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DISCOVER THE CONTEMPORARY QUAKER WAYthe Friend
24 April 2009 £1.70
Have the police crossed the line?G20 eyewitness account
Detention of stateless peopleImprisoned with nowhere to go
Funding through the recessionUS charity cutbacks
Finding hope in despairBook club preview
2
the Friend
the Friend 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ Tel: 020 7663 1010 Fax: 020 7663 1182 www.thefriend.orgEditor: Judy Kirby [email protected] • Production editor: Jez Smith [email protected] • Sub-editor: Trish Carn [email protected] •
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INDEPENDENT QUAKER JOURNALISM SINCE 1843
the Friend, 24 April 2009
CONTENTS VOL 167 NO 17
3 Government considers prisoner voting options
4 Turkish CO denied British visa
5 US Quaker groups feeling the pinch
6 Britain’s own stateless people Phyllida Parsloe
7 Comment Judy Kirby and Sheila Savill
8-9 Letters
10-11 My G20 experience Dave Cullen12 Book Club previews Sally Nicholls and Frank Parkinson
13 Book Club reviews Graham Thomas and Susan Groves
14 The challenge to beat social problems Nigel Naish
15 Cadbury and fairtrade Tim Brown
16 q-eye: a Quaker look at the world
17 Friends & MeetingsCover image: ‘Riot police take over from the normal police, very aggressive and pushing us back again. For the most part the police they replaced were really lovely, friendly, cracking jokes and professional. The riot police do not have a sense of humour…’ Photojournalist Kashfi Halford on the G20 demonstrations in London on 1 April. Photo: Kashfi Halford Kashklick/flickr CC:BY. See pages 7 and 10-11.On this page: The climate camp in London on 1 April. Top and centre photos: RachelH_/flickr CC:BY. Bottom photo: celesteh/flickr CC:BY. See pages 10-11.
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3the Friend, 24 April 2009
The government is embarking on the second stage of consultations around giving prisoners the vote, more than five years after current policy was found to be unlawful.
The consultation paper, which provides options for enfranchising prisoners with one, two or four-year sentences, comes more than two years after the first stage consultation revealed widest support, at forty-one per cent of respondents, for allowing voting by all prisoners. In 2004 the European Court of Human Rights found that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoners voting contravened their right to free elections.
‘We will ensure that whatever the outcome of this consultation, the most serious and dangerous offenders held in custody will not be able to vote’, said justice minister Michael Wills. ‘Prisoners sentenced to more than four years imprisonment will not be permitted to vote in any circumstances. We
believe this is compatible with the court’s judgment and reflects the expectation of the British public that those guilty of the most serious offences should not be entitled to vote while in custody.’
However, this approach was attacked by Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust (PRT), who accused the government of ‘continually adopting a long-grass technique’ and trying to avoid the issue. Not only prison reformers such as the PRT but also the Prison Governors’ Association backed full voting rights for prisoners, she said. If you want to rehabilitate people then you should enable them to take responsibility, such as by giving them the vote.
The second stage consultation is much more limited than the first, providing four possibilities regarding which prisoners can vote (though according to Juliet Lyon ‘the actual options aren’t adequate’). Michael Wills has
stated that ‘the government remains inclined toward setting the threshold toward the lower end of the spectrum of these options, but welcomes views on all of the options in response to this consultation’. A government spokesperson added that the review process has taken so long (the first consultation period finished on 7 March 2007) because of the sensitivity and complexity of prisoner voting. ‘The timing of the publication will give Parliament, interested parties and the general public time to respond on the issue throughout the summer.’
The UK is relatively unusual within Europe in imposing total bans on prisoners voting, according to the PRT. Seventeen European states grant voting rights to all prisoners, with limited restrictions in another thirteen, while other countries including Iraq also enfranchise their prisoners.
Oliver Robertson
Government considers prisoner voting options
How seriously are Quakers about living more sustainably?
That is the question being put to Friends and Meetings ahead of the next Meeting for Sufferings in June, which will consider whether to agree a statement on sustainable living. At the same time, Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) has produced an information pack, ‘Responding to climate change’, designed for Meetings to reflect on the issues.
Any sustainability declaration would be a commitment to live sustainably, rather than an announcement of what has already happened. It would alert both governments and other Quakers that Friends in Britain support making major lifestyle changes to combat climate change. ‘Friends should not succumb to false modesty over this’, said Alison Prout of QPSW. ‘What we’re looking for is a statement of intent… we’re not asking people to be perfect.’
Producing such a statement now would enable it to form part of the Quaker work in advance of the climate change summit in Copenhagen this December and allow Friends to participate in a faith gathering in November with climate change negotiators and the UN secretary-general. However, Laurie Michaelis of the Living Witness Project, a Quaker environmental group, saw another advantage. ‘I see its value mainly as a way to hopefully draw Friends together and get us talking about this a bit more’, he said.
The ‘Responding to climate change’ pack, which provides introductory briefings on the causes, consequences and responses to climate change, also aims to increase consideration of environmental issues among Quakers.
The ‘Responding to climate change’ packs are available from Sunniva Taylor of QPSW at [email protected] or on 020 7663 1047.
Sustainability opportunity for Quakers
News
4 the Friend, 24 April 2009
A conscientious objector (CO) imprisoned in Turkey has been denied entry to the UK because he was asked to provide documents he couldn’t have because he had been in prison.
Halil Savda had been due to speak at an Amnesty International event on conscientious objection to military service in London last week, but despite the human rights group guaranteeing to cover all his expenses, he was denied a visa by UK authorities.
In their refusal letter, the British Consulate told him: ‘You have failed to provide information on any previous jobs, assets, savings or earnings such as pay slips, National Insurance payments or bank books’.
‘We believe that the British Consulate is not aware that conscientious objectors in Turkey are experiencing “civil death”’, said Özgür Heval Çınar, a researcher at
the University of Essex exploring conscientious objection in Turkey. ‘In other words, Halil Savda, until his recent release from prison, was not allowed to open a bank account, to have official employment, to have a national insurance number or to buy property. Therefore, he was unable to provide the requested documents.’ Furthermore, argued Özgür, ‘by refusing his visa application, the British government is nourishing the discrimination that is going on in Turkey against conscientious objectors’.
While the government declined to comment on individual cases, a spokesperson from the Foreign Office said: ‘We believe that states like Turkey, with a system of compulsory military service, should provide for conscientious objectors various forms of alternative service which are compatible with the reasons for conscientious
objection, of a non-combatant or civilian character, in the public interest and not of a punitive nature. They should also take the necessary measures to refrain from subjecting conscientious objectors to imprisonment or to repeated punishment for failure to perform military service.’
Halil Savda was arrested four times for refusing to join the military and imprisoned for a total of seventeen months, being released for the last time in November 2008. His case had been taken up by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and although he has now been exempted from military service on grounds of ‘anti-social behaviour and lack of masculinity and Turkishness’, an ongoing court case relating to his support for Israeli COs could see him being returned to prison again.
Oliver Robertson
Turkish CO denied British visa
Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are calling for a global ban on the use of depleted uranium weapons.
The motion, lodged by Green MSP Patrick Harvie and supported by fifteen of his colleagues, asks the Scottish government to back moves to outlaw the weapons, used in armour-piercing bullets and tank rounds. It follows a resolution in the European Parliament highlighting the environmental and health impacts of such weapons.
‘The serious long-term effects of depleted uranium on health and the environment have long been well understood’, said Patrick Harvie. ‘I hope that it is part of a larger international campaign.’
