to the nearest CU office for assessment.
• A personal interview may be required in certain circumstances – such as for a large loan; concerns about the member’s ability to repay the loan; concerns about the member’s record of regular savings or repaying a previous loan.
• Loans over £500 will require an Income & Expenditure analysis and sight of recent bank statements.
• Every effort will be made to make decisions and pay loans within five working days of the receipt of a fully completed loan form. However, at times of high demand such as Christmas and summer holidays, members are to be encouraged to book loans early, well in advance of the date required.
• A loan agreement will be sent to the member to sign and payment of the loan will be made by cash, BACS, Standing Order or by cheque.

Procedure for granting loans

• A minimum of two loan officers will assess and decide to either grant the loan, refuse it, or reduce the amount.

• No director, employee or volunteers will be present when consideration is given to granting a loan to him or her or to a member of his or her family.
• Where a member disagrees with a decision about a loan, s/he may appear to the loan committee or the board, whose decision will be final.

Emergency Loan Procedure – 2% Handyloans

• The member must complete a loan application form, including ‘Income & Expenditure’ information and copies of bank statements.
• Two loan officers will assess the loan as speedily as possible and arrangements will be made to pay the loan within five working days.
• No shares are required initially as collateral for Handyloans but Handyloan borrowers must save concurrently with repaying and not withdraw until these savings exceed the loan balance.

Withdrawal of shares when there is an outstanding loan

• Shares can only be withdrawn where they are in excess of the amount needed to secure an outstanding loan. (eg savings must remain at 1/3 of loan balance on 3^rd and subsequent loans).

Repayment of Loans

• All loans must be repaid in accordance with the loan agreement.
• Repayment of loans may be by cash/cheque, BACS, or standing order.
• Members who fail to keep to their loan agreement will be dealt with under the credit union’s Arrears Policy. This may include court action.

