Greater Govanhill - Issue 3 - the food issue

Issue 3

Summer 2021

THE STORIES THAT MATTER TO YOU TUIT • G RA E E FR E TSIZ • ÜCR • TIS • G RA • RMO • ZADA O LATN BESP

THE

FOOD ISSUE

Includin g pull-out -and-ke

FORAGIN G P O S T E R!

ep

INCLUDING: Mutual Aid • Sikh Community Food Sharing • Who’s Delivering Your Dinner?

Anarchic Food Provision • Natural Wine • Lessons from Kenmure St • Foraging in Govanhill Housing Rights • Ukrainian Borscht • What’s On • and so much more Featuring articles in: Română, čeština, Latviešu

June - July Body of Land: Sekai Machache | Awuor Onyango Coincides with Glasgow International ‘Across the City’

August Govanhill Street Level: Simon Murphy Part of Govanhill International Festival 2021

August - September Our Plastic Ocean: Mandy Barker

Part of Everything Flows - a series of photography exhibitions in coastal locations in Scotland

PHOTOGRAPHY • PARTICIPATION • PRODUCTION Street Level Photoworks, Trongate 103, Glasgow G1 5HD Image: © Mandy Barker

www.streetlevelphotoworks.org www.photo-networks.scot

Letter from the Editor

Featured Contributors

Dear Readers

For many, Govanhill is associated with the tastes and smells of the multicultural cuisine that reflects the diverse make-up of the neighbourhood. It’s become a destination in its own right for foodie explorers looking for unusual ingredients, authentic curries, the best brunch spots in Glasgow, or simply in search of a taste of home. But while Issue 3 focuses on food, we wanted to delve a little deeper into the issues that surround it.

Throughout the 60 pages of this bumper issue, we bring you stories of how food can connect and nourish our community, bringing people together through the darkest of times. We explore issues around food insecurity, and the kindness of strangers unwilling to let their neighbours go hungry. A common thread linking these stories is how lockdown made us stop and reflect on what’s important, and how food is at the very heart of that; sharing, growing and cooking food provide solace in a crisis.

As well as this deep dive, we’re also bringing you all the usual Greater Govanhill regulars with news bites, recipes, Roma news and views, what’s on and more. We introduce you to people who go above and beyond to help others, and those who dare to be different.

As ever, we want to hear from you. Got something to say about one of the articles featured?

Want to contribute something yourself? Have a story we should be writing about? Get in touch via hello@greatergovanhill.com Thanks so much to everyone who has supported the magazine so far. If you enjoy what you read, and want to keep it free for everyone, please consider signing up to be a member for as little as £3 a month. It really makes all the difference.

Rhiannon J Davies Editor-in-Chief

A special thanks goes to our advertisers: Allison St Cleaners, Bike For Good, Glasgow Social Enterprise Network, New Ghandi, South East Integration Network, South Seeds, MILK, Seven One Seven, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, Street Level Photoworks, and Southside Immigration Ltd. With additional support from FirstPort and The National Lottery Community Fund.

This magazine would not be possible without the support of our community. If you want to help keep it going, become a member to be the first to receive each issue: greatergovanhill.com/support

Arthur Oliver

was born and bred in Govanhill and spent his working life in journalism with the Glasgow Herald. He has contributed the first three articles in our Peek Into the Past series sharing stories of Govanhill from the 1930s-50s. We’re now looking for someone to take up his mantle (see page 50 for more).

Rachael Procter

is a full-time content designer, part-time small business owner, and freelance illustrator. She’s hoping that, one day, Audible will sponsor her. She contributed illustrations for several articles in this issue.

Editor-in-Chief Rhiannon J Davies Creative Director Laura Hurst www.laurabelle.co.uk Cover Image Ghulum Wali by Eoin Carey Words by Ania Marchwiak, Ariane Porte, Arthur Oliver, Bel Pye, Craig Hunter, Dana Cherepkova, Danny Macphearson, Giacinta Frisillo, Grant Reekie, Kate Samuels, Liam Smillie, Marion Eele, Marzanna Antoniak, MILK, Orlando, Pollokshields Community Food Point, Polly Rappaport, Rhiannon J Davies, Robbie Armstrong, Romano Lav, Sam Doak, Sehar Mehmood, Toni Tochel, Vegan Burd Editing Support Alicja Tokarska, Andy Logue, Chris Jarrell, Clare Harris, CJ Lazaretti, Craig Hunter, Jamie Dyer, Katie Dibb, Mikey Jarrell, Panos Theodoropoulos, Polly Rappaport, Rachel Carmichael, Sam Doak, Saskia McCracken, Tim Nunn Translation from Anna Širjajeva, Romano Lav

Sehar Mehmood

is a university student who works as a tutor as well as a writer for her student magazine. Her work focuses on exploring the often-marginalised person-of-colour perspective. She is currently working on a project exploring the stories of South Asian immigrants in connection with Glasgow Museums and British Council.

Featuring the Photography of Alexander Hoyles, Audrey Bizouerne, Chris Moses, Dylan Lombard, Eoin Carey, Michael Paley, Sam Mosca, Simon Murphy, Virginie Chabrol Illustrations by Big Suze, Giacinta Frisillo, Laura Hurst, Rachael Procter Printed by Gladstone Media Ltd All content, unless otherwise stated, is copyright © Greater Govanhill CIC. All rights reserved. No part of this independently published magazine may be reproduced without permission.

Greater Govanhill CIC is a community interest company registered in Scotland: SC656194. Any queries, comments or letters, get in touch via: hello@greatergovanhill.com To make a complaint, visit: greatergovanhill.com/complaints

Contents REGULARS 06

News in Brief

or paths in the park, linden Commonly found lining Ieva their flowers in summer. lime trees produce picking Salt Collective, recalls Grigelionyte, part of summer a child: “During the hot them in Lithuania as would honey inside these flowers days in July, the sticky collecting on the ground. After melt and start to drip in dressed them on a windowsill the flowers, we dried winter. them in a dry place for newspaper and stored tea with me a cup of linden flower My nan always made a very I was sick. This tea has a spoon of honey when I almost my taste memory and specific place within I recently Only ill. was I when exclusively drank it with or panna cotta infused started to make ice cream it would fresh flowers. I imagine if I make into a nice cake was into baking.”

appear in meadows The sour leaves of sorrel summer (the slope up with tall grass during spot). Chef Răzvan Kim from the pond is a good in a it is commonly used says that in Romania as an ingredient in ciorba sauce with cream or “everything green with made de loboda, a soup large dollop of smântână and with a comically As a kid he used to eat (sour cream) on top.” it loved it, we looked for it “just for kicks; we usually got yelled at in strange gardens and to leave her crops by someone’s grandmother Ieva Grigelionyte says alone.” In Lithuania, and salads, while she they also use it in soups of sorbet or summer enjoys it: “in the form sugar lemon juice, cocktail – mixed with or white rum.” syrup and vodka, gin

All the latest from around the neighbourhood

FEATURES

30

and by the roadside Ubiquitous in parks or blackberries in autumn, brambles of dishes, from can be eaten in a multitude to drinks and jam. cakes and crumbles used to In Poland it is also sometimes flavour for vodka. make a soup and as a

08

Meet the volunteer

elder, jelly ear Found mainly on dead appears all-year or wood ear fungus in autumn and round but principally bodies have winter. The young fruiting an interesting little flavour but provide jelly-like texture in Chinese recipes; Artist Clarinda bite. firm but with a it cut into smaller Tse recommends using or salads – for the pieces in stir fries, soups fungi in a garlic and latter soaking the (cooked) Wood ear is antioxidant vinegar-based sauce. is considered and atory, and anti-inflamm medicine. therapeutic in Chinese

At The People’s Pantry

09

Like my grandmother used to make

flowers and The creamy and fragrant part of berries are the only edible you’ll find in woods, elderflowers, which flowering in hedgerows and wasteland, are early summer. Sprigs to fried and battered make fritters while a

Pull-out-andkeep Poster!

