# The Brixton Pound would like your input - especially if you don't use it!



## simonautomatic (Nov 5, 2012)

Hi all,

This forum isn't exactly known as a hotbed of support for the B£ - but that's good on this occasion, as we're seeking constructive feedback from as many community members as possible - and we'd like to hear from you whether you love or hate the scheme.

We've notched up some considerable achievements over the last three years - there are now over 230 businesses who are part of the scheme, around B£100,000 in circulation, 800+ registered members who use the UK's first text-message based currency (B£ Pay-by-text) and over B£5,000 being traded every month. Electronic B£ balances can now be used by businesses to pay their business rates (a first of its kind in the UK) and - as of a few weeks ago - Lambeth staff can sign up to receive part of their salary in B£e. And yes, they *are* signing up and November will see the first B£e "pay packets". All of this is designed to entice more people out of the high street chain stores and into our local, independent outlets, helping more money and wealth to stay local - benefiting our community.

We're currently writing a three year strategic plan for 2013-2016, and we really want this to be a blueprint for what Brixton's community needs - economically that is. We can't write it effectively without substantial input from the community, hence we've been holding a range of consultations, strategic planning sessions and surveys of our business and member communities.

Good Innovation are going to be running a series of small focus groups over the next few weeks, to see how the B£ might need to change or extend what we're doing and how we can effectively communicate it to the widest possible audience in Brixton. We're looking for opinionated, outgoing and articulate people. It doesn't matter whether you love or hate the scheme, or are just on the fence - and you don't need to have used the scheme at all. We need as many viewpoints represented as possible. Our only criteria is that you live in Brixton, and have an evening free at some point before Christmas. We may even be able to reward you (in B£ of course) - that's TBC though.

If you'd be willing to participate, please email me simon@brixtonpound.org and let me know the following:

a) If you have ever used paper or electronic B£
b) if you regularly use either
c) If you know about the scheme but have not engaged with it yet
d) If you know about the scheme but actively choose not to engage with it
e) roughly what your availability is like over the next few weeks

Many thanks,

Simon (on behalf of the whole B£ team)


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## Firky (Nov 5, 2012)

*sets up deck chair*


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## Greebo (Nov 5, 2012)

*opens popcorn stand*


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## Onket (Nov 5, 2012)

Onket said:


> To clarify- I spend a lot of time in Brixton, but have never ever been offered this in my change. So I'd have to buy the money to then spend it, and even then probably never be offered anymore in my change ever again. I would take it if offered, as most of the places I go in Brixton have stickers saying they accept it.


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## editor (Nov 5, 2012)

Hi Simon - thanks for coming onboard and asking for some opinions. Good on ya'!

Maybe my own experiences can get the discussion started: 

I've used the Brixton pound a bit, but seeing as I almost exclusively work, eat , drink and shop in Brixton and whenever possible, shop in local markets and spend my money with local businesses, I sort of get the feeling that I'm not really the target audience.

I know the idea of the currency is to encourage people to shop local and use local products and services but I'm kind of there already. In fact, I feel that if I start taking advantage of some of the discounts that the Brixton £ offers, I'd be actively giving the shopkeepers _less_ cash. 

Or am I missing something?


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## free spirit (Nov 5, 2012)

I'm not in brixton or anywhere close, but any scheme that after this length of time can only boast £5k a month of turnover is quite obviously a hopeless failure, and a total waste of everybodies time and effort in supporting the scheme.

that's just £20 turnover per registered business per month - this is an abject failure in anyone's book.

Seriously there must be hundreds of more cost and energy effective ways of boosting the local economy in brixton, so my unbiased outsider viewpoint as someone who supports the general aims of transition towns, is that you should end this experiment as swiftly as you can, and move on to something a lot more effective.


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## editor (Nov 5, 2012)

free spirit said:


> Seriously there must be hundreds of more cost and energy effective ways of boosting the local economy in brixton, so my unbiased outsider viewpoint as someone who supports the general aims of transition towns, is that you should end this experiment as swiftly as you can, and move on to something a lot more effective.


Sounds a tad harsh to me. I'd say the Brixton £ has generated significant publicity and that may or may not result in more spending overall (I suspect it has).

Personally, I rather like having our own currency. What would your alternatives be?


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## simonautomatic (Nov 5, 2012)

Just to be clear, we're not really looking for feedback in this thread (sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post) - we're looking for people to come and engage with us in the flesh. If you're up for that, please get in touch.


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## editor (Nov 5, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Just to be clear, we're not really looking for feedback in this thread (sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post) - we're looking for people to come and engage with us in the flesh. If you're up for that, please get in touch.


Do you not think that you may get more people to engage if they had a better understanding of what the Brixton £ was all about?


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## Boudicca (Nov 5, 2012)

I can't see the point to be honest.  It's cumbersome to operate and probably only used by Brixton loyalists who would be shopping there anyway.  So there is a case to be made that the more successful it is, the less money the local traders make.

As free spirit says, there are better ways to support local traders.  For instance, an online directory of shops with 'deals' which benefit buyers and sellers. 

Oh yes and my definition of local shops is wider than just Brixton.


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## Boudicca (Nov 5, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Just to be clear, we're not really looking for feedback in this thread (sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post) - we're looking for people to come and engage with us in the flesh. If you're up for that, please get in touch.


You are probably going to get it anyway....


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## simonautomatic (Nov 5, 2012)

editor said:


> Do you not think that you may get more people to engage if they had a better understanding of what the Brixton £ was all about?


We're particularly looking for people who don't know that much about the scheme and/or have not engaged with it to any extent - so actually it's a bonus *not* to understand it particularly well! The focus group will include an introduction.


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## free spirit (Nov 5, 2012)

editor said:


> Sounds a tad harsh to me. I'd say the Brixton £ has generated significant publicity and that may or may not result in more spending overall (I suspect it has).
> 
> Personally, I rather like having our own currency. What would your alternatives be?


ah, well yes, if you're counting the impact of publicity from the scheme, then yes that does change things a bit, as it's certainly generated a lot of PR.

Personally I prefer a scheme to actually deliver on it's objective via the actual functioning of the scheme, rather than relying entirely on the impact of positive PR that the scheme might generate. This can soon turn into negative publicity if anyone bothered to look at the figures and see how ridiculous the entire thing is... or worse, if the scheme actually went completely belly up and took the local credit union down with it, which has to be a risk unless they've backed the scheme via a 100% reserve of real pounds and not touched any of it for their running costs (as I hope is the case).

£60k a year of local turnover (most of which would probably have happened anyway) seems a pretty poor return for £30k of funding in 2010-11 that I could be bothered to find.

This may seem harsh, but this was always pitched as being an experiment, and in my book experiments need to actually be evaluated to determine if they've proven or disproven the theory. The numbers here seem to speak for themselves on that score, and IMO they really ought to be reviewing this and spreading those sorts of lessons through the transition towns network so other groups can learn from it, instead of ploughing on regardless as they seem to be doing.


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## free spirit (Nov 5, 2012)

> the Brixton Pound is transferring *its stirling reserves of around £30,000* away from HSBC and into an LMCU account.
> The Brixton Pound is a community interest company printing its own money for use in the local area, with 200 Brixton businesses currently accepting the paper notes and *B£65,000 in circulation*.


http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/finan...l_groups_collaborate_to_battle_dinosaur_banks

that doesn't sound too clever.


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## editor (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> We're particularly looking for people who don't know that much about the scheme and/or have not engaged with it to any extent - so actually it's a bonus *not* to understand it particularly well! The focus group will include an introduction.


I can see that but I suspect you're going to find it _very_ hard to get people willing to engage enough for them to give up their time to talk about it. But I do wish you good luck with it!


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 6, 2012)

editor said:


> I've used the Brixton pound a bit, but seeing as I almost exclusively work, eat , drink and shop in Brixton and whenever possible, shop in local markets and spend my money with local businesses, I sort of get the feeling that I'm not really the target audience.
> 
> I know the idea of the currency is to encourage people to shop local and use local products and services but I'm kind of there already. In fact, I feel that if I start taking advantage of some of the discounts that the Brixton £ offers, I'd be actively giving the shopkeepers _less_ cash.
> 
> Or am I missing something?