August 2012

Marketing Submission

Title of Proposal	Cumbria Credit Unions Awareness Week
Credit Union(s) leading the development of the proposal	Whitehaven Egremont and District Credit Union
Contact Details	Andrea Dockeray, WEDCU, 24 James street, Whitehaven, CA28 7HZ. Telephone (01946) 66755. E-Mail:- wedcu@tiscali.co.uk
Aims and objectives of proposal (brief description of what the project would be and why is there a need for this?)	To conduct a focused, county-wide marketing, promotional and awareness raising campaign for credit unions across Cumbria. This will take the format of an “Awareness Week” with a range of local events taking place in each area across the county with events open to general public, council employees and other employers and local schools. A particular focus will be on the most disadvantaged wards. This will raise awareness and increase membership of local credit unions at a time of great need with forthcoming Welfare Reform changes and increased costs of domestic energy bills, fuel and transport costs and food stuffs. Credit unions encourage savings and provides a lower cost alternative to high cost payday lenders, doorstep lenders and unlicensed illegal money lenders (loan sharks).
What outcomes will the project deliver? ( what would the project achieve?)	Increase the number of adult credit union members across Cumbria by a minimum of 400. Increase the number of junior credit union members across Cumbria by a minimum of 100. Provide a combined minimum of £48,000 savings for the 400 adult members in the first year and at the same time enable access to low cost loans ( for the first time for many of these individuals). Provide a combined minimum of £4,800 savings for the 100 junior members in the first year. Greater awareness amongst low paid and middle income families of the financial dangers of high interest loans and the potential for spiralling debt Greater access to affordable and regulated financial services by people most likely to be excluded from these at present.
How will each credit union or study group benefit from this project ?	The Awareness Week will generate county-wide and local media coverage. The week will provide a focus for a range of activities in each local community and events open to the general public as well as targeted access to county council staff and staff of other key local employers. The week will also allow the credit union message to reach children at local schools prioritising those based in and serving children and young people in the most disadvantaged wards. Subject to FSA approval the week would also benefit each of the study groups. Barrow should have an FSA decision and this may well tie in with the launch of their services in their district. Eden is also awaiting an FSA decision and may well be very close to launch at this stage and would certainly benefit from the increased coverage for credit unions in their area. South Lakeland Credit union Study Group will also open in 2013 subject to approval and this awareness week should also benefit their launch later in the year.
How will this project help to challenge poverty in Cumbria? Are there any target/ vulnerable groups that would particularly benefit from it?	The project will increase public awareness of credit unions as a practical savings and low-cost loans solution and provide an alternative to the plethora of high interest lenders that people in Cumbria are bombarded with via their televisions, computers and on their doorsteps on a daily basis. The project will particularly focus on residents living in the most disadvantaged wards in each credit union common bond area. The work with children and young people in schools will also focus on schools based in and serving children most likely to be living in poverty. Another target will be ensuring that credit unions reach the most rural parts of their common bond where people are often disadvantaged by the distance and costs associated with accessing services.
Please provide a business case or project plan describing how the project would work, what action would be taken, who might it involve, what sort of resources would be required to make it happen, an indication of cost for key components of the project (this will help develop an understanding of whether the project would provide value for money)	Please see attached (NB it is attached below, JPM) “Outline Project Plan – Cumbria Credit Union Awareness Week – In Partnership with Cumbria County Council”
How could the project be managed?	Any elements requiring or suitable for central purchasing of promotional items could be administered centrally by Whitehaven Egremont District Credit Union (if agreeable to all partner credit unions). Those requiring local purchase or spend (e.g. local room hire) funding could be provided from CCC directly to each local credit union
What would the outputs of the project be?	Minimum of 8 events held across the county to inform general public about credit union services Minimum of 8 recruitment sessions for county council employees to benefit from becoming members of the credit union in where they live and/or work. Minimum of 8 events held in local schools to encourage children to save with and become junior members of their local credit union.
How would the outcomes of the project be made sustainable?	If the project is judged to be successful then there is the potential to run an annual “ Cumbria Credit Union Awareness Week” Funding could be provided directly from credit unions own budget and / or through funding applied for to some existing funders (such as Northern Rock Foundation) or appropriate funding bodies (such as Big Lottery Reaching Communities Programme).
What is the added value of the project? (are there any additional benefits we would gain of this investment?)	Increased membership of credit unions of Cumbria County Council employees. Money retained within local community economies across the county instead of disappearing from the county as high interest repayments to national companies.
What scope is there for the project to dovetail with existing or additional planned future credit union projects?	There is scope to dovetail with a future edition of “Your Cumbria” which could carry a feature spread on credit unions in each community across Cumbria. There is scope to carry joint branding / all of the logos on the promotional materials produced. There is the potential to link in with Trading Standards service and / or the national Illegal Money Lending Team as part of the week of activities. There is also the possibility of joining up to work with or in Sure Start Children’s Centres as part of the week to access some of the most disadvantaged families with children in some of the most disadvantaged communities throughout Cumbria.
What would the measures of success be for this project? What targets will be set for the project?	Measure of success would be meeting the targets set in the attached Outline Project Plan and above. Specifically:- Minimum of 400 new adult members across Cumbria (approx 5% increase) Miinimum of 100 new child members across Cumbria (approx. 5% increase) Almost £50,000 additional savings for adult members in first year (Enabling an additional £40,000 to £45,000 in low cost affordable loans to be made) Almost £5000 additional savings for new junior members in first year