Illustrated guide to foraging in Queen’s Park

cordial can be made by simmering for 30 minutes with a little lemon juice, straining and mixing plant with sugar to taste. The is mildly toxic and should eaten. be cooked before it is

Ukrainian Borscht

using when young in spring, Nettles are best picked the most Nettle soup is one of gloves to avoid stings. of cooking, the Romanian common methods as ubiquitous sour cream, version adding the Kim garlic. Chef Răzvan well as onion and prepared in a similar says it is frequently with less but spinach, manner to creamed to this is garlic, cream adding: “The secret a make also leaves and loads of it”. The

10

Roma News and Views

20

pleasant tea.

Remember: don’t munch

Know your housing rights!

on a hunch! Never

eat anything you’re

unsure of.

The Langar

How the Sikh community kept Glasgow fed

12

24

With rap artist Clarissa Woods

When community action prevailed

Lessons from Kenmure Street

Style Icon

26

Here Comes the Neighbourhood

14

Behind the Portrait

The impact of flat whites on flat prices

Featuring Beldina Odenyo (aka Heir of the Cursed)

29

Easy Pickings

The joy of foraging

32

16

South East Integration Network Presents…

The Feeling’s Mutual

Two stories of mutual support

The Glasgow Interfaith Food Justice Network

35

17

Where everyone is valued

Your Govanhill

With Anna Strzalkowska from Bees Knees Cafe

Mutual Aid

36

What I Learned Growing Up in Govanhill

Addressing unconscious biases

18

Foodie New Bites From MILK Cafe and Orlandino’s Pizza

38

A Growing Community Food growing in Govanhill

43

Young Visions for the Future What would make Govanhill work better for young people?

4

Language Quiz Issue 3 Summer 2021

44

The Wild World of Natural Wine

And why it’s having its moment in the Southside

47

People Power

A guide to community councils

48

Delivering Your Dinner

A Deliveroo rider’s perspective

50

Peek into the Past

SUPPORT GREATER GOVANHILL Scan the QR code to support the magazine by becoming a member or making a one-off donation today!

By Marzanna Antoniak

THANK YOU!

There are at least 88 language spoken on the streets of Govanhill, how many of them can you say thank you in?

Draw a line to match a language with its ‘thank you’ word.

Govanhill during the post-WWII years

52

Food Not Bombs

Anarchic food provision in Queen’s Park

55

Arts and Culture News

All the latest reviews and previews

TO CLOSE 56

What’s On

Round-up of the best summer events

58

Poetry Corner It’s a Falafel Rap!

58

Hot Shot

Chris Moses’ photo of Al-Farooq Mosque

FOLLOW US

Labu Apetīti

@govanhill_mag

Connecting through food

greatergovanhill @greatergovanhill 5

Answers:

40

news in brief Community garden under threat on Agnew Lane City planning officials have temporarily halted efforts to begin construction on the site of a community garden on Agnew Lane, to investigate claims that bats roost in the area.

Local community groups led calls for the planned development of Agnew Lane to be abandoned and the space to be turned over to the community. While the council’s decision does not guarantee that such hopes will come to fruition, it is an important step for those concerned about the future of the site.

The plot on Agnew Lane, which has in recent years been home to a number of community initiatives, is currently owned by Hunter Homes LLP. PlantGrowShare, which has been growing produce on the land for donation to local social enterprises, claim that the planning permission obtained by Hunter Homes has lapsed and that the community would rather it remain a shared space.

Agnew Lane has been left undeveloped by its owners for a number of years. As far back as 2013 efforts have been undertaken by locals to repurpose the land. Prior to PlantGrowShare’s presence on the property, the local community organisation South Seeds maintained a collection of planting beds and fruit trees within the space. This initiative was put to a halt in Virginie Chabrol November 2013, when Hunter Homes cleared the land.

While the future of Agnew Lane remains uncertain, PlantGrowShare has been looking for alternative sites elsewhere in the city. Nonetheless, the group hopes that Hunter Homes will be required to resubmit its plans for council approval, which would allow members of the community to formally voice disapproval to any new development.

New digs at First Hampden Archaeology Scotland in partnership with the Hampden Bowling Club and Rose Geophysics have been carrying out an archaeological dig at the site of First Hampden Park (1873-1884), the world’s first purpose built international football stadium.

It was at this ground that the ‘Scotch Professors’ of Queen’s Park and Scotland pioneered the passing and running style of football we know and love today. It was the footballing home of Andrew Watson, the world’s first Black international footballer, a true pioneer and ‘Scotch Professor’.

They have opened three trenches in Kingsley Gardens and uncovered some ‘made ground’ or a levelled surface, made by arranging broken bricks in a fairly neatly packed layout. In one trench this covered a ditch which may well be the foundation cut for the enclosure of the stadium. First Hampden was also the first stadium to make use of turnstiles so finding anything relating to them would be a huge bonus.

Kieran Manchip, Project Officer said: “We have been working with a fantastic group of volunteers through our New Audiences project which has brought together New Scots and people from many different backgrounds to celebrate our shared heritage. The group have created a brilliant atmosphere on site which has been particularly enjoyable after recent lockdowns and long periods of stress and isolation for many.”

6

Govanhill Open Museum to bring heritage to our streets

by Marzanna Antoniak and Marion Eele, project leads Govanhill Open Museum, a new community-led heritage project, will bring local stories out to our neighbourhood’s streets so that Govanhillians can smile at their own memories and learn from each other.

Heritage doesn’t just belong to books, audio recordings and museums, it belongs to ordinary people! That’s why we are taking it outdoors where everyone can see it.

Govanhill is full of memories. Our familiar tenement blocks have seen people and styles come and go and smelled of home-cooked dinners from tatties to curry to stuffed cabbage. Our historic buildings are still standing as iconic features of the local landscape.

We’ve kept our shops busy over the years from greengrocers to takeaways, cobblers to laundrettes. We’ve gossiped at the steamie and on street corners in lots of languages. We mustn’t let these memories fade.

That’s why we’re coming together to create a shared Govanhill heritage trail. Whether you’re a born-and-bred Govanhillian or made your home here more recently, everyone has stories and memories to share, tucked away in a drawer or saved on the phone.

The pilot phase will help us gather local people’s stories and wishes for Govanhill through focus groups and a community survey. These memories will be used to collaboratively design a heritage trail, starting with a mural in the heart of the neighbourhood. There will also be many ways to share ideas to shape what Govanhill Open Museum will look like in the future.

Get in touch: www.tinyurl.com/GovanhillOM Follow the project on Facebook and on www.govanhill.info Funded by the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, the project is a collaboration between Govanhill Community Development Trust, Community Renewal, Govanhill Housing Association, and Glasgow Museums, working under the Thriving Places banner.

The next phase will welcome partnerships with other local groups and organisations.

news in brief Campaign launched to challenge unsuitable housing provided to asylum seekers and their children

By Sam Doak A coalition of campaigners and third sector organisations have launched a campaign seeking the closure of the Glagsow Mother and Baby Unit, a facility operated by Mears to house asylum seekers and their children in Glasgow.

The Roof Coalition’s #FreedomToCrawl campaign seeks to condemn and draw public attention to the conditions in which asylum seekers and their young children have been placed in recent months as well as provide a space in which resident’s complaints can be heard.

Concerns relating to the accommodation provided by Mears relate in part to the cramped conditions within the Mother and Baby Unit as well as residents’ assertions that they have been removed from more suitable accommodation within which they had social ties and access to community support.

Further information on the #FreedomToCrawl campaign including campaign updates and details on upcoming actions can be found at www.freedomtocrawl.org

Glasgow residents protest the transfer of community assets

By Sam Doak Approximately 300 local residents attended a demonstration in George Square on 5 June in order to oppose Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life’s decision to relinquish their responsibilities relating to a number of recreational and cultural assets across the city. The #SaveOurVenues rally was organised by Glasgow Against Closures, a campaign group that has been circulating a petition against these measures.

According to the council and Glasgow Life, a total of 59 venues including libraries, museums and football pitches across the city are due to be transferred to various local organisations in the coming months. Opponents of these plans claim that this poses a threat to the continued upkeep of these assets and puts them at risk of closure. At present, a number of venues in the Southside are affected by this decision, including: Scotland Street School Museum, Langside Hall and Pollokshields Community Centre.

Jim Monaghan, an organiser affiliated with Glasgow Against Closures, summarised the concerns of campaigners, stating: “The main concern is a lack of democratic accountability.