Very much the same with me - I avoid all the supermarkets and chain stores and almost always use the market & independent traders. I was one of the first 100 people to sign up and change my money into B£ but in the end it didn't really seem to make any difference (to me personally) as I was already shopping locally. A few points that might be helpful:

 - Not enough people know about the text/electronic form of B£. This is potentially very useful. I should probably use it myself, but I haven't really got round to it yet. It seems a massive step forward from the paper money.

 - Encouraging traders to give it in change (as Onket suggested above) would increase awareness and usage.

 - There's a MASSIVE potential bunch of new customers for B£ in the well-off young people who are coming to live in the Brixton area, but who do all their shopping in Tesco or Sainsburys. It doesn't appear that this has been exploited enough yet.

 - There's also a massive potential bunch of new customers in the weekend tourists who come to Brixton Village etc for food. Encouraging these people to spend more widely in independent Brixton businesses (i.e. outside the village) could be really beneficial.

 - It would be great to get some form of permanent advertising for the Brixton Pound so that visitors can be aware of it - e.g. hoardings in the tube station or whatever.

Simon - Don't get put off by the scepticism on here. I think it's a good scheme and has the potential to grow, if done in the right way. People don't like change, especially if the results can't be seen instantly. For many of us on here and in Brixton generally, it's our raison d'être to moan about the supermarkets and chain stores etc - the Brixton Pound is a good way of starting to try to push the balance back in our favour, but clearly it needs more people to be involved and using it.

Good luck with the consultation.

email sent


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## Onket (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> - It would be great to get some form of permanent advertising for the Brixton Pound so that visitors can be aware of it - e.g. hoardings in the tube station or whatever.


 
Across the bridge, maybe.

That 'B Our Guest' sign has had it's day.


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## TruXta (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> We're looking for opinionated, outgoing and articulate people. It doesn't matter whether you love or hate the scheme, or are just on the fence - and you don't need to have used the scheme at all. We need as many viewpoints represented as possible. Our only criteria is that you live in Brixton, and have an evening free at some point before Christmas.


 
Just to nitpick a bit - if you say you only want articulate, opinionated and outgoing people you're gonna miss out on at least half your target population. Seek out the quiet ones, the ones that don't put themselves forward. This is of course harder and more time-consuming, but believe me your data will be many times better if you do put the effort in. This is speaking as a researcher.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 6, 2012)

Onket said:


> Across the bridge, maybe.
> 
> That 'B Our Guest' sign has had it's day.


Yep, I was thinking the very same thing. I quite liked the old "Welcome to Brixton" on that bridge. We could have "Welcome to Brixton - home of the Brixton Pound" on the bridge and thousands of people would see it every day.


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## Badgers (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Simon - Don't get put off by the scepticism on here. I think it's a good scheme and has the potential to grow, if done in the right way. People don't like change, especially if the results can't be seen instantly. For many of us on here and in Brixton generally, it's our raison d'être to moan about the supermarkets and chain stores etc - the Brixton Pound is a good way of starting to try to push the balance back in our favour, but clearly it needs more people to be involved and using it.


 
Good post BH ^ 

I have to admit to not getting any BPs yet but keep meaning to get the text/electronic so have just registered.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 6, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Good post BH ^
> 
> I have to admit to not getting any BPs yet but keep meaning to get the text/electronic so have just registered.


Cheers. Yes, I am going to register today for the electronic B£ as well. No time like the present.....

http://brixtonpound.org


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## Badgers (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Cheers. Yes, I am going to register today for the electronic B£ as well. No time like the present.....
> 
> http://brixtonpound.org


 
I have done it...


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 6, 2012)

Badgers said:


> I have done it...


Yep me too....took about 5 mins to set up and transfer some cash 

I put £50 in, so I get B£55 to spend.


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## Badgers (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Yep me too....took about 5 mins to set up and transfer some cash


 
Where shall we go then? 

 

Kaff Bar? 
The White Horse? 
Satay Bar?


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 6, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Where shall we go then?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ha, there's a pub/bar crawl there, followed by some grub, and then a hangover-sorting breakfast in the Phoenix the next day


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## Badgers (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> ha, there's a pub/bar crawl there, followed by some grub, and then a hangover-sorting breakfast in the Phoenix the next day


 
I notice the Hero of Switzerland is not accepting it


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 6, 2012)

Badgers said:


> I notice the Hero of Switzerland is not accepting it


We'll work on them.

Lots of pubs take the notes - e.g. Whitehorse, Hootahob etc. Does the Albert take the notes?


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## Badgers (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Lots of pubs take the notes - e.g. Whitehorse, Hootahob etc. Does the Albert take the notes?


 
Sadly The Albert does not. I think that is a brewery decision


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## Davidoff (Nov 6, 2012)

I use the text thing for the deal at the breadroom where you get every second hot drink free. It makes yr exit a bit awkward tho, where you have to do the 'i just text you some money and now i'm leaving' hand signal.


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## Winot (Nov 6, 2012)

Davidoff said:


> I use the text thing for the deal at the breadroom where you get every second hot drink free. It makes yr exit a bit awkward tho, where you have to do the 'i just text you some money and now i'm leaving' hand signal.


 
I usually show 'em my phone so they can see the confirmation text.


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## Onket (Nov 6, 2012)

Do you also tip using the Brixton Pound?


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

Winot said:


> I usually show 'em my phone so they can see the confirmation text.


They are supposed to check on their own phone, however Christian @ breadroom had his old business partner's phone number registered with the scheme for ages. We've sorted this out now so he should be able to verify your payments independently.


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

Onket said:


> Do you also tip using the Brixton Pound?


No reason why not. Some people like to use the notes for tips.


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Simon - Don't get put off by the scepticism on here. I think it's a good scheme and has the potential to grow, if done in the right way. People don't like change, especially if the results can't be seen instantly. For many of us on here and in Brixton generally, it's our raison d'être to moan about the supermarkets and chain stores etc - the Brixton Pound is a good way of starting to try to push the balance back in our favour, but clearly it needs more people to be involved and using it.


 
Good points. I'm basically immune to scepticism and negativity these days, everyone who works or has worked on the B£ time has to deal with these comments and concerns all the time - not surprising given the ground breaking nature of the scheme. So I'm quite used to being a punchbag. Luckily, there are a large number of people who are overwhelmingly positive and supportive of the scheme - not least our many volunteers, businesses and scheme members.

Great that you have signed up - far better to judge something when you have tried using it!

Thanks also to everyone who has contacted me via email. We are filling up the focus group spaces nicely. It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


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## TruXta (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Thanks also to everyone who has contacted me via email. We are filling up the focus group spaces nicely. It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


  Was that at me? If so I wasn't taking potshots, merely offering some advice based on 7 years of working as a researcher. But hey, it's your show, you run it the way you want.


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

TruXta said:


> Just to nitpick a bit - if you say you only want articulate, opinionated and outgoing people you're gonna miss out on at least half your target population. Seek out the quiet ones, the ones that don't put themselves forward. This is of course harder and more time-consuming, but believe me your data will be many times better if you do put the effort in. This is speaking as a researcher.


 
We'd love to. But in a two hour focus group, we need people who will put their views forward without reservation. No time for wallflowers I'm afraid! However, we do also have a user survey online at the moment, we'd encourage feedback there as well: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKPJXJK


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

TruXta said:


> Was that at me? If so I wasn't taking potshots, merely offering some advice based on 7 years of working as a researcher. But hey, it's your show, you run it the way you want.


Not at all! I've just replied to your feedback, which was useful.


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## TruXta (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> We'd love to. But in a two hour focus group, we need people who will put their views forward without reservation. No time for wallflowers I'm afraid! However, we do also have a user survey online at the moment, we'd encourage feedback there as well: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKPJXJK


 
Fair enough. Be warned tho, take your findings with a good pinch of salt. How many people are you looking to talk to in total?


simonautomatic said:


> Not at all! I've just replied to your feedback, which was useful.


 
OK, sorry for any misunderstanding.


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

TruXta said:


> Was that at me? If so I wasn't taking potshots, merely offering some advice based on 7 years of working as a researcher. But hey, it's your show, you run it the way you want.