Interactive website submission

Title of Proposal	New Product Development and Promotion Initiative
Credit Union(s) leading the development of the proposal	Cleator Moor & District Credit Union
Contact Details	jimyoudale@aol.com
Aims and objectives of proposal (brief description of what the project would be and why is there a need for this?)	The aim of the Project is to expand and strengthen membership of the Credit Union throughout the whole of the Common Bond Area by developing and increasing a range of new products and services making these more readily available and accessible to all existing and potential members. The Project will target in particular financially excluded individuals and families living in remote rural locations within the Common Bond and also those, who because of the limitation and demands of their domestic and/or employment situation, are unable to benefit from the services currently offered. There is a need for the project on the grounds of operational efficiency sustainable expansion competitive marketing.
What outcomes will the project deliver? ( what would the project achieve?)	-The development of banking platform software to enable the introduction of “jam jar” accounts to assist members in the management of their financial affairs and in particular to address potential problems arising from the introduction of the impending Welfare Reform Act legislation. -The development of an interactive Website that will not only provide a full explanation of the Credit Union's benefits and services but will also offer online membership application for new members and access to other services, such as online loan applications, loan calculator service, share withdrawals, account balance enquiries etc., to existing members. -The development and delivery of a marketing and promotion strategy of the new products and services by each of the participating credit unions. -The development of a Cumbria Credit Union portal to link with each cumbrian credit union web site. This is an optional consideration at this stage
How will each credit union or study group benefit from this project ?	For those credit unions or study groups currently having no or a very basic website this provides the opportunity to have one professionally designed customised to suit their specific requirements with image driven website navigation with all available services displayed in a user friendly layout. For those which already have a website that suits their existing needs this could provide the opportunity to upgrade and offer access to the Portal. Among Paul Jones' recommendations in his report “Strategies for Growth “ he states; 7.12. Credit unions need to prioritise the introduction and improvement of electronic delivery channels for financial services.
How will this project help to challenge poverty in Cumbria? Are there any target/ vulnerable groups that would particularly benefit from it?	The project will help to challenge poverty in Cumbria by making the benefits and services of the credit union more readily accessible to all existing and potential members throughout the county. The project will make the credit union more competitive and attractive to existing and potential members by offering a more credible alternative to doorstep and pay-day lenders by affording the credit union an inter-active presence in the home. With online services and 24hr access to information, the credit union is always open. The target groups will include financially excluded individuals and families living in rural areas; individuals currently deprived of full access to credit union membership and services because domestic and/or employment demands; individuals and families trapped in a cycle of dependency on unscrupulous lenders without the knowledge or confidence to seek alternative options.
Please provide a business case or project plan describing how the project would work, what action would be taken, who might it involve, what sort of resources would be required to make it happen, an indication of cost for key components of the project (this will help develop an understanding of whether the project would provide value for money)	If the Proposal is accepted it would be for the Joint Working Projects Group to agree an outline specification with cost parameters; determine a preferred provider and nominate one of the Group to act as co-ordinator. It would be the responsibility of the provider to meet and confirm with each credit union a schedule of work in accordance with their specific requirements having regard to the jointly agreed outline specification. The provider would be required to submit a project completion programme for approval of the JWPG. The co-ordinator will have responsibility of ensuring that the project is delivered in accordance with the agreed programme and address any issues. Indication of Key Costs Given the disparate nature of the group and the likely variation in needs the costs indicated are tentative but nevertheless based on proposals for similar work submitted to Cleator Moor by Progress Systems Ltd (website development) and Fern (jam jar accounts). I have spoken briefly to Tom Owens of Progress Systems and he confirmed that a group proposal would reflect a reduction without being specific as to how much that would be. I have therefore applied a 20% discount on the figures submitted to Cleator Moor. Website Design/ Development (8 @ £1536 ) £12288 Jam Jar A/cs set up & software changes (8 @ £768) £6144 Cumbria Portal (optional) estimated £2000 Training & travel expenses estimated £1000 Total £21432
How could the project be managed?	The development stage would be managed as explained above. After implementation it would be for each credit union to manage the service direct in conjunction with the Provider.
What would the outputs of the project be?	-More accessible service to wider client base -Cost effective delivery of core services -Credible alternative to daily increasing competition -More effective use of staffing resource -Increased membership Paul Jones 7.10. It is recommended that credit unions abandon the provision of services and delivery channels that are a net cost to the credit union. In particular, credit unions need to rigorously evaluate the cost-effectiveness of community collection points and services to primary and secondary schools
How would the outcomes of the project be made sustainable?	The outcomes are integrated into the core financial services delivered by each credit union and are sustainable as long as the credit union remains viable. In this context there is one further consideration that of the annual maintenance costs (site hosting/maintenance/digital encryption certificate). The figure quoted to Cleator Moor by Progress for this was £1,140. Sounds a lot but in the context of the potential benefits should more than pay for itself.
What is the added value of the project? (are there any additional benefits we would gain of this investment?)	The project addresses many of the issues identified in the County's Anti Poverty Objectives ; rural isolation; improved access to affordable credit ; effective competition to unscrupulous lenders etc. In addition the project impacts on County's Economic Development objectives by generating and recycling monies in the local economy.
What scope is there for the project to dovetail with existing or additional planned future credit union projects?	The Project dovetails well with the potential introduction of Pre-Paid Cards. The Project would also dovetail well with the future development of a Cumbria-wide credit union, especially with a portal.
What would the measures of success be for this project? What targets will be set for the project?	The number of visits to the website. The number of services delivered on-line The number of new members recruited on line Increased income and reduction of expenditure. I hesitate to suggest any target setting. The perceived wisdom in the form of most commentators, recent reports (DWP Modernisation & Expansion, Paul Jones Strategies for Growth) successful credit unions in the UK and throughout the world all point in the same direction. It really is a no-brainer.

