tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27909827378798237322024-03-06T05:32:41.504+00:00Home is where the Art isAbout where I live, what I do and people I meetMarcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.comBlogger251125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-42617101632751893452017-07-20T07:14:00.001+01:002017-07-20T07:15:54.470+01:00Making a song and dance about our Carboot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet music at the Sunday Carboot</td></tr>
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The Sunday Carboot at the Wholesale Market had another reprieve this week - it's <a href="https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20150/markets_and_street_trading/272/sunday_car_boot_sale" target="_blank">to stay open into the new year</a>, which <a href="http://www.frictionarts.com/project/the-sunday-market/" target="_blank">Friction Arts celebrated at the Carboot on Sunday</a>.<br />
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We joined the queue with the other stall holders 6am on Sunday hoping for a good pitch at what is the <a href="https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20150/markets_and_street_trading/272/sunday_car_boot_sale" target="_blank">largest regular Carboot in the West Midlands</a>, with over 300 pitches.<br />
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Our pitch was a little different from the others. We had some assorted goodies to sell as you'd expect, from brain jelly mould to crystal ball but we'd also brought our front room, rug, sofas, standard lamp, pictures and all. We also had a couple of musicians, a photographer and a couple of oral historians. We were interested in the trade, the traders and the trading on what is the most<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithfield,_Birmingham" target="_blank"> historic trading site in Birmingham</a>, with over 900 years as a Market area.<br />
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The Carboot is a relative newcomer, although it's really not clear when exactly it started, and who by. We chat and make music with some of the punters, run a small antique roadshow, take some photos, and where better to do that than in our own front room? The 'carboot community' is warm and welcoming although traders are heads down on the business for much of the the time, and the punters need a little enticing to lift their eyes up from the goods.<br />
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You'd be surprised who you'd meet at the Carboot and most importantly, the opportunity it opens for punters and traders alike. Birmingham Council itself makes around £70,000 a month from it - there's some risks and costs involved too, but basically everyone's a winner at the carboot - it makes money for everyone involved, and when it comes to enterprise the Carboot's the place to go. <br />
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The Carboot will close once the Wholesale Market moves to Witton, and there are no plans to replace it. The over-riding feeling from the Carbooters?<br />
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'It makes no sense - why would they do that?'</blockquote>
The carboot has been saved for a short time, but who is planning for it's future? As for us at Friction, we'll be back next week, and this time maybe we'll shift the jelly brain and the crystal ball.<br />
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-4158435248246437712017-05-18T13:30:00.001+01:002017-05-19T14:43:00.889+01:00Same Old Tories?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Does it really matter what's written in manifestos, and can we believe them? Has the Tory party changed at all since it's beginnings in the early nineteenh century?</div>
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The 2017 Tory Manifesto declares:</div>
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We do not believe in untrammeled free markets. We reject the cult of selfish individualism. We abhor social division, injustice, unfairness and inequality. We see rigid dogma and ideology not just as needless but dangerous.</blockquote>
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Theresa May's attempt to distance herself from 'Old Tories', and define a 'New Tory' party, free from the 'Old Tory' reputation of free market dogma, is actually nothing new. It may even mark an attempt to return to the original defining Tory manifesto. Robert Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth_Manifesto">Tamworth Manifesto</a> in 1834:</div>
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Robert Peel wanted:<br />
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"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth_Manifesto" target="_blank">to fully convince the country and electorate that there was a substantial difference between his brand of conservatism and that of his predecessor and 'Old Tory' Wellington.</a>"</blockquote>
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Wellington's government had resisted reform of the rotten boroughs, was strongly 'anti-suffrage' and resisted the Whig's 'Reform Act'. The Conservative party was still split in opinion over 'Catholic Emancipation', and unclear on what action to take on the riots apparently overtaking the country, linked to food shortages (blamed on Tory Corn taxes) and a banking crisis when Robert Peel became leader of the party.</div>
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Peel's manifesto was a bid for the middle class voter, accepting the controversial Reform Act of the Whigs - ‘a final and irrevocable settlement of a great constitutional question’. The manifesto outlined a ‘careful review of institutions, civil and ecclesiastical’. Where there was a case for change, he promised ‘<a href="http://richardjohnbr.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/peels-hundred-days-december-1834-april.html" target="_blank">the correction of proved abuses and the redress of real grievances</a>’.</div>
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Peel was portraying the conservatives as a party of 'fairness' and modest reform - strong and stable in troubled times, while he would oversee '<a href="http://www.intriguing-history.com/sir-robert-peel-resigns/" target="_blank">reform to survive</a>', Robert Peel stood for:<br />
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“The Established Church, the British Empire, the House of Lords, High Tory and High Church Oxford, Crown prerogatives, the rights of property, the landed aristocracy, the Act of the Union…the very foundations of English governing society."</blockquote>
Sir John Benn Walsh, wrote in his Chapters of Contemporary History in 1836 that:<br />
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‘A Conservative is a man attached upon the principles of the English Constitution, to the Established Church, to our mixed institutions.... The Conservative party, therefore, includes all those shades of political opinion, from the disciple of moderate Whig principles to the most devoted champion of ancient usages who agree in these two points -- attachment to King, Lords, Commons, Church and State, and a belief that there is a pressing danger of these institutions being overborne by the weight of the Democracy.’</blockquote>
Robert Peel won a narrow election victory, but was plagued by bitter infighting between the 'New Tories' and the older ones leading to a series of defeats and an inability of ministers to conduct even routine business in parliament. After a vote of no confidence Peel's <a href="http://richardjohnbr.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/peels-hundred-days-december-1834-april.html">100 days as Prime Minister</a> were over.<br />
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While the Tamworth Manifesto did not apparently reflect the views of enough Tory MPs to make an impact in 1834, Robert Peel did become Prime Minister again in 1841, and the Tamworth manifesto has taken it's place as a defining moment in Tory history.<br />
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Perhaps Theresa May's manifesto of 2017 doesn't yet reflect what's actually happening in the Tory Party. It's guiding principles appear to be a distancing from 'old tory', but how much of the detail reflects that, and how many within the Tory Party are attached to Theresa May's principles?</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-37569589764761597992017-05-06T07:59:00.002+01:002017-05-06T08:11:06.593+01:00In the people's interest? West Midlands Combined Authority<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://andy4wm.co.uk/" target="_blank">Andy Street</a> explains what the West Midlands Mayor does</td></tr>
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Last week we voted for a West Midlands mayor to lead a new government imposed authority against the will of the people living in it, in the name of devolution. Yes folks, that's right - and what is more incredible is that the Conservative Party candidate representing the government was voted by us (collectively) to become the new West Midlands mayor to lead the new 'Combined Authority'.<br />
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Just five years ago Birmingham voters rejected the elected city mayor plan with a whopping 57.8% - that's 120,611 of us in Birmingham - didn't want a mayor. At the time former Labour <a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/who-sion-simon-labour-candidate-11725914" target="_blank">MP Sion Simon quit his Birmingham Erdington seat to stand as an elected mayor</a>. He said it was, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-17961046" target="_blank">"a massive gamble" and he was "very disappointed"</a>. Five years on Sion Simon's campaign to become the first elected West Midlands mayor has failed<br />
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Andy Street's win sees the party of Government take on new powers and functions which were formally a combination of Government and Local Council responsibilities. In the name of devolution?<br />
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Although Birmingham voted for Sion Simon, as did Coventry, Wolverhampton and Sandwell, Andy Street was ahead in Dudley, Walsall and Solihull. A '<a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/andy-street-west-midlands-mayor-12993241" target="_blank">huge vote in Solihull handed the Tories a 6,201 vote lead over all</a>'. With a turnout of 26%, 238,628 of us voted for Andy Street, either as a first or second choice of mayor.<br />
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The 'West Midlands' only technically came into existence in 1974, under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1972">Local Government Act of 1972</a>. There are references to is as one of five "Special Review Areas" named in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1958">Local Government Act 1958</a>, and it's existence was recommended by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcliffe-Maud_Report">Redcliffe-Maud Report</a> commissioned Harold Wilson's Labour government. However, the Conservative Government of Ted Heath were ultimately responsible for the creation of 'West Midlands' county.<br />
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More recently both Andy Street, Sion Simon, Labour (<a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/desperately-seeking-devolution.html" target="_blank">possibly unwillingly</a>) and Conservative Parties - have some responsibility for the creation of the 'West Midlands Combined Authority' - delivering '<a href="https://westmidlandscombinedauthority.org.uk/about/" target="_blank">the co-ordinated decision-making needed for modern economic governance</a>'.<br />
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The history of West Midlands is not one of devolution. From it's conception as an area in need of special attention, to a more recent attempt to stoke <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/midlands-engine-strategy" target="_blank">the Midlands engine</a>, it has been a history of Government intervention. Besides burdening West Midlands people with the increased cost of a new layer of governance, the West Midlands Combined Authority appears to support an increasingly paternalistic approach to Governance, with increased powers falling into the hands of the few.<br />