These are our assets and we demand that the council looks after them. Right now, councillors are absolving themselves of everything.”

Glasgow Against Closures has announced that it intends to continue to oppose community asset transfers in Glasgow until the council and Glasgow Life reconsider their current plans. The next Day of Action is planned for 31 July, the details of which can be found at the Glasgow Against Closures Facebook page.

Past Glasgow

An example of the cramped living layouts faced by expectant and new mothers seeking asylum

GOT A NEWS ITEM TO S H A R E, O R H A STORY WE S VE A HOULD BE INVESTIGAT ING?

Send a hello@gre n email to atergova nhill.com and chec k www.gre atergova nhill. for all th e latest n com ews.

Meet the Volunteer Ghulum Wali The People’s Pantry As told to Rhiannon J Davies Portrait by Eoin Carey

I

’m originally from Huddersfield, but I moved to the area in 1981. I’ve been here ever since. Never had any trouble, or any reason to move.

I used to work in the Job Centre, but I had an accident and spent six weeks in hospital. Now I have a disability and health issues. Previously I’d worked five days a week, so I got bored when I was in the house all the time. I started looking for volunteer jobs and helped out at Cancer Support Scotland before I got involved with the Govanhill Baths Community Trust.

I heard they were opening the pantry and we had built up trust when I volunteered at the shop, so they asked me to get involved. I check stock, serve customers, stack the shelves. I speak Punjabi and this can be useful for interpreting for some of the people who visit the pantry. I can understand Urdu too.

I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people in need.

They might have nothing, be living on the breadline, handto-mouth. You get to know people who come in. You talk to them and give them something extra, they might arrive unhappy but leave with a smile on their face. You help one person, and they go and tell another.

One time, we got a donation of bunches of flowers from Marks and Spencer. We gave them to everyone who came in. One lady burst into tears. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had flowers.

The pantry is not just for people who are unemployed.

In this day and age, during the pandemic with businesses shutting, people being on furlough, anyone can find it hard.

Even if you’re fine one week, you might not be the next. Food can be so expensive, not everyone can afford it.

Some people come in to get cereal and milk to feed the kids, or just get the bare minimum to make a good meal.

Others come for the fresh fruit and vegetables. Some of the older ladies I know come for the corned beef or the canned steak and kidney pie. I help them to carry it when they can’t.

I like to share food, so bring in dishes for the rest of the team, things like boiled rice, lentil daal, chickpea chaat, samosa. Chickpea salad is my speciality, I shared the recipe with the team.

I’m a full-time carer for my mother. She’s nearly 87 and housebound. We have good days and bad days, but I never complain. You have to make the most of the time you have with your parents and look after them while they’re here.

In our culture, we would never send an older relative to a nursing home. Sometimes I want to scream, but when I leave the house to go to my volunteer job, I feel like I’m shaking it off. It clears my head.

You meet people from all different walks of life, people from very different backgrounds to me. But I learn something from them and I hope they can learn something from me. If something goes wrong, we have a laugh. I always say there’s no use crying over spilt milk. Instead, it’s good to forget your worries for a wee while, and just get on with it.

Anyone who lives in the G41 and G42 postcode areas can become a member of The People’s Pantry for £3.50 a year. They can then do a weekly shop for £2.50, which provides a minimum of £15 worth of food.

There is currently a waiting list to join.

8

like my grandmother used to make

Borscht

By Kate Samuels Illustrations by Rachael Proctor

My grandma called recently and asked what I was eating for lunch. I told her today was a cheese and beetroot sandwich (secretly hoping that she would be proud of me for including beetroot – a key Ukrainian ingredient). But she replied: “Where’s your first course?”

Eating habits in Ukraine are changing as it becomes more westernised but for us, the first course normally means borscht. Important disclaimer: borscht is not considered a soup. It is substantially heartier and tastier than any soup could be. Call borscht soup in front of me and I will not be happy.

Worried that I wasn’t eating right, Grandma reminded me of the importance of eating a homemade borscht over a store-bought sandwich, and I realised she was right. Cooking nutritious food should be my priority. And it is just as important to preserve my heritage.

For me, borscht is nothing short of magic. It almost sparkles with sunflower oil. Its colour; a mix of psychedelic red and purple, looked like nothing else in my childhood. Its aroma of garlic and beetroot transports me to my home many thousand of miles away. I got curious about what makes an authentic borscht and how it has changed over time. Conversations with friends and family made me realise there are as many recipes for borscht as there are families in Ukraine.

Countryside borscht is richer, in the city it’s more broth-like. Others told me that in the west of Ukraine you might get pink beetroot making the colour lighter. Or there might be potato dumplings instead of potatoes. One family from Kropyvnytskyi remembered adding canned fish to their borscht for extra flavour and colour. A friend’s grandma in Ternopil used to make borscht in a ten litre pot to feed all the family for days. Some felt red pepper is essential, others could not think of anything worse. My family is firmly on the no pepper side, but are also pro sugar, which I discovered is common in southern Ukraine – apparently sugar was added to make borscht tastier when the vegetables were past their best.

During Soviet times, you could buy ready-made borscht to save money, but there was nothing like a homemade version made with love. The secret to a great meal, said Grandma, is that you need the will to make it. Make a meal without love and it will never turn out right.

Grandma is right. I often make borscht when I am sad or missing summer. It is a simple dish where the best ingredients really make a difference and it tastes best when you make it for someone special. I am lucky that I have a family recipe to make me feel more at home and that in Govanhill, the best ingredients are easy to find: sunflower oil and beetroot in Locavore, dill in the Transylvania Shop, pickle juice in Polish Daisy, and Bucuresti Magazin on Dixon Avenue for any toppings.

I miss my grandma so much. There are 56 years between us, but I take comfort in the fact that we both use borscht to survive the hard times, to feel better and to heal.

9

My Grandma’s Borscht Recipe Serves 5 For vegetarian/vegan versions simply leave out the meat and sour cream.

Ingredients • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

800g white potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces 1 medium carrot with skin on 1-2 cloves of garlic chopped 1 cup of beans if using (if dried, soak overnight) Half of a white or brown onion chopped in small pieces 1 fresh beetroot whole 500g of white cabbage cut into thin strips 200-500g of meat if using (you can use pork, beef or chicken) 1 tbsp of tomato paste (for more tomato taste and brighter colour) or tomato juice for more purple colour 2 tbsps of animal fat or sunflower oil Half a teaspoon of plain flour 1 tsp of sugar A pinch salt, pepper, and chopped fresh dill and sour cream to taste

Method 1. If using dried beans (soaked overnight or for at least 8 hours) rinse them and add to the large pot.

Fill the pot with water.

2. Add the potatoes to the pot.

3. Add sugar, the fat or oil, and pickle water or lemon juice if using. You can taste to see if acid is needed.

Boil everything for about 20 minutes, reducing heat if needed.

4. While boiling grate the beetroot and carrot.

Careful with your hands, beetroot will stain.

5. Heat about 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a pan on a low/medium heat, then cook the beetroot and carrot mixture with tomato paste or tomato juice, but do not burn. This will take about 5-10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and onion in the last few minutes.

6. If using meat, brown in another pan for about 10 minutes, till about half-cooked. Then add the meat to the pot with potatoes.

7. When the meat and potatoes look ready add the beetroot and carrot mixture to the original pot and cook together for another 5-10 minutes.

8. Add the cabbage a few minutes from the end, it only needs about 2-3 minutes.

9. Cool slightly and add sour cream (or a vegan alternative) and fresh dill on top.

Know Your Rights!

Cunoaște-ți drepturile!

by Romano Lav

R O M A N IA

In this issue, Romano Lav’s young team would like to emphasise how important it is to know your rights. Recently, a Roma family almost got evicted from their house, which got us thinking about how important it is to know about the rights you have as a tenant renting from a private landlord. There have been other cases of people being illegally evicted or harassed by their landlords, and we must not let that happen. Know your rights!

Echipa tânără a lui Romano Lav ar dori să sublinieze cu adevărat cât de important este să vă cunoașteți drepturile. Astăzi vrem să vă vorbim despre o familie de romi care a fost aproape evacuată din casa lor și despre drepturile dvs. pe care le aveți ca chiriași de la un proprietar privat.