Guide to starting CU collections in Schools

THE CREDIT UNION IN SCHOOLS (whole school route)

A GUIDE FOR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

This is a guide to setting up and running Junior Savers accounts for pupils.

INITIAL STAGES

1. Letter to parents on School headed paper informing them of the intention to sign all pupils into the Junior Savers. Those parents who do not wish their child/ren to be involved can opt out at this stage. (schools can adapt ACU Guide to Junior Saving, attached, for letter)
2. Initial mailing includes Credit Union (CU) Junior Savers information leaflet which requires Parent/Guardian printed name and signature. (NB ACU have not always done this step)
3. School sends CU list of names & addresses of those pupils left in on Excel spreadsheet. CU requires Full Name, Gender, DOB, Home Address. CU accepts this school report as proof of ID.

CREATING JUNIOR SAVERS ACCOUNTS

1. CU assigns membership numbers, and creates accounts on computer.
2. CU prepares individual Savings Packs for each junior member comprising:
   1. Application form requiring signature (see NB above)
   2. Member’s Passbook
   3. Supply of deposit slips
   4. One withdrawal slip
3. School returns signed Application Forms to CU and distributes Savings Packs to Junior Savers.

RUNNING THE ACCOUNTS

1. School determines time and venue for Weekly Collection. CU will initially provide volunteer collectors to assist if required.
2. Collections usually take place on the one day. Past practice suggests it is better to organise collections at the beginning of the day, rather than the end. (Avoid Mondays as Dinner Money Day)
3. Junior Savers bring Passbooks, money and completed ‘paying-in slips’ to the collection point (school).
4. Volunteers mark up the Passbooks (either immediately or over the day) for Junior Savers to take away.
5. Collectors/volunteers/CU Staff take cash to Credit Union or bank directly into Credit Union Account with supplied ‘paying-in’ book.
6. Withdrawal of savings requires 7 days notice. Junior Savers complete and submit their Passbook and ‘Withdrawal Form’ (signed by guardian) to the collection point for forwarding to the Credit Union. CU pays directly into childs/parents/guardian's account via BACS, or Credit Union supplies cheque and marked-up Passbook to school for collection the following week. NB important to know EXACTLY to whom payment should be made.

JB Oct 2012

Confidentiality Agreement

Allerdale Credit Union Ltd.

DECLARATION TO BE SIGNED BY ALL OFFICERS, MEMBERS OF THE

COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT, VOLUNTEERS AND EMPLOYEES

I ……………………………………………………. (name)

of …………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………. (address)

do solemnly promise that:-

1. I will never divulge any information whatsoever about the credit union to anyone, other than to a member about his or her account, or to an officer, committee member, or an employee of the Credit Union as is necessary for the conduct of the Credit Union’s business, unless authorised to do so by the committee or ordered to do so by a court of law.