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<a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/ex-john-lewis-boss-splashes-12937345" target="_blank">Andy Street saw the opportunity, spent one million pounds</a> and has become the most important decision maker in our region. Our '<a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/west-midlands-top-tory-demands-12769775" target="_blank">devolution</a>' plans have led to fewer people and central Government take more control of our lives. </div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-10894336560797754632017-03-21T12:49:00.001+00:002017-03-21T13:20:34.195+00:00Learning about child refugees and government<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last week <a href="https://woodcraft.org.uk/" target="_blank">Woodcraft Folk</a> Elfins discussed the Dubs amendment, uncovering the shocking truth about the way our government treats child refugees, and what we can do.<br />
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No one in the group attempted to defend the government's recent block on 3,000 Syrian refugees coming to the UK, and yet only three Tory MPs voted to allow in the refugees - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39187290" target="_blank">Ms Allen, Tania Mathias and Nicky Morgan</a>. They were joined by 195 Labour MPs, 47 SNP, and nine Liberal Democrats, among others.<br />
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From a moral perspective, many in the group were outraged, but as it has been suggested by the Government that we (the UK) could not afford to look after these refugee children, we did some quick calculations. The UK has a population of 65,000,000, Birmingham 1,100,000. So if the 3,000 children were distributed across the UK evenly, that would mean Birmingham would host 50 more children. To appreciate what that might mean locally, we worked out that might be one more child in every tenth Birmingham school (maybe one child in Kings Heath).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our letters</td></tr>
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The hardest discussion was what we, as a group of UK children, can do about it - a hard question to answer as we (as adults) have not managed to stop the government yet. As the Home Office said it encouraged councils to come forward if they had capacity for child asylum seekers so we decided to write letters the the Queen, the government and our local council.<br />
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If you are equally disgusted by the 287 Conservative MP's decision to block safe passage for child refugees, or perhaps dispute the government claim that there is a lack of support from Councils and us as tax payers to look after child refugees, make your voice heard.<br />
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<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/QuotesPorn/comments/3jqq2k/the_way_a_government_treats_refugees_is_very/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtI7TNAbZK378Dsvudu0DI4V1gm9FTwnalBeOz-TXPPTjKI4X_tG5Wqs0lOYmE58fHINlP5hoJyDwXfXQ3IrtqdHI1z1Mef_VpUMCtWyPqz9fDuzVht-vRHpfGWHQ3dIQ05vEOmPD5Wxek/s320/55LZnuNY4erpf97wci2jFotSV2sdc8JnHgHZwdBDTuc.jpg" width="320" /></a>The scheme proposed by Lord Dubs to look after 3,000 Syrian child refugees ends later this month. Lord Dubs, who arrived in Britain as a refugee from Nazism, said he was "disappointed", but insisted:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The campaign isn't over, our better nature will surely carry the day."</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6jifiCWsAAr07V.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2017/03/i-dare-mps-who-voted-down-dubs-amendment-look-child-refugee-eye" target="_blank">'I do not believe any MP would be able to look them in the eye and <br />still cast a vote to condemn them to a life of danger and uncertainty.'</a></td></tr>
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-62962052668987350302017-03-08T20:59:00.001+00:002017-03-08T21:09:21.569+00:00Unity in the Community <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCp7ZmEO00J4VbXHvHbSPZx4KJau4s3nGEQQ6EMAp2-Ws8dgliVxqIYrV9_pAtkCXRG2QViYCCPjftRsG12lmRmijLRy7j91tLSjXmC33S-GqXhbs2lqNbG1-kp0-86ULIi6r3HEi3JeI-/s1600/IMG_20170304_164302aa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCp7ZmEO00J4VbXHvHbSPZx4KJau4s3nGEQQ6EMAp2-Ws8dgliVxqIYrV9_pAtkCXRG2QViYCCPjftRsG12lmRmijLRy7j91tLSjXmC33S-GqXhbs2lqNbG1-kp0-86ULIi6r3HEi3JeI-/s320/IMG_20170304_164302aa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children dancing to catch the eye of the funders</td></tr>
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I arrived a little later than I expected, having taken a twenty minute diversion along the M6 from Spaghetti junction, but was still in plenty of time for our presentation slot. I'd read the information sent, but was still surprised and somewhat unprepared for 'Unity in the Community' at the Magnet Centre this Saturday.<br />
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Before I start, I must say, we didn't get the funding, but the event was a useful opportunity for networking. All seventy-eight of the projects looking for up to £6,000 funding were clearly valuable causes and worthy of funding. I'm glad for the fifteen projects who have received their funding, and from a funding stream perspective, it's a relatively simple one to apply for. We were well catered for on the day, and everything ran on time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98eBlB8jM0U7cAboDOFQL8j0lf2N-SZWpFeQ5gfQmy_I8BvZsNSqpRNzf8KLpbYw5gMdJ9f-rnNv_B8ynzvpKTk3h62yUnn7bAoNif24k5qYlIvEPCjoA82Ynv1diqjK-A9pmuwaqkZWe/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98eBlB8jM0U7cAboDOFQL8j0lf2N-SZWpFeQ5gfQmy_I8BvZsNSqpRNzf8KLpbYw5gMdJ9f-rnNv_B8ynzvpKTk3h62yUnn7bAoNif24k5qYlIvEPCjoA82Ynv1diqjK-A9pmuwaqkZWe/s320/0.jpg" width="225" /></a>What I found hard was the shear volume of different projects all touting for a small sum of money. We had presentations to fund school uniforms for the needy (of Birmingham), youth and sports clubs, food banks, health charities, arts organisations with arts projects, faith groups, allotment organisations, language schools, schools, schools and more friends of schools. Everyone was there, including children who entertained themselves and everyone with some dancing on and off the stage. There was also some Greek dancing in full costume from the Greek Cypriot Association based in the host Magnet Centre (who didn't get their funding).<br />
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We were in alphabetical order, so I was very pleased to be presenting after friends at Parks for Play and Ort Gallery. With no powerpoint, and ill-prepared for this audience, I walked up and took the microphone for my 3 minutes. I looked out on a crowd of two hundred or so people dotted around the room eating lunch, chatting, on their mobile phones.<br />
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BEEP, the timer started for my three minutes. <br />
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I think I only used two and a half minutes, and that was including a bit of a call out to grab some attention, so I was spared the humiliation other groups had of only making half a presentation, but I knew before I went up I was unlikely to make much impression.<br />
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The smart groups who had the opportunity piled in plenty of members at 11:00 am, as only those who arrived then had the opportunity to vote. If you had an ally in the audience too, that could be a big advantage. The voting was, to be honest, more like the Eurovision Song contest than crowd funding. The audience of people looking for funding had to judge all 78 projects with a happy face or a sad face over the 5 hours the event took place, with only a three minute presentation and 200 word brief. The voting process was quick - 120 got to vote, of the 500 or so who attended during the day.<br />
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As processes goes, it had it's weaknesses, but I guess my over-riding feeling of sadness was the number of worthy projects and groups struggling to make a little funding from Unity in the Community. Across all sectors, all areas of public and community, it's the same story. Starved of funding that might previously have at least partly come from elsewhere, we were all united in our determination to gain that little bit of funding.<br />
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And as for the quality of Community and public services we all provide? In the early days of the Lottery, people would joke the Arts, Sports and Heritage sectors were propped up by the the poorest in society, literally gambling their money away. Now it feels more like it's a lottery on what services you will have across all areas of the community and (formerly) public services, depending on what ingenuity, time or luck people in your area have had to compete for the inadequate funds available.<br />
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It wasn't 'Unity in the Community's fault, or the people running the show, but when at the end of the day we were asked to give feedback in one word, I wasn't able to do so.<br />
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Here are the fifteen winners, in the order they were announced:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Real junk food, Kings Heath</li>
<li>Urban devotion Birmingham, Perry Common</li>
<li>Alum Rock Community Club</li>
<li>Autis, Stockland Green</li>
<li>Bethany Community Outreach, Erdington</li>
<li>Yardley basketball Club</li>
<li>New Routes Carers and Friends group</li>
<li>Community Breast Care, Citywide</li>
<li>Action for bullying, Erdington</li>
<li>All for youth, Bordesley Green</li>
<li>Round Midnight Creative Arts, Sparkbrook</li>
<li>Bethany Community Outreach (second project), Erdington</li>
<li>Kingstanding Food Community</li>
<li>Kingstanding Regeneration Trust</li>
<li>Monkeying around, Sutton Coldfield (only £1,000 of their £5,750 bid)</li>
</ul>
</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-30311692580935414242017-01-16T14:39:00.001+00:002017-01-16T17:30:33.402+00:00Getting closer to World War One in Birmingham<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lance Corporal William Leslie Arnold,<br />
Died of war wounds on 16/08/1916<br />
Australian Infantry, A.I.F. 9th Battlion</td></tr>
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Lance Corporal William Leslie Arnold was wounded in action during the Somme on the 22 July 1916. He suffered a gunshot wound to the right ankle and thigh. On the 14th August he was transferred to Birmingham and died two days later. He is buried at the Lodge Hill Cemetery Birmingham, along with 53 other Australians who died in the military hospitals around Birmingham. His younger brother Francis Benjamin Arnold, aged 20, was shot in the face near the same village of Pozieres the day after William died. He reached a major hospital in Etaples within a few days, but died from his wounds in France on the 25 August 1916.</div>
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"<a href="http://www.nls.uk/learning-zone/politics-and-society/morbid-curiosity" target="_blank">A Victorian 'good death' was modelled from evangelical beliefs of being with family and making peace with God.</a>"</blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children on a Birmingham Co-operative Society Float<br />
at the May Day Parade, 1920 </td></tr>