Au existat cazuri recente de persoane care au fost evacuate ilegal sau hărțuite de proprietarul lor și nu trebuie să lăsăm acest lucru să se întâmple.

CUNOAȘTE-ȚI DREPTURILE!

I

E

t is very important to know your rights when it comes to eviction attempts. Your landlord cannot throw you out overnight and cannot expect you to leave without any notice. That is illegal.

There have been recents cases of illegal eviction attempts and that is why we think it’s so important for you to know your rights and know who to turn to when you need help or advice.

A Roma family experienced this abuse of authority from their landlord, when they were given only a month’s notice to leave the house. The new Scotland Coronavirus Act (2020), meant that when areas were under COVID-19 Level 3 restrictions, a notice of six months had to be given prior to an eviction.

It was a horrible situation for them to be in. The family made some phone calls and got in touch with Living Rent. The tenants’ union were able to help them and give them advice. They also spoke to them about their rights as tenants and what they are entitled to.

Here are some important things you should know about your housing rights • •

•

•

ste foarte important să vă cunoașteți drepturile atunci când vine vorba de evacuări și încercări. Proprietarul nu vă poate arunca peste noapte și se așteaptă să plecați fără nicio notificare,asta este ilegal.

Au existat cazuri recente de încercări de evacuare ilegală și de aceea considerăm că este foarte important pentru dvs să vă cunoașteți drepturile și să știți la cine să vă adresați atunci când aveți nevoie de ajutor sau sfaturi.

O familie de romi a experimentat acest lucru de la propriul proprietar și le-a dat doar o lună înainte de a părăsi casa. Până de curând, odată cu noua modificare a nivelului restricțiilor Coronavirus, acest lucru era ilegal.

A fost o situație oribilă pentru ei să se afle. Familia de romi a dat câteva telefoane și a luat legătura cu Living rent.

Living rent a putut să-i ajute și să le ofere sfaturi și, de asemenea, să le vorbească despre drepturile lor ca chiriași și despre ce au dreptul.

Iată câteva lucruri pe care ar trebui să le știți despre drepturile dvs. de locuință și evacuări

Rent increases need three months notice, on an official form, and can only happen once every 12 months.

Landlords and letting agents can’t ask for any admin fees or holding fees when you first take on a property – these are illegal! The only things they can take are the first month’s rent and the deposit. Two months rent is the maximum for the deposit.

Your landlord needs a legal reason to evict you, and an official eviction order. It can’t just be a conversation or a piece of paper.

•

Creșterile chiriei necesită o notificare cu 3 luni, pe un formular oficial, și se pot întâmpla doar o dată la 12 luni.

•

Depozite - proprietarii și agenții de închiriere nu pot solicita taxe de administrare sau taxe de deținere atunci când primiți prima proprietate, acestea sunt ilegale!

Singurul lucru pe care îl pot lua sunt primele luni de închiriere și depozit. Chiria de două luni este valoarea maximă pentru depozit.

•

Dacă o închiriere rezidențială privată are o dată de încheiere, atunci este ilegală și aplicabilă. Proprietarul dvs. are nevoie de un motiv legal pentru a vă evacua și de un ordin oficial de evacuare, nu poate fi doar o conversație sau o bucată de hârtie.

•

Dacă proprietarul vă hărțuiește, vă întrerupe alimentarea cu energie, încearcă să vă împiedice să intrați în proprietatea dvs., să schimbați încuietorile sau orice altceva de genul acesta, aceasta va fi considerată o încercare de evacuare ilegală. Nu-i lăsați să scape.

If your landlord harrasses you, cuts off your energy supply, tries to stop you from entering your property, changes the locks or anything like that, this counts as an illegal eviction attempt. Don’t let them get away with it.

If you are in a bad situation, you are not alone. Contact Living Rent for help and advice: www.livingrent.org

Dacă te afli într-o situație proastă, nu ești singur! Contactați Living Rent pentru ajutor și sfaturi.

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N

Znát Svá Práva!

CZECH

Mladý tým Romano Lav by chtěl opravdu zdůraznit, jak důležité je znát svá práva. Dnes s vámi chceme mluvit o romské rodině, která byla téměř vystěhována ze svého domu, a také o vašich právech, která máte jako nájemce od soukromého pronajímatele. to nesmíme dopustit. ZNÁT SVÁ PRÁVA!

J

e velmi důležité znát svá práva, pokud jde o vystěhování a pokusy. Pronajímatel vás nemůže přes noc vyhodit a očekávat, že odejdete bez jakéhokoli upozornění, které je nezákonné.

Objevily se nedávné případy pokusů o nezákonné vystěhování, a proto si myslíme, že je tak důležité znát svá práva a vědět, na koho se obrátit, když potřebujete pomoc nebo radu.

Romská rodina to zažila od svého vlastního pronajímatele a dala jim výpověď z domu pouze na jeden měsíc. Až donedávna to bylo se změnou nové úrovně omezení koronavirů nezákonné.

Byla to pro ně strašná situace. Romská rodina několik telefonovala a kontaktovala Living rent. Bydlení na bydlení jim bylo schopno pomoci, poradit a také s nimi mluvit o jejich právech jako nájemců a o tom, na co mají nárok.

Zde je několik věcí, které byste měli vědět o svých právech na bydlení •

Zvýšení nájemného vyžaduje oficiální oznámení o 3 měsících a může k němu dojít pouze jednou za 12 měsíců.

•

Vklady - pronajímatelé a pronajímatelé nemohou při prvním získání nemovitosti požadovat žádné poplatky za správu ani poplatky za zadržení, jsou nezákonné! Jediné, co si mohou vzít, je nájem v prvních měsících a kauce.

Maximální výše zálohy je dvouměsíční nájemné.

•

Pokud má soukromý bytový nájem datum ukončení, je jeho nezákonný a vymahatelný. Váš pronajímatel potřebuje právní důvod, aby vás vystěhoval, a oficiální příkaz k vystěhování, nemuze to být jen rozhovor nebo kousek papíru.

•

Pokud vás pronajímatel obtěžuje, přeruší zásobování energií, pokusí se vám zabránit ve vstupu na váš pozemek, změnit zámky nebo něco podobného, počítá se to jako pokus o nezákonné vystěhování. Nenechte je Jen tak abi jim to ušlo.

Pokud jste ve špatné situaci, nejste sami! Požádejte o pomoc a radu Living Rent.

Illustration by Laura Hurst

11

Style Icon

Interview by giacinta frisillo Portrait by Alexander Hoyles

Clarissa Woods

Clarissa Woods is an artist living in Govanhill.

She performs as a singer, rapper, actor, and model. She’s just dropped a new eight-track EP called Honey I’m Gone, but luckily for us, she is very much here.

Hey Clarissa! What are you wearing today?

I’ve gone for a very early ‘90s West Coast, LA-vibe look: a Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle-type style. I have on a checkered shirt, some khaki cargo pants, and then underneath, a cute crop top to switch up the vibe. That style was all about oversized checkered shirts, cargo pants and Converse, but I’m wearing a pair of Jordans to bring in 2021. I’ve never been to LA in my life, but I love LA. I’m inspired by LA. Do you have a favourite article of clothing?

I don’t have a favourite anything. I like lots and lots of different things, different styles, different textures, different colours – just everything!

How do you decide what to wear?

I would definitely say my moods. Sometimes I feel very LA-Snoop Dogg-gangster and when I do, that’s what I’m all for. But sometimes I feel really girly or moody. I’ll just dress what I feel. If I see something that really inspires me, I’m like ‘how can I do that my own way?’

Is deciding what to wear onstage different than deciding what to wear to the shops?

Sometimes and sometimes not. My last performance was in support of Deno, a big UK artist from London. I usually go all out, but that night, when I went to the changing rooms I remember the young dancers complimented my skin and I just had this feeling like, ‘why don’t I just go on stage au natural?’, go on like one of the crowd instead of trying to do too much. It’s not all about glitz and glam. When I dress to perform, I just think: what would I feel good in? What can I move in? What’s not going to restrict me?

What or who inspires your style? Do you have a style icon?

Cartoons influence me. I guess it goes back to colours and feeling good. I’ve never watched a cartoon and felt bad. Colours, just in general make me feel alive and childlike? I feel relaxed. Rihanna also influences me. Her Vogue Italia shoot is not the typical kind of images you see. It was like she was bringing back out the early 2000s with unique cuts and styles.

