Events Listings
Continuing into 2012
The camp continues on the Cathedral forecourt with daily General Assemblies welcoming everyone at 6.30pm every evening, and weekly Public Assemblies on Saturdays at midday. Inspired by the occupation of hundreds of cities across the globe, it is committed to a peaceful expression of views and engaging with a broad range of interested people and groups. All who are committed to non-violent protest are invited.
Fresh from hosting the 3rd National Occupy Conference, Occupy Sheffield has so far resisted the Cathedral’s attempt to evict the camp. In court this last week the judge agreed that there was no straightforward matter of trespass and the case will now be heard at a later date.
If you can get, go to show your support. If you can’t stay, at least check their needs on the wishlist on the website and see if you can offer any help.
http://occupysheffield.org.uk
Now until Wed 29 Feb 2012, Access Space, AVEC Building, 3-7 Sidney St. S1 4RG
Access Space open access media lab (opposite the Rutland Arms) is the unconventional setting for an exhibition by Sheffield artist Anthony Carroll. In Crisis What Crisis, a series of Dali-esque paintings satirizes the current crisis, self-serving institutions and their attitude to the 99% of us who suffer. Open Tues-Sat 11am-7pm (i.e. closed Sundays and Mondays). Entry free.
http://www.access-space.org/doku.php?id=events:crisis_what_crisis
Fri 27 Jan – Mon 30 Jan 2012
It’s January. It’s freezing, and now the bills are starting to bite. As the Big Six energy companies rake in profits of 700% and the government freezes the fuel allowance, it’s time to tell the Big Six and the government that we’ve had enough! Small reductions in bills by some companies are a drop in the ocean: many people are still going cold or cutting down on food.
The Bix Six continues to blame extortionate fuel prices on the switch to green energy. In fact, green measures only account for a tiny percentage of the price hike. The real story is of an energy monopoly making massive profits from spiraling prices, and continuing to burn fossil fuels at a climate-wrecking rate. The cost of their profits is people dying cold in their homes in the UK, and suffering the devastating effects of climate change across the world.
One in four families in the UK is shivering, out of sight, behind closed doors. Meanwhile six companies are deciding how 99% of our energy is sourced, produced and priced. We think it’s time we had a say in these decisions, which have a major effect on our health and our climate.
The ‘Warm Ups’: On the last weekend of January, Fuel Poverty Action will be heating things up! People across the UK will come out of their cold homes and into the warm offices of the Big Six: E.ON, EDF, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern, Centrica (British Gas), and Npower. Others will warm-up at town halls and housing associations, which are putting profit and cuts before people’s welfare.
Bearing flasks of tea and our own experiences of landlords that won’t listen, unaffordable bills, tuition fees, and debts, as well as cuts in services, benefits and working conditions, our winter warm-ups will be taking place wherever cuts are biting and warm spaces look inviting. As people warm up, they’ll be taking the chance to discuss how to achieve a democratic, sustainable energy system.
This is a call to anti-cuts groups, local youth and pensioner organisations, environmental groups, and anyone who knows that it’s time to break the stranglehold of the Big Six. Stop shivering in silence, let’s warm-up together!
Organise your own winter warm up! Visit our website for:
- Details of local actions already taking place
- Tips on how to organize your own ‘warm-up’
- A leaflet you can download and reproduce
- A model press release
Part of the Nationwide Fuel Poverty Action Winter Warm-up
www.fuelpovertyaction.wordpress.com
Sat 28 Jan 2012, Chesterfield
Transition Chesterfield will be holding its 4th annual Potato Day, to encourage people to grow their own food, beginners welcome.
There will be seed potatoes at 12p each (no minimum purchase quantities), 44 different varieties. Also onion sets, garlic, and shallots. Any surplus potatoes are distributed to local schools, and funds raised go towards other Transition projects, such as planting fruit trees in public parks and supporting Chesterfield in Bloom.
It is possible to pre-order your potatoes, using a form that is downloadable from the website below. For hard copies to pass around to your friends, please email: food@transitionchesterfield.org.uk. Pre-orders must be in before 10th December, and get a discount of around 20%. Pre-ordering also gives you a better chance of getting the varieties and quantities you want. Last year it was very crowded at the event, which sold out in less than two hours.
Transition Chesterfield
Sat 28 Jan 2012, 10.45am-12.45pm at Blue Moon Café, 2 St James St. S1 2EW
Sheffield Vegetarian Group meets on the last Saturday of each month. Phone to confirm: Jenni 07929 831866.
Sat 28 Jan 2012, 1pm-7pm, SADACCA, 48 The Wicker, S3 8JB
City of Sanctuary and the Incredible Cultures of Sheffield invite you to Multicultural Festival day, hosted by DNA Culture
and featuring food, crafts, workshops and performances by musicians and dancers from all over the world.
www.cityofsanctuary.org/sheffield
Mon 30 Jan 2012, 11am-3pm, Old Junior School, South View Rd, Sharrow S7 1DB
Every Monday, Sheffield's Refugee Asylum Seeker Action Group (RASAG) runs this IT (information technology) club providing a friendly, warm environment with computers, high speed internet access, literacy and ESOL. They always welcome help with paired reading and IT support.
http://sheffieldrasag.wordpress.com
Wed evenings from 1 Feb 2012, 7-9pm, Central United Reformed Church, Chapel Walk S1 2JB
A guide to edible-culture in ten evening classes. Organics, Biodynamics & Permaculture; the practical science involved in growing food. The subject is presented as a human-centred occupation or craft which can bring life-long enjoyment in the form of edible art.
Students receive a copy of the course book, access to an extensive seed-bank of local heritage varieties of edible crops and herbs, and a library of relevant books and archive material. Also the chance to taste samples of fresh produce each week, including dozens of types of apples and pears. The course is an opportunity to get to know other people with an interest in local growing and eating.
