Here is the collated reports from groups that submitted them for the General Meeting on 25th April 2010Accupuncture – NEW!!!!!!
Kebele is delighted to welcome Sandra to the project, and with her to offer accupuncture treatments to those who would not normally consider it.
Our basic objective is to bring affordable acupuncture to members of the community who otherwise would not be able to access treatment. So the clinic is specifically aimed to all those who are on benefits or on low wages. To qualify for treatment you need to be on benefits or on low income. You will have access to a course of 6 acupuncture weekly sessions that may be extended to a second course of treatment subject to demand for the service. Before your first acupuncture session you will be asked to choose one of the suggested-donation brackets according to how much you can afford to give in exchange for each of your treatments. Roughly £5 if you are on limited benefits or have a large family to support, £10 if you are slightly better off; £20 if you are earning but not enough to be able to afford full-price treatment. With this higher donation you will also sponsor a member of the community who can’t afford to donate anything.
Acupuncture is a natural health-enhancing therapy that however effective has no magic powers. It will work within your system to promote the necessary changes rather than suppressing your symptoms. Because of this, improvement of your symptoms can be very gradual and only be noticeable after a few sessions. On the other hand, dramatic changes may occur after one or two treatments but this is less common. In order to make the treatment more effective, you may also be given advice regarding your diet and life-style if something you are doing in your everyday life is suspected as the cause of your symptoms.
For more info see Sandra’s website www.acupuncturehealingbristol.co.uk or read the notice on the wall of the cafe.
Bristol Anarchist Bookfair Collective
The Bookfair Collective has continued to meet monthly during the first part of 2010. Monthly meetings has kept enthusiasm from dwindling while still allowing the small collective to take a break from the books and concentrate on other projects. So far meetings have looked at venue options and possible themes for the 2010 bookfair as well as looking for ways to appeal to the wider working class population of Bristol and the surrounding region. The fund-raising branch of the group has already booked a number of benefit gigs including the after party itself and some well known names.
The bookfair collective and Bristol Indymedia jointly presented: ‘J18 and Seattle 1999 – reflections and strategies 10 years on’ on February 1st to an almost sell-out audience at the Cube cinema.
Although we have received some interest regards new collective members so far the core group size has not expanded and some members will not be able to put in as much time as they have previously.
Since the last bookfair, collective members have found themselves juggling more projects such as the IWW, Bristol Anarchist Federation, Classics Free Shop and more.
Presently the bookfair collective is composed of 5, sometimes 6, white men aged 22 to 48, who are all involved in other projects too. This group is hardly representative of the movement, never mind the wider population, so other people are warmly encouraged to get involved in both the planning of the bookfair and/or running other events in the months before. Remember we are not a campaign group, we are concerned solely with the promotion and dissemination of anarchist ideas, history and practices. We try to have fun too.
The 2010 bookfair is now confirmed for September 11th and at this stage the venue is still being debated and we are also considering whether or not to have a theme(s).Next Bookfair collective meet is Tuesday 4th May, 7.30pm at Kebele, we hope to see you there.
www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org and bristolanarchistbookfair@riseup.net
Bristol Anarchist Black Cross
bristol anarchist black cross is going through a slower period at the moment because many of our comrades have significant other life responsibilities at the minute.
we are pleased that we helped raise money for russian anti-fascists and to support the family of “bonecrusher”, who was murdered by fascists. (but, we are saddened to know that there has been another similar attack in portland, u$a, in the last month). our last letter writing night focused on russian political prisoners, as we are trying to develop a better relationship with our comrades in that part of the world.
in light of the fact that we are not very numerous at the moment, we are trying to maintain the longer-term commitments, and not take on new projects. we have continued our monthly letter writing nights, but unfortunately have not had many people drop-in to support our comrades inside 
we have been maintaining our blog, which now has an updated and expanded latin american section. we are involved with the anti-bnp leaftletting (but we’re still short in numbers, so not as much as we would like). we are also maintaining our long-term correspondence with some social, political prisoners and prisoners of war, and trying to meet any of the needs that they have as they may arise. a few of us are also planning to go to brighton for the first day of the edo decommissioners trial on may 17th , which will also give us the opportunity to co-ordinate a bit more with our abc comrades in brighton. one of our members has also done an interview in french with the collective opposed to police brutality in montreal following the demo on march 15th, which is the international day against police brutality. the interview has been posted which has been posted on radio4all.net, and is worth a listen if you want to practice your french.
so… if anyone has ever thought that they might be interested in getting involved with prisoner solidarity work, now would be a great time as new energy and ideas are much appreciated!