Who else has influenced you?

My dad is Scottish and my mum’s Mauritian. So when people see us together, there’s a lot of confusion and questions. I’m lighter complexion than my mum and seriously, as a kid, she fascinated me. I used to stare at her. She was like the most beautiful, elegant woman I’d ever come across. The way she spoke, how she dressed, how she got herself ready, conducted herself, her beliefs and how she treated people – just everything as a whole. My whole family in general really had an effect on me. Family and definitely my heritage. I go hard for that.

A lot of times, people just see Black and white, not mixed-races.

There has been a change, but I think there’s so much further to go.

Racism will die out when this humanity stops making it a thing and putting it onto the younger generation. Kids should just be able to love one another, and not have all this kind of stuff come into it that really doesn’t matter.

Where do I get your look?

A lot of clothes I get from little boutiques on Instagram. One of my favorite Instagram stores is Hart-Work. She has loads of different limited shirts or whatever and she just reworks them.

Find Clarissa at linktr.ee/Clarissaw

(not)

SMALL POTATOES

Because Locavore is a Community Interest Company, the money you spend with us benefits everyone. Your weekly shop provides a Real Living Wage for all our staff, ensures a fair price for our suppliers, and supports a growing network of ethical, environmentally sustainable businesses.

Our research has shown that every £1 spent with Locavore is worth £2.36 to Scotland’s economy, as money stays in our communities, recirculating and supporting businesses that work for people, rather than going to shareholders and multinationals.

So, fairly big potatoes really.

SHOP

DELI

CAFE

BEHIND THE PORTRAIT Beldina Odenyo

Photo by Simon Murphy Interview by Rhiannon J Davies

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Beldina Odenyo is a singer-songwriter who performs music under the moniker, Heir of the Cursed. Her music blends jazz and folk, drawing inspiration from the likes of Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald as well as her own experiences. In recent years she has been involved with theatre including sound design, composing and writing. She is currently working on her own play which explores our relationship with death.

This photo forms part of Simon Murphy’s Govanhill series, follow @smurph77 for more.

I grew up in a tiny ex-mining village in Dumfriesshire. I always say it’s where dreams go to die. It was pretty grim; very racist and very isolated. I couldn’t wait to leave.

I was born in Kenya. I lived there in a city called Kisumu and moved to Scotland when I was seven. It was a culture shock. I didn’t talk for many months and was in bad shape physically.

We were the only Black family for a good 50 miles around. I was the only Black kid in school when I started. So it was not very diverse at all. I always knew that I was going to be visible, so I didn’t let it make me cower. That would be admitting that you are an ‘other’. I had every right to hold my head up. It’s the other person’s problem if they don’t like me being there.

I don’t want to be bitter. They were children, they were ignorant and misinformed. They weren’t terrible people.

It did affect me deeply growing up. A lot was very visceral, very physical. Having put some distance behind it, I can look back and try to be philosophical. A lot of it is to do with Scottish exceptionalism and national low self esteem as well as fear of difference. It wasn’t personal, it was born of a greater issue.

I got my first guitar aged eight. It’s the same guitar I play now, 22 years later. I love the tone of it, the shape of it. It’s never let me down. It’s very heavy, but it feels like my armour. If I was going to get another guitar, I’d get exactly the same one. But it’s a mid-70s Japanese Vantage. So there’s not many of them around.

I’ve been gigging since I was 11. Writing and performing was a way to express myself. I wasn’t really listened to. I didn’t really talk a lot. Singing or writing about it was much easier.

Theatre has kept me going during the pandemic, while gigs haven’t been possible. I never imagined myself doing it, or even having an avenue into it, but it’s kind of taken over.

I’m quite a hermetic person. I like spending time by myself, but I liked having the option of being able to sit by myself in a café, to people watch, eavesdrop and experience life by osmosis, maybe bump into a pal when I’m walking through the park and see where the day leads me.

I miss being on stage. For me, it’s therapy really. Not being able to have that release or flex that muscle has been difficult. I did some online gigs, but as time wore on, I found it draining. Not having that immediacy, the exchange. When you finish, you’re just back in your room alone.

I’m writing a play about our relationship with the dead. It explores how we treat people at the end of life, how we sort of shun them, and how much more elevated and celebrated the concept of birth is. Death is a rebirth, a community event.

My play is based around the death ritual that my tribe, the Luo, perform called tero buru. It’s a 14-part ritual that needs to be performed so someone can have a good death. They can go on for years. People have to come from different parts of the country to hold vigil with the dead.

I’ve had a lot of grief in my life. I lost my mother and sister in the same year, and then my father by the time I was 21. I’ve always been fascinated with death and how people treat their own death. I’m someone who writes their own will regularly.

I’m training to become a death doula, and an end-of-life practitioner. A death doula supports someone at the end of life, holds space for them. They help with a range of things, both practical and emotional.

The Luo people are one of the largest tribes in Kenya. There’s a long musical history and tradition of poetry and orators. There’s definitely something to be said about there being an ancestral thread.

My heart belongs to Govanhill. I lovingly call it the Scottish Harlem. It’s got this vibe about it – very eclectic, edgy. It encompasses everything about Scotland in such a small area. McNeill’s pub is an incredible place to spend time, randomly picking up a guitar, having a pint of Guinness with Kenny, then leaving and going to get a shawarma, bumping into someone and going to The Dancehall at The Rum Shack.

In Govanhill, I feel visible, but not seen. I’m just another brown face here. That felt very liberating when I first moved. Govanhill felt very progressive and it felt like home.

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SEIN Presents….

INTERFAITH GLASGOW “Being human should simply be the only criteria for accessing good, nutritious food.”

T

his is how Katie Sproull from Interfaith Glasgow describes the ethos of the Glasgow Interfaith Food Justice Network (IFJN), which started life in 2015 in partnership with Faith in Community Scotland.

The network provides a forum for those working in, or affected by, food provision and food justice across Glasgow – to share information, resources and support. Their WhatsApp group has grown exponentially since the start of the pandemic, and now has over 150 people from more than 80 organisations. This is used to connect those with surplus food to those who can distribute it. It also provides a platform where people can

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ask for advice, share funding opportunities and celebrate successes. Speaking about the group, Katie said: “It’s a very supportive space; the peer support has been especially helpful for all the organisations who hadn’t been doing food work before the pandemic.”

IFJN have also been hosting fortnightly COVID-19 response meetings, which have been successful in building relationships and coordinating responses. These are continuing and are open to anyone to join: “We have seen some great examples of interfaith work, with churches, mosques and gurdwaras, for example, supporting each other with preparing and distributing food. However, it’s important to stress that you absolutely don’t need to be from a faith-based organisation or background to get involved in the network; we’re particularly keen to work with grassroots organisations of all kinds.”

The network created a declaration explaining what is meant by food justice and why dignified access to food has to be at the heart of all of this work. You can read, and sign, this declaration at bit.do/foodjustice.

“Ultimately our goal is to ensure that the people currently doing this work don’t need to be doing it,” Katie states. “It is, though, a privilege and a pleasure to be working with so many amazing organisations and incredible people across the city who are dedicated to

Al-Khair Foundation is a member of IFJN.

making sure everyone can access food with dignity.”

To connect with or find out more about the Glasgow Interfaith Food Justice Network, contact katie.sproull@interfaithglasgow.org.

See also their Facebook page (interfaithfoodjustice) and Glasgow Helps profile (www.glasgowhelps.org/listing/ interfaith-food-justice-network).

The South East Integration Network (SEIN) is a network of community groups and organisations working across the south east of Glasgow providing services & activities to promote diversity & support community integration.

Interfaith Glasgow are one of SEIN’s 70+ member groups. Meet the rest of SEIN’s members at: www.seinglasgow.org.uk/meet-our-members

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A

nna Strzalkowska is the owner of Bee’s Knees Café, which is tucked away on Bowman Street, just off Victoria Road.

She studied Social Culture and Community Studies, and it’s her vast experience of working with communities that led her to open her own café, to bring people together.

At Bee’s Knees, Anna makes everyone welcome with her big smile and open heart, serving delicious coffee and homemade cakes. Her café is a quirky space filled with art, love and laughter.