Oops, I see why you thought that. I accidentally quoted you in my response to Brixton Hatter. Sorry 'about that! Corrected it now. More haste less speed I guess . . .


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## gabi (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Thanks also to everyone who has contacted me via email. We are filling up the focus group spaces nicely. It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


 
Ignoring peoples' views just because they're coming through this medium rather than a focus group aint too smart. Arguably you'll get more thought out comments on here than in a focus group. Both have their place.


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## editor (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Thanks also to everyone who has contacted me via email. We are filling up the focus group spaces nicely. It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


I really think that you sometimes undermine your cause with comments like this. Why does it matter how the comment is conveyed to you?

Surely you'd want to hear as many people's opinions as possible, and not just the self selecting ones that have the time and the inclination to attend your focus groups?


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

TruXta said:


> How many people are you looking to talk to in total?


By the time our draft strategic plan is ready ( December this year), we will have talked to:

300 Lambeth Council staff (via survey, although many in person as well)
231 businesses
100+ users who complete the survey (please help us increase this figure by clicking here: _http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKPJXJK_ )
32 focus group attendees
15 Brixton BID board members
8 B£ board members
Various councillors, local community groups and charities
And we will happily accept feedback from anyone else who wishes to contribute something constructive.
No views are ignored. Just forgive me if we can't respond to everything.


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## TruXta (Nov 6, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> By the time our draft strategic plan is ready ( December this year), we will have talked to:
> 
> 300 Lambeth Council staff (via survey, although many in person as well)
> 231 businesses
> ...


 
Nice, those are decent numbers.


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## simonautomatic (Nov 6, 2012)

editor said:


> I really think that you sometimes undermine your cause with comments like this. Why does it matter how the comment is conveyed to you?
> 
> Surely you'd want to hear as many people's opinions as possible, and not just the self selecting ones that have the time and the inclination to attend your focus groups?


 
I'm in violent agreement with you. Try not to read *too* much into my comments though ;-)


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## Gramsci (Nov 7, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Just to be clear, we're not really looking for feedback in this thread (sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post) - we're looking for people to come and engage with us in the flesh. If you're up for that, please get in touch.


 
Why not?

Why not take note of the feedback here as part of the consultation?


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## Gramsci (Nov 7, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Thanks also to everyone who has contacted me via email. We are filling up the focus group spaces nicely. It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


 
Now ur winding me up. 

If thats all you think Urban75 stay off it.

Not all of us have the time to go to meetings all the time. I use the internet a lot as it keeps me in touch with what is going on. And is a helpful medium to do stuff like the Rec and Brixton Square issues

As someone who says they are doing a groundbreaking scheme you could learn a bit about how social media is becoming more used. 

As far as I am concerned its as good as but different from face to face discussion. Do you really think on social media people do not engage as people?


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## Gramsci (Nov 7, 2012)

My main problem with local currency is that I do not feel I need to use it. I use some local shops on a regular basis anyway.

Also most people who are not that well off use Iceland. I use it and its busy. For many people Pound shops and Iceland mean they can just about get by. I do not see that Brixton pound has any relevance for my fellow shoppers at Iceland. So how can it made more useful for the less well off?

The way its pushed is that its to encourage people to use local shops.

What is local currency for apart from being a good PR for Brixton? And the Council can use it as PR for itself. Whilst not exactly doing much in concrete terms to protect our local economy.

Example -- Market loses car park for Tescos benefit with connivance of Council. Also remember a Cllr telling market traders this loss of car park was an opportunity to use more green forms of delivery.

So what is idea behind local currency?

This is what I think the local currency is really about from looking at TT literature . It is part of Transition Town strategy to encourage local supply links rather than ecologically poor long chains of supply. To get people to start thinking locally now "peak oil" has been reached. Which is fine if you buy into that ideology.

But imo it should be more explicitly stated on the Brixton Pound website.

The other problem I have with this is that Brixton has international links. Many foodstuffs come from abroad. How does that fit in with local supply chains and local currency? I can see how it can work somewhere backwoods like a Totnes ( I come from South West so know whats it like). Its backwoods compared to a giant city like London. London is a multicultural city and also riven by wealth divides. Nothing like sleepy town in South West. Still cannot see how localising currency fits in with London. I am a Brixtonite but London is my city. ( until Im pushed out). One of the things I never liked about South West was its small minded nature. ( you have to live there to understand it). I also lived in Plymouth which as it was a port was more open minded.

If the Brixton pound was a radical alternative to Bankers money ( for that is what it is) and using it would undermine them I reckon I would see a real reason to use it.


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## Gramsci (Nov 7, 2012)

free spirit said:


> ah, well yes, if you're counting the impact of publicity from the scheme, then yes that does change things a bit, as it's certainly generated a lot of PR.
> 
> Personally I prefer a scheme to actually deliver on it's objective via the actual functioning of the scheme, rather than relying entirely on the impact of positive PR that the scheme might generate. This can soon turn into negative publicity if anyone bothered to look at the figures and see how ridiculous the entire thing is... or worse, if the scheme actually went completely belly up and took the local credit union down with it, which has to be a risk unless they've backed the scheme via a 100% reserve of real pounds and not touched any of it for their running costs (as I hope is the case).
> 
> £60k a year of local turnover (most of which would probably have happened anyway) seems a pretty poor return for £30k of funding in 2010-11 that I could be bothered to find.


 
You seem to know your stuff. I was reading this and Germany is mentioned:



> Among the more interesting systems that the book explores are Germany’s regional currencies, which operate alongside the Euro. Reading at a time when the Euro is in considerable danger, I bet Germany is glad it put the regional alternatives in place.


 
Do you know how Germanys regional currencies work? And are there any lessons that Brixton pound could take from German model.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 7, 2012)

Gramsci said:


> Also most people who are not that well off use Iceland. I use it and its busy. For many people Pound shops and Iceland mean they can just about get by. I do not see that Brixton pound has any relevance for my fellow shoppers at Iceland. So how can it made more useful for the less well off?


Good post 

The electronic version of the B£ - the eB£ if you like - gives you 10% extra on your deposits. So if you put £20 you actually get £22 to spend, which is useful. I think you're right in that the Brixton Pound is probably not on the radar of many people who shop in Iceland, but I wonder if they've actually been targeted?


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## gabi (Nov 7, 2012)

Gramsci said:


> For many people* Pound shops* and Iceland mean they can just about get by. I do not see that Brixton pound has any relevance for my fellow shoppers at Iceland.


 
Slight derail, but not sure if you caught this programme. Was quite eye-opening. You're better off at Tesco basically. Those pound shops are very clever.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-119/episode-1


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## Badgers (Nov 7, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Good post
> 
> The electronic version of the B£ - the eB£ if you like - gives you 10% extra on your deposits. So if you put £20 you actually get £22 to spend, which is useful. I think you're right in that the Brixton Pound is probably not on the radar of many people who shop in Iceland, but I wonder if they've actually been targeted?


 
Would be good if Nour cash and carry accepted the B£ as they are better than Iceland for a lot of bits


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 7, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Would be good if Nour cash and carry accepted the B£ as they are better than Iceland for a lot of bits


Exactly.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 7, 2012)

gabi said:


> Slight derail, but not sure if you caught this programme. Was quite eye-opening. You're better off at Tesco basically. Those pound shops are very clever.
> 
> http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-119/episode-1


The supermarkets are very clever too: at convincing everyone they are the cheapest.


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## gabi (Nov 7, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> The supermarkets are very clever too: at convincing everyone they are the cheapest.


 
This is true. We're lucky to have the (actual) market in Brixton.


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## qosno1 (Nov 7, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> Thanks also to everyone who has contacted me via email. We are filling up the focus group spaces nicely. It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


 
I'm sorry that i don't have 2 hours to come along to a focus group. Obviously my opinions are of no use to you as I would give them in a simple time efficient manner on a forum which we are both already engaging with. Oh well, I shall just shut my gob then.


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## simonautomatic (Nov 7, 2012)

qosno1 said:


> I'm sorry that i don't have 2 hours to come along to a focus group. Obviously my opinions are of no use to you as I would give them in a simple time efficient manner on a forum which we are both already engaging with. Oh well, I shall just shut my gob then.