2. I will inform the committee immediately of any fraud or irregularities on the part of any officer, committee member, employee or member of the credit union.

3. I will inform the Money Laundering Reporting Officer of any suspicions of money laundering on the part of any officer, committee member, employee or member of the credit union.

4. I will keep information relating to the credit union and its members strictly confidential even after I have ceased to be a member of, or employed by, the credit union.

I confirm that:-

1. I am not an undischarged bankrupt.

2. I have never been convicted on indictment of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty.

Signature: ………………………… Witnessed by: ………………………

Office held: ………………………... Office held: ………………………

Date: ………………………… Date: .………………………

Note:

This form must be signed by all officers, committee members, collectors and employees before any work is carried out on behalf of the credit union.

NB: Form A is required for any person who performs a controlled function and/or a significant influence function, to obtain approval by the FSA.

This form will be kept as a permanent record.

Fifty Shades of Grey

The ever-present combative dance between form and content has the current publishing world in a spin. Advances in digital technology in creation, storage and distribution have allowed a different kind of content, some say of indifferent quality, to succeed in the ebook market. This new genre has now broken its shackles to dominate the printed form as well.

A self-published erotic e-novel has mutated from a digital only existence to smash all records for the printed book. Faster selling than J K Rowling and Dan Brown, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' has just clocked up sales of 20 million copies. Such staggering sales might precipitate unfettered joy amongst struggling 'bricks & mortar' booksellers – but on the contrary, the new genre of 'mummy porn' is almost universally derided.

This isn't prudery. Since the 'Lady Chatterley' trial of the sixties booksellers have happily sold pornography – most of it more explicit than '50 Shades'. Nor has it it exclusively been for a male readership; Anais Nin, Erica Jong, Rita Mae Brown and Nancy Friday have been around for thirty years and more.

'50 Shades' rankles the established literary world of publishers and booksellers primarily because it is so poorly written. If porn is to be the Next Big Thing, why could it not be competently written? If you are tempted why not try one of the authors above – or 'The Story of O', or Henry Miller, or the Marquis de Sade? Couple the inferior content to the new technology that facilitated its publication and you witness conventional bookselling's nemesis. The brave new world of epublishing requires no editors nor chains of bookshops to distribute the finished article. The result is there are no 'gate-keepers' safeguarding the standard of what's published. The result is millions of readers being short changed with rubbish when there is so much better material out there.

With unimagined synchronicity BBC radio chose to spend an entire day reading James Joyce's 'Ulysses' at the very moment when '50 Shades' became the fastest selling book of all time. Ninety percent of booksellers and publishers' editors will gladly affirm that 'Ulysses' is the finest book in the English language - even though ninety percent of this sample will never actually finish the book. The same sample that will condemn '50 Shades' without ever attempting it. These two books occupy the extremes of literary experience – one revered and read by a few, the other reviled and read by millions.   Lit Crit dominated bt Clit Lit.

SOS ~ Save Our Shops. Time for action

In 1991 a ferocious tempest wrecked havoc in the North Atlantic. Sebastian Junger titled his best-selling account 'The Perfect Storm', his phrase since adopted to characterise those cataclysmic events – meteorological, economic or political – that result from a rare confluence of severe adverse forces. Long before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, traders on the British High Street were already in choppy waters, blown off course by the all consuming growth of the supermarkets and a rampant internet.

Add to these threats the credit crunch and a recurrent recession and town-centre shops now face a perfect storm of their own. A walk along any high street in the UK reveals the extent of the damage so far. Vacant shops leave gaps in the grin of even the newest town-centre development. The Sunday Times published an unenviable Top Ten of towns with empty units, a nationwide catalogue of commercial misery ranging from Ulverston with one-in-five, Rochdale with one-in-three up to Holyhead with nearly 40% of shops vacant.

It is a universal problem that needs a local response. Independent traders can batten down the hatches, reduce their costs and the stock they carry while still playing to their strengths – accenting their personal service and celebrating their individuality. The Local Authority could look to use revised parking facilities and charges as a positive incentive to bring in more shoppers.