The successful moves to draft international treaties banning chemical weapons, landmines and other weapons deemed unacceptably harmful have inspired campaigners working on this issue. In 2007 Belgium became the first country in the world to enact a domestic ban on the use of uranium weapons, while in Costa Rica a proposed law that would ban the ‘trade, production, distribution or storage’ of uranium weapons attracted almost forty supporting signatures from among the state’s fifty-seven members
of parliament within just two days of its publication. The same law proposal has also been introduced to the Latin American parliament, Parlatino, where it may be used as a template by other states in the region interested in enacting domestic laws on uranium weapons.
Scotland is home to the only range in the UK where uranium weapons are tested, at Dundrennan in Dumfries and Galloway. The Ministry of Defence has fired 6,000 depleted uranium shells into the Solway Firth, though Patrick Harvie remarked that the Ministry of Defence has been reluctant to provide details of the tests.
The campaigning group Campaign Against Depleted Uranium has asserted that radioactivity levels in the soil at Dundrennan have breached agreed safety limits and that uranium contamination has been found in plants and earthworms. However, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: ‘There is no reliable evidence to suggest that depleted uranium munitions pose any health risk to servicemen and women returning from operations. We will continue to use these munitions in our tanks, which are legal under both UK and international law.’
Scottish parliamentarians demand depleted uranium ban
News
the Friend, 24 April 2009 5
As the economy flounders, many churches and church agencies are suffering deep budget shortfalls and cuts.
The National Cathedral, a landmark in Washington, DC, has sliced its budget more than forty per cent in the past year, and let go of dozens of staff. US Presbyterians have laid off forty-four employees at their national headquarters in Kentucky and the Evangelical Lutheran Church has also reduced staff.
Quaker groups are not immune to these hard times. Reports are fragmentary but consistent and very sobering. For example, the US Quaker lobby, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), has been particularly hard hit. FCNL is the oldest church lobby in the capital and highly respected but it has been forced to make two rounds of staff cuts in the past year.
The reductions were particularly painful, FCNL legislative director Ruth Flower told the Religious News Service, because after eight long years of being ignored and derided by those in power ‘we have a seat at the table now. We can talk to people in the administration and propose things and actually be listened to. We just have fewer people to fill the seats.’
At least FCNL can still fill a seat. For the Church of the Brethren, the chairs are gone. At the end of March this traditional peace church closed its down its Washington office entirely. Further,
the denomination’s peace program says its 2008 revenues fell short of projections by more than seven per cent and are already well below that for 2009.
The annual report from another Quaker group, Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR), was likewise full of bad news. RSWR makes grants to development projects in poor countries. ‘As for almost everyone’, the report says, ‘2008 was a difficult economic year for RSWR. For the first time in ten years, income decreased from the previous year.’
The total gap between RSWR’s spending and income approached sixteen per cent. The group drew on reserves to make up the difference and make all its scheduled grants for 2008. But
what now?How are the larger US Friends
groups faring? The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is the largest. In its most recent annual report, AFSC’s income exceeded $42 million. Unofficial sources indicate that this spring its regional staff have been directed to cut programs by more than five per cent and to expect deeper cuts, probably in double digits, for the next fiscal year.
For Friends General Conference (FGC), the major US unprogrammed Quaker association, spending in 2008 was almost $3,558,000. To balance the books, FGC transferred almost $400,000 from reserves. It has also formed a special committee to consider its financial future. Substantial cuts are widely expected. One FGC committee’s budget was already reduced by more than seventy per cent.
One project to dodge the bullet so far is Quaker House, the peace project in North Carolina. Too small to have invested funds in the market, Quaker House didn’t lose money in the crash.
What does the future hold? According to Nation magazine, a professor of public service at New York University has predicted that more than 100,000 non-profit organisations in the US will collapse in the next two years.
Will any of the casualties be Quaker groups? When my crystal ball returns from the Hogwarts repair shop, I’ll let you know.
US Quaker groups feeling the pinch
William Leddra, an American Quaker, reports on how the downturn is affecting faith groups
‘We have a seat at the table now. We
can talk to people in the administration and propose things
and actually be listened to. We just have fewer people
to fill the seats.’
6 the Friend, 24 April 2009
Our newspapers are suggesting that Barack Obama may be asking Britain, along with other European countries, to offer a home to some of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay who either cannot safely return to their own countries or who are not accepted as citizens by the countries they claim are their own. These are men who are, in effect, stateless.
It may well be something we would wish to do. Personally I hope we will. But I also hope it may allow us to focus attention on the blight of some people now detained in our own country. They are not technically prisoners although the conditions in which they live are almost the same as that of a secure prison. They are refugees and asylum seekers held in one of our detention centres. The centre I know a little about is Colnbrook, near Heathrow.
Colnbrook houses refugees and asylum seekers who are awaiting repatriation by the UK Border Agency. The men detained there have usually committed a criminal offence while in the UK and are likely to have served a prison sentence, often a very short one in an ordinary prison. Once they have completed their sentence they will be deported. They can be moved to a detention centre such as Colnbrook, although some, who have an outside address, may be allowed to live there until their case is dealt with by the UK Border Agency.
To visitors, Colnbrook appears
like a closed prison. It is a grim building, resembling a warehouse, with some metal shutters in the grey walls that turn out to be doors. It is several storeys high and has what look like black squares at intervals along the upper levels; hopefully you can see out of them from inside. Once through the entry procedure the visitor is taken through a series of locked gates between gravel and tarmac courtyards, not a tree or flower in sight. Here up to 348 men are detained awaiting repatriation. They can apply for bail to live outside, at a specified address, until they leave the country. To make this application they have to apply first to the Home Office for an address, usually a room in a shared house in the north of England. Then they have to go before a judge and request bail. Ten per cent of applications are successful. Thus the majority remain in Colnbrook.
The policy of the UK Border Agency is to repatriate men who are willing to go, who are citizens of countries where they will not face imprisonment, torture or death and whose native country is willing to accept them. Some, who come from countries such as Zimbabwe and parts of Iraq and Somalia, cannot be deported because of the dangers they would face there. Others claim to be citizens of countries which will only accept a passport as proof of citizenship, such as Algeria and Iran. But many refugees do not flee with the necessary papers so they become, in effect, stateless.
The British government does not appear to have any policy for such men. They have no future and are confined in prison-like conditions with no present hope of release. Their situation bears some similarity to that of some of the men detained in Guantanamo Bay. There are men who have been in Colnbrook for long periods – well over a year. The Home Office minister, in reply to a question by Raymond Hylton in the House of Lords, said that 122 have been there for over three months. Many of these men are without hope: they have no release date, no system for deciding on their future and there is no system of review.
At a time when Barack Obama is said to be asking European countries to take in men from Guantanamo Bay who cannot return to their own countries, should we not also be putting our own house in order and finding a solution for the men detained without hope in Colnbrook?
More information about the London Detainee Support Group campaign, Detained Lives, is available at www.detainedlives.org.
Phyllida raised this matter as a concern with Thornbury Local Meeting, which passed it to their Area Meeting. The issue was raised at Meeting for Sufferings in April and Friends were encouraged to let Sufferings know what work on these issues is currently being done by Friends across the Yearly Meeting.
Britain’s own stateless peoplePhyllida Parsloe introduces the issue
Concern
the Friend, 24 April 2009 7
When both the head of a police watchdog and a chief police officer agree that we need a national debate on how the UK polices public protest, then surely the time has come for the general public to make its voice heard.
At the weekend Nick Hardwick, the chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, reminded us that the police are our servants, ‘not our masters’. In response, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers Ken Jones explained that we should not condemn all officers for the problems caused by a few during major public demonstrations. One cannot but have a sneaking sympathy for that viewpoint – most of the coverage early in the
day from the G20 protests in the City of London three weeks ago showed good-natured policing, and good-natured protesting. So why did it all deteriorate (as it so often does) into violence and even death? And is Ken Jones right to say we are lacking objectivity in our public response to the violence?