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The War and the influenza pandemic that followed caused huge loss of life away from the family and and a mass grief touching everyone, raising challenges to how the dead could be commemorated. British Government propaganda had extolled the virtues of dying for your country, but a rising death toll had brought into sharp focus the price paid, and many, like <a href="http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html" target="_blank">Wilfred Owen</a>, questioned how sweet, or good, it was to die <a href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields-inspiration.htm" target="_blank">in Flanders Fields</a>. In May 1917, the <a href="http://www.cwgc.org/about-us/history-of-cwgc.aspx" target="_blank">Imperial War Graves Commission</a> was established to ensure the final resting places of the dead would not be lost forever, with the finest architects designing cemeteries, and <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/57409" target="_blank">Rudyard Kipling, literary advisor for inscriptions</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The opening of Birmingham's hall of memory, 4th July 1925</td></tr>
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For the Ancient Greeks, <a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html" target="_blank">documented in Antigone</a>, denying burial of a corpse insulted the body and <a href="https://www.owleyes.org/text/antigone/read/the-importance-of-burial-in-greek-religion" target="_blank">damned the soul for all time</a>. For Sir Fabian Wares, founder of the War Graves Commission, burial was <a href="http://www.memorialized.com/" target="_blank">seen more as a human right</a>, equality as a core ideology and very much part of the principles it continues to follow.</div>
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<a href="http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/45005/BIRMINGHAM%20(LODGE%20HILL)%20CEMETERY" target="_blank">Lodge Hill Cemetery</a> plot B10 is well preserved and peaceful. It contains 498 First World War burials. The names of those buried in the plot, or those in graves elsewhere in the cemetery which could not be individually marked, are inscribed on a Screen Wall. It has been designed carefully to be 'epic' in scale, but each name is written in the same script, given the same importance - the burials themselves are marked simply with numbers. In common with thousands of cemeteries across the world, Lodge Hill has <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6wTrTje_hI8C&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">Blomfield's Cross of Sacrifice</a> and Lutyens <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_of_Remembrance" target="_blank">Stone of Remembrance</a>, for all faiths and none. Blomfield commented:</div>
<blockquote>
"What I wanted to do in designing this Cross was to make it as abstract and impersonal as I could, to free it from any association of any particular style, and, above all, to keep clear of any sentimentalism of the Gothic. This was a man's war far too terrible for any fripperies, and I hoped to get within range of the infinite in this symbol."</blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paganel School at Lodge Hill Cemetery plot B10</td></tr>
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There was no 'Battle of Birmingham' in World War One - practical and budgetary issues made transporting corpses any great distance unlikely, so why so many buried in Birmingham? Birmingham's many hospitals played a key role in medical treatment of soldiers. It provides evidence of a city which hosted <a href="http://www.1914-1918.net/southerngen.htm" target="_blank">as many injured soldiers as there were residents</a>:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I think it must have been about 1915 when wounded soldiers were first brought to Soho and Winson Green station, just across the gully from the Talbot. The carriages were shunted onto the siding which led to a goods yard, where ambulances were waiting to take the wounded to Dudley Road Hospital via Handsworth New Road and Winson Green Road. I remember seeing the soldiers, many with bandaged heads and arms, and [my brother] Wilf and I would wave to them from the top of our garden wall. Sometimes my father would take me with him to distribute cigarettes, tobacco and chocolate that the customers of the Talbot Inn had donated for the wounded troops. Mother was not too happy about my going with him because I would get so upset at seeing these poor souls, some of them legless, but it taught me the awful reality of war." </blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.1914-1918.net/southerngen.htm" target="_blank"> Eye witness Mona Neale</a></blockquote>
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The stories of the dead in Lodge Hill Cemetery that can be so easily accessed provide a window into life during World War One. It demonstrates the contribution of Birmingham people in World War One in caring for the injured and dying. <br />
<br />
Lodge Hill Cemetery provides a close link, both emotionally and through the hard physical evidence, to the history of Birmingham in World War One. Most importantly, each of the 498 burials represents life stories touching many thousands more across the world, connecting and engaging us in Birmingham with world history, in particular a War spanning the World.</div>
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-52438701420908556982017-01-08T23:42:00.000+00:002017-01-09T00:22:38.956+00:00Woodcraft at Billesley Lane Allotments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brook runs right through the allotments</td></tr>
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Today I was shown around Woodcraft Folk's new plot at Billesley Lane Allotments by Carron and Kerry.</div>
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It's tucked away on the edge of Moseley Golf Course and barely visible from the street, and from the allotments themselves, you wouldn't know you were anywhere near Birmingham. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're Plot 18!</td></tr>
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Allotments are, of course, great for getting a deeper understanding of food production and the natural world, and that's exactly why we were first interested. Our plot already includes a pond, and while we hope to do some planting too, it's positioned on the edge of the allotments and has an ideal watery bit for willow tunnel/igloo and some hazel coppicing.</div>
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The people at the allotment have really made us feel welcome already and we're looking forward to spending more time on there! Find out more about <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SaveBillesleyLaneAllotments" target="_blank">Billesley Lane Allotments</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bird hide</td></tr>
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-40099269021986126762016-11-06T22:19:00.000+00:002016-11-06T22:20:43.492+00:00Young firestarters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning to strike a match</td></tr>
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On Thursday night we had a Woodcraft campfire in Highbury Park in Birmingham. There will be many bonfires being lit across the UK and youth groups getting involved, but for woodcraft, the campfire holds a special place, and the involvement of all its members.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The campfire is an opportunity to share and learn something about fire - in true woodcraft spirit, everyone contributes what they know, Once everyone seems clear about what fire is, we gave small groups (with adult supervision) a box of matches to work out how matches work - gaining in confidence and understanding by doing..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lVJNvKYeFAs/WBzJHS5xPqI/AAAAAAABEdg/pul5UWhbajUrBYNx1MDf7F3ZF20ciF8qgCPcB/s1600/IMG_20161103_184515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lVJNvKYeFAs/WBzJHS5xPqI/AAAAAAABEdg/pul5UWhbajUrBYNx1MDf7F3ZF20ciF8qgCPcB/s320/IMG_20161103_184515.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What do you know about fire?</td></tr>
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The children wittled willow to cook marsh mallows and dampers, sang their own songs and sang some woodcraft songs, 50 young people in a campfire circle in Highbury Park:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'Circles are fundamental to Woodcraft Folk...Campfires create circles of warmth where we talk and sing together. As we say in our leaving song, 'Link your arms together a circle we make.This bond of our friendship no power can break..."'</blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVnl2D0-EToa41kMSZThYtCXiz6C1e6aIDecX7tHRNJtRoESH6JciImML2BCOp598j-Cy06QcD8zy955Hbi_7rl8tsRtJqwEfM2Sufw9DR_m97krw0nSUs1j6d_NyZl7OGJUHLpVJHmwi/s1600/IMG_20161103_193901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVnl2D0-EToa41kMSZThYtCXiz6C1e6aIDecX7tHRNJtRoESH6JciImML2BCOp598j-Cy06QcD8zy955Hbi_7rl8tsRtJqwEfM2Sufw9DR_m97krw0nSUs1j6d_NyZl7OGJUHLpVJHmwi/s320/IMG_20161103_193901.jpg" width="320" /></a>More <a href="https://www.woodcraft.org.uk/category/tags/camp-fire" target="_blank">woodcraft campfire photos</a>:<br />
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Thanks to Jonathan Lee (Woodcraft folker and firestarter), <a href="http://highburyparkfriends.org.uk/wp/about-2/" target="_blank">Highbury Park Friends</a> and <a href="https://chamberlainhighburytrust.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Chamberlain Highbury Trust</a>.</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-1162286718491209802016-11-01T21:55:00.003+00:002023-11-11T12:20:35.210+00:00Surviving war<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlz5y_VjNx6PHrP4KWF_0UIgF5Enkmegc-3ghxiD0EVUYlqfFImyXRAcaqnez28am-QFG8GrcdttdH9mO-3eWvdiMhJozbSJ7ly63SZ6eYhwmIEHJCn9QxEC-EriHzQsDul1D42mOPsaREYzGqUKYEIAyW5VCkMi3OThVkap7oAVm-4XEXaHcaZBOfOJWE/s1280/george.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="George Rice in 2003" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlz5y_VjNx6PHrP4KWF_0UIgF5Enkmegc-3ghxiD0EVUYlqfFImyXRAcaqnez28am-QFG8GrcdttdH9mO-3eWvdiMhJozbSJ7ly63SZ6eYhwmIEHJCn9QxEC-EriHzQsDul1D42mOPsaREYzGqUKYEIAyW5VCkMi3OThVkap7oAVm-4XEXaHcaZBOfOJWE/w240-h320/george.jpg" title="George Rice in 2003" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Rice in 2003</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Strange in a world of uncertainty, war and conflict, to look back 100 years to the Battle of the Somme, halfway through '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_war_to_end_war">the war to end all wars</a>'. Since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/11/british-forces-century-warfare-end">1914 British soldiers have never not been involved in a conflict or war</a>.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Personally I have only met one World War One Veteran, and was lucky to be involved in interviewing him 12 years ago. <br />
<a name='more'></a>I had actually known George for some five years before, as the man who played the keyboard and mouth organ in the room next to where I ran art & craft workshops in an Old People's Care Home in South Birmingham. He'd perfected the mouth organ in trenches as a young man during World War 1. He was a modest man who spoke little, and it was only when we were invited into his room, we were aware of his age when seeing his Legion d'Honneur for services to France framed on his wall.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBammLMgVd_Mm36J8MCOrQIzdqDfTynD1_qPc615TXDiF1lnHBJh-f77IyFirPd_8vu8EM8JH5g2mRhtxrxB4eWkJIdxc4Ec6vpFqh_bmssO33aHbd-pitbZCgQbULTBuctmYX1vNsManD6oexZ513VUSRuzrXv2Q0JAPsQfdQBSlnVmJtBkuaT1nvDfyf/s884/geobealea%20(1).jpg?height=320&width=240" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBammLMgVd_Mm36J8MCOrQIzdqDfTynD1_qPc615TXDiF1lnHBJh-f77IyFirPd_8vu8EM8JH5g2mRhtxrxB4eWkJIdxc4Ec6vpFqh_bmssO33aHbd-pitbZCgQbULTBuctmYX1vNsManD6oexZ513VUSRuzrXv2Q0JAPsQfdQBSlnVmJtBkuaT1nvDfyf/w300-h400/geobealea%20(1).jpgheight=320&width=240" width="300" /></a>
