Dear members and friends,
Most of Seamus Heaney’s poetry is too difficult for me, too hard work – which is disappointing ‘cos I find any interviews he does so luminous and rewarding; he must be a marvellous conversationalist. I learn from Robert McCrum in the Observer that Heaney has just turned 70 – and that some time ago he suffered a stroke which he has never spoken about publicly before. He says ‘Between the stroke and the 70th birthday I suddenly realised I had boxed myself into a kind of closing cadence.’ I had to look up ‘cadence’ (a fall in pitch of the voice at the end of a sentence) but I recognised immediately what he was describing – ‘cos I’ve been there myself.
Some years ago I had major surgery on my neck. Around the same time several people close to me died. Looking back I can see that my body and my unconscious mind decided between them that life was too precarious – there was a move towards the exit door; shoogly nail syndrome. Heaney says he is now deliberately trying to counteract this impulse by finishing a new book. I asked a friend if she thought I had a new project left in me. ‘Why bother’ she said ‘You have nothing to prove’. I can see what she means – ‘doing’ and ‘being’ are not the same – but I suspect that ‘not doing’ requires a level of composure I have not yet attained. (see end piece)
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When the banking system collapsed in confusion, there was an opportunity to realign its values – its purpose – towards a vision for social justice. One senses that that moment has passed – there isn’t the political will for change; banking still operates to make bankers rich – building a better world is not their concern. The Community Reinvestment Act in the USA compels banks to provide services, including investment, to all communities. In the poorest areas the banks get alongside local community groups to deliver their obligations – releasing trillions of dollars to the Third Sector. I know of no reason why such legislation should not be enacted in the UK – except the feebleness of our government. You may want to join this campaign http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8427
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The presence of Grameen Bank in Glasgow will inevitably draw attention to ‘the elephant in the room’ – the impact of the benefit system on generational unemployment in poorer parts of Scotland. Running a business while on benefits is illegal – only £50 a week is offered to self-employed people moving off jobseekers allowance. In Ireland you get full benefits – decreasing gradually over 4 years. If the business fails you go back to 100%. If it succeeds you come off benefits and start paying taxes. In this piece Faisal Rahman, founder of Fair Finance (I am a fan), tells it how it is. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8417
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Senscot invites our many close friends and supporters to put Thursday 24 September – 4pm in their diaries ‘cos that’s when we will host a modest celebration of our 10th birthday. We are delighted to announce that the legendary Edgar Cahn, the founder of Time Banking, has agreed to give an address – followed by some convivial chat and drinkies. Victoria would much appreciate some indication of numbers – we’ve booked the Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8426
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Alan Milburn calls his report ‘Fair Access to the Professions’ and, it’s no surprise to hear that social mobility has declined in our country under a Labour Govt. We are told that the 7% private school minority still run things for the other 93% of us. The attached piece is by Ian Bell at his acerbic best. ‘We are talking about theft, the appropriation of resources by a self selecting elite, and all of it subsided by the excluded…At the bottom, lies the New Labour legacy – the idea that anyone with money can buy anything money can buy. The ladder was pulled up a generation ago. They have no right to pretend otherwise now.’ http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8425
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NOTICES: We can’t flag all notices here, but submit jobs and events and we’ll post them on our site. See http://www.senscot.net/jobsevents.php. This week:
JOBS: Glenboig Neighbourhood House, ASH Scotland, Rosemount Lifelong Learning, Gowrie Care, Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability, Health in Mind, Paths for All, Community Enterprise
EVENTS: Compassionate Living Fayre (Edinburgh), 25 Jul; Starting your Social Enterprise, 10 Aug; Festival Exhibition, 15 Aug; Stress Awareness at Work, 21 Aug;
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NETWORKS NEWS: Colin writes: Networks 1st, the webspace in the Senscot website specifically for Social Enterprise Networks and their members, has been updated with more options and info sources. This includes a direct link on every page of Networks 1st to the new online forum (Networks NING), which now includes 5 DVD’s by the Scottish Social Enterprise Academy. The films profile a variety of social enterprises across the country. Networks Ning members are able to post DVD’s and photos, sign up for the Social Enterprise Ceilidh at New Lanark and start discussions about topics of collective interest. To view DVD`s and sign up, http://networks1st.ning.com . For more Networks News, see
http://www.senscot.net/networks1st/showart.php?articleid=99
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Firstport are hosting a new programme of master classes for social enterprises starting in August in Edinburgh. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8431
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Here’s a flyer from Scottish Govt about a new pilot for Public/Social Partnerships. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8432
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Andy Wightman has published a new book ‘Community Land Rights – a Citizens Guide.’ It costs £15 and offers the best overview of the subject along with some short case studies. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8429
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Aidan writes: This week, I attended the Social Enterprise Mark (SEM) Steering Group meeting in London. Momentum continues to build towards a UK wide launch in November but, in our view, the branding needs to make a clearer distinction between actual social enterprises and those who sign up in support. In the meantime, the first batch of Scottish `champions` will receive their Social Enterprise Mark awards at an event on Friday 14th August at the Engine Shed in Edinburgh (12-2pm). Five organisations have now been approved. Numbers are limited but if you’d like to attend, contact Victoria@senscot.net See summary paper on the Mark meetings in Scotland, http://www.senscot.net/view_res.php?viewid=8339
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It is very worrying that there is no Scottish-owned national platform for political debate. The Scotsman and Herald have absentee proprietors and both institutions are dying. Our BBC and ITV services are demoralised branch offices. Gandhi said that there is no way a community can be united without a newspaper or journal of some sort. Maybe we are moving towards the model of The Huffington Post – a serious option. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8428
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This week’s bulletin profiles a social enterprise providing supported employment opportunities for the local community in Orkney. Employability Orkney was established as an independent organisation in 2005 and operates a number of services through its trading arm – Restart. Their range of services include refurbishing furniture and white goods, undertaking portable appliance testing, a grass cutting service, a painting and decorating service as well as a computer re-cycling and advisory service. For more, see
http://www.senscot.net/view_prof.php?viewid=8430
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Senscot`s website counts the number of visitors to each article and this week 107 people read a piece which we posted back in April: don’t know why – so I read it again. It’s called `The Place Beyond Hope and Fear` by Margaret Wheately and it’s superb. http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?viewid=8055
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One of the core Taoist teachings is called ‘wei wu wei’ literally ‘doing not-doing’ – which has been seen as passivity. Nothing could be further from the truth. A good athlete can enter a state of body-awareness in which the right stroke or the right movement happens by itself, effortlessly, without any interference of the conscious will. This is a paradigm for non-action: the purest and most effective form of action. The game plays the game: the poem writes the poem; we can’t tell the dance from the dancer.
Tao Te Ching – section 48 ‘‘ In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped. Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone. True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way. It can’t be gained by interfering.’’
That’s all for this week. Good luck with your adventures
Best wishes,
Laurence
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