Quakers are experienced dissenters – we know that many readers of the Friend take part in protests covering a variety of issues. Many find themselves spending a night in police cells. In the past the Friend has been told by these Friends of how they are treated civilly by police officers in these circumstances. We suspect that is because the Quaker reputation is for peaceful protest – we are the
gentle refusniks.Footage of police behaviour
during last week’s clashes, taken by protestors on phone and video cameras, show alarming scenes. We focus mainly on the actions of the police, but look too at the provocative actions of some protestors also covering their faces. Who are they? In its recent report to Parliament, the Joint Committee on Human Rights called for improved dialogue between police and protestors – surely this is an urgent need?
We invite readers to start a debate on this issue so vital to Quakers. Let us start the ball rolling now.
Judy Kirby
G20 – have your say
Pondering recent correspondence on ‘theism,’ I wonder if we may be going through one of those recurrent swings in religious feeling that, in the past, led to episodes of iconoclasm. For some of us (myself included) most of the images of God conveyed by traditional Christian language reduce the ineffable to things – to idols. As Nicholas Lash says in the exhilarating and challenging paper that opens his new collection, Theology for Pilgrims, ‘God is not a thing.’
Nicholas Lash suggests we might find it helpful to think of the word God as a verb rather than a noun – as process, or ‘dancing’. He observes that the Old Testament ‘name’ of God – I am that I am – might more accurately be rendered: I am
becoming what I am becoming.George Fox and other early
Friends remind us that we need, both individually and together, to attend to – and obey and express – our own experiences of the ineffable. We have, I believe, to begin with the experiences, not with the images we have received from other people and not even with the beautiful Quaker images of the Light and the Seed. As we struggle to find valid ways of answering the question: ‘What canst thou say?’, those or some other inherited images may come alive, ‘speak’ to us and for us, though others will not.
Given the tenor of twenty-first century culture, it is unsurprising that, for many people, the only thing we can honestly say about
‘God’ is, ‘God is not…’; and of course, in one sense, that is all anyone can ever say about the ineffable, because it is beyond our understanding. But that need not prevent us from attempting to give some positive expression to our own experiences of it.
Perhaps one of the lessons we could learn from our Quaker history is that early Friends’ aggressive, iconoclastic condemnation of ‘steeple houses’ and all that went with them was less important than the way they developed their own images of God and a new form of communal worship.
Sheila SavillHampstead Local Meeting
Images of God
Comment
8 the Friend, 24 April 2009
Advertising on busesCould it be that the God-or-no-God battle on the sides of our buses began as a gleam in the eye of one of the bus people, seeing a way of alerting future advertisers to the great potential that the buses offer? I see this little hoo-ha as originating in the mind of mammon, not as a dream of Dawkins.
Alan RussellEast Cheshire Area Meeting
Hospital chaplainsI agree with the spokesperson representing ‘the Churches’ in recent news articles about chaplains in the National Health Service (NHS) inasmuch as hospital chaplains provide a valuable service – to those who make use of them.
But I fully agree with the position of the National Secular Society when they say it’s far more important for the NHS to be using its funds to pay for doctors, nurses, cleaners, drugs and equipment.
And it’s not just a matter of cash, but equality. Why should ‘big churches’ get to get their hireling ministers into hospitals at taxpayers’ expense, but not smaller ones? And where might we draw the line on what constitutes a ‘valid’ chaplain anyway? If the taxpayer pays for a Church of England or Roman Catholic priest, perhaps they should also pay for a Mormon pastor? Or a Jehovah’s Witness? Or a Moonie or a Scientologist?
simon grayCentral England Area Meeting
Hearing loopsWalter Storey correctly makes the point that loop systems needs regular maintenance (10 April). It is also important that more than one member of the Meeting knows how to set up and switch on the system, to cover the absence of the person who is normally relied upon (it’s not rocket science!).
An aspect of deafness that is often overlooked is the extent to which it can affect a deaf person’s family, especially when someone goes deaf suddenly. Friends may like to know that there is a national charity, Hearing Concern LINK (HCL), which runs intensive rehabilitation courses for groups of people with an acquired profound hearing loss and their families in the acute period following the onset of hearing loss. Participants spend five days together sharing experiences, learning new skills and gaining confidence. This helps them to come to terms with the changes in their lives. There are also short courses for individuals whose confidence and ability to socialise has been undermined by hearing loss.
HCL can be contacted at 19 Hartfield Road, Eastbourne BN21 2AR or telephone 01323 638230.
Philip Barron4 Anselm Close, Croydon CR0 5LY
We are a small Meeting and one of our members is profoundly deaf. We meet in premises that we rent for our Meetings.
We bought a mobile hearing loop last year for £250 and it is very successful. The loop is a wire that is laid out on the floor on the perimeter of the chairs and the very sensitive microphone is unobtrusive on the table. The box is connected to mains electricity.
Please email me for details.Trefor HoworthMold Local [email protected]
A new vision for NATOI wish to endorse the article by Rae Street, ‘NATO needs a policy shift’ (17 April). While some may argue that NATO should disband, this is unlikely to happen and the re-nationalisation of defence in Europe could lead to greater insecurity. Instead, there is a strong case for using the momentum of the Obama administration to create a new vision and mission for NATO. Civil society groups meeting at a shadow NATO summit in Brussels from 31 March to 1 April 2009 launched two new initiatives towards such an end. First, a ‘Citizens Declaration of Alliance Security’ set out the basic principles for reforming NATO to meet the different and diverse challenges of the twenty-first century. These core principles include achieving security without weapons of mass destruction and at lower levels of armaments, adopting a ‘responsibility to protect’ agenda as well as reconnecting with citizens by creating a more open, transparent and accountable Alliance. The Declaration is being used to start a NATO-wide, civil society-led public consultation on a new strategic concept.
Second, a new project – NATO Watch (www.natowatch.org) – has been established to facilitate this process and to provide independent monitoring, information and analysis of policy-making and operational activities within NATO. This includes a NATO policy network (which we hope will eventually include at least one ‘NATO Watcher’ in each member state) and an annual ‘shadow’ NATO summit. The aim is to increase transparency, stimulate parliamentary engagement and broaden public awareness and participation in NATO policy-making.
I hope you will find this new project useful and please do contact me for further information.
Ian DavisDirector, NATO Watch17 Strath, Gairloch, Ross-shire IV21 [email protected]
Letters All views expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Friend
9the Friend, 24 April 2009
Theism and non-theismAs a Quaker non-theist, I would like to add to the comments on the issue of Quaker theism/non-theism.
As is very well known, the idea of a Creator of the universe has had a long history, which has ranged from an all-powerful object of terror and the source of punishment and retribution for wrong-doing to the concept of a loving Father.
Mystics of all religions have gone beyond this and beyond any imagery whatsoever because they have understood that any form of imagery, not only graven images, is a form of idolatry.
There are those of us who not only do not wish to belittle the Ground of our Being by attempting to delineate it in words or pictures (even mental pictures), but who cannot bring ourselves to do so.
We know that others think and feel differently and that they express themselves in words that we would not use, but we are happy to gather with them at Meeting so that we can support each other along our respective spiritual paths.
My only problem occurs when I am asked what I believe and I feel that the only fully appropriate response is silence.
Muriel Seltman Blackheath Local Meeting
Peter Bolwell (17 April) rightly questions the understanding of Quaker worship as being about having thoughts in Meeting. Quaker worship is about a corporate experience that goes way beyond thought. The fundamental core of Quakerism is that this is an experience of something we know – and that’s quite different from that which we believe in (something we don’t know, but act as if it exists).
Quakerism is not about belief. So Christelle Evans (17 April) need not worry about feeling that she has to identify herself as non-theist. Making a statement of non-belief is as credal as making a statement of belief and diverts us from the living experience that is what Quakerism is all about.