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The project, <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/birminghamlives/projects/birmingham-lives-and-other-stories/agelink/baverstock-agelink/george-rice" target="_blank">Agelink</a> in 2003, involved young people interviewing older people in care homes. Beau and Leanne asked perfect questions, including a question he had been asked before - what was it like killing German soldiers with a machine gun in world war one? He was as candid as he had been for previous interviews, recounting the german soldiers falling 'like a pack of cards '.<br />
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1498698/First-World-War-veteran-dies-at-108.html" target="_blank">"It was just my job as a soldier,..I don't know what you felt. You were there to fight the enemy. Feelings didn't come into it in that sense, frightening or otherwise."</a></blockquote>
His family spoke in obituaries of his faith, and the 'military horrors were deliberately shunned':<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-veteran-ww1-dies-aged-3991563" target="_blank">George's revulsion at war and the horrors he had witnessed on the Western Front may explain why his family have never found a picture of him in service uniform. It is thought he may have destroyed them</a></blockquote>
Next week I will be working on a <a href="http://peoplesheritagecoop.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Peoples heritage Cooperative</a> project to bring young people to Lodge Hill Cemetery and discover the stories of the mostly young men who died in the Great War 100 years ago. They will find out about the men and their families from <a href="http://www.ukcensusonline.com/census/1911.php" target="_blank">census records</a>. They will follow their last days through <a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-soldiers-after-1913/" target="_blank">Archive and Regimental records</a>.<br />
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I can only hope that we learn from the conflicts and warfare of the past so maybe we will see a time in the next 100 years when Britain is neither at war or in conflict.<br />
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<i>Useful links:</i></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/birminghamlives/projects/birmingham-lives-and-other-stories/agelink/baverstock-agelink/george-rice">https://sites.google.com/site/birminghamlives/projects/birmingham-lives-and-other-stories/agelink/baverstock-agelink/george-rice</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-veteran-ww1-dies-aged-3991563">http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-veteran-ww1-dies-aged-3991563</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1498698/First-World-War-veteran-dies-at-108.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1498698/First-World-War-veteran-dies-at-108.html</a></li>
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</div></div>Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-21720215588484047262016-10-25T23:07:00.001+01:002016-10-25T23:19:20.867+01:00Making play inclusive<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parks for Play half term playscheme starts today</td></tr>
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With the total number of places for holiday childcare continuing to fall, prices for childcare continuing to rise, what has become of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tax-free-childcare-top-things-childcare-providers-should-know" target="_blank">government's attempts to make childcare more available and affordable</a>? And what of our most vulnerable children facing social exclusion because of their individual needs, often disability, or their families in desperate need of support, particularly during holidays?<br />
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In Birmingham at least, <a href="http://parks4play.org/" target="_blank">Parks for Play</a> continues to address some of this need, running fully inclusive after-school playcare and playschemes during holidays. However this appears to be the only only service of it's kind across the UK, despite the government recognising that families without good access to childcare are less able to remain in work.<br />
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/16/playschemes-and-affordable-summer-childcare-getting-harder-to-find" target="_blank">Nine out of 10 local authorities in England are now unable to meet demand for holiday club spaces</a>. The situation for disabled children couldn't really be any worse with the <a href="http://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/" target="_blank">Family Childcare Trust</a> finding this summer that:<br />
<blockquote>
'...parents with disabled children are severely affected, with 88% of local authorities in England and all in Wales unable to meet demand for holiday childcare for disabled children.'</blockquote>
The Local Government Association suggests:<br />
<blockquote>
“Work also continues with private and independent providers to encourage them to offer more affordable schemes. There is no legal obligation at all for councils to provide their own holiday childcare and the duty placed on them to ensure there is sufficient childcare available states ‘only as far as is practicable’.”</blockquote>
While councils are only required to to find sufficient childcare, 'only as far as is practicable', and private and independent providers appear unable or unwilling to provide cost effective childcare, how do organisations like Parks for Play continue to operate so successfully?<br />
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The answer is in some ways simple, as it is a 'grass roots' organisation, able to operate on a small scale, with considerable effort of individuals and occasional funding opportunities, but its sustainablity is questionable. And why, given it's success, aren't lessons being learnt across the UK?<br />
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<i>For more about Parks for Play events, see their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ParksforPlay/" target="_blank">facebook page</a>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Previous articles about Parks 4 Play:</i><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/playwell-play-for-all.html" target="_blank">Playwell, play for all</a></li>
<li><a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/play-is-four-letter-word.html" target="_blank">PLAY is a four letter word</a></li>
<li><a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/keeping-playwell.html" target="_blank">Keeping Playwell</a></li>
<li><a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/play-on-our-mean-streets.html" target="_blank">Play on our mean streets</a></li>
<li><a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/where-is-our-childcare.html" target="_blank">Where is our Childcare</a></li>
</ul>
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-27516243827657461652016-09-27T23:07:00.001+01:002016-09-27T23:25:20.902+01:00Internationalism pre & post-Brexit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It took me a while to work out what the <a href="https://woodcraft.org.uk/about" target="_blank">Woodcraft Folk movement</a> was all about - it's really one of those things you've got to try and maybe, like me, you'll want to find out more.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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Up until now my Woodcraft Folk experience has been very Kings Heath and Moseley. There's nothing wrong with that but if I, as a Woodcraft Folk leader, am building children and young peoples 'awareness of society around them', I could at least attend Woodcraft Folk AGM when it was in Birmingham this Saturday, at the British Midland Institute.<br />
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Every time I've scratched below the surface of Woodcraft Folk movement, I've felt more at home, and in the past months of Aleppo, Brexit, Calais, Boris & Trump, it's great to be among fellow 'Internationalists'. Most were much young than me, from across the UK, all having taken part, or supporting a range of campaigns raising awareness of issues to bring about a peaceful fairer world. And that's what Woodcraft Folk have always done since it's earliest days.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2016/08/09/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2016/08/09/12.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f4f3f2; font-family: "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Henry Fair wrote to all Woodcraft Folk members: <br />'Hundreds of the parents of Red Falcon members <br />are in peril of their life, hundreds are refugees, <br />sleeping in fields and ditches. Their children, <br />ex-Red Falcons, many of them came to Brighton, <br />are amongst these and they plead with their <br />fellow comrades of other countries for help. <br />Well what can we do, what can you?’1937</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">'<a href="http://shop.woodcraft.org.uk/products/a-peoples-history-of-woodcraft-folk" target="_blank">A people's history of the Woodcraft folk</a>', published earlier this year documents darker times</span> when Woodcraft Folk played their role <a href="https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2016/08/09/a-peoples-history-of-woodcraft-folk/" target="_blank">in the Kindertransport rescuing children from Nazi persecution</a>. There's been plenty of work to document <a href="https://heritage.woodcraft.org.uk/" target="_blank">Woodcraft Heritage</a>, but this weekend at the AGM I wanted to find out what 'Woodies without Borders' were still doing with our international partners, like the <a href="http://ifm-sei.org/" target="_blank">International Falcon Movement</a> (like <a href="http://visas.woodcraft.org.uk/" target="_blank">Visa campaign</a> below)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kKoWD_nshhw" width="280"></iframe>
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It was re-assuring to see and hear the future (and past) Internationalist vision of Woodcraft Folk reflected in the comments of 'the board' as it stood, the mostly young candidates for Election and the members who had traveled to Birmingham. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eItb2RcY_X8og_5CkA0RIMJnnPOLN2FcwR91iwKLcBZIM0LU0BJKjzEc7cRVMm6LOG40EhvVTxF7YBgGqg_icPPsOR7-n05WZQI-tC5FcFTit7hUVm5iTyFS79oRl8dFE2Mpu5Grj0oP/w724-h543-no/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eItb2RcY_X8og_5CkA0RIMJnnPOLN2FcwR91iwKLcBZIM0LU0BJKjzEc7cRVMm6LOG40EhvVTxF7YBgGqg_icPPsOR7-n05WZQI-tC5FcFTit7hUVm5iTyFS79oRl8dFE2Mpu5Grj0oP/w724-h543-no/" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kings Heath & Moseley Elfins outside a polling booth<br />
23rd June 2016</td></tr>
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And to know that we in Kings Heath & Moseley, have a role to play to make the world a better place.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>See <a href="https://woodcraft.org.uk/ogroup/england/midlands/birmingham-south" target="_blank">South Birmingham District</a> Woodcraft Folk to find out more.</i><br />
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-42374534858122931372016-07-06T22:41:00.002+01:002016-07-06T22:43:09.633+01:00Playwell, play for all<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPh9Vtfn0hDJvkrn9f96NzIUHmbp6rTuQ6mQ6ter5FBv6iykZ6ltPdMPEi59DE2KoR-Af1BwDrs5jwfDMaOnKcNfEfAlRsGT-uFleZJbA0gbHkXZQxly43VPrVVuUp7HyGT6uInXTS_p6/s1600/IMG_20140907_172920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPh9Vtfn0hDJvkrn9f96NzIUHmbp6rTuQ6mQ6ter5FBv6iykZ6ltPdMPEi59DE2KoR-Af1BwDrs5jwfDMaOnKcNfEfAlRsGT-uFleZJbA0gbHkXZQxly43VPrVVuUp7HyGT6uInXTS_p6/s1600/IMG_20140907_172920.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing in York Road, summer 2014</td></tr>
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When '<a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/looking-after-your-own.html" target="_blank">playing out</a>' was first talked about in Birmingham it was no surprise pioneers in inclusive play 'Parks for play' supported the initiative. They sent teams of playworkers to streets to ensure inclusive play for all.<br />
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<br />
