Co-operative Food Alternatives

Article in The Guardian 10th December
"Supermarkets? No, thanks. Local food-buying cooperatives, which cut out the middlemen between producers and consumers, are taking the country by storm. But how do they work, and how do you set one up? Tom Moggach reports." Link.
The piece features a picture of members of Unicorn Co-operative Grocery, Manchester which is actually a workers co-operative and not a community consumer co-op. It's also the joint winner of this year's BBC Radio 4 Food & Farming Awards as Best Local Retailer which doesn't get mentioned in the article.

Film Co-op's First Christmas

Manchester Film Co-operative shows intrigueing and thought provoking films and on Tuesday 16th December they'll be showing a "series of short films will include the doccumentary Au Rez-de-chaussee de la ville [Ground floor of the city] which documents the ecoBox project." Followed by music, food and xmas spirit. All this for £3 at the King's Arms, Salford. The room the films are shown in is a fabulous late Victorian treasure too.
Details.

Co-op at Festival of Britain

There is a good post at Hayes Peoples History called The Lansbury Estate 1951 though the best bit for me is the CWS Furniture for your new flat - cheerful optimism in an age of austerity.

"The three-piece is of entirely new design, consisting of a settee, one armchair, intended for the man—comfort being the key-note—and the other for the woman, which gives firm support to the back and ample elbow room for sewing, knitting and the other spare-time occupations which fall to the lot of the housewife."

Lots of other good stories at the blog about local Labour Parties, sports activities, trade unions, demonstrations - helpful index at the side to assist the casual browser.