Hacktionlab 2012 - 21/22 January
HacktionLab is UK tech-activist run project that aims to create regular convergence spaces where activists interested and/or working in the areas of alternative media, renewable energy, on-line video distribution, free software or any other form of activism that utilises technology can get together and plan how to better harness the technology (or not) to support grass roots social movements.
HacktionLab is also working to create a roadshow of outreach workshops and discussion spaces that can be run alone or as part of a larger event.
This is our regular Winter gathering, once again at the 1 in 12 Club. Do come along and get involved in the workshops, discussions, planning and socialising.
More information about the event here.
Spreading the love...
As the 1in12 Fire drama chugs on through the snow, wind and ice of our wonderful Bratfud climate, we want to say a massive thankyou for all of the support we have been getting and give a quick update on how we are getting along. Without the support we have received from so many of you near and far, we wouldn't have had a cat in hells chance of getting to the stage we are now at where succesfully fending off legal action from the fire brigade and having a building that meets all of the required fire safety standards seems achievable.
Support has come in many ways, from the vanloads of people arriving from the annexed Bratfud territory of Leeds on a regular basis to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in, to the skilled volunteers who have managed to build solid new fire walls without the aid of sellotape or bluetack for once, and of course to those who have donated funds to pay for the materials we have needed to get the job done. Without this assistance, we would never have been able to raise the required funds before the deadline, meaning certain closure until we could (and no means of generating any income in the meantime). We have been awestruck by the scale of the response with people chipping in a few quid (and some substantial amounts) here and there from all over the country and the world. For those that have left us contact details, we will be getting in touch as soon as we can to thank you personally.
There are some special mentions to make in addition to those we have thanked previously. Firstly, to the people of the klub Gromka collective from Ljubljana, Slovenia who sent us some cash and wrote us the following message of support:
"We are a small diy club @ AKC Metelkova city and in the past we had the opportunity to host a number of bands and individuals who are directly or indirectly associated with your club and program. We are fighting with various inspections and the attempts of legalization by the City for years, so your situation is certainly familiar to us:) Therefore we would like to contribute as best we can - donate a sum of money that would help you at least partially with the cost while arranging fire safety legislation"
We hope that this will be an opportunity for us to grow close links into the future, and we will definitely be in touch soon to find out more about your space and how we can work together.
We'd also like to give a special thanks to our friends at the Star and Shadow cinema in Newcastle for arranging a benefit curry night for us, and again we hope to forge a much closer relationship between our spaces soon as sisters braving the grim North together.
The response we have had from many of the bands that play here has been amazing too, with many artists and distros donating money from the sale of their CD's to the fighting fund, and some even putting together special benefit compilations for our benefit. We will link to these from the club website as soon as we gather the required number of monkeys and typewriters into one room (hopefully this weekend once we have compiled all the correct links) and this presents a great opportunity to support the club and listen to some amazing music at the same time. We are incredibly grateful to all the bands for this from Onsind to Anthrax (this years Means to an End legends) and beyond. Stay posted for further details of this and the Print Projects donation of limited edition printed postcards/badges to benefit the fund.
So, as for what is currently on the menu in terms of the work we are doing, it has been all hands on deck for several weeks now. We have managed to fill 2 skip loads of soggy destroyed books, bits of chair legs that "might be useful one day", empty tins of paint dated 1985, a rocking horse that made several small children cry and all manner of weird and wonderful items that were previously blocking up the fire escapes. The building has been cleaned, cleared, spat on then polished again and has not looked so good (and importantly has not looked so much like a deadly fire hazard) for a long time now.
Next week the new prefabricated fire exit doors will be delivered and we will be ripping out the old ones to replace them. The joiners have done an amazing job in creating the new fire walls and storage space for the cellar to avoid blocking the exits, and we have finally bought the new fire door and frame for the cellar which will be fitted soon. The walls and alcove leading into the gig floor have been repaired and prepared for plastering which will be happening early next week, and the weird and wonderful array of extension leads, knackered wiring and precarious balancing acts that represented the stage lighting system has been taken apart ready to be refitted properly. Doors have been repaired and intumescent strips fitted and the work on the electrics and wiring in the bar has begun in earnest. The Leeds crew did a fantastic job of sorting out vanloads of scrap metal to be weighed in and contribute funds to the cause (and made some mean veggie sausage sandwiches for the workers whilst they were at it) and sorting out the signage for the fire exits is underway. Both fire escapes have been scrubbed to within an inch of their lives, clearing out the historical records of fag ends and other combustible stuff that was picked up on during the inspection, and a proper recycling area has been made in the cellar so we dont have mounds of cardboard and other such things all over the place. All over the club, lots of little jobs such as clearing and creating proper storage spaces and generally making the building look like a place that people really care about are being done which all adds up to one huge job, and the efforts of everyone involved have been heroic (particularly the energy drink fiend and Mr man-flu - you know who you are!).