But these measures are equivalent to relieving oneself into a gale. It could be argued that we have the retail landscape that we deserve; supermarkets are dominant because they are popular, the internet is cheap and convenient and is already the shopping destination of choice for a new generation. No amount of window dressing, street cleaning or advertising will draw the crowds back to the high street in their previous numbers. The battle needs to be for the hearts and minds, as well as the wallets, of the local population.

Market towns grew out the need for sellers and buyers to meet, and from this economic necessity grew the facility for people to socialise. Markets are where people gather, not just to trade but also for the crack, for friendships made amidst the deals. This human interaction is the real casualty of the current retail wars. What society is left when all shopping is with a trolly or a mouse?

This is an SOS.  We need a call to arms to Save Our Shops. Shoppers, you need to be aware that if you don't use them, you will lose them. Do not wait for an election or for Mary Portas to sort things out.  Act now ~ treat every £10 note as a ballot paper. Cast your vote in your high street today. Make a point of shopping independently at least once a week. Numerous simple individual actions can aggregate into a tidal wave of public support.

First published 'Times & Star' October 2009
 

The Reluctant Rambler ~ Wainwright's latest recruit

Virgin on the cliff edge

Knocking on 50 and tipping 15 stone I hear the call of the wild. Some retired friends invite me on the regular Friday ramble; ‘Come for a walk in the lakes’. Yes, I need to get out, it’ll do me good. I’ve lived in the shadow of the fells for ten years and only ever scaled their peaks with a glance. Yes, I can do it. I can manage a gentle stroll.

What will I need? ‘A decent pair of boots and the proper kit – you know the modern breathable / wickable stuff. You’ll need a rucksack for your food and your water, a cap, something to sit on, your binoculars, camera, mobile ‘phone, and bring some extra layers. And some waterproof leggings. And you’ll need a pair of walking sticks.’ I was being laden like a Himalayan sherpa – a far cry from the Wainwrightian ideal of simple pleasures, the high moorland way. As was the next bit: ‘And don’t worry about a map and compass – we’ve got SatNav.’

No sooner were they out the door than my imagination roamed the fells with romantic abandon. I strode manfully along the perilous edge, leaping in one bound from summit to summit. Soon the roll call of trophies would be mine to name-drop; mighty Helvelyn, Great Gable, and Giant Haystacks. In years to come I’ll have bagged the Munros and the Corbetts as well as conquering Snowdonia, the Peak district and the North York Moors. But so far all I’ve climbed are the stairs to bed.

The Bank holiday finds four of us at St Bees reading Wainwright’s plaque marking the 200 mile Coast to Coast trek. ‘Looks easy enough’ I condescend. Immediately St Bees Head rises above the bay taunting me; ‘come on then, if you’re hard enough’.

The ascent soon takes its toll on thigh and lung. After a lifetime I ask if we are nearly there yet. Despite the iron band around the chest and the jelly legs I am told we have climbed just 50 metres. Thousands of pairs of eager feet have carved out multiple paths to the top and I take advantage to sidle off into the crawler lane. A backlog of 10 year olds flip-flop past. I eat their dust and inhale humiliation. But the rest provides the opportunity to savour the view; to feast with my eyes on a landscape out of the ordinary, to marvel at God’s own county.

I retackle the summit in renewed spirit, this time at a steadier pace with more modest strides. I’ve learned my first lesson – it is not a race, the journey is as wonderful as the destination. I take smaller steps and look round often at the retreating beach and the column of ants behind us. At the summit my pounding heart beats with pride before slowing with contentment and quiet satisfaction.

The descent starts well. But I discover that what went up slowly and painfully wants to come down quickly and painfully. Applying the brakes on every step is exhausting and when we reach the foothills with the end in sight I lose the will to check my progress. I have revenge for my earlier humiliation as a runaway juggernaut skittles the juvenile flip-floppers in an uncontrolled slew to the bottom.

