Larry's Lunchette

I believe that leaving the EU today is a monumental act of folly; tearing up our economic model, without knowing what will replace it – except another period of arrogant right-wing rule. I can’t remember ever feeling so politically powerless/alienated; let those who voted for Brexit/Boris get on with it – I’ve removed myself from the fray.

Powerlessness is stressful – I distract myself with practical, finite tasks within my control – this week I removed a tree stump from my garden. Kneeling, with a trowel, I slowly remove two barrowloads of soil from around the bowl – snipping or sawing exposed roots; my absorption feels obsessive – some kind of ‘substitute’ behaviour. After two hours, the stump begins to wobble – powerful feelings of triumph. An old guy, my age, stops to speak; he has a lovely gentle face and manner – like a ‘holy’ man. I expect his reproach: that I’m too old to wrestle a tree stump – but he speaks only words of admiration; I have a theory that egoless people acquire an ‘aura’.

I’m a ‘driven’ person – expressed in a lifetime of dramatic projects – dozens of them; good energy, but impulsive. If I had my life again, I’d prioritise domestic life before heroic ‘causes’. This can be expressed as a choice – between ‘well known’ and ‘known well’: ‘Well known’ implies a reputation among strangers – i.e. being famous. ‘Known well’ implies quality relationships with your own people – i.e. being loved. But ‘driven’ people are, by definition, ‘damaged’ – perhaps we have less choice.

I love Raymond Carver’s wee poem: Late Fragment.

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In spite of reduced heart disease and cancer, life-expectancy for poor people in Scotland is dropping; this is linked to increased alcohol, drug abuse and suicide deaths. In his search for why Scotland majors in ‘deaths of despair’, Harry Burns cites alienation/powerlessness: “That a sense of being in control of one’s life is critical to well-being”. Certainly, the impact of Tory austerity (poverty) is the major cause of social disfunction – but the single most ‘culpable’ failure of Scotland’s Govt is the missing tier of devolved power at community level; the deliberate distancing of citizens from engagement; there’s no excuse.

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The Guardian announced this week that it has become a B Corps (companies that value purpose as much as profit); we also got the usual sermons from Davos about business raising the moral bar. It’s important not to become too cynical about capitalism improving its behaviour – it does happen; but as Anand Giridharadas put so well – the elite promote a charade about changing the world. This is an interesting (longer) piece from Maria Hengeveld, called ‘Big Business has a new scam: The Purpose Paradigm’. Mostly, she says, it’s to deflect attention away from ‘profit before anything else’. The same elite charade.

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If Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and even London voted to Remain – who is the “suppressed nation rising up to free itself from the heavy yolk of the EU”. Fintan O’Toole in the Observer writes of the illusion – that a fragile multinational state can play with the fire of nationalism without getting burned.

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Economist Katherine Trebeck was a keynote speaker at last week’s Wellbeing Alliance Scotland Conference in Edinburgh; in this 15 minute TED Talk, she sets out why – rather than simply growth – the goal of economic policy should be collective wellbeing. Also, the Herald’s Catriona Stewart asks how serious the Scottish Govt is about this policy – gimmick or serious commitment.

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“Even in this place one can survive, and therefore one must want to survive, to tell the story, to bear witness; and that to survive we must force ourselves to save at least the skeleton, the scaffolding, the form of civilization. We are slaves, deprived of every right, exposed to every insult, condemned to certain death, but we still possess one power, and we must defend it with all our strength for it is the last — the power to refuse our consent.”

Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz

A couple of weeks ago, in response to an increasing level of interest amongst SEN members in community-run cafes, we produced two information sheets based on direct experience of other SEN members. Scenario 1 looked at using an external provider; whilst Scenario 2 focused on providing employability opportunities. This week, we feature the third in our series – Scenario 3 – where organisations may have space available within their premises and the issues they may need to take into consideration if they wish to convert it into their own community café. The information sheet identifies some of the common challenges; existing resources that may be of help; as well as a series of ‘top tips’. The three information sheets produced to date follow on from our Social Enterprise and Community Café Briefing last year – and are informed through contributions from SEN members with direct experience of running community cafés. They are designed to facilitate peer-to-peer learning across the SENs and to provide invaluable, hands-on advice.

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