 
We'd love to hear your feedback here, if you have 5 mins to spare: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKPJXJK


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## Gramsci (Nov 7, 2012)

gabi said:


> Slight derail, but not sure if you caught this programme. Was quite eye-opening. You're better off at Tesco basically. Those pound shops are very clever.
> 
> http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-119/episode-1


 
You are right about that. I only buy certain things from poundshops. Like tea. Some of there one pound items are not that cheap. In Brixton the 99p shop is the best one for food.


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## Gramsci (Nov 7, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> We'd love to hear your feedback here, if you have 5 mins to spare: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FKPJXJK


 
ok i will do this later today.


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## Onket (Nov 7, 2012)

gabi said:


> Slight derail, but not sure if you caught this programme. Was quite eye-opening. You're better off at Tesco basically. Those pound shops are very clever.


 


Gramsci said:


> You are right about that. I only buy certain things from poundshops. Like tea. Some of there one pound items are not that cheap. In Brixton the 99p shop is the best one for food.


 
This is the thing. I don't think it's right to say 'you'd be better off at Tesco' as a blanket statement, as you need to actually look and think about what you're buying. I think (hope?!) most people do. Some things are better at Tesco, or elsewhere, and some things are better value at one of the pounshops.


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## Gramsci (Nov 9, 2012)

Well I have done the surveymonkey


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## editor (Nov 9, 2012)

Me too.


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## Frumious B. (Nov 17, 2012)

Can anyone explain how the discount works? Who's subsidising it? I can't see why the businesses that take the £B would just cut their prices by 10%.


----------



## ShiftyBagLady (Nov 17, 2012)

simonautomatic said:


> . It takes a lot more guts to engage in person, rather than taking potshots on a forum.


How very rude. You come to the forum, a well known and utilised community resource, to seek participation in your consultation only to be derisive of the people who respond. What a silly way to conduct yourself. If you want community support may I suggest you try not to alienate those who respond to you.
This website has been supportive of the Brixton pound it is the ONLY medium that has brought it to my attention, plus editor has allowed you to promote your consultation here too so your churlishness is most ungracious. All other B£ promotion has obviously passed me by so I don't think you're fully appreciative of the free an effective promotion this website has provided. That's rather rude and silly.


The Brixton rec is a facility utilised by lots of people from all sorts of backgrounds, integrating the Brixton Rec and B£ would bring new users to the scheme and might prove useful to more members of the community than it currently is. Though my views are of marginal significance as I don't want to be part of your focus group due to lack of time/guts.


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## Citizen66 (Nov 17, 2012)

Why not have the focus group at an offline?


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## Elgar (Nov 17, 2012)

Frumious B. said:


> Can anyone explain how the discount works? Who's subsidising it? I can't see why the businesses that take the £B would just cut their prices by 10%.


Traders subsidise it, that's why they don't like it.


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## Gramsci (Nov 17, 2012)

Elgar said:


> Traders subsidise it, that's why they don't like it.


 
The B£ view is this:



> Over 120 members of staff have already pledged to receive a portion of their salary in Brixton Pounds, which is excellent news for local, independent businesses who are likely to see increased trade as a result. It is also great news for our community, as more money will stick to Brixton, directly benefiting local residents.


 
So for B£ the discount means that local traders get increased trade through taking B£. Also if people get paid in B£ then are then more likely to spend it in local independent shops. ( I notice those who take part of pay in B£ also get a bonus for it as well. I wonder if there were not these incentives people would use it? )

There are local shops I use anyway. B£ or not. So B£ does not get me to use them more. The main reason I might use it is the discount. But I do not think it would increase the number of local shops I would use.


If I got a discount on my Council Tax for paying with B£ I would use it.


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## Manter (Nov 18, 2012)

Offered to join their focus group, email saying they would be in touch then nothing.


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## Winot (Nov 18, 2012)

Elgar said:


> Traders subsidise it, that's why they don't like it.



That was clearly the view of Honest Burgers when I paid by text there recently.


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## editor (Nov 18, 2012)

Winot said:


> That was clearly the view of Honest Burgers when I paid by text there recently.


I could be wrong, but I'd imagine a lot of Honest Burgers clientèle won't be from Brixton, so aren't likely to be particularly interested in the Brixton £ anyway.


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## Frumious B. (Nov 18, 2012)

So how is it sustainable? If I was a trader I'd reject it out of hand. Times are tough enough without cutting your prices by 10% and getting bugger all in return, except the admin of dealing with yet another form of payment. There has to be more to it...maybe the discount is part-funded by grants? Can someone from B£ explain?


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## Elgar (Nov 19, 2012)

Frumious B. said:


> So how is it sustainable? If I was a trader I'd reject it out of hand. Times are tough enough without cutting your prices by 10% and getting bugger all in return, except the admin of dealing with yet another form of payment. There has to be more to it...maybe the discount is part-funded by grants? Can someone from B£ explain?


The physical Brixton Pounds have no discount, so the only cost to traders is the extra administration costs. The pay-by-text Brixton ePounds are worth 10% less, and are mostly accepted by smaller traders who are less financially literate, or don't mind taking the 10% hit.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 19, 2012)

Frumious B. said:


> So how is it sustainable? If I was a trader I'd reject it out of hand. Times are tough enough without cutting your prices by 10% and getting bugger all in return, except the admin of dealing with yet another form of payment.


There is no "extra admin" on the eB£ - the money goes straight into the traders' accounts. So it's actually easier than cash.


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## footballerslegs (Nov 19, 2012)

Have just completed the B£ survey. It is targetted at those who have used the scheme, rather than for people like me that haven't, so it did feel a bit of a waste of time. I would have thought there might be interesting things to learn from non B£ users e.g. reasons for non take up/barriers to using the scheme etc - but maybe the B£ team know these issues already.


----------



## Boudicca (Nov 19, 2012)

footballerslegs said:


> Have just completed the B£ survey. It is targetted at those who have used the scheme, rather than for people like me that haven't, so it did feel a bit of a waste of time. I would have thought there might be interesting things to learn from non B£ users e.g. reasons for non take up/barriers to using the scheme etc - but maybe the B£ team know these issues already.


Yes, it does assume that you are broadly pro the scheme and so talks about how it can be improved.  I sort of understand this, because they are working for B£, but agree that they are missing a trick not talking to those who aren't participating as they don't think it's a particularly good idea.


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## gabi (Nov 19, 2012)

Boudicca said:


> Yes, it does assume that you are broadly pro the scheme and so talks about how it can be improved. I sort of understand this, because they are working for B£, but agree that they are missing a trick not talking to those who aren't participating as they don't think it's a particularly good idea.


 
That seems slightly bonkers given the title of this thread in particular


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## Boudicca (Nov 19, 2012)

gabi said:


> That seems slightly bonkers given the title of this thread in particular


The title is sort of OK.  They assume that you are either 'in favour and using', or 'in favour and not using'.  They aren't interested in the opinions of people who aren't in favour at all.  But since they are inviting responses from everyone, they ought to cover this off in the questions.


----------



## Gramsci (Nov 19, 2012)

Winot said:


> That was clearly the view of Honest Burgers when I paid by text there recently.


 
So they were not all that happy when u paid by text?


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## Gramsci (Nov 19, 2012)

Elgar said:


> The physical Brixton Pounds have no discount, so the only cost to traders is the extra administration costs. The pay-by-text Brixton ePounds are worth 10% less, and are mostly accepted by smaller traders who are less financially literate, or don't mind taking the 10% hit.


 
Why are the ePounds worth 10% less to traders?


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## Winot (Nov 19, 2012)

Gramsci said:


> So they were not all that happy when u paid by text?


 
No, to be fair they didn't give that impression when I paid.  However I was chatting to the owner afterwards and made a joke that investing in burgers gave a better return than the stock market (because of the instant 10% return).  He pulled a face and said that he was paying that 10% which was why traders didn't like it.


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## Elgar (Nov 19, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> There is no "extra admin" on the eB£ - the money goes straight into the traders' accounts. So it's actually easier than cash.


Nonsense. Dealing with an extra payment method requires extra bookkeeping effort. Accepting more or less cash doesn't really affect things that much.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 19, 2012)

Elgar said:


> Nonsense. Dealing with an extra payment method requires extra bookkeeping effort. Accepting more or less cash doesn't really affect things that much.


