The reading seat at Queenswood Country Park

Arrived #localgovcamp. Nice venue.

Just testing

#Shropshire folk please help

carrot flyer.pdf Download this file

We'd like you to print out a copy of this poster and ask your local post office, newsagent or general stores to display it for us.

Thanks so much.

Next time we'll give you a bit more warning

Special newsletter

Our next network meeting is on 7th June 2011.

We are so keen to make sure as many people as possible come that we have sent out a special edition of our newsletter.

Which you can find here. 

More WAGHackday pictures #museumhack

WAGHackday begins

Benthall: Nick speaks to the nation

Shrewsbury Jelly: paying the rent

Every month a motley collection of homeworkers gather together in Shrewsbury and work alongside each other for a day. This is Jelly. Which is a curious name but a great concept. In Shrewsbury we use rooms at Reviive CIC a newish social enterprise on the Battlefield Trading Estate.

They don’t charge us; which is fantastic. They do incur some costs though. We hammer their wifi, turn their electricity into heat and there is an opportunity cost of them losing paying customers. Now Reviive is pretty relaxed about all this but clearly this isn’t the most sustainable model.

We don’t really have a model where we could pay them in actual cash. Jelly is steadfastly free. We can’t do what some other places have done and give them an income by purchasing lunches or so on. So I’ve been talking to one of Reviive’s directors about ways in which we could pay our way, without money.

And this is our proposal:

On 9th May we will hold a special Jelly with a timetable something like this:

 

• 1000-12 noon: Ordinary Jelly
• 1200-1300: Bring and share lunch and a chat with Reviive staff about the business
• 1300-1600(ish): We will organise two workshops:
  - a workshop to develop an online marketing plan for Reviive
  - a focus group allowing a director from Reviive the chance to talk about the business as a whole
• 1600(ish): We’ll all get back together to talk about what we’ve found and to have a full discussion
• 1700: We’ll all go home

 

This agenda is subject to change following a discussion that I hope you will join in with.

Please comment below, or e-mail ben@likeaword.co.uk or tweet with the #tag #jellyrent.

Here are some principles we thought would be a good starter for 10.

- we need to be clear on the tasks to deliver

- we will aim to deliver useful outputs which can be directly implemented

- our involvement stops at the end of the workshop, individuals might volunteer to help out with Reviive but that will be outside of this process.

- we don’t promise that this will work 

 

Any more principles? Let us know.

Flora – l spring at Benthall Hall

So my dog (@kiaword) was released into an unsuspecting garden. She is not conducive to excellence in photography. Her fascination with whatever I am fascinated with is endearing unless I am trying to capture its beauty without the inclusion of 20 kilos of black and white energy. Frankly.

And the Myrtles hadn’t survived the frost. Nick wasn’t delighted to see me capturing his horticultural shame on camera. 

And he had nothing of use to say about Galanthus (snowdrops to you and me) except that they are called Galanthus.

But it was good to be back and to see George Maws’ crocuses poking their heads out.

Do you want to photograph the rhubarb? Nick asked. 

Can you believe that I nearly said no?

See the full gallery on Posterous