Interview by Ania Marchwiak Portrait by Michael Paley

Where are you from and what do you do?

I’ve been here for 15 years, before I was somewhere else. Simply, I am just here and now.

Do you have a favourite spot in Govanhill?

Queen’s Park – every single inch of that space.

What are your plans for Bee’s Knees?

To be, enjoy life, meet people, make good coffee and peace, and to give it all to my customers.

Favourite tunes?

There are a lot.

Folk music from around the world is closest to my heart. Trip-hop is closest to me in the everyday setting.

What does your coffee shop mean to you?

It is a dream I had in the past. Now I have fulfilled it and I don’t have to dream about it anymore.

It is a place that I had always wanted to spend time in, and I couldn’t find it.

Your

What is the thing you like the most in Govanhill?

The colourfulness, the diversity, the energy of its people.

Govanhill What was the last book you read?

I read A Child Across the Sky by Jonathan Carroll again after many years – I am addicted to his writing.

If you were to sing a song at this very moment, what would it be?

I can fly But I want his wings I can shine, even in the darkness But I crave the light that he brings Revel in the songs that he sings My angel Gabriel It’s the song Gabriel, by Lamb

Have you cooked anything interesting lately?

I’ve made a basil cheesecake for the café – you need to try it, it’s to die for!

What is the one thing you have missed during the lockdowns?

Open mics and events at Bee’s Knees… I’ve missed people!

What do you like to do?

All I can and all I cannot. But the thing that I like doing the most is participating in and experiencing the world and transferring the things I see into pictures or words.

Being an artist and illustrator herself, Anna supports local makers and artists by displaying and selling their art in the café. There are vegan handmade soaps, candles and bespoke jewellery. She also hosts exhibitions for local artists. Currently on display is Anna’s own dream-like paintings and mixed-media collages.

Waste Not Want Not

by MILK

Here at MILK, lockdown (and the general slowing down of time) gave us the chance to pause and look again at some of the finer details of running our social enterprise, café and catering business. We’ve been forced to stop, take stock and question some of our practices in a way that we just didn’t have time to do pre-2020.

During the first lockdown we made meals for the residents of Queen’s Park Hotel.

More recently we’ve been providing families with food parcels via St Bride’s Primary School and Gorbals Housing Association. This has strengthened our relationship with local food banks and The Real Junk Food Project.

We’ve found it really satisfying, employing our creativity to empty the freezer, and reusing leftovers and long-forgotten pulses to produce healthy, hearty meals for families in our community. If we make too many portions for a catering job, we just box them up and include them in our food parcels.

The increased demand for food banks since the start of the pandemic has seen our food waste decrease dramatically. For vegetable peelings and food that’s no longer safe for human consumption, we recently swapped our commercial food waste collection for SoulRider’s Revolutionize Project.

Revolutionize is Scotland’s first e-cargo bike foodwaste collection service; it aims to support local businesses to become greener whilst reducing pollution levels and traffic in Glasgow.

Afzal from Soulriders cycles over to our café and kitchen once a week, to collect the previous week’s food waste. He transports it back to SoulRiders HQ in Pollokshields to be processed in their Rocket Composter. The Rocket is a state-ofthe-art composter that can turn food waste, green waste and animal waste into compost in just 14 days! The resulting compost is then distributed back into community gardens and growing projects, completing the cycle. This is a fairly new project for SoulRiders, but they have ambitions to start working with much larger businesses.

In the meantime, it would be wonderful to see their bright green cargo bike whizzing up and down the South City Way collecting compostable matter from as many local businesses as possible! A truly local solution to one of climate change’s biggest challenges.

A Pizza Good Will

by Orlandino’s Pizza Orlandino’s Pizza is a new irregular pop-up takeaway pizzeria which aims to raise money and donations for local causes in Govanhill.

Run by Orlando, it started off as a lockdown hobby, but has turned into an ongoing project: Like lots of people during the first lockdown, I started baking. Because of the flour shortage, I ended up scrounging and begging for Tipo 00 pizza flour from local restaurants where I could.

Even with no real baking chops or chef experience I’ve always had a daft romantic dream of running a restaurant or pizza shop. So I got a pizza oven and spent most of 2020 learning to make Neapolitan pizza. There was a lot of recipe testing on my partner, neighbours and friends to develop the small and simple menu; margherita, vegan marinara and a special.

It was the disgraceful government free school meals parcels in January that really sparked the idea of making pizza in exchange for donations.

I set out to make 100 pizzas from my tenement building at St Andrew’s Cross, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Glasgow SE foodbank. To date each pop-up has sold out with pre-orders and collection slots made through Instagram.

So far £700+ has been raised for the Glasgow SE foodbank, with the hope of doing more pop-ups, collaborative events, and fundraising for other organisations in the future. A big thanks go to Errol’s Hot Pizza/Big Counter for donating produce and toppings.

Follow on Instagram: @orlandinospizza

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The Indigenous Leaders are a key part of the discussions in COP but do not receive financial support to attend, so Stop Climate Chaos Scotland - a coalition of over 60 civil society groups campaigning together on climate change - are bringing together facilities and accommodation.

Seeking your Spare Room:

Home hosting for the Indigenous delegation to COP26 When the UN climate summit, COP26, comes to Glasgow, campaigners from all over the world will come to our city.

We are seeking willing host households on the Southside with a spare room or a spare sofa bed, preferably in a private space.

If you would like to be involved in hosting the Indigenous Leaders from 1-14 November, search online for the COP26 Homestay Network or visit http://bit.ly/cop26hnsouth

From 1-15 November, the Indigenous Leaders will be based at the Hidden Gardens and St Ninian's Church (on the corner of Pollokshaws Road and Albert Drive). They'll spend their days in meetings at the SEC and evenings gathered at St Ninian's or the Hidden Gardens, where the Indigenous flame will burn for the entire two weeks. We wish to ensure that they have accommodation as close to each other as possible, so that's why we're asking for Glasgow Southside residents to host a guest.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland want to ensure that all visitors to Glasgow, and especially those coming from remote indigenous communities, feel a warm welcome and have the facilities they need to participate as best they can at COP26.

Local people are a vital part of this.

The most important thing that people in Glasgow can do during COP26 to help make it a success is to provide the facilities, welcome, and accommodation that global activists need so that they can use all their energies to make a difference. Get involved.

Stand Together, Stay Together with the COP26 Homestay Network

Need help or looking for more information? Email nick@stopclimatechaos.scot

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING CLIMATE ACTIVISM IN SCOTLAND.

During Climate Fringe Week (18-26 September) we want to celebrate and bring together local communities and organisations in Scotland through a week of events to engage in climate activism.

Find out how to get involved: climatefringe.org/week

The

Langar How the Sikh Community Kept Glasgow Fed Through the Pandemic

by Robbie Armstrong Photos by Alexander Hoyles

I’d thought over a year ago that the Sikh food bank would have been housed and operated fully from a church I would have said absolutely not, that makes no sense whatsoever.”

Charandeep Singh, a volunteer at the Sikh Food Bank is reflecting on the pandemic and how it has caused so many seismic shifts, reshaping our lives and relationships in ways we never imagined.

For many Sikhs across Scotland, it has led to finding renewed purpose and vigour in centuries’ old traditions such as seva (selfless service), equality, charity and the oneness of humanity.

Many Sikhs practise seva in their community. Often, they do so by helping out with cleaning and washing dishes, or cooking and serving food in the langar – the community kitchen of a Sikh temple, or gurdwara.

The langar is a place without class, race, ethnicity, religion, economic status or gender distinctions (although men and women generally sit separately). People eat for free, sit in rows on the floor, and all food is vegetarian so everyone can share the same meal.

Scotland’s first purpose-built gurdwara on Albert Drive provides a centre for cultural, educational and religious exchange for the wider community. Everyone is welcome – all they ask is that you cover your head and take off your shoes before entering.

Shindo Kaur, an administrative member at the gurdwara explains: “Whether you’re homeless or whether you’re a rich person, everyone is treated the same, it doesn’t matter. We help Sikhs, Muslims, Scottish, English people, West Indians, people from Afghanistan. We get a phone call and we just deliver – we don’t discriminate,”

Whether you’re homeless or whether you’re a rich person, everyone is treated the same

Earlier in the pandemic, they ran a food bank and volunteers prepared 1500 meals a week, helping to feed rough sleepers, the elderly, unemployed and those on furlough.