Adding a column to a spreadsheet takes seconds. And AFAIK many businesses actually have to pay a % to bank cash, so accepting less cash is a good thing for them - this is why supermarkets offer cashback.


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## Elgar (Nov 19, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Adding a column to a spreadsheet takes seconds. And AFAIK many businesses actually have to pay a % to bank cash, so accepting less cash is a good thing for them - this is why supermarkets offer cashback.


If it were so easy then traders would also have an incentive to accept any of the other many pay-by-text services, (which don't charge 10%). It isn't: they dont.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 19, 2012)

Elgar said:


> If it were so easy then traders would also have an incentive to accept any of the other many pay-by-text services, (which don't charge 10%). It isn't: they dont.


well i think 100+ businesses in Brixton *have* accepted the pay by text service, and use it regularly. The difference is this one is designed to promote independent businesses in the local area.


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## Badgers (Nov 19, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:
			
		

> well i think 100+ businesses in Brixton *have* accepted the pay by text service, and use it regularly. The difference is this one is designed to promote independent businesses in the local area.



Have you used it yet BH? We signed up same day but I have not yet  and only remembered in the Kaff Bar last night, after I had handed over a tenner in the old money


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## BlackJamaican (Nov 20, 2012)

free spirit said:


> I'm not in brixton or anywhere close, but any scheme that after this length of time can only boast £5k a month of turnover is quite obviously a hopeless failure, and a total waste of everybodies time and effort in supporting the scheme.
> 
> that's just £20 turnover per registered business per month - this is an abject failure in anyone's book.
> 
> Seriously there must be hundreds of more cost and energy effective ways of boosting the local economy in brixton, so my unbiased outsider viewpoint as someone who supports the general aims of transition towns, is that you should end this experiment as swiftly as you can, and move on to something a lot more effective.


 
Harsh words Mr....you work for the Secret Service? Or you just like hurting peoples feelings?  Whether the scheme is good or bad someone is trying to do something, their giving it a 'go'.  There are better ways to say something this negative.....but who am I to know about such things.


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## story (Nov 20, 2012)

Maybe traders take the 10% "hit" because they think that it generates more trade in the end?

I visit the Breadroom far more often than I might otherwise, because of the free coffee I get in return for the coffee I buy with a B£. And I'll buy a pastry or sandwich more often than I might otherwise as well. And I take friends there, cos I can buy a coffee and get one free for them, and the one coffee usually becomes two more, with a Danish on the side.

I'd say that I've certainly spent more money in there as a result of getting the freebie.


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## Elgar (Nov 20, 2012)

story said:


> Maybe traders take the 10% "hit" because they think that it generates more trade in the end?
> 
> I visit the Breadroom far more often than I might otherwise, because of the free coffee I get in return for the coffee I buy with a B£. And I'll buy a pastry or sandwich more often than I might otherwise as well. And I take friends there, cos I can buy a coffee and get one free for them, and the one coffee usually becomes two more, with a Danish on the side.
> 
> I'd say that I've certainly spent more money in there as a result of getting the freebie.


If what you say is true, then they should give a free coffee to everyone, not just Brixton Pound users.


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## story (Nov 20, 2012)

Elgar said:


> If what you say is true, then they should give a free coffee to everyone, not just Brixton Pound users.


 

Well maybe you should just go and ask them why they're so stupid rather than just speculating.


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## ShiftyBagLady (Nov 20, 2012)

editor said:


> I could be wrong, but I'd imagine a lot of Honest Burgers clientèle won't be from Brixton, so aren't likely to be particularly interested in the Brixton £ anyway.


 Lots of posters here eat at Honest Burgers.


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## editor (Nov 20, 2012)

ShiftyBagLady said:


> Lots of posters here eat at Honest Burgers.


I'm sure a handful do, but I'm guessing that a lot of people travel in to eat there, given the publicity its had.


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## gabi (Nov 20, 2012)

editor said:


> I could be wrong, but I'd imagine a lot of Honest Burgers clientèle won't be from Brixton, so aren't likely to be particularly interested in the Brixton £ anyway.


 
Wishful thinking. All those iPad hipsters and 4x4-pram-wielding folk probably do live around here now.

I went in the market the on Sat for the first time in a long time. Every single eating place had a massive queue of identikit off-duty yuppie. very depressing.


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## editor (Nov 20, 2012)

gabi said:


> Wishful thinking. All those iPad hipsters and 4x4-pram-wielding folk probably do live around here now.


Maybe, but if they do, they're generally nowhere to be seen in the week.


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## story (Nov 20, 2012)

editor said:


> Maybe, but if they do, they're generally nowhere to be seen in the week.


 

They work at proper jobs unlike us reprobates, degenerates and malingerers.


ETA appropriate smiley to indicate non-serious response.


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## plurker (Nov 20, 2012)

Interesting today to read that the newly-elected Mayor of Bristol is to take his salary in Bristol£...publicity stunt perhaps but raises profile of local currency....


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## Elgar (Nov 20, 2012)

story said:


> Well maybe you should just go and ask them why they're so stupid rather than just speculating.


The point being that it's not true, and that's why they don't do it.


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## Brixton Hatter (Nov 21, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Have you used it yet BH? We signed up same day but I have not yet  and only remembered in the Kaff Bar last night, after I had handed over a tenner in the old money


Not used it yet cos I've been away two weekends running and have also avoided my regular visits to the Phoenix Caff due to a nutritional experiment suggested by Mrs Hatter...

I forgot that Kaff do it...might go there tonight and drink cheap cider


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## Frumious B. (Nov 21, 2012)

I've just started using the electronic payment thing. It's slick, I'm impressed.

EXCITED EDIT: and if you pay for your coffee with e£B at the Breadroom you get a free refill! I fucking LOVE freebies.


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## almostwendy (Nov 26, 2012)

Susan from the Brixton Pound here. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on here and also got in touch with us. 

If anyone else does want to come to one of the focus groups there are still a few spaces left: 
- for people who like the idea and use the B£ either: Weds 28th Nov at 6.30pm, Tues 4th Dec at 3.30pm (sign up here)
- people who like the idea but never used it: Tues 4th Dec at 6.30pm (sign up here)
- people who aren't convinced by the idea: Weds 5th Dec 6.30pm (sign up here)

We'll give you £20 (in B£e, Bowies, or Sterling as you wish) to say thanks for coming along.


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## almostwendy (Nov 26, 2012)

Manter said:


> Offered to join their focus group, email saying they would be in touch then nothing.


 
sorry to hear this, can you drop a quick email to business@brixtonpound.org and I'll follow this up?


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## Brixton Hatter (Dec 5, 2012)

Badgers said:


> Have you used it yet BH? We signed up same day but I have not yet  and only remembered in the Kaff Bar last night, after I had handed over a tenner in the old money


I've used it quite a lot now - very easy and quick, money gets transferred instantly. Traders in the scheme all have their details posted right next to the counter. From what I've gathered talking to them, none of them mind using it and they say it's easy to administer. All good


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## Manter (Dec 5, 2012)

almostwendy said:


> sorry to hear this, can you drop a quick email to business@brixtonpound.org and I'll follow this up?


 done


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## RaverDrew (Jan 28, 2013)

*I TRIED TO BUY DRUGS WITH BRIXTON'S LOCAL CURRENCY*



> we all know the real test of a true postcode warrior is whether he accepts local currency for a ten bag.


http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/i-tried-to-buy-drugs-with-brixtons-local-currency?utm_source=vicefb


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## Brixton Hatter (Jan 28, 2013)

lol, great investigative journalism


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## Brixton Hatter (Mar 1, 2013)

1000 people now using the B£ pay-by-text service

http://brixtonpound.org/2013/great-news/


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## editor (Nov 12, 2013)

Interview with Brixton Pound Engagement Manager, Tom Shakhli here:
Why should anyone bother with the Brixton Pound? We ask some tough questions and get some good answers


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## Onket (Nov 12, 2013)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Yep, I was thinking the very same thing. I quite liked the old "Welcome to Brixton" on that bridge. We could have "Welcome to Brixton - home of the Brixton Pound" on the bridge and thousands of people would see it every day.


