Dorset 3.0

Just a quick update to say that we were doing a Radical Routes stall last weekend, during the third Dorset Radical Bookfair here. We were there to talk about Radical Routes and co-ops in general, and enjoyed various chatter with co-operators new and old – and at least one new Dorset-based co-op should be getting along to the next Radical Routes Gathering in November, to help get their project off the ground.

Various UK-wide campaigns and distros were present, doing their thing, including Berkshire Antifascists, Black Skin Black Flag, Dorset Parents Campaign Group for SEND Children (see link for their FB page), Freedom Press, IWW Dorset, Prisonism, Wessex Solidarity, and Weymouth Animal Rights, amongst others. There was also fellow Bristolians, Bristol Anarchist Federation and Bristol Radical History Group.

Various meetings were held, on the following topics: ‘Chav Solidarity’, ‘Green Romanticism’, ‘Land and Liberty’, ‘The News. Really?’, ‘Prison: A Survival Guide’, ‘Reclaiming Pride’, ‘Strengthening Global Links: On International Anarchism’, and ‘Wildcat strikes in the Royal Mail’.

The day was capped by an afterparty of punk and folk, with sets by the Sporadics, Blunders, Broken Dregs, Jonny L, and Ash Ludd & Dan Kemp. All in all, a good day out for all present, and we hope to be back there at the Corn Exchange next year.

Beyond Dorset, we’re also looking to get Radical Routes co-ops stalls present at various other events this year. We still need slots filled at the Derbyshire Woodland Festival on the 21st and 22nd September, as well as the Co-op Party Conference in Glasgow between the 11th and 13th October, and also at the Practitioners’ Forum in Manchester on 7th November; if you can help get Radical Routes stalls happening at these events, please get in touch. Also, the next RR Gathering takes place between the 15th and 17th November, at the Star and Shadow in Newcastle, and all are welcome* to come along.

*You know, if you care about co-ops and making the world a better place, that is.