The moment we start trying to say what that experience is – whether it comes from within or without, whether or not it is God, whether or not it can be perceived outside our senses – we get into the world of notions and credal statements.
So I would make a plea to all Friends who wear belief-related spiritual labels, whether they be non-theist, humanist or atheist: to relax and to realise that, in Quakerism, there is no need to take up such positions. Simply engage in the exercise of listening, without speculating about what it is we are hearing from. Whatever it is, it is way beyond the powers of the human intellect to compress into mere notions.
Taking up of theological, belief-related, positions leads not to diversity of experience (which can be a source of untold richness) but to destructive division, focusing on notions rather than on the experience of the divine.
John WardBideford Local Meeting
For me being a non-theist means that I cannot accept that there is any rational or benevolent Power behind or beyond the Universe. The world and its inhabitants are here as a result of a chain of chance occurrences. In the course of these occurrences an animal has emerged that has reason, language and conscience and has used them to construct religion as a way of helping it cope with life.
Religion is natural to us and to me it is of very great importance. I pray regularly, often addressing my prayers to Jesus, in whose life, teaching and death I hope to find inspiration for selfless living and who I believe to be raised and living again in the hearts, minds and lives of his followers. In Meeting for Worship I try to cultivate (the Latin word from which we derive our word ‘cultivate’ also means ‘worship’ – hence ‘cult’) an attentiveness to the good, the true and the beautiful, while also bringing to mind areas of suffering and wrong and praying, yes, praying, that we may find remedies. I do not believe that there is a supernatural person ‘hearing my prayers’, but nevertheless I am not engaging in self-worship or thumb-sucking. I am quite as much nourished by ‘worshipping’ in the company of my friends as ever I was in church when I was a believer.
I am deeply grateful that I have found a place within the Society of Friends where I can practice a devotion that does not depend on belief in supernatural agency.
Joanna Dales45 West Park Avenue, Leeds. LS8 2EB
The Friend welcomes your views. Please keep letters short and include your full postal address, even when sending emails. Please specify whether you wish for your postal or email address or Meeting name to be used with your name, otherwise we will print your post address or email address. Letters are published at the editor’s discretion and may be edited. Write to: the Friend, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ or email [email protected] if you are online that you can also comment on all articles at www.thefriend.org
10 the Friend, 24 April 2009
The climate camp was really peaceful all day. It was very mellow and I spent a fair bit of the afternoon encouraging people to come along. The police lined up at either end of the street, but let people come and go as they pleased. There was a line of them outside the climate exchange and a line of police vans against that pavement. Pairs of police were wandering unchallenged through the site and suffered nothing worse than the odd ‘narky’ comment and unwelcome looks.
Aside from a few people who squared up to the cops on one occasion when they came running in with batons, who were quickly calmed down and pulled away by other members of the camp, I didn’t see any violence from the campers at all, unless you count graffiti and flat tyres on the police vans. About 7pm the police changed tactics, stormed in the south end to cut off an alleyway and kettled the camp. (You can see this happening on YouTube – search G20, climate camp and police.) We were inside then for several hours. They weren’t letting in any media and apparently some sympathetic Lib Dem MPs were outside trying to get in. Clearly, they didn’t want any witnesses. I think the fact that they refused access to MPs shows the kind of mindset that they operate under. They wanted us gone and anyone who would curtail the means they
could use to achieve this was a nuisance.
At around 10 or 11pm I ended up at the south end of the camp, where the policing had been most fierce. They had several lines of riot police and vehicles with loads of armour plating – we called them tanks. I’ve certainly never seen anything like them deployed before. At the time there was a sound system going around and it was being used to coordinate the best consensus we could manage. The result of this discussion was that about half of the people in the camp wanted to go home to bed and the other half were going to try and stay the full twenty-four hours that the camp was initially planned to last for. At the time the police were insisting that they would search, take the names and addresses of, and photograph everyone who left. They had no legal right to photograph any of us and this intimidatory tactic clearly held things up. If they had been more sensible, they could have ended up with a more manageable crowd in a smaller area – with no harm done. As they could hear everything that was going on the sound system, I find it hard to believe they were too stupid to realise this was the case.
As it was, despite all the problems with having effective decision-making, we orchestrated a controlled retreat. By this point I was right up against the police
line on the south end of the camp, right next to the walls of the office building. I went there because there weren’t many people and the police could quite easily have broken through. We were walking backwards with our arms linked, being pushed by a line of police using their riot shields. They kept pushing us, but when we got as far as we’d agreed we sat down. Shortly afterwards they tried pulling people out of the line – they didn’t have batons, but they were punching people and hitting them with their shields. One guy who was more exposed got hit a lot and was bleeding from the head. We hung onto him and the line didn’t break.
As we were only three or four people deep they then decided to rush the line. This was clearly an operational decision as they all did it. We were sitting down, so we basically got trampled underfoot by them. I don’t know what happened to the woman who had been next to me, but I guess they dragged her away. It was all very chaotic – arms and legs everywhere and lots of shouting. As there were loads of people in the way, this tactic didn’t really work for them – I got a police boot in my face, my friend Rachel got her glasses smashed and a thin line of police got to the far side of us – but not enough to tackle our line, which still held. But they were now between us and the rest of the camp.
This situation was static for quite
My G20 experienceAs police methods at the G20 demonstration in London on 1 April come under scrutiny Dave Cullen shares his experience of the police approach to the climate camp protest
Witness
the Friend, 24 April 2009 11
a while and fortunately nobody near us was badly hurt. I got a black eye and a fat lip, but was otherwise okay. The reason I felt quite empowered by all of this is that it turns out that my reaction was to give all the police a proper dressing down. Just telling them exactly what they had done. ‘You were hitting that guy with your fists, that is completely over the line… Think about what you are doing, you are supposed to be public servants and you are beating up civilians in the street’ – that kind of thing. I also called over a legal observer and had him film the policeman I could definitely identify as having used his fists.
Shortly after this, they began to pull us out one by one. Most of the police who had got inside the lines had left and we’d gathered ourselves a bit better. This meant that I was basically on the corner so I was the first to be grabbed. I held on for as long as I could and then went completely limp (this is what you’re supposed to do for all those who’ve not had nonviolent direct action training). I was carried by two cops and laid on the floor. They told me to get up and I said I’d rather lie there. They began to drag me and another came and grabbed me by the hair and yelled in my ear: ‘I’m going to break your neck!’ This hurt enough that I gave up on the limpness and got up. I was then shoved against a wall by the hair grabber and his female colleague. Ironically, the whole
time he was shouting ‘calm down, calm down’ at me despite the fact that I was actually fully in control of myself and he clearly wasn’t.
He bent my arms behind my back and put cuffs on and pushed them so that they really hurt. The cuffs trap a nerve in your wrist or something; it is a bit like your funny bone being hit – only worse. All through this time I was telling him that I was cooperating, coming quietly and he didn’t need to be rough with me. When he put me against the wall he had been joined by a female colleague and they walked me to the van – still doing the very painful thing to my arms. I was really being polite as well: ‘Please stop doing that to my arms, it really hurts’, over and over. A protestor outside the cordon was close with a camera and I called her over and asked her to photograph him because he’d pulled me by my hair and threatened me. His female colleague pushed the camera away quite violently. I asked him for his police number but he refused to tell me.
He was still really worked up. I had my rucksack on and he was trying to get it off, fiddling with the straps. He kept saying he was going to cut it off and I kept saying that was completely unnecessary. I told him to take the cuffs off and I’d remove it. To reassure him, I said: ‘I won’t hit you’. He replied: ‘If you hit me I’ll kill you’. This impasse continued for a couple of minutes. It was stupid because
I couldn’t even see the straps, he was manhandling me and they don’t undo anyway. Eventually my calmness prevailed, he pulled everything out of my pockets and put me in the van, and shortly after they took the cuffs off and I got the rucksack off.