 
Still think this is a great idea.


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## Smick (Nov 12, 2013)

I am wondering whether the Brixton pound is taxable in the same way as cash. If I perform a service for someone, pay in B£, is that more of a barter than a financial transaction and then it is not subject to income tax?


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## Winot (Nov 12, 2013)

Smick said:


> I am wondering whether the Brixton pound is taxable in the same way as cash. If I perform a service for someone, pay in B£, is that more of a barter than a financial transaction and then it is not subject to income tax?



I think HMRC covered off bartering as a way of avoiding tax some time ago.


----------



## tompound (Nov 13, 2013)

Thanks Editor for putting the questions across, I was very happy to answer them and hope that others feel welcome to engage with us and air their views. It's interesting reading through this discussion - lots of the ideas suggested by people are very much shared by the B£ team. Any ongoing feedback or ideas that come through here will certainly be picked up!

Re. HMRC/tax, there's no issue here. We're registered as a voucher scheme and businesses declare this as they would cash or any other redeemable voucher.


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## Smick (Nov 13, 2013)

Fair enough. It was just me thinking aloud.

I have to admit, I bought a lot of B£ notes as presents. Sent some back to Ireland, up to Middlesbrough, my boss has one pinned up on his desk.

Is this positive or negative? I've given you £1 which will never be redeemed, like a cheque which will never be cashed. On the other hand, it takes a B£ out of general circulation and might undermine the project if too many do it.


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## Pinggoombah (Nov 13, 2013)

I can't believe anyone takes these jokers seriously.

At least they've abandoned the 10% discount scheme, which was never going to work.


----------



## leanderman (Nov 13, 2013)

Pinggoombah said:


> I can't believe anyone takes these jokers seriously.
> 
> At least they've abandoned the 10% discount scheme, which was never going to work.



I can't take seriously anyone who shopped/ate/drank in Brixton and didn't use the 10% discount. Free money!


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## Pinggoombah (Nov 13, 2013)

leanderman said:


> I can't take seriously anyone who shopped/ate/drank in Brixton and didn't use the 10% discount. Free money!


Yeah. That's right. They made free money. 

It almost sounds too good to be true.


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## leanderman (Nov 13, 2013)

Pinggoombah said:


> Yeah. That's right. They made free money.
> 
> It almost sounds too good to be true.



 ...which, annoyingly, is why it must end.


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## Pinggoombah (Nov 13, 2013)

leanderman said:


> ...which, annoyingly, is why it must end.


No. It had to end because it was an ill-concieved attempt to force local retailers to pay for the Brixton Pound's marketing costs. They, quite rightly, rejected it.

The Brixton Pound is a nothing more than a clever marketing scheme, just like book tokens or Tesco gift vouchers.


----------



## leanderman (Nov 13, 2013)

Pinggoombah said:


> No. It had to end because it was an ill-concieved attempt to force local retailers to pay for the Brixton Pound's marketing costs. They, quite rightly, rejected it.
> 
> The Brixton Pound is a nothing more than a clever marketing scheme, just like book tokens or Tesco gift vouchers.



It worked for me

And the discount directed me to traders who took it, rather than those who didn't.


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## Pinggoombah (Nov 13, 2013)

leanderman said:


> It worked for me
> 
> And the discount directed me to traders who took it, rather than those who didn't.


There will always be some people who fall for these marketing ploys, but you don't need to run an 'alternative currency' to be able to give discounts to certain customers.


----------



## leanderman (Nov 13, 2013)

Pinggoombah said:


> There will always be some people who fall for these marketing ploys, but you don't need to run an 'alternative currency' to be able to give discounts to certain customers.



It was all a ploy? - I now feel such an idiot for paying less for my burgers (Honest) and beer (White Horse) etc etc!


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## Pinggoombah (Nov 13, 2013)

leanderman said:


> It was all a ploy? - I now feel such an idiot for paying less for my burgers (Honest) and beer (White Horse) etc etc!


It wasn't you that was tricked, it was the traders.


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## Winot (Nov 13, 2013)

Pinggoombah said:


> It wasn't you that was tricked, it was the traders.



Some traders signed up, others didn't. At least one signed up then after a while left the scheme. It's just possible that they took a view based on the balance between the marketing draw and the hit (which was never 10% - it was 10% minus the cost of handling alternative transactions).


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## tompound (Nov 13, 2013)

Pinggoombah said:


> It wasn't you that was tricked, it was the traders.



Hi. Joker here. More than happy to take on board criticism around the B£ but you are definitely unfair to frame it as a scheme that is in any way duplicitous or that traders are somehow strong armed into something that they don't want or aren't aware of.

Very, very few traders 'cash out' and exchange back into sterling. Increasingly we see traders spending their balances on supplies or using Brixton as their leisure base. Many owners are, for the first time, eating in each others' restaurants. I don't think there's a business in Brixton that takes the B£ that hasn't benefited from some kind of free promotion of their specific business, not to mention the general campaign around shopping locally.

The B£ is not an 'alternative currency' in the sense that we are not telling people to abandon their sterling altogether. Look at it as a complementary currency, one that can do things that sterling can't. Thanks to the B£, Lambeth staff are donating a % of their salary to local charities like the Brixton Food Bank. That's a good thing, isn't it?

Brixton is changing at an incredible rate, and we only need to look to other parts of London to see how the general pattern goes. The B£ (along with lots of other local initiatives), is trying to see if that change can take place in a way that preserves local character and is to the benefit of everyone, not just those who have a disposable income.


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## tompound (Nov 13, 2013)

Smick said:


> I have to admit, I bought a lot of B£ notes as presents. Sent some back to Ireland, up to Middlesbrough, my boss has one pinned up on his desk.
> 
> Is this positive or negative? I've given you £1 which will never be redeemed, like a cheque which will never be cashed. On the other hand, it takes a B£ out of general circulation and might undermine the project if too many do it.



If this were to happen on a large scale, then yes, it would be a problem! However it seems to be quite a micro issue so doesn't really have an impact. If you did want to purchase notes to be given as gifts then we have the first edition notes, which are no longer valid.


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## Onket (Nov 13, 2013)

tompound said:


> If this were to happen on a large scale, then yes, it would be a problem! However it seems to be quite a micro issue so doesn't really have an impact. If you did want to purchase notes to be given as gifts then we have the first edition notes, which are no longer valid.



How much are they?


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## Corax (Nov 13, 2013)

Winot said:


> I think HMRC covered off bartering as a way of avoiding tax some time ago.


Aye.  I know of someone who they came after because he was swapping honey from his hives for meat from the local butcher.

So after much argument he caved in. And left a beehive on the tax office doorstep.

FTR, he's an absolute twat. But I can't help but salute that particular move.


----------



## Corax (Nov 13, 2013)

RaverDrew said:


> *I TRIED TO BUY DRUGS WITH BRIXTON'S LOCAL CURRENCY*
> 
> 
> http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/i-tried-to-buy-drugs-with-brixtons-local-currency?utm_source=vicefb


TIL: "holodomor" 

(ETA: Well, not , but ykwim...)


----------



## Pinggoombah (Nov 14, 2013)

Back in 2008, Tim Harford, Undercover Economist for the FT explained it better than I ever could.


> The common-sense economic case for these currencies was summed up for me by John Walker, acting treasurer of Brixton LETS in London: "They're more appropriate for local communities, because the money doesn't drain out of the local community."
> 
> That seems plausible: The money (Brixton bricks) goes 'round and 'round Brixton and isn't sucked away by the insidious multinationals of neighboring Clapham. But this is one of those cases in which common sense lets us down. Money, whether pounds or Brixton bricks, isn't wealth. It's just a way of keeping accounts, and swapping one system of accounts for another isn't going to alter the basic productive potential of Brixton.


and he concludes


> I live near a determined, community-minded entrepreneur who owns the local cafe, the sort of person who helps to get community currencies started. But rather than minting a Homerton dollar, she has founded a traders' association and is trying to set up a street market. I think she has the right priorities


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## Gramsci (Nov 14, 2013)

tompound said:


> Brixton is changing at an incredible rate, and we only need to look to other parts of London to see how the general pattern goes. The B£ (along with lots of other local initiatives), is trying to see if that change can take place in a way that preserves local character and is to the benefit of everyone, not just those who have a disposable income.