Through groups like Playwell, they continue their commitment to inclusive play, offering summer holiday play sessions running from 1st to 12th August at Uffculme school. These play sessions prioritize access for new children with any additional needs/ disabilities that live locally ( kings Heath/ Moseley) to ensure that ALL children can enjoy play opportunities on the doorstep in their community.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
Parks for Play were awarded Community Champion Gold Award by Kings Heath BID (Business improvement District) for their contribution to services for children and their work on equalities. In addition to all their free inclusive playschemes in local parks Playwell became the first specialist afterschool care in the country so that local parents with disabled children can to go to work. There is NO other afterschool childcare at any special schools whilst employment and childcare remain key government concerns, this group of people continue to be denied access to work.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">
<i>'Disabled children and their families face the poverty of forced unemployment, social exclusion and immense pressures.Playwell also offers families emergency respite for parents dealing with crisis or other ongoing family commitments.</i></blockquote>
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<i>It gives children with additional needs the opportunity to socialise with peers in their community developing in creative ways that can only be facilitated through play.'</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Amanda Bradley, Chair Parks for Play </span></blockquote>
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Playwell customised afterschool play care currently runs daily from 3pm to 6pm and Playspring customised afterschool play sessions runs from 3- 4.30pm. Both services are run by Parks for Play from the Uffculme School site on Queensbridge Road, B13 8QB opposite Queensbridge School. Families can book children into free trial sessions across the rest of this summer term and we will be taking bookings for summer holiday playscheme. The evening is an informal event to allow families to meet the Parks for Play service manager, the team of qualified play workers and see the premises.</div>
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For families with children with any additional needs please come to a parent open evening on Friday 8th July between 6pm and 7pm at Uffculme school<br />
<br />
Parks for Play are also running a Play Day Bonanza on Sunday 24th July between 1pm and 4pm at All Saints Centre, Kings Heath village Square open to all local children and families .<br />
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/137353765" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="540"></iframe>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/137353765">Equal Access to Work [Short Version]</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/axefilms">Axe Films</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-69647791996411537622016-07-03T16:42:00.000+01:002016-07-03T17:34:13.192+01:0020mph at Queensbridge School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the 20mph sign quiz - <br />
Where's that sign?</td></tr>
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With the advent of our new 20 mph limits, what has changed in terms of road safety in Kings Heath and Moseley? Coming back to the wonderful <a href="http://www.queensbridge.bham.sch.uk/?p=5175" target="_blank">Queensbridge Summer Fete</a>, I had the opportunity to ask people about<a href="http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/" target="_blank"> 20s plenty for us</a> and whether or not they've noticed any difference to road safety.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Last year I was at the fete asking people about <a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-problem-with-cycling-to-school.html" target="_blank">cycling to school</a>, sharing a stand with Linda from Sustrans. This year I was on my own, and given the monumentous change in speed limits in Moseley and Kings Heath, I had to ask about the impact of 20mph limits.<br />
<br />
Queensbridge School now finds itself in the middle of a large, and growing, 20 mph limit area stretching in every direction from the school. I wanted to know what parents and children thought. <br />
<br />
I'd heard people complain about the size and visibility of the signs themselves. Also I'd heard complaints that the signs didn't slow people, or even made the roads more dangerous - I was keen to test if this was really what people thought, and why. With a little help from my son at Queensbridge, I devised a quick quiz to see if you could spot where the 20mph signs were in 16 different locations locally. As a follow up I asked three simple questions (see below) and then asked people to comment on their responses.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv0L-1EMX3shANQbN5utuEW4LbNdKDMOt3INMm0AAlHPOYYolagFgvpHVrrZbREopGnkWAbwjclwdAuDoUciPduWt2WfcjP36ympQ-1fTV-xV81Gg4Aq7HvYF1NwluYsd0lv7uO8xE9pD/s1600/20mph1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv0L-1EMX3shANQbN5utuEW4LbNdKDMOt3INMm0AAlHPOYYolagFgvpHVrrZbREopGnkWAbwjclwdAuDoUciPduWt2WfcjP36ympQ-1fTV-xV81Gg4Aq7HvYF1NwluYsd0lv7uO8xE9pD/s400/20mph1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every road (except the blue ones in middle, top right and bottom left)<br />
are now 20mph</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking the survey</td></tr>
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Admittedly a small survey, but even so, very few people (12%) thought the signs had made 'no change', nearly three quarters of people found the signs easy (or very easy) to see, and only 6% hadn't changed their driving habits to slow in 20mph.<br />
<br />
As always the conversations with people helped explain more. <br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A quarter of people surveyed commented the signs on the road surface were best, and there could be more</li>
<li>Four people thought the LED signs were great and should be used more</li>
<li>Several commented particular issues entering roads and seeing signs - Brook Lane, Russell Road and Reddings Road</li>
<li>Several thought we should be extending the 20mph</li>
<li>A couple commented on measures outside schools to calm traffic is needed too</li>
</ul>
<br />
Other comments:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
'They feel indiscriminate and not properly publicised and explained'</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'It's not being enforced by police, and politicians putting notes through everyone's doors telling people this has made it worse' </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'They make roads more dangerous because people are trying to overtake when they shouldn't'</blockquote>
<br />
Having been involved in campaigning for 20mph zones, I was surprised just how positive people were about the changes, with only one negative comment (see last quote). This was more than reflecting the <a href="http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/Press_Releases/YGSurvey.pdf" target="_blank">72% of people who support 20 mph limits in residential areas</a> in recent Government polls. While being mindful that this survey was in a school, and that I only surveyed 32 people, I think there is much cause for hope that we can change dangerous driving habits outside our schools which still lead to much injury and death.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/road-safety-revealed-thousands-of-children-injured-in-crashes-near-schools-8791232.html" target="_blank">Every month more than 1,000 British children are injured on roads near schools</a>, 20 mph limits might help, but much more needs to be done to protect our children outside their own schools.</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-76266583935070247162016-07-02T10:45:00.002+01:002016-07-02T20:17:04.797+01:00Play out in Kings Heath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG_QjXjjrtGXE1SJqR6TNhoA-exyoXdnI8n69v6RkiPShTjfvKQxteXzVpOkn5UCfWtOEPG3XRUU7CipqUxUAT7RlpIUjQGcUslIRIikFco8BZikmf3RLoo_Eo46JajCRjwtWGsTlXpwbB/s1600/Playing+out+flyer+Wheelers+Lane+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG_QjXjjrtGXE1SJqR6TNhoA-exyoXdnI8n69v6RkiPShTjfvKQxteXzVpOkn5UCfWtOEPG3XRUU7CipqUxUAT7RlpIUjQGcUslIRIikFco8BZikmf3RLoo_Eo46JajCRjwtWGsTlXpwbB/s400/Playing+out+flyer+Wheelers+Lane+2016.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
Swan Corner Community Group and Woodcraft Folk South Birmingham want children to be able to play freely outside their own front door. That's why we're really excited about <a href="http://playingout.net/" target="_blank">Playing out</a>, and why we're playing out Wheelers Lane for a third year running, on 7th July 5:30 to 9pm.<br />
<br />
Active Parks have helped organising with Birmingham City Council and will bring archery, tennis, badminton, basketball, skittles, giant snakes and ladders, skipping ropes and more.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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Playing out in Birmingham started in 2013 with 3 streets in Kings Heath closing for play. That <a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/looking-after-your-own.html" target="_blank">grew to 6 in 2014</a>, and with increasing support from Birmingham City Council and Active Parks <a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/play-on-our-mean-streets.html" target="_blank">22 streets closed in 2015</a> across Birmingham, and despite the weather, we're looking to top that in 2016.</div>
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Swan Corner Community Group has been supportive of playing out since it began, and organise playing out on Wheelers Lane service road near Swanshurst School annually. Local residents provide support (activities, juice, biscuits, samosas too) to encourage local children to play on the now largely empty grass in front of their houses, which used to be filled with children playing.</div>
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<a href="https://www.woodcraft.org.uk/" target="_blank">Woodcraft Folk</a> South Birmingham is a local youth group where children 'grow in confidence, learn about the world and start to understand how to value our planet and each other'.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'We believe passionately in equality and co-operation, aiming to have great fun, but also to try and develop children’s self-confidence and build their awareness of society around them.' </blockquote>
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Young people have fewer and fewer places to meet and play - 'playing out' is one way children can 'reclaim' the streets. It also <a href="http://playingout.net/why/10-good-reasons/" target="_blank">builds community cohesion</a>. Playing out is for young and old, looking to bring local communities together. Why don't you come along and join us on 7th July on Wheelers Lane? </div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-27651073623130655312016-06-05T14:38:00.000+01:002016-06-05T16:38:19.057+01:00Gaps in our history<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every now and then I notice a gap in my bookshelf - Volume 5 of Winston Churchill's epic, 'The Second World War'.<br />
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One volume of a barely read series on my bookshelf is not there, and sadly that bothers me. His entire series on 'World War One' isn't there at all. There are a few other gaps which only a Bodleian sized Library could fill, and that's before you touch on archives and primary sources of 'history'.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Churchill wrote<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 20.16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 30.24px;">History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it</span></blockquote>
Does he mean he will write the history books or does he mean his political success will eclipse others? The nod to 'survival of the fittest' is, of course, part of the joke - it works as a joke because there is some unpalatable truth in it.<br />