I assumed I was going to the station and was trying to work out if I could wipe my phone memory en route. It was locked, but I didn’t want to take any chances. They told me I was arrested when I was cuffed, so I gave my name and address, but not my phone number. I asked to see the PACE code (from the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) immediately and the woman told me to shove off. I politely pointed out that it was my right to request, that I wasn’t intending to piss her off, but I wanted to be able to read their codes. She said that I was a fool to think she carries them around with her – although I’ve seen other police keep them, or something similar, in a pocket.
Anyway, it turns out they just wanted to put the frighteners on me. After asking where I was going to go and giving me blood-curdling warnings about coming back (my instructions were basically to leave the van and keep walking), I was released.
Incidentally, the law they were using to justify this behaviour was ‘obstruction of the highway’.Dave is an attender at Charlbury Local Meeting.
My G20 experienceAs police methods at the G20 demonstration in London on 1 April come under scrutiny Dave Cullen shares his experience of the police approach to the climate camp protest
12 the Friend, 24 April 2009
Book Club previews
Season of Secrets by Sally Nicholls. Marion Lloyd Books. £6.99.The roots of Season of Secrets come from the myth of the green man, a story that has fascinated me since I first heard it at university. In the version I was told, the green man, also called the oak king, is the god of summer. A lot of my books are about ‘damaged’ people and it was this aspect of the oak king that intrigued me. He is so powerful that he creates summer across a whole world simply by existing but he is also incredibly vulnerable, because in order for the winter to come, he must be killed.
A myth is something that is both true and false. It is not as simple as a parable, in which each part of the story represents something in the real world. Rather, it is a way of explaining an emotion or a natural event using the vocabulary of storytelling. Look at a myth
too closely and it shifts and turns into something else. In writing this book I was myth-making and I
wanted the story to be about something more than the seasons. I wanted to base it in real life and to give it some relevance to the real children who would read it. I decided to use the oak king’s cycle of death and rebirth to represent the grief-story of a child whose mother has just died. Like winter, grief doesn’t happen once and then go away forever. It comes back. But I wanted to show that hope comes back too.
Sally Nicholls
Sally Nicholls is an attender at Westminster Meeting. Season of Secrets is her second novel; her first, Ways to Live Forever, won the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize and the Glen Dimplex New Writer of the Year Award. For more information visit www.sallynicholls.com.
Science and Religion at the Crossroads by Frank Parkinson. Imprint Academic. £8.95.Science and Religion at the Crossroads marks the latest step on a spiritual journey that began about the age of fourteen when I was in church and watching the priest add a drop of water to the wine in the chalice. Suddenly the words that accompanied this symbolic action, ‘that we may share your nature, O God, as you shared our human nature in Christ’, struck home. I asked, but my teachers said that only Jesus had God within and my wild surmise was suspiciously heretical. So I stopped asking and ‘shades of the prison house closed about the growing boy’. Nearly fifty years later, my discovery of Friends and ‘that of God within’ gave me a new lease on spiritual life. I could hardly believe my luck.
My passion for science grew particularly from Hubble’s discovery of the galactic redshift and its inescapable conclusion that we live in an expanding cosmos that began in a point of energy, when time and space came into existence. Suddenly the creation story of science displaced the ‘In the beginning’ that opens both Genesis and John’s Gospel and gave a new meaning to the word ‘reality’. I am still unpacking that, but at least I know that we must have been there in that point of creation, so the reality that we traditionally call ‘God’ is logically both within and without us. The other great revelation that came from science was that the evolution of the human species
now depends on us – we have God in our hands. Eighteen years on and I discovered that I had again
become a heretic, even within the broad tent of Friends, for the precious injunction: ‘What canst thou say?’ had somehow become justification for a creed of ego-centrism, totally alien to the God-centredness of historical Quakerism. Atheism was now being preached as a preferable option to ‘that of God’ and it was even proposed that we no longer call ourselves a religious society.
Now I must ask, has the Society reached a stage where those who seek a transforming relationship with a real and present divinity have become in effect a special interest group within a larger body that seeks fulfilment by breaking free from God? We really are at a crossroads.
Frank ParkinsonFrank is a member of Lancaster Area Meeting.
Myth-making and hope’s return
Can science and religion coexist?
April’s Book ClubApril’s Book Club choices are previewed on this page. Readers are invited to submit reviews of 300 words to reach us no later than 15 May.
This month’s Book Club choices ordered through the Quaker Bookshop (020 7663 1030) are p&p free.
Don’t forget that you can also send in suggestions for future Book Club reads.
For Book Club this month authors Sally Nicholls and Frank Parkinson introduce their books…
the Friend, 24 April 2009 13
The Pigment of Your Imagination: mixed race in a global society by Joy Zarembka. Madera Press. ISBN: 978 0979 100 307.
It tends to be a fact that the first thing people notice about one another is the colour of their skin – or is it? In this book Joy Zarembka, who is the daughter of a white American Quaker father and black Kenyan Quaker mother, sets out to explore how being mixed race is viewed in different parts of the world. She grew up in America with its ‘one drop’ definition that determines whether or not you are classified as black or white. She was classified at birth as black, but when her brother was born eighteen months later
he was identified as white! She grew up having to deal with the question: ‘What are you?’ and felt comfortable being labelled either biracial or black and ‘proudly connected to the political struggle of other African-Americans’. When she visited her mother’s family in Kenya she became aware of a different protocol – light-skinned African-Americans were viewed as white.
Joy went on to study sociology and then international relations at Yale and gained a Fox International Fellowship to Cambridge University. In the late 1990s she spent twenty-one months travelling in Britain, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Jamaica interviewing mixed race individuals and their parents. These interviews, together with personal anecdotes and historical backgrounds, form the bulk of the content of the book and offer
a fascinating insight into how people of mixed heritage regard themselves and are regarded in these countries. There are some surprising findings.
Joy makes the point that ‘of the tens of thousands of genes we inherit from our parents, fewer than ten determine skin colour’; therefore we are ‘genetic accidents born into certain circumstances in a certain time and place… For some, race is worn as a badge of pride, for others a mark of shame. And for others, race is incidental.’ She remembers a comment someone told her in Africa: ‘The concept of race is faintly ridiculous. I really think race is God’s own little personal joke on humans.’
Graham Thomas
Graham is a member of London West Area Meeting.
Getting to grips with race
In the Eye of the Storm: swept to the center by Gene Robinson. Morehouse Publishing. £12.99.Gene Robinson is the first openly gay man to be ordained bishop in the Episcopal Church in America. There has been a lot of controversy about this. Gene has written a really lovely book, In the Eye of the Storm – very easy to read, honest and kind. His writing reminds me a bit of Barack Obama’s as both stress the need to hugely respect those that differ from you and to trust that they are acting as they think best. (A good challenge for someone as argumentative on ‘issues’ as me!) It’s a very evangelical book – Gene is very keen on God and Jesus. He paints a very attractive picture of Jesus and the gospels (the whole Bible really) but, for me, it is maybe a bit too over the top in this. Gene says, early in the book, that ‘I respect and revere all those who have come to know God through other faith journeys’. So lovely to hear this from a Christian leader. However his huge enthusiasm for Jesus doesn’t, for me seem to support this assertion. Gene describes himself as theologically conservative and he comes
across even as sexually conservative, from what I read. He is very open though, in writing about sex, and I appreciated this. Gene urges gay folk to ‘come out’ as people of faith: come out as a person of faith to your gay friends, which may be harder than coming out as a gay person to your straight friends! He is very moving in his discussion around AIDS and regarding his involvement in a women’s prison. He’s bold and loving, with a real heart for the oppressed and for justice. But most of all I’m left with the fact of his huge love for those who oppose him. The book may be uncomfortable reading for those determined to keep lesbian and gay folk out of leadership positions in the church, as Gene may well persuade them to change their minds.