Tutor Richard Clare has been delivering courses for more than ten years and is adept at guiding both beginner and experienced growers. He has developed and maintained a range of small, medium and large-scale growing sites in and around the city and co-ordinated a variety of public access projects. Taking food-growing seriously, Richard has been responsible for initiating projects such as the Ponderosa community orchard, Gardening for Health, the LEAF, SAGE and Well-Being allotments, the Green Food Map, Grow!Sheffield, Abundance, LandShare and Allotment Soup. He believes we need a new term to describe the current interest in self-sufficiency, which he calls “Ediculture” - Edible Culture, to distinguish this activity from ornamental, garden horticulture or commercial, farm-scale agriculture.
To book a place or for more information Sheff 2686727 / 07771-832759 or email: ediculture@gmail.com
Wed 1 Feb 2012, 7pm Quaker Meeting House, 10 St James St. S1 2EW
Sheffield Equality Group meetings aim to be an open space where people can discuss and plan actions around income equality. Meetings are on the first Wednesday in every month.
This meeting includes a workshop on the fairness commission, discussion of universal benefit and fairer taxation, and a report back from the national Occupy conference in Sheffield. All welcome.
www.sheffieldequalitytrust.org.uk
Wed 1 Feb 2012, 7.30pm-9pm, Sheffield Trades Club, 200 Duke St. S2 5QQ
People can achieve so much more when they work together. Unite’s mission is for a society that places equality, dignity and respect above all else. But the union recognises it can only achieve this by bringing people together from all walks of life.
In that spirit, Unite is holding this open meeting to create strong community champions, that can fight and campaign collectively for vital community services, marginalised individuals and communities that are currently under attack. Unite Community Membership is 50p a week and has some great benefits, such as legal help, benefits advice, and a hardship fund, plus more. Equally as important is Community Membership offering millions of voiceless people the chance to get organised and fight on issues that really affect them. The opportunity to make a difference in YOUR community and contribute to building a better more inclusive Sheffield.
In the spirit of equality everyone will be encouraged to talk about why they are at the meeting, what they expect from the union and they are free to express any experiences they wish to share.
Buses 120 or 123 from interchange. The venue has disabled access and free car parking.
Facebook group
Facebook event
Email gareth50lane@googlemail.com
www.unitetheunion.org/community
Wed 1 Feb 2012, 6.30pm Quaker Meeting House, 10 St James St. S1 2EW
Everyone is welcome to this Sheffield Humanist Society meeting with human rights campaigner Maryam Namazie, speaking about the One Law for All campaign which opposes the use of Sharia and other religious ‘courts’ in the UK. A recent item on the BBC News site about the growth of these courts emphasises the need for the campaign. Sharia law is practised in Britain on a ‘voluntary’ and sometimes legally binding basis. Women from a Muslim background, who may lack knowledge of English and their rights under British law, can be pressured into using these ‘courts’. Refusal to abide by their rulings can give rise to ostracism, threats and intimidation. The One Law for All Campaign aims to guarantee equal rights for all.
Maryam is spokesperson for a number of Human Rights organisations including the One Law for All Campaign, Equal Rights Now and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. For more information see: www.onelawforall.org.uk and http://maryamnamazie.com
www.sheffieldhumanists.org.uk
Wed 1 Feb 2012, from 3pm, the chapel in Burngreave Cemetery (top of Burngreave St.)
Friends of ASSIST Sheffield are running this workshop on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday every month. They welcome help, especially donated bikes, volunteer mechanics, and home-baked treats! For info email comacworkshop (at) gmail.com or call 07792 923906
Thu 2 Feb 2011, from 6.30pm, Quaker Meeting House, St James St. S1 2EW
Hazelhurst Community Supported Agriculture recently appointed a grower who will start on 1st March, and have a polytunnel and a composting toilet up and ready to go. They now launch their share offer at an exciting event called From your Farm to your Fork. Rebecca Laughton, presenting, is an expert on community-based organic, sustainable cultivation, and author of Surviving and Thriving on the Land
Welcome with home-made food 6.30pm, 7pm meeting.
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www.hazelhurst.coop
Thu 2 Feb 2012, 7.30pm, 268 Verdon Street, Burngreave S3 9QS
Sheffield Social Centre is a collective for libertarian DIY space in the city. If you´re interested in the social centre project, or intrigued by it at the very least, you´re very welcome - the project is open to all who share it´s core principles of non-hierarchy, anti-capitalism and equality/non-discrimination.
http://sheffieldsocialcentre.org.uk
Thu 2 Feb 2012, 7-9pm, Central United Reformed Church, 60 Norfolk Street S1 2JB
The World Development Movement (WDM) is a UK-based anti-poverty campaigning organisation with action and projects. This meeting examines links in food sovereignty and local food production, in the UK and abroad.
WDM Sheffield website
Saturdays, 12-4pm, Feb to April 2012
The 9th annual Sharrow Lantern Carnival will be on Sun. 1st April 2012 (or 15th if it rains on the 1st). The theme this year is magic! Hundreds of hand-made lanterns of all sizes will be on display, along with fire spinners, musical acts, and over 3000 people parading through the streets, led by Sheffield Samba Band.
There will be weekly workshops from Feb through to the carnival, simultaneously at Highfield Trinity Hall and Old Junior School in Sharrow. (Generally, larger lanterns are made at the Trinity Hall). EVERY Sat from 4th Feb to 31st March. THEN Sun 1st OR 15th Apr: Highfield Trinity Hall at 3-7pm; Old Junior School Hall at 3-8pm. Sessions and materials are free.
Sharrow Lantern Carnival website