<br />
It's not surprising Winston Churchill echoes the prevelant world view of '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism" target="_blank">Social Darwinism</a>', more fully expanded by British/European academics like Herbert Spencer, <a href="https://archive.org/details/socialevolution00kiddgoog" target="_blank">Benjamin Kidd</a> and Karl Pearson in the early twentieth century. It is a partial reading of Darwin's theory of 'natural selection', to later be read as 'survival of the fittest'. What 'social darwinists' miss is that any selection is dependent on a large pool on which to select. Complexity and diversity is what is required for man (and, in fact, the world) to 'survive'.<br />
<br />
History has been kind to Winston Churchill, but to properly understand history we need the whole picture. To understand any war we need those 'untold stories', like the stories disabled soldiers, the enemy, the home front, of women, the history of the conscientious objector, and countless others whose histories may be less visible.<br />
<br />
It also places responsibility on our shoulders to champion and support others to have their voices heard. History will be kind to the Victor and Historian, so we must be vigilant to document those histories which may otherwise be lost. Afterall, our survival may depend on it.<br />
<br />
<i>Useful links:</i><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://peoplesheritagecoop.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/birmingham-leading-way.html" target="_blank">Untold stories - Peoples Heritage Cooperative</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.shmoop.com/quotes/history-will-be-kind-to-me.html">http://www.shmoop.com/quotes/history-will-be-kind-to-me.html</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ck6bXqt5shkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA154&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ck6bXqt5shkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA154&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/13/first-world-war-objectors-graffiti-project-richmond-castle">http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/13/first-world-war-objectors-graffiti-project-richmond-castle</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Simmons_(politician)">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Simmons_(politician)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.libraryofbirmingham.com/firstworldwar">http://www.libraryofbirmingham.com/firstworldwar</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-32701493834985968272016-06-01T08:53:00.000+01:002016-10-13T13:11:54.443+01:00European matters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaV94A1Rusmx5Kw7ADfT6MPzCJ1CXS2TDsl1k0-bsRKiieDxpYgps1ILQI24aZ7invDCV-vLcEGDS3R-s9PVe2ia7dFOA8STChapgbv2T6odoH1_9Lt2Jo1IIini_W8xLHoq6_2-hPaox5/s1600/IMG_20160531_163357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaV94A1Rusmx5Kw7ADfT6MPzCJ1CXS2TDsl1k0-bsRKiieDxpYgps1ILQI24aZ7invDCV-vLcEGDS3R-s9PVe2ia7dFOA8STChapgbv2T6odoH1_9Lt2Jo1IIini_W8xLHoq6_2-hPaox5/s320/IMG_20160531_163357.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying Macaron in Rouen<br />
in the marketplace where<br />
Joan d'Arc burned</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today we visited Rouen - a city whose heroine, Joan of Arc, was decisive in setting Euro-sceptic British sentiment for centuries after French victory in the Hundred Years war. The referendum could be another historical moment marking isolationist Britian's waining political influence in the World, brought on our own heads<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
It may be that David Cameron called a referendom on Europe to try and save his own party - a '<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/29/eu-referendum-parliament-leaders-david-cameron-david-mitchell?CMP=fb_gu" target="_blank">policy of no policy</a>' avoided a party split during the last election. It may also reflect a more general lack of political leadership suggested by <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/294349098734190592" target="_blank">Richard Dawkins</a>, but how informed are we? How much do we understand our own political system, and how well do we keep in touch with decisions made in Europe?<br />
<br />
With the approach of more European <a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.fr/2014/05/election-fervor.html" target="_blank">Election fervor</a>, what will the turnout be, and how much will people understand about the decision they're making?<br />
<br />
Looking beyond the election what will be more interesting is if the marathon election campaign will inspire more to take an interest in European politics, and maybe even vote more too. <br />
<br />
The last election saw a voter turn out of some 37% - unchanged since 1979, and less than half the voters in countries like France and Belgium and the EU average voter turn out. In some ways it does compare favourably with UK parliamentary voters, which over the same period saw a 10% decease in voters from 76 to 66%, but if the election results from 2014 are anything to go by, we should be very worried about our future in the European Union. UKIP is the largest UK party in Europe, and its members the least likely to vote for anything. UKIP are part of a large group blocking decisions. Meanwhile <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/22/conservatives-new-eu-group" target="_blank">David Cameron took the Conservative party out of the largest, most influencial group</a>, to form the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Conservatives_and_Reformists" target="_blank">European Conservatives and Reformists</a> (ECR) - a small Eurosceptic, anti-federalist group. Whatever way the vote goes, Nigel Farage and David Cameron have isolated the UK from most decisions made in Europe already for the next three years.<br />
<br />
Looking to our future voters, the National Curriculum does have as a 'foundation subject', citizenship, which includes the EU for both Key Stages 3 and 4. In theory at least, young people should have some grounding in how it works, which I suspect is more than many British adults. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately it's all too rare the European Union makes it to the front page of British papers, and when it does, unsurprisingly it's a eurosceptic story of 'Bureaucracy gone crazy'. While there is some truth in these stories, they are not representative of all the work of the Union, and must be influencial in shaping opinion in the UK.<br />
<br />
There's been no shortage of high profile 'media inches' about european union over the past months. It wll be interesting to see if we maintain that interest in Europe and European matters without a devisive Election campaign. We need to raise the profile of the work our MEPs do, whether Euro-sceptic or not. Whether or not we Bremain or Brexit, we can't ignore Europe or our role in it, What we need most is transparency and understanding of all the workings in Europe - to be more European.</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-11769867011498134872016-03-15T20:50:00.000+00:002016-03-15T21:49:02.339+00:00Curating diversity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another deposit for Paganel Archives</td></tr>
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was...Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. <a href="http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/chapter-16-quotes.html">The Catcher in the Rye</a></blockquote>
How can museums attract diverse audiences and what, if anything, can schools learn from the experience of museums? <br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
I've been a member of BMAG Community Action Panel (CAP), now Birmingham Museums Trust CAP for five tumultuous years. Some things don't change in Museums - One of those is, apparently, budget cuts. Another important one is 'community engagement'. With budget cuts it's tempting to focus on cost effective 'off the shelf' offerings for school which can be delivered by almost anyone. Over dependence on this kind of workshop can quickly become false economies as audiences (and curriculums) change, and a lack of effort to really 'engage' and build a supportive community risks audience meltdown. <br />
<br />
I'm pleased to see a return to 'engagement' projects at BMT like creating mini-museums curated by young people, for young people, additionally growing the city collections to fill obvious missing material and better represent the changing community it seeks to represent.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Meeting the 'diverse' needs of your audience is a difficult challenge in museums like BMT: If your audiences are also 'curators', or even 'co-curating', you avoid pigeonholing your audience and get 'buy in' from the very people you want to engage. If you are choosing your own identity, representing yourself, how can your exhibition be anything other than 'real' and 'relevant'?<br />
<br />
In schools, like museums, how can your teaching be truly 'diverse' and 'engaging'? It needs to include young people, representing the lives and experiences (the diversity) of your students. Where best to find 'real' stories likely to engage your students? For teachers they are literally staring the answer in the face.<br />
<br />
Our main activity for <a href="http://birminghamlives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/paganel-archives-launched.html" target="_blank">the opening of Paganel Archives</a> in 2011 was an exhibition of Paganel School in the school - Every child had brought in an item to contribute to our archive, and created an impressive snapshot of our school, and to start our Archive with a deposit from every child, properly catalogued by the children themselves.<br />
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Our repository archive is significantly bigger and diverse now. While we still collate stories in a range of media from our present pupils, parents teaching staff and local people, we are now able to refer back to previous archives and relate to topics as needed.<br />
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Diversity isn't something you learn or teach, but something that you experience, whether in the classroom, the museum or elsewhere. The challenge for the school, or museum, is valuing and recognising the diversity, keeping the learner central to the learning</div>
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Useful Links:</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1213952670"><br /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=606">http://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=606</a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.hlf.org.uk/our-projects/ask-audience">https://www.hlf.org.uk/our-projects/ask-audience</a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/28212">http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/28212</a><br />
<br />
Part of #44weeks</div>
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-9143465768502801372016-03-13T08:23:00.000+00:002016-03-13T08:24:28.109+00:00Citizen and Subject<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxv4hPK9TXL-6Crlt8MBHaHP7jhHuJnLyHU2Iz03CFSUkjMIDKBOlY4JZrjvhyphenhyphenoN7CZYTDGfGbJyxKSzdoC-R5viLbZ-7eNU0uAE6FY27KLVzjqw97-JEmAID0tvDOI2cSR7zrHT6I7E0/s1600/Britannia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxv4hPK9TXL-6Crlt8MBHaHP7jhHuJnLyHU2Iz03CFSUkjMIDKBOlY4JZrjvhyphenhyphenoN7CZYTDGfGbJyxKSzdoC-R5viLbZ-7eNU0uAE6FY27KLVzjqw97-JEmAID0tvDOI2cSR7zrHT6I7E0/s320/Britannia.JPG" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jcwilson.ca/J.C._Wilson_Patriotics/WLS-004.html" target="_blank">Postcard from the turn of the last century</a></td></tr>