Susan GrovesSusan is a member of Devon Area Meeting.
A heart for the oppressed
Book Club reviews
14 the Friend, 24 April 2009
Our mission to understand the root causes of social problems and to identify ways of overcoming them is as relevant today as it was when Joseph Rowntree founded the charities a hundred years ago.
You will not be surprised to learn that the Foundation has changed in many ways since I have been involved: it has grown enormously – we now have an employee base of around 650 (there were only about a hundred when I joined); it has also become much better known locally, within the region and nationally. However, the one constant is that we have stuck to our core purpose – we are ever mindful of why we are here and what we are doing. We stick closely to Joseph Rowntree’s remit – he set out a broad and clear agenda and was ahead of his time in many respects.
As the country struggles with recession, our immediate priority is to try to assist all those who need help now – including our tenants and residents – by commissioning work to understand their situation better and to keep attention focused on those experiencing difficulties. However, we are careful not to lose sight of the long-term issues. We are undertaking research to influence policies and practice that will help prevent the problems
we are seeing in today’s economic climate reoccurring. For example, we have set up a forum to explore how we can prevent the housing cycle of extreme boom and bust, a problem that exposes many vulnerable people to repossession and hardship.
Over the years it has been immensely satisfying to watch how our work can affect and change national policy: thanks to the ‘Lifetime Homes’ project, new homes are now built to higher standards.
The Foundation is not afraid of taking risks – we can and we do. We are fortunate that our funding allows us to stay true to our purpose and maintain our independence.
To single out one area of work as a highlight in my twenty-six years as a trustee would be impossible. Because of my particular professional experience, I have spent a lot of my time supporting a number of innovative housing and care developments in the York region including Hartrigg Oaks – the UK’s first continuing care retirement community – something I have greatly enjoyed. I have also gained a lot of satisfaction from working on our ‘empowerment’ programme that aims to identify ways of enabling
people and communities to have control over their lives. It is hugely embracing and cuts across the other areas of our research into poverty and place.
It is sad to think that some of the problems Joseph identified over a hundred years ago are still on the agenda today. However, the JRF and JRHT are committed to improving the lives of the most disadvantaged in society and strive to provide an excellent service and to demonstrate best practice in housing, supporting communities and care. This is why I would urge fellow Quakers to get involved.The JRF is an endowed foundation that funds a large, UK-wide research and development programme.JRHT is a registered housing association that manages around 2,500 homes and is a registered provider of care services in York and north-east England. The board of trustees is seeking up to three new appointments over the next two years. Appointments will be made jointly with the Religious Society of Friends. An information pack and details of how to apply can be downloaded from www.jrf.org.uk/newtrustees. Closing date for applications is 1 May 2009.
Nigel attends Friargate Local Meeting.
Next year Nigel Naish, great grandson of Joseph Rowntree, retires as a trustee from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) after twenty-seven years in the role. Nigel reflects on the work of the two charities
The challenge to beat social problems
Work in the world
the Friend, 24 April 2009 15
What exactly is slave labour? That is a question that Quaker chocolate makers were trying to answer one hundred years ago. For the background I can recommend a novel, Equator, that tells, in a gripping story with an extraordinary mixture of history and fiction, what led these Quakers in March 1909 to boycott cocoa from the Portuguese islands of São Tomé and Principe, a hundred years before Cadbury’s decision to make Dairy Milk fairtrade (13 March).
The novel, written in Portuguese by Miguel Sousa Tavares, was published six years ago and became an instant bestseller, with over 300,000 copies sold in Portugal by 2007 and translations published in many different languages. The English edition appeared last year in hardback and the paperback is due out in September this year.
It tells the story of Luís Bernado (L-B, fictional), a Lisbon business man who in December 1905 receives a summons to the royal hunting palace for an interview with the king of Portugal, D Carlos, at a time when the republican movement was getting stronger in Portugal. The King tells L-B that Cadbury has complained about São Tomé being unfairly competitive, in places such as the then Gold Coast, by using slave labour on cocoa plantations. They had sent Joseph
Burtt (historical) to investigate and his report was damning. The Portuguese ambassador in London has managed to calm things down and L-B’s job, as governor of the islands, will be to persuade the British government that the workers are not slaves. The situation has become more acute with the nomination of a British consul to São Tomé.
L-B has been chosen because he knows about trade, is legally trained, non-political and a fluent English speaker. When he arrives in São Tomé and visits the plantations he is shocked by the way the Portuguese plantation owners treat their employees, who are almost entirely imported by force from Angola, another Portuguese colony. The owners insist that they treat their workers better than the British treat theirs, with good housing, good food, a medical service and wages. If many fewer of them return home that is because it is thousands of miles across the sea, whereas in the Gold Coast it is only a matter of a day’s walk.
There is a fascinating chapter describing how David Jameson (fictional) spoils a brilliant career in the Indian service through gambling and is offered by George Curzon the choice between dishonourable dismissal and the post of consul in São Tomé that nobody else in the service is willing
to accept. Jameson accepts São Tomé and he and L-B become good friends. While L-B makes enemies of almost all the plantation owners, he is admired and loved by most of the Africans, not least those who work for him in the Residence. Sadly, L-B’s fondness for women brings personal disaster.
The question of slave labour will be settled by the number of workers who return to Angola at the end of their contracts in January 1908. Before that, with the report from Joseph Burtt and early reports from Jameson, William A Cadbury, George’s nephew, goes to Lisbon and has a further meeting (historical) with the Portuguese in November 1907 in an attempt to persuade them to change their ways. His arguments are totally rejected by the Portuguese (historically, the Portuguese agreed to make improvements) and a few weeks later it is clear that few of the workers have gone home.
In March 1909, when the agreed improvements were not made, Cadbury led Fry, Rowntree and all the British importers of cocoa to boycott imports from São Tomé and Principe, exactly one hundred years before Cadbury’s declaration on fairtrade.
Tim Brown is a member of Cambridgeshire Area Meeting.
Cadbury and fairtradeTim Brown considers the boycott of cocoa in 1909, a hundred
years before Cadbury’s recent announcement that it will be using fairtrade chocolate in its Dairy Milk bars
History
16
the Friend, 24 April 2009
On the train from London to Holyhead, I got chatting with an Australian man. All he knew about Quakers he had gleaned, it turned out, from his wife who had come across us in some historical Australian context. We get around and it is by being prepared to discuss Quakers and faith in situations like this that we can fulfil that framework for action priority of ours, ‘speaking out in the world’.
I was reminded of the Quaker online study course run by EMES and Woodbrooke. The final ‘test’ at the end of the course gives you the following scenario: You are on a bus, wearing a Quaker T-shirt. You are about to get off at the next stop when the person sitting next to you asks you what Quakers are. You have two minutes to talk to them. What do you say?
Or rather, what canst thou say? Meanwhile in Britain Yearly Meeting’s framework
for action we are challenged to ‘see Meetings and individuals expressing their Quaker faith and values wherever opportunities arise’, including ‘talking in the bus queue’.
So the difference between British Quakers and the rest of the section is that we are expectantly waiting while the other European and Middle East Quakers are busy going places.
Just before Easter, our production editor, Jez Smith, headed off to the European and Middle East Section of Friends World Committee for Consultation annual meeting at Moyallon, near Portadown (see news reports, 17 April). Below he shares some of his thoughts from the trip.
The bus stop test
EMES travel notes
Barrels and pipelinesSafely in Dublin I received the kind hospitality of Janice and Roy. In the evening we went to their Meeting, Churchtown, where Neil Endicott from the Quaker Council for European Affairs was giving a talk about the proposed Nabucco project that might take gas from Turkmenistan to Europe. In relation to one aspect of energy relations he suggested that Russia and others have Europe ‘over a barrel’ but more aptly he may have meant ‘over a pipeline’. Neil’s report on the subject will be out later this year, so look out for that.