Bristol Anarchist Federation
Formed in January of this year, Bristol Anarchist Federation is comprised of six to seven relatively young (18-26) but enthusiastic activists.
Bristol AFed formed when a small group of anarchists, activists and cynical ne’er-do-wells met during the Bristol Co-mutiny last year and got together with two existing AF members who moved to Bristol at the end of 2009. The group formed in the hope of filling the need for a national class struggle and solidarity group in Bristol and at the same time being able to turn its hand to whatever or wherever it was needed.
To date the group have been meeting (almost) fortnightly, released a press release detailing their beliefs and ideas and offering their support to the many campaign groups in Bristol. The group is involved with the new Bristol Resistance coalition and was actively involved with the campaign to stop Tesco building a store in Stokes Croft. While those who call themselves the organisers of said campaign think they can see victory on the horizon we know never to trust MPs or Corporate executives and await round two of the battle for Stokes Croft.
The group was present at the Leaders TV debate demonstration on April 22nd and individuals plan to attend national anti-state/anti-capitalist demonstrations in the near future. The Bristol branch also hosted the annual “Southern Educational”, providing an opportunity for the new group to understand how the Anarchist Federation was founded and how it is organised. Bristol members were not shy in investigating how things could be improved within the AF and was instrumental in the formation of an experimental regional networking and communication initiative.
Looking ahead Bristol AFed hope to build ties with groups such as the IWW and get involved with working class struggle in the region and lend their support to grassroots campaigns and organisations in the area.
Contact bristol@afed.org.uk for more information
Bristol No Borders
As with the previous 3 months, issues around Calais have dominated. Many of us have visited, offering solidarity and sometimes material aid. We have contributed to maintaining an activist office/occasional shelter in Calais. We have also given a talk at UWE which resulted in some students putting on a successful benefit and delivering aid themselves. There is
now also a separate ‘calais’ group which meets occasionally, so as not to dominate the normal ,meetings, and perhaps to draw people in who do not fully subscribe to no borders politics.
We also were present in Copenhagen, taking part in the No Borders day of action, as well as holding a couple of workshops at the Klimaforum. Our presence there - and dialogue with people from the global south has resulted in a couple of people going to Bolivia for the Climate Summit - and being involved specifically with issues around migration. See
http://ayya2cochabamba.wordpress.com/
We have also supported migrant worker issues – specifically those of radical South American cleaners (based in London).
Closer to home, we have persisted with the picket outside Trinity Rd Police Station, where those without papers have to sign every tuesday and thursday. Our pickets have moved from fortnightly to weekly, where we know have an info leaflet to hand out. We have certainly lacked a direct action presence within Bristol for the last 12 months…this due to our heavy involvement not just join the Calais Camp but also the G20, Co-Mutiny and
Copenhagen.
At least three of our group are onvolved with Bristol Refugee Rights, and another with English language classes. We have shown a film with Cinema Klandestino at the Cube, and have two nights booked their in June, During Refugee Week. We also published a leaflet on the Surveillance State.
We also do our fair share of UK network administration, attending the UK gathering and for example trying to make the uk website as good as it should, and getting propaganda reprinted and distributed.
We continue to maintain a Blog, and have recently started to use Crabgrass, rather than a e-mail list to organise outside of meetings – with mixed results. Participation in meetings varies,but while our numbers haven’t swelled dramatically I would guess participation is up, while certainly, as with all groups we could do with more people.
Cafe
We haven’t got around to submitting an agreed report, sorry but can tell you that the experiment in asking Activist Groups to help fill the cooking rota has been a great success, and thank you to everyone who has volunteered and worked so hard to make the cafe carry on rocking! The Cafe Collective has settled on a regular meeting time (6.30pm on the last wednesday of the month) and has seen new members join who have bought some badly needed energy into the group – we’re always looking for more people to get involved, so please come down to the meeting if you are interested.
East Bristol Debtors Alliance
EBDA continues to offer an advocacy service for people with debt problems, and to try and convince those caught in the debt trap that they are not alone, and it is not their fault. Numbers of those coming to the drop-in have continued to be low, so we have continued to try other means of building a positive reputation, and getting the message out, which we feel are the two biggest reasons why take-up is low.
We publicised the bullying tactics used by debt collection companies in our ‘anti-telerrists’ campaign which is ongoing. We tried to track down some of the local offenders but found that none of them lived where they said they did, so any information greatly appreciated!
We have held a street stall on St.Marks Rd which was very good, and also leafleted the Easton job centre – both led to a good level of conversation and a lot of info given and taken in, and also to someone coming to the drop-in to look for support.