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Last week, reluctantly the Queen has been dragged into 'Brexit'. While the nature of her entry into the debate was unexpected, the lack of debate on her changing role in Europe and Britain is surprising.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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We are, afterall, citizens of Europe and 'British subjects', <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_subject" target="_blank">because in a monarchy the monarch is the source of authority in whose name all legal power in civil and military law is exercised</a>. While legally the term 'British Subject' since 1981 is only used for Comonwealth people who do not have citizenship in the country where they live, if we were to exit Europe our status would change to being solely under the protection of 'the crown' - a significant change in our status and that of the Queen.<br />
<br />
So, as Winston Churchill, chief architect of 'European Union' once said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'What is this plight to which Europe has been reduced? Some of the smaller states have indeed made a good recovery, but over wide areas are a vast, quivering mass of tormented, hungry, careworn and bewildered human beings, who wait in the ruins of their cities and homes and scan the dark horizons for the approach of some new form of tyranny or terror.'<a href="https://www.coe.int/t/dgal/dit/ilcd/Archives/selection/Churchill/ZurichSpeech_en.asp" target="_blank">University of Zurich, 19 September 1946</a></blockquote>
The language very much reflects that of our press (and some of our politicians) in reference to both the recent economic crisis and the refugee crisis in Europe - only yesterday the BBC yesterday noted Europe faces '<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35794563" target="_blank">the biggest migration crisis since the second world war</a>'<br />
<br />
Do we once again consider the states of Europe as 'tyrannies' as in the words of 'Rule Britannia', holding up our own model monarchy as the best example of statehood? Is our constitutional monarchy a model state, with a Royal family its emblem of nationhood? Can we truly hold up our royal family, the embodiment of 'rank and privelege', our reduced status as no longer 'Citizens of Europe', to 'British subjects' a move away from 'Britons never, never, never shall be slaves'? <br />
<br />
While our press depicts Angela Merkel as<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/12/angela-merkel-elections-refugee-crisis-far-right" target="_blank"> 'under pressure' from the far right in Germany</a>', my understanding is that, particularly given its recent history, most in Germany (and Europe) have great compassion and support the huge numbers of refugees entering their country. In contrast, the British government response has been compassion and support for increased border patrols.<br />
<br />
We would do well to remember why the European Union was formed, and consider exactly what freedoms it has afforded many people in Britain and Europe. We need to loose any romantic view of nationhood and consider exactly what 'Brexit' means for us as individuals in a democracy, and as citizens.</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-2516807849132773242016-02-26T21:03:00.003+00:002016-02-26T21:14:21.751+00:00Punished by rewards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EXCSHETOfklpaJsboxvc3pC3En2Nxt0pFfStsD8nev_YCvEyiTNdS0lFQFcCE26f7w-EJ2P95nIv-5mHa00sfJJYnp33Sw-QyqNPtcWBwyoRJRYWV2Vz3Co3CnGS21NoUagMNWAmzCbK/s1600/Pavlov%2527s_dog_conditioning.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EXCSHETOfklpaJsboxvc3pC3En2Nxt0pFfStsD8nev_YCvEyiTNdS0lFQFcCE26f7w-EJ2P95nIv-5mHa00sfJJYnp33Sw-QyqNPtcWBwyoRJRYWV2Vz3Co3CnGS21NoUagMNWAmzCbK/s320/Pavlov%2527s_dog_conditioning.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Image thanks </span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pavlov%27s_dog_conditioning.svg" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Maxxl</a></td></tr>
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Alfie Kohn's 'Unconditional Parenting' was something of a Eureka moment for our parenting. While our firstborn responded well to rewards, parenting advice inherited, absorbed and internalised, just didn't work for number two. And so we came across Alfie Kohn, who in a funny kind of way confirmed a lot of what we thought, but weren't brave enough to do.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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We weren't interested in turning our kids into Pavlovs' dogs. We didn't want to use rewards and punishments to control them - 'do this and you get that'. We wanted our children to learn to make informed choices for themselves. We want them to work well with others - to listen and to express their own opinion in a respectful way. We want them to feel valued. Punishments and rewards just don't do that.<br />
<br />
<div>
Alfie Kohn's philosophy doesn't beat around the bush. What it requires is healthy portions of humble pie and at times, sometimes backing down (shock horror!). Loosing the naughty step was relatively easy, but 'logical consequences' and 'time to reflect' can be thinly veiled punishments needing to be questioned too.<br />
<br />
Our relationship with our children changed, but although still it is tempting to head for the 'shortcut' reward, valuing our children's opinion and acting on it has paid off both in our relationship with them and in their learning to get on with anyone.<br />
<br />I can see for teaching a class, maybe there are more challenges to a more 'Alfie Kohn' approach, but what strikes me is his approach to motivation and how we, as educators, strive for motivated students:<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'One of the central myths we carry around in our heads is that there is this single entity called “motivation” that one can have more or less of. And of course we want kids to have more of it, so we offer them A’s, praise, and pizza. The truth is that there are qualitatively different kinds of motivation. We need to stop asking “How motivated are my students?” and start asking “How are my students motivated?” The kind of motivation elicited by extrinsic inducements isn’t just less effective than intrinsic motivation; it threatens to erode that intrinsic motivation, that excitement about what one is doing.'<a href="http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/punished-rewards-article/">http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/punished-rewards-article/</a> </blockquote>
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Part of #29daysofwriting <a href="http://staffrm.io/@marcusbelben" target="_blank">@staffrm</a><br />
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-55477572697003777402016-02-25T12:37:00.000+00:002016-02-25T12:43:41.637+00:00Linguistics 2.0<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19nhxYCI8C-dASvS4pOSqAQDCar6lmBSPOtL4zpy_zZ3gTbvNKEdxyyyj1TMTR-MRNr7UdZcmx1X937NHnIAlFaCAIVq16jOvSfLV_qVQvS9FMhhDadv31MiVvmYye-TtY46Lz0LMeEv3/s1600/IMG_20160224_135706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19nhxYCI8C-dASvS4pOSqAQDCar6lmBSPOtL4zpy_zZ3gTbvNKEdxyyyj1TMTR-MRNr7UdZcmx1X937NHnIAlFaCAIVq16jOvSfLV_qVQvS9FMhhDadv31MiVvmYye-TtY46Lz0LMeEv3/s320/IMG_20160224_135706.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I came across this plaque as I wondered over to Westmere House - a relatively quiet corner of Edgbaston Campus. My memory of COBUILD is of the people I knew who worked there, endlessly scanning and transcribing books, magazines, newspapers, all for the greater good of the English language.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
It was the birth of a new approach to linguistics - At the time COBUILD began (1980s/1990s) 'computational linguistics' required a large bank of people doing the work of finding the 'words' in their context. Now, with the internet as it is, computer power and algorythms so common, it's hard to imagine a time before (without the help of youtube).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/eiuc/article/download/eiuc0707110009a/7759" target="_blank">John Sinclair</a> worked on 'collocation' and 'cooccurance' - where and when words occur, with which other ones, and why - led to the COBUILD Dictionary, printed on paper. Now even the concept of a paper dictionary seem old hat - how can a dictionary remain up-to-date, if it's printed more than a year ago? Is it because now we demand the 'latest' word meanings, or that language is developing faster?<br />
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At the time (the early 1990s) I remember lively discussions on how heavily weighted the meanings of words should be based on the opinions of 'experts', and how much on their current usage - this argument, in linguistic terms, seems old hat.<br />
<br />
John Sinclair's legacy has been huge, and is alive and well, if mainly online.<br />
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Part of #29daysofwriting <a href="http://staffrm.io/@marcusbelben" target="_blank">@staffrm</a></div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-38288196199352249892016-02-23T21:32:00.000+00:002016-02-23T21:36:40.188+00:00Technology is the answer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paganel School Council construct a teacher</td></tr>
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It's easy to get lost in a good solution, and loose track of the question: to get all wrapped up in something really cool, to realise it's not actually doing what you want. If technology is the answer, then what's the question?<br />
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That's when you need to return to your purpose, or find out what other people think. But sometimes the process of loosing yourself in a 'technology', is exactly what will return you to your question.<br />
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Take the image to the right - it's a teacher made from a bag of old junk I can't throw away - you know, the phone adapter collection in the shed, my valuable cardboard box collection. I gave it to the school council <a href="http://paganelparents.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/pip-award.html">to make a teacher</a> from, and this is what they came up with. Whether it is actually a good representation of a teacher is less important - the conversations it developed were what was interesting. From the exercise we discussed what a perfect teacher should be.<br />
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By definition technology is the practical application of knowledge (as in the above example, making a teacher). In an education setting, I use a range of different 'technologies', and don't always pick the right one first. The problems it throws up hopefully leads to a more thorough examination of the purpose, and an iterative process, to determine the best 'technology'. <br />
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So, for example, is the best way to record a presentation filming it, using lecture capture, blog, twitter, voxpop interview, survey, or some combination of all of these? Who should be doing it, and how much support do they need? What exactly will it be used for after? How much time or effort can you afford? Will it be public, private, for a particular audience or archived for an as yet unknown audience?<br />
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Each 'iteration' of the technology will bring new questions to light, and each iteration hopefully nearer a 'better solution'. Technology is the answer, and can even guide you to the right questions.<br />
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(in part a response to <a href="http://frogphilp.com/blog/?p=1569">@frogphilp</a>) <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Part of #29daysofwriting </span><a href="http://staffrm.io/stories/discover" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@Staffrm</a></div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-59603378915120294302016-02-19T23:24:00.000+00:002016-03-16T21:32:38.088+00:00Pacifism in the 21st century<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Is Jeremy Corbyn too much of a 'pacifist' to lead our army to wars? Or could the problem be there just aren't enough pacifists in charge?<br />