 
But how is Brixton Pound going to preserve local character and benefit everyone exactly? Especially now as a lot of people in area are starting to be affected by cuts and wage freezes.

I am not against B£ but see it more as a marketing thing than as something that will preserve local character and benefit the less well of in Brixton area. Looks to me like main use of it is in bars/ cafes / restaurents.


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## tompound (Nov 18, 2013)

Hi Gramsci, thanks for your points and sorry I haven't replied sooner. I think that it's natural for the B£ to have more of a marketing impact in the early years of its existence, which I don't think is a bad thing at all - there are lots of local businesses (B£ and non-B£) who don't have the resources to run such campaigns and I think most have benefited from it.

Of course we want to see the B£ used and accepted in places that serve everyday needs. Let's see what happens over the next few months. Anyhow, creating awareness around the local economy, and having created a currency - the first and only in London - that celebrates local heroes, art and activism, that seems to me a pretty good attempt at preserving local character.

In terms of benefiting everyone, especially those affected by austerity, I can assure you that it's something we aspire to. We've certainly made donating to local charities easier. A campaign for economic justice and practical activities that support this aim are how we'd like to work. Again, I hope that's something we can do more of in the near future.


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## editor (Jan 12, 2014)

Update: 
Brixton Pound and Made In Lambeth team up to launch a Brixton lottery and want your help to make it happen


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## gabi (Jan 12, 2014)

Beyond the novelty of owning a note with Bowie on it, what the flying fuck is the point of this? It's promoting segregation, not integration. Not what brixton stands for, in my eyes anyway.


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## editor (Jan 12, 2014)

gabi said:


> Beyond the novelty of owning a note with Bowie on it, what the flying fuck is the point of this? It's promoting segregation, not integration. Not what brixton stands for, in my eyes anyway.


Read and learn: 
Why should anyone bother with the Brixton Pound? We ask some tough questions and get some good answers


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## leanderman (Jan 12, 2014)

Got 10pc off yesterday by paying with Brixton pounds (text) at Market Row Wines.


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## Pinggoombah (Jan 12, 2014)

leanderman said:


> Got 10pc off yesterday by paying with Brixton pounds (text) at Market Row Wines.


They could have given you 10% discount _without_ demanding that you use a seperate currency. It's a grant funded local marketing scheme, nothing more.


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## Winot (Jan 12, 2014)

I think this is where I came in.


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## tompound (Feb 26, 2014)

Evening all, just a quick one to highlight that we are currently running an offer where if an existing pay-by-text user gets a friend to sign up, we credit both accounts with £5. There is no time limit on how long someone has been an existing user, so if you sign up now then that's valid. I just thought maybe there could be some people interested here. This offer is only available until Friday, we're just playing around with the idea of incentives and we'll be introducing a new one next week where if you can persuade a local business to sign up for pay-by-text, we'll credit your account with £20.

Once you get confirmation from your friend that they have registered, send an email to info@brixtonpound.org informing us of their name and we'll credit both accounts.

We're very happy that you can now use pay-by-text at Nour and Brixton Whole Foods, so claim this bonus and there's plenty you can do with it!

Sign up here: https://brixtonpound.community-currency.org/


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## Corax (Feb 26, 2014)

Can I use it at the Polish minimarket on the high street yet?


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## tompound (Feb 26, 2014)

No, I haven't been in for a chat there yet. I've shopped in there a few times but am unfamiliar with the management. Do you think they'd be receptive? 

Thanks for the suggestion anyway. If others have similar suggestions then I'm all ears. And as I said, we will be trialing the scheme where you can earn B£s if you can get a business to sign up, so if you have a good relationship with one then perhaps it's a good opportunity.


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## Corax (Feb 26, 2014)

Cool. You must be booming. Didn't realise you'd spread this far already.


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## Greebo (Feb 26, 2014)

Corax said:


> Cool. You must be booming. Didn't realise you'd spread this far already.


'Rax you really must stop toying with newbies like this.  

Of course the Brixton pound has (perhaps) spread as far south as you by now, anyone could carry it or send it to the South coast; persuading shopkeepers to accept it's another thing entirely.


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## tompound (Jul 18, 2014)

Hi everyone. Just a quick heads up, we are looking to design a new B£ note to mark five years since the launch. We're looking for nominations however this time with a difference. Rather than David Bowie or Olive Morris, we're interested in the unsung, the people who have contributed or still do to Brixton life but probably won't ever get a mural or building named after them. We'll be going round asking people over the next few weeks, taking nominations by email, and I'm happy to also take anyone nominated on this board. For the moment we're just looking for names and the reason why in your eyes they're a Brixton hero. 

All the info is here: http://brixtonpound.org/2014/new-special-edition-b-note-nominate-your-brixton-hero/

Look forward to the (serious and non-serious) suggestions ;-)


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## editor (Jul 18, 2014)

tompound said:


> Hi everyone. Just a quick heads up, we are looking to design a new B£ note to mark five years since the launch. We're looking for nominations however this time with a difference. Rather than David Bowie or Olive Morris, we're interested in the unsung, the people who have contributed or still do to Brixton life but probably won't ever get a mural or building named after them. We'll be going round asking people over the next few weeks, taking nominations by email, and I'm happy to also take anyone nominated on this board. For the moment we're just looking for names and the reason why in your eyes they're a Brixton hero.
> 
> All the info is here: http://brixtonpound.org/2014/new-special-edition-b-note-nominate-your-brixton-hero/
> 
> Look forward to the (serious and non-serious) suggestions ;-)









http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2014/04/the-finest-cobbler-in-brixton-jay-in-reliance-arcade/


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## colacubes (Jul 18, 2014)

For sheer longevity, the lady who sometimes works on the fruit and veg stall on the intersection of Electric Ave and Electric Lane (I'm afraid I know her as Dave's Mum  so not sure what her name is - someone else on here will know).  She's been working on the market since (and during) the 2nd world war and her kids and their kids all work on there as well


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## madolesance (Jul 18, 2014)

colacubes said:


> For sheer longevity, the lady who sometimes works on the fruit and veg stall on the intersection of Electric Ave and Electric Lane (I'm afraid I know her as Dave's Mum  so not sure what her name is - someone else on here will know).  She's been working on the market since (and during) the 2nd world war and her kids and their kids all work on there as well



I second this nomination! She's an amazing lady who deserves to be celebrated. I think her name is Reenie.


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## tompound (Jul 18, 2014)

Just to clarify I think we'll go with a collage like the cover of Sgt Pepper, so there is room for a fair few people! Some of the names that have come up so far across various channels:

Jay the cobbler
Reenie the fruit and veg trader
Solomon from the Brixton Soup Kitchen
Maxi Jazz
Roofdog
Steve Reid


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## colacubes (Jul 18, 2014)

Surely the person who nominated Steve Reed was taking the piss


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## tompound (Jul 18, 2014)

I think they might have been ;-)


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## Corax (Jul 18, 2014)

tompound said:


> Hi everyone. Just a quick heads up, we are looking to design a new B£ note to mark five years since the launch. We're looking for nominations however this time with a difference. Rather than David Bowie or Olive Morris, we're interested in the unsung, the people who have contributed or still do to Brixton life but probably won't ever get a mural or building named after them. We'll be going round asking people over the next few weeks, taking nominations by email, and I'm happy to also take anyone nominated on this board. For the moment we're just looking for names and the reason why in your eyes they're a Brixton hero.
> 
> All the info is here: http://brixtonpound.org/2014/new-special-edition-b-note-nominate-your-brixton-hero/
> 
> Look forward to the (serious and non-serious) suggestions ;-)


Hi Tom,

Any news on when you might reach out to Shirley?  I think you'd find a lot of enthusiasm.


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## editor (Jul 18, 2014)

colacubes said:


> For sheer longevity, the lady who sometimes works on the fruit and veg stall on the intersection of Electric Ave and Electric Lane (I'm afraid I know her as Dave's Mum  so not sure what her name is - someone else on here will know).  She's been working on the market since (and during) the 2nd world war and her kids and their kids all work on there as well


She always knows what apples I want too!