The langar continues to deliver fresh meals to the city centre every Tuesday.

“It’s important to help everybody you can, every little we do helps – and the money and food donations were flowing in. Everybody that was helping was full of energy” Shindo adds. “You felt it was your time to help people.”

But with many gurdwaras closed until recently, those wanting to help have found themselves reinterpreting age-old ideals and finding new ways to help those most in need.

Charandeep Singh feels that the pandemic has forced him to dip deep into the concept of langar. Many places of worship were closed, but he realised that: “Langar is primarily about the distribution of shared meals, it doesn’t matter where it was happening.”

So by delivering seven-day food parcels of fresh and nutritious meals for people to make in their own homes, Charandeep explains the community was still practising langar together, keeping the tradition alive, and helping those most in need.

They’ve also been able to build upon their relationships with the wider community and 22

other faith groups. Last summer, as well as their base in the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple on Otago Street, they set up a temporary food bank at the Queen’s Park Baptist Church in Govanhill to meet the community need exacerbated by the pandemic, something he never thought would happen: “People are collaborating more than ever before. We are demonstrating our faith more than ever before and at its heart and at its root is that we all have the shared goal of helping people in need. So we were really proud to be in the Queen’s Park Baptist Church – it was really an eye opening effort from both sides of the community and it really changed people’s perceptions about the Sikh community and the wider community working together. Not only were we able to help more people with food supplies, but I think it’s created a longer lasting legacy of interfaith communities working together.”

Charandeep received the Points of Light award from the Prime Minister last year for his work setting up and helping to run the food bank throughout the pandemic. More recently, they have been busy raising money for the Indian Covid appeal, reaching their target of £10,000.

Back in the Southside, at the Kenmure Street protest, a bus stop was turned into a

makeshift stand to hand out free water and food, and an Eid cake was proudly shared with protesters. Food, once again, found itself at the centre of interfaith cooperation and the spirit of charity. Charandeep is keen to highlight that the two men - detained in the Home Office immigration van for almost eight hours - have both been active volunteers in the community through local Sikh charity efforts.

One local business that has become a focal point for the community is Ranjit’s Kitchen, which recently celebrated its sixth anniversary. It’s a lively spot, where you can find affordable, freshly cooked vegetarian food. According to Gurjit, one of Ranjit’s sons, eating there is all about being crammed together, feeling part of the buzz and the energy as you share food with your friends and loved ones.

Gurjit explains “We’ve tried to keep it as authentic as it can possibly be. Obviously it's a restaurant and there is a transaction involved, but we want to try and keep this as communal, family-oriented and real as possible. That’s what we’ve always strived for.

“Our family is not of the belief that good food should be expensive; you should be able to eat well for a reasonable price. People need to learn that doing something with a few potatoes and a bit of cauliflower can be interesting and can be nutritious good food.

According to Gurjit, the driving force behind these ideals is found within the Sikh faith: “It’s about equality and oneness – in the gurdwara, you would all eat from the same big pot. It’s the same here. We’ve got one big pot of daal and that’s what gets served out all day, and the same for the sabji.”

For Ranjit, a practising Sikh, these concepts are built into the restaurant’s DNA. She is a woman keen to support others and make sure the vulnerable don’t go hungry.

When the restaurant breaks even, they make sure to donate at least 10 percent of the profit to charitable causes.

There is a thread that ties all these stories together. Charandeep says it best: “From the

Sikh tradition, we always have had a really strong belief that in times of crisis you show humanity; in times of crisis you serve. I hope that from this crisis, the Sikh community and our partners will think in years to come, that we stood up and we played our part to help our community, we did not retreat, we stood up and served. People should be really proud of that, and Scotland as a whole should be really proud of what we’re doing.”

We can all take something from these examples, learning from these simple ideals, made real by the community effort and generosity of those around us. As the Guru Granth Sahib, the central religious scripture of Sikhism, states:

23

After spending time with saints I lost the sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’. No one automatically is my enemy, nor do I regard others as strangers. I am friendly towards everyone.

24

LESSONS FROM

KENMURE STREET

By Sam Doak Photos by Simon Murphy

A

t 12.13pm on 13 May I received a text from the local branch of my tenants’ union: “Urgent! Ongoing action to prevent deportation of a family in Pollokshields! Come to 258 Kenmure Street if Possible! No evictions, no deportations!”

On arrival, I was immediately struck by the heavy police presence. With vans filling the street and scores of officers forming lines, the disproportionate force of the response seemed to be emphasised by the contrasting temperament of the crowd that had assembled. Representing a cross section of the community, the mood was determined but peaceful.

As the day progressed, the crowd that surrounded the Home Office’s immobilised vehicle grew steadily. Community members began distributing food, water and face masks, adding to the feeling of solidarity among those present.

Songs, speeches and chants of “these are our neighbours, let them go” indicated the determination of the protestors. The message was clear: those who had assembled would not be willingly dispersed until their neighbours were set free.

The mood of the crowd upon hearing that an agreement had been reached to release the men from custody was one of elation tempered with caution.

Many were reluctant to take the authorities at their word. It was upon hearing reassurances from community leaders that euphoria took hold and the crowd moved to escort the two men as they were released. Both have subsequently been receiving legal support from Jelina Berlow Rahman and Latta & Co Solicitors. It is hoped that the issues surrounding their legal status in the UK may be resolved.

What was achieved at Kenmure Street should serve not only as an example of what is possible when communities work together in the face of injustice, but also as a reminder of the danger still faced by many within our city. Indeed, it emerged that an unnoticed dawn raid had been successfully carried out by Home Office officials on the same day elsewhere in the city. The need for vigilance was further emphasised in the subsequent week, when immigration enforcement vans were sighted in Paisley. Buoyed by the success of community action on Kenmure Street, this resulted in a swift response from local community groups and did not result in any detentions.

It is clear that while Glaswegians ought to celebrate what happened that day, complacency is not an option when the government’s position towards many within our communities is one of open hostility. Individuals and activist groups within this space show no intention of resting on their laurels. No Evictions Network Glasgow have announced plans to foster improved coordination between the city’s anti-raids groups and increase their engagement with affected communities. WhatsApp groups are being set up in different neighbourhoods.

Through these efforts and others, concerned members of the public will be able to maintain a level of readiness and be capable of responding again when needed.

What happened at Kenmure Street was not a fluke. It is repeatable.

A wealth of resources have been shared online, detailing what local groups deem to be appropriate responses when witnessing immigration enforcement vehicles in your area. No Evictions Network advises contacting either the Unity Centre at 0141 427 7992 or No Evictions Campaign at 07448 515094 as an initial response. The Unity Centre has published resources for those who find themselves the subject of immigration enforcement actions. Unless under arrest, their advice in such situations is to not engage with immigration officials and leave if possible.

25

HERE COMES THE

NEIGHBOURHOOD: By Grant Reekie

FLAT PRICES

VS.

It’s

a well-worn trope that flat whites are a sort of indicator species of coffee, harbingers of rising rents, bowl cuts and bourgeois affectations sweeping in and fundamentally altering a neighbourhood. But what is the relationship between good coffee and gentrification?

In 2018, a Brixton railway bridge was adorned with the legend ‘Clapham that way, you 2D flat white tepid colonialist wanker’. The Financial Times recently ran an article entitled ‘Sun, surf, flat whites and Rolls Royces - Cornwall’s frenzied housing market’, which includes the following nails-on-the-blackboard contribution: “When I moved here, it just wasn’t possible to find a flat white, a Pilates class or a decent negroni,” says the 46-year-old, who runs her own PR agency.”

It’s hard not to take an instant eye-rolling dislike to that sentiment, but it illustrates how the narrative of equivalency between coffee and gentrification is widespread and established.

You hear this word, “gentrification”, a lot in an area like Govanhill.

It’s a thorny subject that requires unpicking, so let's start by giving it a definition. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as: “A process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middleclass or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents.”