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I much admired <a href="https://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/drones-week-of-action/" target="_blank">John Hull</a>'s social activism, but was less sure on his stand against the use of drones in warfare. But now I come to admire his foresight too, wondering just where use of drones is going - separating out human decisions from military actions.<br />
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In Syria we see the increased use of targetted bombing with devestating effect on citizens, and an alarming increase in the scale of the war. As we, and the soldiers, become more detached from the actions, so it seems the atrocities increase in number and scale.<br />
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Kosovo, with it's much criticised 'safe zones' striked me as an example of a form of 'pacifism in action' - not 'absolute' pacifism, but nearer '<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/against/pacifism_1.shtml" target="_blank"><span id="goog_665766725"></span>conditional pacifism<span id="goog_665766726"></span></a>'<br />
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In law courts during World War one the measure of a pacifist was, 'Would you save your mum if...'<br />
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For an absolute pacifist the response would be that use of force should never be used, but for many other pacifists, use of 'reasonable force' to defend is sometimes necessary.<br />
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For me, it comes back to 'reasonable' actions, and the further the human is from the action, the harder it is to make a reasonable decision. That would clearly make trident, or any weapon of mass destruction, a non-pacifist solution. It also places 'humanitarian' action as a priority, and not an after thought.<br />
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Former pacifist heads of state include Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and, before the first world war even <a href="http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Lloyd-George/" target="_blank">Lloyd George</a> took a pacifist line, so why is it seen as so radical for Corbyn?<br />
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For children, pacifism has perhaps always been an easy concept to grasp. 'The Silver Sword' from 1956, and pretty much any Michael Morpurgo book touches on themes of both the futility of war and it's impact on children. While still shocking, it paints a clear picture - Woodcraft Folk (of which Jeremy Corbyn was a member) is still, and from its outset in 1925 was, a pacifist youth movement. We have no trouble discussing war and pacifism with our members.<br />
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I hope more pacifists in government will make their position clear, and that their views are respected.<br />
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-87469252969397776282016-02-17T16:42:00.002+00:002016-02-17T16:59:35.990+00:00Making important things happen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Perhaps strategy is something I should have started my #29daysofwriting with, but maybe I felt that might restrict how I wrote - is that really a strength and/or weakness of strategies?<br />
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So here I am, day 17, having read <span style="background-color: white; color: #aaaaaa; font-family: "helveticaneue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 17.28px; white-space: nowrap;">@helenrogerson80 </span>on staffrm, and possibly with strategy in mind from budget training, and recent work meetings, considering the value of strategies and how they are implemented.<br />
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When I worked as a Creative Agent in Schools I hacked through dense SIPs and SEPs with SLTs to make sure there was 'whole school change' with creativity embedded. In the University we have the new 'Making important things happen' 5 year strategic framework, around which we build a range of careers strategy plans at a more 'operational' level.<br />
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As an educator, my first response to our strategy title was that it made no mention of 'people' or 'learning' - clearly important things in Higher Education. Closer examination of the document revealed a clearer 'vision' with some good examples of our 'purpose'. The detail is, of course, missing from this 'high level' strategy.<br />
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At the other end of our 'strategic spectrum' are the more 'operational' strategic plans, listing more specific objectives, goals and measurements. I have responsibilty for a 3 year 'online development strategy plan. We are are 18 months in to it, and have met many of our objectives - however many goals and measures are either no longer relevant, and many more added which contribute to our objectives. 'Making important things happen' didn't exist 18 months ago, and still more related 'lower level' strategic plans have come and gone in the past 18 months.<br />
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While <a href="https://hbr.org/2013/02/dont-let-strategy-become-plann" target="_blank"><span id="goog_1707809310"></span>a 'strategy' is a singular thing<span id="goog_1707809311"></span></a>, more fixed and clear, strategic planning is a 'management communication' of how strategic objectives can be met - as such, strategic planning must be forward-looking but not rigid. 'Strategic planning' are the details of how your strategy is to be met, and not the strategy itself.<br />
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Perhaps it wasn't a 'strategy' that might have restricred my blog writing, but an overly rigid strategic plan.<br />
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Part of #29daysofwriting <a href="http://staffrm.io/stories/discover">http://staffrm.io/stories/discover</a></div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-18528420066851717542016-02-16T09:32:00.000+00:002016-02-16T10:09:09.298+00:00Purse Strings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Food - the essential <a href="http://marcusbelben.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Holly1.html" target="_blank">building bricks of a school</a></td></tr>
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Finances and budgetary control were a mystery to me before yesterday's training, but the most important learning for me was about transpency. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Foucault" target="_blank">inextricable link between Power and Knowledge</a> came to mind, as I pondered my own complete lack of knowledge about my own institutions finances, or how they operated.<br />
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But then, to be fair, I don't think I've really gone out of my way to find out - Have I been floating around like the 'Despicable me' minions in their minion heaven, waiting to be assigned my task in someone elses gigantic world domination plan?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sponge structural problems</td></tr>
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It can be hard to encourage children to make comment and take responsibility of a school environment. In <a href="http://marcusbelben.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Holly1.html" target="_blank">one project in Frankley</a> I worked with the school council to encourage them to take a bigger role in their school. Looking back at previous minutes nearly all the discussions were based around school dinner - clearly an important part of their lives, but not the only aspect of their schooling I wanted to encourage them to at least comment on.<br />
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Food was an obvious starting point, so we began by making a school out of dinner leftovers - the convesations were great to listen to as they started to talk about what they were making, and there was a slight subversive edge to the activity, as each of the children asked permission to use the food type (luckly it was mainly pizza, jacket potatoes and sponge cake that day) and to handle and mould into a school together.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How does your cake measure up?</td></tr>
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We had started the conversations, and over the weeks the group began to ask more questions, express their opinions, and see more things in their school change thanks to their feedback. The permission to ask questions, and the ability to make changes in their school had always been there, but because the culture had been to only discuss food, the children only discussed food.<br />
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Going back to my own office environment, I suspect their is more 'information' available, both on the finances and in other ways - perhaps all that is needed for me to take more responsibility, and help develop a more transparent culture where everyone is used to asking the questions, turning the 'information' into 'knowledge' into 'power' to influence changes to '<a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2015/10/MakingimportantthingshappenUniversityofBirminghamunveilsinteractivefive-yearplan22-10-15.aspx" target="_blank">Make important things happen</a>'. <br />
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Part of #29daysofwriting <a href="http://staffrm.io/stories/discover" target="_blank">@Staffrm</a><br />
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Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790982737879823732.post-74553179285069919402016-02-13T16:44:00.002+00:002016-02-13T16:44:35.834+00:00The reflection room<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirror, mirror on the wall<br />
Snow White, 1937</td></tr>
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The problem we were discussing was enterprise. Our students are enterprising, but do they know it? How do we help them reflect on their learning, their 'enterprise'?<br />
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It's a problem for staff and students, both in recognition and understanding of their 'enterprising endeavour', and, perhaps more importantly, on reflection.<br />
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How are our students reflecting, and do we, as staff, lead, promote, demonstrate reflective practice?<br />
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Reflection room at my children's primary school is a punishment. You find the teacher (SLT) responsible that day, then you have a chat. Then you 'reflect' while seeing/hearing your class enjoying playtime.<br />
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The problem is you can't force anyone to reflect - you may actually be making things worse by teaching to bury emotions and disguise feelings. If ready to talk, then it might work, but how more likely are you to be defensive if you feel punished?<br />
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By its nature, you cannot determine what will be taken away from reflection. This is a strength, not a weakness of reflection. Guiding or judging reflection can undo its purpose.<br />
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Finally, and for me most importantly, 'reflection' does not necessarily mean spending time thinking by yourself. Maybe for some people this will work, but there is a danger 'thinking' time turns into 'brooding' time, and far from helping can entrench defensive behaviour.<br />
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I need a 'mirror' to help me reflect - for me that is mostly my (poor) partner, but can be forums like this one. That's why comments are so important to many bloggers like me. Maybe I'm not offering many solutions, right now - I think I'll need to reflect a bit more - comments welcome!<br />
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For more reflections, visit <a href="http://staffrm.io/stories/discover" target="_blank">staffrm</a>.</div>
Marcus Belbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15322412333421035936noreply@blogger.com2