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## Tricky Skills (Jul 18, 2014)

How about Alfie?

Or Stuart the Watch?


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## catriona (Jul 19, 2014)

I'll second Alfie the Town Crier (RIP) and Stuart the Watch man. How about Dora Boatemah http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/feb/06/guardianobituaries


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## editor (Jul 19, 2014)

catriona said:


> I'll second Alfie the Town Crier (RIP) and Stuart the Watch man. How about Dora Boatemah http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/feb/06/guardianobituaries



Background for nu-Brixtonites: 







http://www.urban75.org/brixton/features/alfie-howard.html


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## catriona (Jul 19, 2014)

This thread is working well as a B£ promo - I've just signed up to try the e currency.
I did try using the notes years ago but got the strong impression traders preferred regular cash


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## tompound (Jul 20, 2014)

Thanks for signing up Catriona. The notes have their place and serve a variety of purposes, but you're right in that they aren't ideal for actual trading. The e-currency was created with this in mind, I think you'll find it a pretty good experience. 

Some great contributions so far at the Country Show, we've had names like Jimmy Rogers of Brixton Topcats, the man who looks after the toilets on Pope's Road, Jon from Brixton Market who has been there as long as Stuart but with less profile, John Higgins who bought the Bon Marche centre, and a certain Editor was mentioned also...


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## friendofdorothy (Jul 20, 2014)

tompound said:


> Hi everyone. Just a quick heads up, we are looking to design a new B£ note to mark five years since the launch. We're looking for nominations however this time with a difference. Rather than David Bowie or Olive Morris, we're interested in the unsung, the people who have contributed or still do to Brixton life but probably won't ever get a mural or building named after them. We'll be going round asking people over the next few weeks, taking nominations by email, and I'm happy to also take anyone nominated on this board. For the moment we're just looking for names and the reason why in your eyes they're a Brixton hero.
> 
> All the info is here: http://brixtonpound.org/2014/new-special-edition-b-note-nominate-your-brixton-hero/
> 
> Look forward to the (serious and non-serious) suggestions ;-)



How about the late Pat, Albert Landlady?  not famous beyond Brixton but well loved and memorable to anyone who met her.



or Linton Kwezi Johnson? because he is a true legend - for anyone who doesn't know why see  http://literature.britishcouncil.org/linton-kwesi-johnson	and he still lives here.


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## tompound (Jul 20, 2014)

Pat seems like the kind of person we're keen to capture and celebrate on the note - fame beyond Brixton is not part of the criteria at all. Linton Kwesi Johnson was actually in the running to have a whole note to himself back when the first editions were printed, but just missed out in the end.


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## Rushy (Jul 21, 2014)

tompound said:


> Thanks for signing up Catriona. The notes have their place and serve a variety of purposes, but you're right in that they aren't ideal for actual trading. The e-currency was created with this in mind, I think you'll find it a pretty good experience.
> 
> Some great contributions so far at the Country Show, we've had names like Jimmy Rogers of Brixton Topcats, the man who looks after the toilets on Pope's Road, Jon from Brixton Market who has been there as long as Stuart but with less profile, John Higgins who bought the Bon Marche centre, and a certain Editor was mentioned also...


All understandable suggestions except - why the chap who bought the Bon Marche Centre? What's the story there - beyond the fact of him buying the center, that is?


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## editor (Jul 21, 2014)

Pat from the Albert would be a great suggestion.


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## twistedAM (Jul 21, 2014)

Roof Dog! He's already got a mural, a t-shirt and a beer 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roof-Dog/42436406642


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## tompound (Jul 21, 2014)

Rushy said:


> All understandable suggestions except - why the chap who bought the Bon Marche Centre? What's the story there - beyond the fact of him buying the center, that is?



The person who suggested it gave the reason that he admired his entrepreneurship, along those lines.


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## Rushy (Jul 21, 2014)

tompound said:


> The person who suggested it gave the reason that he admired his entrepreneurship, along those lines.


Oh. 

How about the chap from Dalberg Road who bought the Academy for a (real) pound.


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## tompound (Jul 21, 2014)

Rushy said:


> Oh.
> 
> How about the chap from Dalberg Road who bought the Academy for a (real) pound.



Well we're only following suggestions for now, so consider him in the mix!


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## editor (Jun 15, 2015)

Lottery scheme launches tomorrow: 






Brixton Pound launches the Brixton Bonus – a community lottery designed to boost grass-roots projects


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## tompound (Jun 16, 2015)

Thanks for the plug Ed. We're hoping that this will create a lot of positives in the area, and of course be good fun. Happy to answer any questions in here.


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## editor (Jul 8, 2015)

Woooargh! That new note is wild!






Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller designs a psychedelic Brixton Pound fiver


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## DietCokeGirl (Jul 8, 2015)

The image “adds a significant and provocative message that reflects our intention to raise the conversation of how we understand, use and value money in this time of economic instability and what we could aspire to in the future.”??  That is some A+ art wank right there.


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## tompound (Jul 9, 2015)

Well it's a good thing that it's done by a grade A artist and not some chancer then


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## ibilly99 (Jul 9, 2015)

tompound said:


> Well it's a good thing that it's done by a grade A artist and not some chancer then



How I miss the KLF and their deconstructionism of contemporary art.


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## SpamMisery (Jul 9, 2015)

Love the KLF. I am justified and ancient


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## CH1 (Jul 11, 2015)

Rushy said:


> All understandable suggestions except - why the chap who bought the Bon Marche Centre? What's the story there - beyond the fact of him buying the center, that is?


He had Bon Marche built - then went bust as Anita Rodick delighted in telling the nation here:


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## Rushy (Jul 11, 2015)

CH1 said:


> He had Bon Marche built - then went bust as Anita Rodick delighted in telling the nation here:



Bought. Not built.


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## CH1 (Jul 11, 2015)

Rushy said:


> Bought. Not built.


So who us John Higgins - and how doe "the centre" relate to Liptons Retail then?

I had assumed Liptons were now the freeholder - is it actually Bon Marche Centre or has the building been split?

I hadn't heard of John Higgins, so unless the idea of having him on a Brixton note is to stimulate discussion I think I agree with your comments above.


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## editor (Apr 11, 2016)

Cash machine announced:
Brixton Pound: The world’s first local currency cash machine opens in Brixton today


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## editor (Jun 9, 2016)

This is a great project:
















In photos: Brixton Pound dishes out dosh to local projects via their innovative Brixton Fund


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## editor (Dec 30, 2016)

Here's a short piece on their splendid cafe






Pay What You Feel at the lovely Brixton Pound Cafe, Atlantic Road, Brixton


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## editor (Mar 30, 2017)

Update: Brixton Fund 2017 opens for applications on 1st April


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## editor (Jun 21, 2017)

Update: Brixton Pound Cafe launches crowdfunding campaign to invest in community facilities


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## tompound (Jun 21, 2017)

Ta very much ;-)


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## editor (Sep 5, 2017)

They need just a bit more dosh for their crowdfunding campaign: 
Give them your money now! Brixton Pound inch closer to their crowdfunding deadline of Sept 10th


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## catriona (Sep 11, 2017)

editor said:


> They need just a bit more dosh for their crowdfunding campaign:
> Give them your money now! Brixton Pound inch closer to their crowdfunding deadline of Sept 10th


They made it!  
Had delicious quesadillas for lunch in the B£ cafe on Sat - looking forward to seeing what they can do with a proper kitchen.


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## editor (Aug 25, 2020)

Does anyone know if this scheme is still going? Their new website suggests it's maybe a goner.


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## snowy_again (Aug 25, 2020)

There’s still lots of pounds in circulation and usage. I think he plan is to move it to a digital currency


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## catriona (Aug 25, 2020)

snowy_again said:


> There’s still lots of pounds in circulation and usage. I think he plan is to move it to a digital currency


Do any traders still take B£?


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## shakespearegirl (Aug 26, 2020)

I’ve still got a hundred quids worth of notes.. Used to use the pay by text £ regularly but they stopped this in 2018.  don’t seem to be getting email updates from them anymore.


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## editor (Aug 26, 2020)

Still haven't heard back from them.


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