I struggle to the car, foolish pride ferments my stagger into a swagger. With the zealotry of the convert I now plan assaults on the north face of the Eiger and the Matterhorn. K2 will be a breeze, Annapurna a piece of piste. Afterall, I am now a climber. It’s official – I’ve bagged St Bee.

JB

Billy Bragg & Clive James; autobiographies

BOOK REVIEWS  ~  Life is a cabaret

 Willkommen

‘Welcome to cabaret ..’ intones oscar-winning Joel Grey at the beginning of the eponymous musical. Against a backdrop of circus mirrors that distort the audience’s image of themselves the garish assortment of entertainers reflect on their decadent interwar society. Singers, comedians and musicians act as social commentators, interweaving personal with political while moving seamlessly from the particular to the general.

Clive James and Billy Bragg are two contemporary entertainers whose material both feeds off and informs our current culture. Their two autobiographies conspire to cover the last 50 years; ‘North Face of Soho’ is Clive James’ fourth volume of unreliable memoirs and takes us from his marriage in 1960 to the demise of Fleet street in the 80s when Murdoch moved to Wapping. Billy Bragg’s book is something else altogether.

One of Bragg’s signature songs evokes the ‘Cabaret’ era. ‘Between the Wars’ is more Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weil than Christopher Isherwood but the inter marriage between poem and polemic works well. ‘The Progressive Patriot’ uses the bare bones of his life as the skeleton on which to attach his sometimes didactic anti-establishment diatribes. Bragg builds a body of social comment that neatly dovetails his life story with contemprary British, and particularly English, society. The bookshop customer is as likely to find Bragg’s book amongst the politics titles as among the music books or the biographies.

‘I was a miner, I was a docker, I was a railwayman between the wars’. Perhaps unsurprisingly Bragg’s prose style echoes his lyric writing; unashamedly proletarian in appeal, direct in style and economic in structure. But his music is not all Dave Spart posturing and nor is this book. Bragg’s best known track, ‘A New England’, is a love song in which he explicitly affirms that personal emotions have primacy over political agenda. Likewise ‘The Progressive Patriot’ makes room for adolescent inadequacies and the poignant first experience.

His musical awakening strikes a chord. At twelve years old he catches a snatch of a song that touches his emerging sense of self and he then spends months tracking it down. ‘I am just a poor boy, ‘though my story’s seldom told ..’ A working class lad from Barking hears a universal truth from another continent and a world of opportunity opens up.

Money, money

Known now principally as a TV critic Clive James’ early witing efforts were also as a lyricist. When he arrived in 1960’s London from working on The Sydney Herald he wrote in every form known to pen and paper; book reviews, film reviews, stand-up, song lyrics. sketches, poetry, and literary biography. He wrote, directed and produced mock epics in rhyming couplets. He even corresponded with friends in verse letters. In ‘North Face of Soho’ James spares us such pyrotechnic poetry and recounts in standard prose his desperation to earn a crust from his fecund gift as a wordsmith.

Graduating from Cambridge and directing Footlights James set about acquiring an income by not saying no to any literary work offered him. This meant saying yes to poorly paid, short-deadline book reviews and on occasions working for free. His new wife was not impressed. However Grub Street embraced him and soon he was accepting poorly paid, short-deadline cinema and radio reviews as well.

James’ arrival and progression as a media observer and contributor coincided with the social and technological revolution of the 60s; in particular looser social mores and mass entertainment for TV audiences. In time Clive James was to prove not merely a rider of this tiger but also the guy with the top hat and whip. TV criticism was looked down on by snobbish literary hacks until James dragged the broadsheets down the cathoray tube and into the light with his highly popular Observer column.

A lifelong journalist Clive James knows that one picture is worth a thousand words and his great talent is to construct phrases that paint a unique and unforgettable image. His favourite and the one widely quoted as his signature witticism was describing Arnold Swartzenegger as ‘a brown condom stuffed with walnuts’. James includes it here alongside other self-congratulatory examples of his abundant linguistic gymnastics. He blows his own trumpet with as much charm as skill and we forgive him the indulgence.