We also cooked for a Sunday cafe and showed a film afterwards, which was fun to do and well received. We are in the process of organising an economics discussion night to happen sometime in May. We also have a new member joined, which brings our number up to 5, but would love to see more as we could do with a hand on stalls and leafleting, and also some new ideas to be more effective.
Visit our website at www.eb-da.org or call 07878384439 for more info.
Infoshop
The infoshop has had a busy few months, taking stalls out to a lot of different gigs, talks and events. This month the infoshop got out and about with a european division, on tour with Spanner and Jesus Bruiser, arousing much interest from the euro punks and squatters. Closer to home we went to the Convention of the Left, with the intention of promoting a wider understanding of anarchist and anti-authoritarian politics.
We’ve recently put some work into our display and stock systems and the infoshop appears to be quite popular with visitors to Kebele at the moment. Putting books and pamphlets out on constant display has made the infoshop more accessible and anarchist shopping has never been easier! The infoshop continues to contribute £50 of it’s surplus per month to the running of the community co-op. What remains is put directly into buying new stock. We will shortly be placing a big order so expect some shelves full of some seriously exciting, thought provoking and incendiary new titles soon! As always we welcome suggestions for new stock as well as offers of stall space at gigs and events close to Bristol.
We have lost a couple of members over the last few months but two more have bravely stepped into the fray, and we salute them! Infoshop crew now numbers 7 in total. New members are always welcome.
Maintenance Collective
At the time of the last GM, preparations for sanding the floors had just started. The workday happened as planned on 7th February and it was very pleasing to have about 10 people about during the course of the day. It turned into a mammoth project and we were still working until Thursday to complete it. We had to replace a lot more floorboards in poor condition than we anticipated and the preparation took ages. The end result was fantastic, with the rooms appearing brighter and more homely. Thanks to all the participants.
The upstairs toilets upgrade continues, with only the doors being the substantial items to do. Our next goal is to strip out and renovate the rear toilet. Improvements will include fitting a new toilet and sink, retiling the floor and walls, insulating the rear wall and installing a new double glazed window which was free from a manufacturer. The plastering will have to be done by a professional unless we find a new friend!
Solving the condensation problem to the kitchen area will mean more insulation and ventilation. We have done skills share when working and learnt new skills. Jobs for the summer could include sealing the flat roof and also eliminating the dampness to the wall by the upstairs toilets.
Radiokebele
We have now recorded three shows, each better than the last, full of good music, enlightening interviews and a bit of a giggle at those who say they lead us. We have had a couple of people away on sabbatical, one of who has returned, and new members to help on the engineering front. We also have a loan from Kebele to buy more kit to make the show sound better than ever. To find out more, listen to the shows! Go to kebelecoop.org, and click on ‘radio’ under the ‘collectives’ tab.
Screenprinting – NEW!!!!!
Thanks to the efforts of Chiara and friends we can now offer the ever-popular screenprinting workshops again. The workshop runs on Tuesdays from 7pm – please bring a copy of your design on two sheets of acetate (you can do this at Staples or other places) and some cash to pay for materials and a donation.
See the poster on the cafe noticeboard for more details.
Sound Collective
The last few months have been busy for Kebele sound, having welcomed new members and expanded the size of our system to be capable of a wider range of events.
We have continued to provide our low-cost PA hire to local benefit nights, including BARC, Travellers Solidarity, EDO Decommissioners and Gaza. We have also been able to link up with other events including the national Climate Camp gathering and Bristol Feminist Network’s Reclaim the Night. With an expanded crew, Kebele Sound has also continued to run free parties.
We took the decision to raise our prices slightly to cover our costs of maintenance and storage, but our basic hire cost is still only £40, well under the £300+ demanded by commercial hire companies for a similar set-up.
For the following months our aims are to consolidate our new, larger rig and provide skill-share sessions for those in the collective who need to update and expand their sound engineering knowledge. Additionally, we propose to organise two large benefit nights at Easton Community Centre, a fund raiser for Bristol’s new social centre and continue all the usual smaller gigs.
These groups also use Kebele, but have been unable to submit a report:
Free English Language Classes – Thursdays 3pm.
Free Spanish Conversational Classes – Wednesdays 4pm.
Yoga – Wednesdays 7pm.
Rising Tide – see risingtide.org.uk/bristol for more info.
New Families Group – Thursdays 12-3pm.
Bike Workshop – Wednesdays 1.30 to 4.30pm.
Bristol Animal Rights Coalition – see bristolanimalrights.org.uk for more info.
Queer Cafe – Last Thursday of every month, from 7pm.
Library – currently no collective. Fancy starting one? Email us!