Neil also stayed with a Dublin Friend overnight, but he had done more to earn his keep. Our situation made me think of travelling in the ministry and that Neil had sung for his supper, while I was merely hoping to report on the event for the Friend. All you got was this little piece.
The EMES annual meeting involved some worship sharing sessions on the theme of Martha and Mary (see Luke 10:38-42). We were encouraged to get rid of some of our cumber. A late (but not final) draft of the epistle encouraged Quakers to shed their Q cumber, something that might be unique to Friends. Visit http://tinyurl.com/c9wqkq to read the epistle.
Q cumber
In a special Easter edition of the BBC Radio 4 Sunday programme looking at spiritual leadership, Friends in Manchester and London were asked for their views. Enid Pinch of Manchester & Warrington Area Meeting said that she felt ‘people who consider themselves to be natural leaders are best avoided’ and suggested that decisions are best made ‘using everybody, using the power of the gathered Meeting’.
On the same channel, Simon Heywood of Sheffield Meeting appeared in the Word of Mouth show, presented by Michael Rosen, on Tuesday 14 April. Simon talked about story-telling for adults. Lately Simon has been touring Britain with Nick Hennessey as they perform The Middle Yard, a beautiful tale that draws on Irish mythology.
Finally, with all the current interest in interior
design – just see how many TV programmes there are redesigning homes – you may well be familiar with the Omega Workshops, which was the name given to a design company founded by the Bloomsbury set at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Roger Fry, a Quaker critic, formed the company and much of the modern art of his day found its way into textiles and designs for household accessories. Bloomsbury artists like Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell worked for Omega, but another less well-known artist – who has been called ‘the unsung heroine of the Omega workshops’ – is now to be given her due. She is the Quaker Winifred Gill and a programme, There’s more here than I thought, devoted to her life and work will be broadcast on Tuesday, 28 April at 11.30am on Radio 4.
Quakers on the radio
a Quaker look at the world
the Friend 24 April 2009 17
Friends&Meetings
Diary
Deaths Changes to meeting
Notices
SURVIVING YOUR PARTNERA practical yet sensitive self-helpguide to living with the death of theperson closest to you. "Gives thebereaved hope and empowerment."£5.99+p&p from the author. Buyonline at www.sylviamurphy.com01395 267367.
RIGHT RELATIONSHIP:TOWARDS A WHOLE EARTHECONOMY Quaker Institute forthe Future Symposium, 15-16 May2009, Montreal. Don’t fly! Joinothers participating remotely fromFriends House, London. Conferencedetails www.moraleconomy.orgRegistration Suzanne Ismail:[email protected]
Ron HOGWOOD 1 April. Husbandof the late Glen (d. 26 December2008). Both aged 83. Members ofRochester Meeting.
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RAF FYLINGDALES MEETINGFOR WORSHIP Saturday 2 May,12 noon - 1pm under the care ofPickering and Hull AM. Followed by picnic at Pickering FMH. Contact01751 432416 or 01751 472827.All welcome.
THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO KILLA ceremony to mark InternationalConscientious Objectors Day, noonFriday 15 May. CO Stone, TavistockSquare, Bloomsbury, London WC1.Everybody welcome.
DONCASTER LM From Sunday26 April for the duration of therefurbishment of FMH, MfW willbe held at the Women's Centre,Cleveland Rd, DN1 3EH at 10.30am.Further details: 01909 567279 oremail [email protected]
Olive PRATLEY 9 April peacefullyat Poole Hospital. Mother of Davidand Mary, mother-in-law of Linda.Member of Poole Meeting, formerlyof Wembley. Aged 92. Donations:Quaker Housing Trust.
BRINGING SPIRITUALEXPERIENCE TO EVERYDAY LIFEA contemplative workshop atFrenchay Meeting House nearBristol. Saturday 23 May, 1.30-6.30pmVisit ei-bath.info/insight-for-changefor details or phone Emma on01225 446972.
CIRCLE DANCE HOLIDAYLake District, Cumbria
* Summer * Solstice * Festival *19-25 June £140
Pablo Scornik, Lucia Cordeiro, Stefan & Bethan Freedman, Jan Mulreany.
Low cost accommodation at Rookhow Centre and village hall.Free camping. List of local b&b. Daily rates also available.
Information & booking:[email protected]
Sheila Buckfield, 2 Colt Stead, New Ash Green, Longfield DA3 8LNTel. 01474 872537
FRIENDS OF HLEKWENIGathering & Yearly Business MeetingSaturday 16 May 2009, 11.15am to3.30pm, Milton Keynes FMH.Report on recent visit to Hlekweni,Zimbabwe, plus talk on The SpiritLevel. Newsletter, more details:[email protected] welcome.
Denis LEMIN 16 April. Husbandof Dora, father of Liz and Julian.Member of Bangor Meeting.Aged 88. Funeral Friday 24 April at1.30pm at Bangor Crematorium.
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BEAUTIFUL, RUGGED PEMBROKESHIRE.Two eco-friendly, recently convertedbarns on smallholding. Each sleeps 4.Coastal path 2 miles. 01348 [email protected]
PEMBROKESHIRE, NEAR TENBY. Goldensands, castles, Coast Path. Two comfort-able flats attached to 16th century farm-house, each sleeping 5. Peaceful environ-ment. 01834 845868. [email protected]
ENJOY A RELAXING HOLIDAY on theLlyn Peninsula in a cosy, well-equippedcottage. Near to beaches and countryside.Sleeps 4. www.nantmynytho.comEmail: [email protected], Mynytho, Pwllheli LL53 7SG.
SOUTHWEST CORNWALL. Helford Riverarea. Comfortable, characterful, self-catering accommodation. 2 adults. Quiet.Large garden. 01326 231382.
ORKNEY, WEST MANSE, WESTRAY.Dramatic seas and skies outside: peace,security and friendship inside. Self cateringcottage, and rooms. 01857 677482www.millwestray.com
WARM, FRIENDLY NEWCASTLE B&B Jesmond. Quiet, adjacent Metro/city.Veggies welcome. 0191 285 4155.
THINKING OF RECRUITING A WARDENOR RESIDENT FRIEND?
Contact Quaker Life for friendly,helpful advice.
Richard Summers 020 7663 [email protected]
LAKE DISTRICT. Stay in one of the oldestQuaker meeting houses. Barrow Wife,built 1677, now 4 star holiday cottage.Sleeps 8 people, with adjoining cottage 6more. 015395 38180.www.lakeland-cottage-company.co.uk
Ad pages 24 Apr 21/4/09 13:18 Page 4
the Friend 24 April 2009 19
miscellaneousOVERSEAS HOLIDAYS
YOUR BEST INVESTMENT are comfortablefeet. Visit James Taylor & Son, Bespokeshoemakers, 4 Paddington Street, (nearBaker Street), London W1U 5QE. Tel. 0207935 4149. www.taylormadeshoes.co.uk
for sale & to let
LANGUEDOC; our family’s holiday cottagenear River Tarn, Roquefort, Albi; sleeps5/8. Low rates to Friends. 01653 [email protected]
personalHOUSE SITTERS. We need a couple/familyto occupy Cumbria farmhouse (1652Country) 1 Sept. - 20 Oct. (whole orpart). Rent free, £50pw out-goings.Details: [email protected] or015396 25321.
