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ZINE CONTENT -PLAIN TEXT VERSION
Front Cover
Camerados Zine Lite, All the human – fewer pages
Read by Camerados all around the world.
Slimmer than your grandmother’s patience, I’ve seen thicker leaflets during the war!’
Living rooms, living well!
The Cover stars of this edition are the Public Living Rooms, who took part in the Livewell Spring Festival happening all across Greater Manchester”
Communities, along with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, have been celebrating the trusted relationships at street level in communities and the places we use where we connect and look out for each other.
Manchester, Marple, Chorlton, Rochdale, Wigan, Wythenshawe, Cheetham Hill and Offerton.
Public Living Room Spotlight
Seaham
There is more than burgers and chips on offer at Hidden in the Harbour in Seaham. Every Wednesday from 10am – 1pm, the diner becomes a Public Living Room and opens its doors to everyone who may fancy a brew, a chat, or simply a bit of company. It’s already drawing a mix of folk of all ages and backgrounds, folk from 20 to 80 pop along who otherwise might spend the morning alone.
Local Camerado Maureen says
“It’s brilliant and just what we needed in Seaham, and you can see that by how many people are here today, people of all ages and they all have a story to tell. Everyone brings something to the table.”
Aylesham
Check out these ‘flippin’ fantastic pics from the Bechange community hubs Shrove Tuesday Public Living Room last week. Where they shared Thai pancakes with each other!
A few Camerados were feeling flat that morning, but felt much ‘batter’ after popping along to the PLR.
Read on for ‘stacks’ of stories from the movement and more ‘crepe’ puns! (We’ll get our coats)
Lochgilphead
Looking out for each other and the faint smell of half-dunked ginger nuts was definitely in the air this week, when Lochgilhead had their belated Valentine’s Day celebration!
During Monday’s Public Living Room, Rik got down on one knee to give Winston a ‘Will you be my Camerado card’ in the middle of scoffing a biscuit. How thoughtful of him.
Winston initially thought Rik was offering him a half-eaten biscuit and that Rik was planning to flee the scene. But the chair was too comfy, and the offer of camaraderie was too good to refuse.
Is there ever a wrong time to ask someone to be your camerado? We don’t think so! What do you think?
Coalville
Do you ever have an itch to change things around? You know, mix up the cushions? Move the sofa against another wall just for the devil of it? Well, the Coalville Camerados have scratched that itch by refreshing their Public Living Room with some homemade artwork and a fresh lick of paint. More than 20 amazing people gave their time and skills!
Thanks to this collective effort, the ground floor is now open 7 days a week with something for everyone. If you are in the area, pop in anytime to meet others or simply spend some time. Wait, there’s more! You can even have a pee for free! And a brew. No need to ferret around for those 20ps at the bottom of your bag. That’s right! Free pees and teas, and you don’t have to spend a penny (except for when you do! hang on, we’ve confused ourselves).
Hastings
The Camerados in The Common Room, Hastings, UK, have always been some of the most wonderful, enthusiastic folk in our movement, but the extent of the commitment at Eagle House just blows us away!
After a £4 million refurbishment, the doors are open, and right there on the ground floor, front and centre, is a Public Living Room they’ve truly made their own. It’s the kind of place you’d pop in for 5 minutes and end up staying all day.
The folk in the shed popped down for the grand opening, and it really is the most wonderful place! So much so that we nearly checked Rightmove on the way home as it made us want to live in Hastings immediately.
Cumnock
Our Camerados at The Nest Wellbeing Group in Cumnock got together with Paul from the Cumnock Tryst to make some music, right there in the place they felt most comfortable: their Public Living Room.
They had a wonderful time, wrote a song together, and even named their band Organica!
Perhaps one day they’ll write a song about how useful fig rolls are. Who knows.
Do you do anything in your Public Living Room that you don’t do anywhere else?
Boston USA
“In a time when building community can feel a bit tricky, these small, welcoming hang-out spaces really matter,” say the Boston Camerados, who have started a stitch-and-mend at their Public Living Room.
They wanted folk to experience the same creative freedom many of us remember from recess or playtime at school, sitting around a table, doing something with your hands, chatting when you feel like it. Lots of folk do creative things in their Public Living Room, and many people find it easier to chat with others while their hands are busy.
In the UK, we used to get creative during ‘wet playtime’. When it was too soggy to play outside!
(Which, despite popular belief, doesn’t happen every day. It’s mostly just… overcast here. Sorry. Weather moan.)
Back cover
A living room like no other
The doodled Public Living Room is on the move again, and this time it was at the Market Place in Great Yarmouth that had been transformed into a Mario Kart Tournament by the epic local initiatives Walk and Talk EA and the Représent Project. Amid the excitement, it was lovely to see a space to pause for a moment, pick up a felt-tip pen, and let your creativity breathe freely. Have you seen the sofa now?
This is what Artist Joey La Meche had to say.
“I was lucky enough to oversee the Doodle Lounge, a creative, interactive space that encourages everyone and anyone to participate, irrespective of age, background, or skill.”
Well, Sofa so good, Joey. I wonder where it will be heading next? Keep an eye on our socials for more.
Reprezent Project is a Great Yarmouth-based arts group all about bringing people together through making stuff side by side. Their latest creation, The Doodle Public Living Room, popped up at Gorleston Pavilion and turned a regular Public Living Room into a full-on colouring book! Yes, even the sofa. Made with artist Joey La Mèche, whose work mixes design, philosophy and big, bold murals, it invited people to pick up some Sharpie markers, have a chat, and just be together. There was a special welcome for dads and dads-to-be, too. Now it’s heading out on the road, ready for more people to leave their mark.
Would you like to be a Strawberry?
WE NEED YOU!
Erm….what???
You may notice that the next Zine you receive is smaller; well, our central team may be shrinking as funding gets ever tighter. So we can’t rely on the central team to play such a big role in growing the movement – we need YOU! It’s the natural step for our NEXT ten years!
If each public living room behaved like a strawberry plant and reached out its arms (leaves?!) and grew a new one somewhere else in its neighbourhood, which in turn spawned another one, and so on, then we’d achieve our aim of putting this tiny and life-saving idea on every street on the planet!
So ask yourself, does your local hospital have a public living room? or your Library? or the Park? Would they inspire others, too? It’s already happening in places like Wigan, Norwich, Blacksburg/Virginia and elsewhere. If you want to be a Strawberry, get in touch at cuppa@camerados.org