xsunnysuex
Life is a horizontal fall.
I saw Mothercare shop all cleared out and gone. I knew they were in trouble. But..
Brixton news, rumours and general chat: Summer - Autumn 2018
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hiraethified
That whole strip is going - expect the gentrified worst to come.
xsunnysuex
Life is a horizontal fall.
Is that new market shop units thingy in the old job centre only temporary then?
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hiraethified
Yep. They had to change their 'Brixton Market' name too as it was potentially misleading.
xsunnysuex
Life is a horizontal fall.
Blimey. So what are they planning for along there then? Does anyone know? And poundland going too I suppose.
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hiraethified
I heard - although not confirmed - that Phonox would be going too...Blimey. So what are they planning for along there then? Does anyone know? And poundland going too I suppose.
xsunnysuex
Life is a horizontal fall.
sparkybird
ask the bird...
Running a successful crowd funding campaign takes man/women/person power and skills. Given their tight annual budget, I would imagine they couldn't buy in expertise for this, so probably tried to do it themselves and/or with volunteers and then found out.....
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hiraethified
Well, we gave it plenty of publicity - Brixton’s Black Cultural Archives launches crowdfunding campaign to secure the future of UK’s first Black heritage centreRunning a successful crowd funding campaign takes man/women/person power and skills. Given their tight annual budget, I would imagine they couldn't buy in expertise for this, so probably tried to do it themselves and/or with volunteers and then found out.....
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
they were handing out 15% off flyers outside the tube on sat for 'Brixton Mall' - not sure what they are selling in there yet
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hiraethified
Vape supplies, nail bar and some sort of food is what I've seen so far. It's a pretty grim looking, low-rent affair, put together on a really low budget.
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
I don't know why you are being so aggressive about this.Oh it's let's be sarky time along with some selective quoting while ignoring the other points I raised. Nice.
Now tell me how the fuck you know who 'my demographic' supposedly are? How can you have an idea of who I've been talking to? Back up or button up.
But no, I wouldn't call a community based organisation who only managed to reach 2% of their crowdfunding appeal for funds to to stay open a raging success.
Oh, and IIRC correctly there was a discussion on Reclaim Brixton a while ago where many locals said that they were disappointed with the BCA. But if you think it's doing a great job, that's fine.
snowy_again has a good point - I really don't think you and I as older white locals who know a bit about history are the 'demographic' the BCA needs to impress. I'm well aware I'm not personally the target 'demographic' anywhere in Brixton these days but thats ok.
Well I often see school groups heading to/from there - surely they are the most important target audience here? and weren't BCA central to some of the events in the square like the war memorial events over the last few years and the recent windrush demo?
I thought The BCA function was exactly that a black cultural archive - so surely thats primarily about education and being a repository of historic stuff. I have no idea how well they are doing with that, but I wouldn't judge them on the sucess of their cafe or their 'crowd funding' savvy.
We can't expect every small organisation to be able to do everything that everyone wishes for - especially in these days of cuts, cuts, red tape and accountablity. I think fundraising is tricky for any small community organisation so I don't think we should beat any small charity up about that.
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
I wonder who all the new chains are that the likes of Network rail think will pay their inflated rents.
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Brixton Hill
I got bored of people giving me their advice/opinion/suggestions on how the social enterprise I had been assisting (unpaid) could do/be better etc., so I started saying "are you volunteering to do that?" or "who would do that, are you volunteering?" or "no, we would need a volunteer to do that, is that you?". I used to be super polite and just nod and go 'thanks'. "you should raise some more money" - thanks, hadn't thought of that....
lefteri
Well-Known Member
Fuck really? I would be surprised as the owners are a large company in nightlife terms and I would imagine they spent a fair bit of money on that refit - I wouldn’t imagine they would go lightly
aka
Brixton Hill
won't be NRs problem, as they will have sold them off. but, to answer the question - the answer is "non-existent" or more likely "fabricated" in the prospectus for the sell off.
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hiraethified
Just walked past. Mothercare is closing, the Brixton Grill has gone, the Job Centre is now that temporary Mall, so there's only the Poundland and Phonox left...
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Brixton Hill
I imagine the lawyers are dusting off the lease.
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hiraethified
I'm pissed off with his tone because he's making the fucking massive and wholly incorrect assumption that the only people I've talked to about the BCA are what he dismisses as "my demographic.' I find that deeply patronising. I've lived on a Brixton council estate for nearly 30 years and I talk to residents and friends from all backgrounds all the time. And I know plenty of people around Brixton too. And guess what? They're not all from 'my demographic,' whatever that is.
And for the last time: I'm not judging the success of the place by its cafe earnings, although I can't imagine anyone involved can be pleased with the low footfall and takings. Please read the other points I raised in my post.
And just to get some perspective here: I'm not saying the place is a failure or not doing a good service. I'm just expressing an opinion I've heard many times that it's not as engaging as some people hoped, for a variety of reasons.
The fact that they've had to apply for more funding to make changes to their business model to ensure they can continue would suggest that things aren't going as well as they hoped.
lefteri
Well-Known Member
What about barnardo’s, isn’t that part of the same estate?
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hiraethified
I think that's still open but I didn't check.
lefteri
Well-Known Member
I’d be quite upset if that closed, a fair portion of my wardrobe and a not insignificant part of my record collection have come from there
aka
Brixton Hill
hmmm, you don't have a slightly soiled black (size small) motorcycle jacket do you? Or a copy of Stars by Simply Red?
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hiraethified
I've got a half ton of clothes to take down there so I hope they stay open!
lefteri
Well-Known Member
Same here!
aka
Brixton Hill
I know - but did you buy my copy of Stars? To be fair, even the staff weren't interested in that.
Moving to under the Arches or going ?
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hiraethified
Why do you think they would be 'moving under the arches'?
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