In terms of what is still to do, there is a slight lull whilst we await delivery of the new doors and whilst the plastering is completed, then after that we will be back on with painting and decorating the new doors and areas, and other such things, then just before the inspection we will be arranging a mass deep clean of the club to ensure that the before-and-after image in the fire officers mind will be so starkly improved that it will show beyond any doubt that we take this enforcement notice seriously and that a club without bosses or masters can be an equal or more (in terms of both safety and functionality) to any public or privately funded venue out there.
The 23rd December this year is our winter party. There will be mulled Buckfast, hopefully some bands (sobriety permitting) and lots of loud music in the company of the most amazing people we know, our members and their guests. Last year was a truly epic event, and we hope that this year will be even better as we raise a glass to all of you who have supported us both at the present time and through 30 years of music and mayhem. See you there...
The 1in12 Club loves The Cowley Club - Official!!
A quick update to say a massive thankyou to our friends down south in Bradford-on-sea (Brighton) at the Cowley Club who last night raised £150 quid for the fire fighting fund with a benefit night - the skip currently filling up with flammable 30 year old crust outside the building has been made possible by your efforts. Once again, the show of solidarity from all of you is very much appreciated and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Huge thanks also to those who have been sending in cheques to the club and donating online. It has been amazing to see the support from near and far, and we will try to respond to those who have sent personal letters of support as soon as we can. It has been brilliant to hear all the stories from people who have had some form of connection to this club over it's 30 year history, and to see the affection that people have for the place and what it means to them.
Once we have more of an overview of the work completed this week and what is left to do we will update everyone with this information to the lists, in the meantime people are down here working all day thursday (8th December), friday and over the weekend so if you are passing by, drop in and say hello.
Update on Donating to the 1in12 club
Hello members and friends
This is a brief update to give out some further information on making donations to the fire safety fighting fund. Please help us to circulate this email as far and wide as you can through your networks.
Many of you have emailed the club asking for a way to donate online, specifically for us to set up a Paypal account to make this possible. Unfortunately, this presents a problem.
During the recent Wikileaks witch-hunt, Paypal were complicit in shutting down their donations account and freezing their funds. They have also been active for many years in shutting down the accounts of other groups fighting for social, environmental and animal rights. For this reason, the members of the 1in12 felt it was inappropriate to use their service (funding them through a commission in the process), as no matter how bad things get with our current crisis, we mustn't lose sight of the things that make the club what it is.
This obviously leaves us with the problem of how to collect online donations, and sending cheques/postal orders is not ideal for everybody. In order to plug this gap we are sending out our bank account details and asking those who wish to make a donation to use their online/telephone banking service (or even to pop down to their local branch) to transfer funds directly to the account.
Please reference any payments with the word DONATION as this will be needed when we do our end of year accounts.
Our bank is the Co-operative Bank
Account Name: 1 in 12 Club
Account Number: 50209194
Sort Code: 08-90-72
Please contact the club if you are overseas and need our IBAN number or need any further information.
Many thanks for the support we are receiving, we are well on the way to keeping our 30 years of music and mayhem alive and kicking into the future.
Liberty, Equality, Solidarity
The 1in12 Club
Regulatory snafu update 05.12.2011
To the members and supporters of The 1in12 Club
This is a short update following on from last weeks call-out to get the work
that we need to do in order to fend off legal action by the fire brigade (and
the threat of closure) completed. Apologies for the unusually high volume of
emails arriving from the main 1in12 list, but with so many enquiries coming in this is
the best way to keep everyone up to date with the progress that we are making.
First of all, we need to say a massive thankyou for the support that people
have been giving, which has come in a variety of ways. A small army of people
have been reposting our callout to all corners of the internet and through word
of mouth, and it has meant that the message has reached the widest possible
audience. This has in the past week been transformed into concrete offers of
help and we cannot overstate the importance of this. The solidarity that has
been shown has been overwhelming and has lifted the morale of those who have
been working long hours for no reward other than the retention of our shared
autonomous space.
So in terms of what has been done so far, thanks to volunteers with the
required skills coming down we have gotten on top of the electrical work that
needs doing and have already replaced many of the broken fire escape lights.
The additional plug sockets needed in the bar (which is currently a mass of
cabling and extension leads running around the room) have been acquired and are
to be fitted next week. A plasterer has pledged to donate their time in order
to fix up the alcoves into the gig floor. The lift shafts have been sealed
along with all the holes in the walls of the fire escape and plans are in
progress for replacing the fire exit doors (made possible through a £1000
donation from the cafe collective who deserve special thanks!).