DORDOGNE/LOT. Beautiful house instunning location. Sleeps 8. Pool, games-room, woodland. Ideal wildlife, walking,watersports, historic sites. 10% discountfor Friends. Tel:01404 813004.www.dordognehousetorent.co.uk
FAUGÉRES, LANGUEDOC. Well equipped,unpretentious village house. Ideal forwalks, wine, historic towns. 310 Euros pw,sleeps 4/6. Terrace. 15 miles northBeziers. Montpellier 1hr, Carcassonne 90mins, sea 40 mins. Brochure/availability:www.faugeres.co.uk Call Liz 0113 2576232, email: [email protected]
MALTA FAMILY FLAT, overlooking colour-ful harbour. Sleeps 6. £63/adult/week.School children half price. Student rateavailable. Ann Millar 01467 [email protected]
POLAND. Mountain house for rent.Amazing views. Sleeps 1-6. Mark 01223423333. www.holidayhomeinpoland.co.uk
FENNELL HOMES, a Bury St EdmundsQuaker charity, offers 2 bedroom firstfloor flat from this summer. In centre oftown, next to the Meeting House. Rent£320 per month. [email protected] or telephone01284735620 for further details.
WEST CORNWALL. Studio flat, sleeps 2.Near south coast. Walking. Beautifulbeaches. Contact 01736 [email protected]
MID-MAINE CLAPBOARD COTTAGE,in woodlands near lake. Sleeps 4-6. Well-equipped, own canoe. Great familyholidays. £250-300 pw. 0113 262 [email protected]
ACCOUNTING SERVICESCharity Accounts prepared.
Independent Examinations carried out.Personal taxation.
Contact David Stephens FCCAon 07843 766685
Email: [email protected]
ARTIST-MADE JEWELLERY: pendants,earrings and brooches, incorporatinghandwritten text. Visit:www.deborahrehmat.co.uk
QUAKER MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES,partnerships, commitments, notices andother calligraphy. Liz Barrow 01223 369776.
ECO ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING andpermaculture design. Sustainable, ecologicaldesigns and consultants. Website:www.eco-architectureandplanning.comTelephone: Sophie 01235 529266.
WRITING YOUR FAMILY’S HISTORY?Books typeset for your family’s pleasure.Photos and other graphics can be included.Contact Trish on 020 8446 [email protected] printed material also prepared.
RECYCLE YOUR USED CARTRIDGES ANDmobiles to the financial advantage ofQuaker Bolivia Link. Take a look atwww.qblrecycle.co.uk or phone Howardon 01458 241205.
FRIENDS FELLOWSHIP OF HEALINGRestoring the Quaker tradition of healing.www.quaker-healing.org.uk
TRANQUIL NORFOLK VILLAGE,near Blakeney. Delightful artist’s cottage,accommodates 5+. Sunny orchardgardens. Bird watching, sailing, walking.Available all year. Tel. 01382 275395www.thornage.com
WYE VALLEY, MONMOUTHSHIREOld stone cottage sleeps six. Peacefullocation near river and woods. Walkingand wildlife. Tel: 020 8560 7724.www.whitehallcottage.co.uk
LONDON N8, CROUCH END. Self-contained basement flat. Double bedroom.Quiet. Bright. £900 pcm. Available June.Contact Cecilia Clementel 01277 227113.
New build Quaker Meeting HouseArchitects soughtFor a new building for our Hammersmith Quaker MeetingThe proposed infill site is 675 square meters. Projected building value£1.5 – £2 million.
Experienced architects with London access interested in designing andoverseeing the building of our new place of worship should submitelectronically a Power Point file including information about their practiceand people, annual turnover and 4 case studies in no more than 6 slides.Printed copies also required. Deadline for submissions: 29 May 2009.Please see our website www.hammersmithmeeting.com for furtherguidance and relevant addresses.
Leaveners AnnualGeneral Meeting 9 May 2009Northfield Meeting HouseBirminghamCome meet old friends atThe Leaveners interactive AGM.Sing some songs and join inwith some creative workshops.
11.00: Arrivals11.30: Workshops 13.00: Shared Lunch14.00: AGM Business and
Review of the Past Year16.00: End
For more information contactPaul LevyPhone: 0121 414 0099Email: [email protected]
WHAT A LOT OF GREAT HOLIDAYS!
Ad pages 24 Apr 21/4/09 13:18 Page 5
EDITORIAL173 Euston RoadLondon NW1 2BJT 020 7663 1010F 020 7663 11-82E [email protected]
vol 167
No 17
ADVERTISEMENT DEPT54a Main Street
Cononley, KeighleyBD20 8LL
T 01535 630 230E [email protected] the Friend
QUAKER HOUSENEW MILTON
HampshireResidential care home with
personal independence
For active older people
ROOM AVAILABLE• Quaker in origin, residents from
any religion or none welcome.
• High standard of individualcare provided by trained andexperienced staff
• An excellent residential homeoffering independence, dignityand privacy with individual choice
• Very reasonable inclusive fees
• Not for profit charitable status
• Purpose built two storeybuilding with lift - all roomshave en-suite facilities.
• In-house activities and entertain-ment - planned outings.
• Easy walk to New Milton and onemile from the sea and cliff top.
Respite care available.
Please call 01425 617656 for aninformal discussion and
to arrange an assessment ofyour needs
You are very welcome to makean appointment to view QuakerHouse with a friend or relative
and we can talk about yourrequirements.
For further details and abrochure please call Paul
Abbott, Home Manager on01425 617656.
See our websitewww.quakerhouse.org.uk
HAVE YOU EVERTHOUGHT OF
BEING A BOARDMEMBER?
Quaker House New Milton(Hampshire)
Residential Care Home
Being a Board Member is anincredibly important role and agood way to make a significantdifference to our business. As arespected and responsible role, itis also a great way to develop newskills and it is a good way to getinvolved in supporting yourcommunity.
Board Members do not receive aremuneration, we are a not forprofit organization registered withcharitable status - we aim to keepour fees as low as possible.Reasonable travel expenses paid.
The Role:Support the Management Board tooversee the quality service deliveryto 40 older residents througheffective participation at BoardMeetings (9 per year).
Ensure the service continues tooperate within the legislativerequirements of a residential carehome.
We also welcome applicants whoare interested in supporting asub committee to enable us toundertake specific projects.
The PersonCommitment to the ethos, valuesand independence of Quaker House.
Willing to use your knowledge,skills and professional expertise tosupport the current Board ofManagement to develop theservices we provide.
All posts are subject to CRB andreference checks.
For an informal discussionplease contact either:
Anthony Fox (Chair) on01425 618801
Paul Abbott(Registered Manager)
on 01425 617656.
THEORDER OF
THECROSS
WE ARE A SPIRITUALFELLOWSHIP and we follow avegetarian/vegan, pacifist andcompassionate life-style asreflected in the distinctive mystical writings of the Order’sfounder, John Todd Ferrier.
The Cross is an ancient and universal symbol:“The Cross is the most sacredsign in the universe and is asymbolic expression of the
sublimest Mystery of Being”.It not only depicts for us the balance and uprightness that isvital for spiritual growth andattainment, but also emphasizesthe need for these qualities to bepresent in our outer lives.
The continuity of consciousnessthrough many lives enables spiritual realities to become clearer to the inner vision, thushelping fulfil the spiritual potential of all souls.
*******For information on the
Order’s teachings and activities,both in the UK and abroad,
please visit the Order’s website:www.orderofthecross.org
or contact our Londonheadquarters:
The Order of the Cross (F)10 De Vere Gardens
LONDON W8 5AETel: 020 7937 7012
Email: [email protected]
Quaker writersoughtQuaker Life are looking for awriter to help write a replacementfor Elfrida Vipont Foulds’ bookThe Birthplace of Quakerism, aguidebook to the 1652 country.If you are interested, or can sug-gest someone else who might be,contact Tom Harris in Quaker Lifeoutreach for further information:[email protected] or call himon 020 7663 1016. Thank you.
Ad pages 24 Apr 21/4/09 13:18 Page 6