Except it is not a trumpet. He leaves that to Spike Milligan in one of the many name-dropping anecdotes - Clive James drops names like Billy Bragg drops aitches. James blows less of a trumpet and more of a didjeridoo, an instrument that requires the respiratory skill of circular breathing. Whether or not this anatomical trick is on the Australian Schools Curriculum James has mastered it anyway. Each ego-inflating inhalation is paired with an equal exhalation of self deprecatory humour. He boasts of dining with Meryl Streep only to puncture his pride and his palette with a mouthful of needle-sharp fish bones. He persuades his publisher to proceed with his first autobiography precisely because he has achieved nothing in life.

Tomorrow belongs to me

The sparks that combined to ignite the touch-paper to Bragg’s incendiary book were the July 7^th London bombing and the election of British National Party councillors onto the authority in his native Barking. Bragg’s self perception is as an interventionist entertainer and he has chosen his autobiography as the instrument to initiate debate and change in our national self-perception. He is arguing for the left to adopt a progressive patriotism to undermine the knee-jerk appeal of the BNP in times of volatile social change.

In one of the early autobiographical chapters Bragg describes the seismic shockwave that blew through Britain when his generation found their identity and musical voice via Punk. An early adherent to The Clash, Bragg recalls his first self-conscious political act in marching through the East End of London to the 1978 Rock against Racism concert in Victoria Park. He has remained a committed anti-fascist ever since and the BNP electoral success on his own manor patently hurts.

Bragg explores Englishness by portraying the classic idyllic models from the past alongside his own family’s experience over generations on the banks of Barking Creek. He quotes Kipling and Orwell alongside his grandfather’s wartime diary. The growth and development of trade unionism is told through his great grandfathers employment at the nearby Beckton Gasworks. His view of Englishness is fundamentally romantic; fuelled by nostalgia for the Trade Union ‘banners of the days gone by’ as much as by George Orwell’s ‘The Lion & the Uncorn’. Onto this traditional core Bragg attempts to graft a modern multicultural identity – not altogether successfully as he admits ‘multiculturalism’ means many different things to many people. Collectivism and tolerance are key – ‘sweet moderation, the heart of this nation’.

Frustratingly we hear only fragments of Billy’s own contribution to the radical tradition, literally one passing reference to the founding of Red Wedge and a guest appearance at an anti BNP rally in the west country and that’s it. This is a real shame as his story and his actions speak louder than his agitprop words on the people’s history. Too many times the energy and interest generated by creative, imaginative and personally inspired writing is disipated by a pedantic lecture. Yet his multiculturally inclusive solution to the rise of the extreme right is beautifully simple – all England should gather under the flag of St George, thus reapproriating our identity and simultaeneously disenfranchising the fascists.

Cabaret

These two books provide sketches and snapshots of English life and culture over the last half century. We witness the liberalising of society during the 60s, the rise of the mass media and the television age, the consequent counter revolutions by punks in the street and by Thatcherism in the body politic during the 70s and 80s, and Bragg’s attempt to address the new world post 9/11 and 7/7.

Clive James never set out to write an illuminating manuscript of social history. 'The North Face of Soho' is a deeply personal, honest and reliable memoir by an entertainer and devotee of words. He has his cake and eats it with glutoness pleasure - he had such fun, and has fun telling us what fun it was. Having tried his finger in every literary pie he plums for Cabaret – he likes the scale of it.

Billy Bragg still has a story to tell and on this evidence he has the skills to one day tell it well. ‘The Progressive Patriot’ applies more to his notion of a model citizen than an account of himself. His song ‘Between the Wars’ is beautifully crafted, summoning up a nostalgic era of banners and a belief in the ‘fellow man’. A safe sepia-tinted period piece you think until Billy headbutts you in the chest with the final line:

‘Sweet moderation, heart of this nation, desert us not we are between the wars’.

First published in 'THE Book Magazine'  Winter 2006