Much of the clearing of the junk around the building (particularly the attic)
has been done leaving only the monster job of clearing the cellar to do. A
great start has been made on deep cleaning the fire escape and clearing it of
flammable materials, ready to be repainted and disabled refuge areas marked in.
A start has been made on repairing the doorframes for the intumescent strips to
be refitted to the fire doors.
In terms of what is left to do, we are veering towards leaving only the two
really huge tasks: fitting additional storage and other joinery work needed in
the cellar in order to clear the area at the base of the lift shaft, and the
repainting of the fire escape. Both of these may sound simple to do, but anyone
who has been in either area recently will attest to the scale of this job.
Many people have been down to offer their time and our thanks go out to them.
People have been joining the 1in12 maintenance list to offer help and if you
missed the original callout, this can be signed up to at
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/1in12maintenance
There are people at the club most days at the moment but if you want to pitch
in, it is best to arrange this on the maintenance list to ensure that the
building will definitely be open.
The most urgent practical things we need at present are volunteers with
joinery/carpentry skills, and anyone who can wield a mop and bucket to stunning
effect (to get the fire escape ready to paint). Also anyone who can help out
with clearing out various areas are currently in high demand.
Many thanks are due to all those who have sent us donations to cover the costs
of the materials. This is really saving our skin as the costs are steadily
rising with every new bit of work we start, and some aspects of the job may
need to be delayed until we can raise the cash to get them done - with a 6 week
deadline approaching this will become a real problem soon. Many people have
contacted us asking if there is a way to pitch in online and we are working on
this, in the meantime cheques made out to the 1in12 club or postal orders
posted to the club would be highly appreciated.
The response that this latest threat to the club has generated has proved
beyond any doubt the love that people have for our shared space, and the need
for us to get this work done to get the threat of legal action lifted. It has
been inspiring to read the emails of support and meeting the people who have
been popping down to help - as well as the usual suspects we have had some
travelling from far away to help out for the day, some members who haven't been
around for years but have reappeared to join the effort, and some new faces who
have never even been before but heard about the plight of the club and wanted
to show their solidarity.
Liberty, Equality, Solidarity
The 1in12 Club
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/1in12maintenance
https://lists.riseup.net/www/subscribe/1in12maintenance
30th Anniversary Ale available now
Awesome New Mural Situation Batman!
F*cebook, M*space, Local Radio & all forms of gossip.
Club Membership and how it affects you.
Belonging to the 1in12 Club makes you a participant in, and part-owner of, our project to show that ordinary people can organise themselves to provide their own cultural and social space within a system dominated by unsustainable traditions of exploitation (of both people and resources) and marginalisation (in our case with particular reference to unemployed and low-income individuals, arising from the club’s origins in the high-unemployment era of the last Tory administration – but also involving other forms of discrimination along lines of race, gender, age and so on…)
The Membership Club status we have makes membership a requirement for anyone wishing to enter the premises while alcohol is available for sale, unless signed-in as a guest of a bona fide member (and this only possible six times a year).
All members have a responsibility to ensure this is meticulously adhered to.
Recently there have been (allegedly) incidences of gossip and babble on social networking sites, local radio and other outlets, to the effect that, for a given event, maximum attendance is required and the bureaucratic niceties of signing-in need not necessarily be observed.
Don’t believe the hype.
Anyone anywhere can say anything they like about the club, possibly for the facile reason of making their individual event a little more successful – to the detriment of the club generally, or, more worryingly, as a deliberate attempt to cause us problems with the regulatory authorities.
If you haven’t read it here it isn’t necessarily true.
If you want to plug your event here use the “Contact 1in12” link to the left and give us the info. If you put damaging disinformation on your Facebook or Myspace page (or anywhere else) then your event may have to be cancelled.
Decisions around how the club is run are made at open meetings on 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month (8.00 p.m.)
Further reading:
Legal Advice (which we cannot afford to pay for).
Our Friends Down South...
Hearing of our plight the excellent folk of The Cowley Club in Brighton are having a Sunday Roast on 19th December to aid the roof fund. It's almost worth a journey to the Harrogate of t'south, if only we weren't so busy fixing our knackered building.
We Salute You!
Memberships
Memberships are now up for renewal - if you've paid recently your cards will be waiting for you behind the bar, provided we've had a Sunday meeting to process your application.
The rest of us will have to fill in the dreaded form and turn up with the money. Please help us by giving us your email address in a legible style.
If you're a new member you'll need someone to propose you, which means you'll usually have to come to the club. Renewals can be done by post, print out the form here and send us a cheque for three pounds (unemployed/student/low paid) or five pounds, payable to The 1 in 12 Club, and send it to us at 21-23 Albion Street, Bradford BD1 2LY.