Attracting new businesses is just one part of this process, but the results can dominate the conversation: avocado toast, quinoa salads and, of course, flat whites are regularly name-dropped into social media posts heralding the great rapture coming. But these businesses aren’t opening in a market where they expect to have no customers familiar with their product. Stage one is the influx of wealthier people. Is bougie coffee being made into a semi-skimmed straw man, deflecting away from the real issues of class and power?

This topic is particularly interesting when it comes to Govanhill because it’s hard to argue that Govanhill has ever belonged to any community or economic status – it’s been home to waves of immigration from all over the world, has been an affluent centre, fallen on hard times, recovered, then fallen and climbed again over the years. Look again at the elaborate facades on Queen’s Drive, the grand entrance to Queen’s Park, the decorative details that you spot when you just look up. Who decides what the natural state of such a place is? Who does it belong to? Why shouldn’t it climb the ladder?

FLAT WHITES

Photos by Michael Paley

If we’re going to pick a random point in history at which to ossify the ‘character’ of this neighbourhood, who gets to decide what is ‘authentically’ Govanhill?

One local that has lived through the fluctuating fortunes of this area is Darryl Docherty, owner/founder of the Short Long Black coffee shop. He has often found himself at the thin end of the wedge in the Govanhill gentrification debate and is initially wary discussing this topic: “Most of the gentrification conversations I've had have been from people moving in and telling me I'm the one gentrifying the neighbourhood. They clam up when I tell them that I'm actually from the neighbourhood, that I grew up here. When I first opened, you should have seen the amount of abuse that I got, posting my menu.”

Darryl offers the sort of coffee that comes with a country of origin and a farmer’s name, alongside beautiful cakes and an array of intriguing soft-serve ice cream in flavours like tarragon with raspberry, or pistachio and olive oil. We discuss the implied assumption that such a place couldn’t possibly have been generated by a working class local boy. Why? Is it really so inconceivable that a local could offer something modern and slick? Is it a local’s patriotic duty to keep prices and menus at the level they were in the 2000s, lest he alienate a former neighbour?

One thing that's particularly galling to Darryl is being described as overpriced. He explains: “If you want a cheap product, something’s got to give. It’s going to be either the quality or the traceability, or ultimately the quality of somebody's life. We pay 14 local people the Living Wage at minimum and buy the best product we can. We’re as sustainable as we can be within how the current system works.

This is something that’s often left out of this conversation. Cheap coffee isn’t cheap for everyone involved in the supply chain. The full price is always paid. We can pay for it in the espresso bar, or we can externalise it into barely-paid labour, deforestation and the creation of monocultures. Does choosing coffee that is affordable for everyone on Victoria Road address those issues? Or does it just displace dealing with them elsewhere, out of sight, out of mind?

More importantly, the other question we really ought to be asking about “overpriced” coffee is this: why is this unaffordable? We are talking about a few pounds here, for a product that has travelled across the globe, been skillfully grown, roasted, packaged, shipped, poured and finished. It wakes you up, gives you energy, warms you up… all of that for the princely sum of a few quid. It’s the definition of

WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT IS ‘AUTHENTICALLY’ GOVANHILL?

26

This is working off of the lowest priced sustainable, traceable coffee.

This cost would double for a quality focused cafe, which in turn would have to hire another member of staff or two to cope with the required volumes of espresso made.

We still haven’t taken into consideration equipment depreciation, equipment maintenance, insurance, power, internet, card reader fees and rent, staff training, any form of waste pick up fee, bank fees for holding a business account, stirrers, sugar, napkins, cleaning products, water charges, factor fees, spare parts, music license fee, accountant, accountancy app, Spotify subscription, initial legal fees for lease, staff food, etc.

Let’s add rent.

Make it simple £1000 a month, roughly £32.25 a day depending on the month, that’s another 64 espressos.

EVERYTHING ELSE Rent on espresso equipment on said space is around £10 a day so another 20 espresso. 244 espresso at £1 just to break even on staff. (A lot of small coffee shops would be serving nowhere near 200 coffees a day)

EQUIPMENT RENT

SPACE RENT Living wage is currently £9.50.

Works out roughly around £10.50 when you add holiday, employers insurance and pension. So per hour you would have to make 20 espressos just to cover the cost of the staff member, or 160 for an 8 hour shift.

STAFF WAGES Coffee: 27p per shot (not taking into account waste from dialling in, or for the grinder overdosing coffee if it is a quality focused establishment)

Vegware cup: 4p

COFFEE VAT

VAT: 27p

CUP

WHY CAN’T WE GET A

CUP OF COFFEE FOR

£1?

Darryl Docherty explains...

a little luxury that makes life worth living. So why is that £2.70 price tag out of reach for so many?

To answer that we need to have a difficult conversation about the pervasive culture of wage stagnation and zero hours contracts, which, alongside a xenophobic ‘hostile environment’ that prevents some migrants from working, has trapped people in a negative feedback loop of low income, insecure work and dependence.

The Pink Peacock Collective are in the process of opening a queer, Yiddish, anarchist, vegan community café in Govanhill. Some might see their venture as contributing to the changing nature of the neighbourhood. But for them, serving food on a pay-what-youcan-afford basis, and giving away free food is part of a challenge to dominant capitalist forces: “The solutions to gentrification and wealth disparity are direct action which challenges wealth hoarding, like rent strikes, squatting, occupying… There are worse causes of gentrification than bougie cafés, but they are wasted public spaces and they are an obvious symptom to look for. We need to imagine and build better, anti-capitalist futures for our neighbourhood.“ As wealth gaps widen and inequality increasingly becomes a defining feature of this early part of the 21st century, it’s hard not to agree that radical action may be what we need. But from my perspective, as a lifer in the hospitality industry, while I agree that much needs to change, I feel blaming coffee shops for gentrification is not going to fix decades of austerity and neoliberal individualism.

If we look at the socially-minded businesses around Govanhill, they may in fact be the exact gathering spaces we need to collectivise against it.

Milk Cafe was founded in 2015, with the aim of supporting and empowering refugee and migrant women living in Glasgow. The team facilitates and runs projects that distribute meals, provide skills training, teach languages, run art classes and generally make it invaluable to the local community. It’s a gloriously colourful space in every sense of the word. Further along Victoria Road is Patricia’s Cafe, which throughout the pandemic has opened its doors to residents for ‘mental health cafes’, providing a vital lifeline, using mindfulness materials and discussions.

In a previous life, as an ecologist, I learned that habitat complexity was necessary to create biodiversity. Cafés and restaurants like Milk represent habitat complexity. They are places which facilitate the little interactions that form an ecosystem. In order to stop the area becoming monocultural, it’s important to come together and share our stories, culture and coffee.

Recently, we’ve had an example of just how much community spirit and solidarity does exist in the Southside. When the Home Office sent immigration vans to Kenmure Street, seeking to remove two Sikh members of the community, they were met with an emphatic show of resistance. People turned up in their hundreds to refuse permission to the authorities to carry out their racist orders.

A community came together and protected its own, in the process recognizing just how valuable each element of that community is.

Hipsters stood side by side with activists from the mosque and gurdwara, along with local politicians and their neighbours.

Communities are what we make of them – they can be disparate, elitist, luxurious enclaves, or nets of local support that can stand up to the highest authorities in the land. What makes the difference is not the type of business, the temperature of milk, the font on the sign or the positioning of the hat on the head. It’s the web of interactions that are facilitated by gathering spaces and groups coming together. Embrace strength, diversity and community.

Shop and support local and give independents the benefit of the doubt, and stop conflating your flat price with your flat white.

Ultimately, gentrification is a question: who should live here?

For me, the answer to that must be that anyone is welcome, but it’s on those who move in to contribute in a positive way and help maintain the fabric of the community. Let’s go for a coffee sometime and chat about it.

28

Easy Pickings:

Joy

The

of

Foraging

by Craig Hunter

It all started with the brambles.

Late summer was when jam supplies were restocked for the year ahead. I was issued with tupperware and sent forth on a mission from mum. Raspberries and blackcurrants might also make their way into the jelly sock, dripping in the kitchen. But it was blackberries, the most abundant berry in the west of Scotland, which took centre stage.

And they still do. Taking care to avoid being jabbed by thorns or stung by nettles, the best finds are always the hardest to reach. Even then, a bountiful reserve is still retained by the dense bushes for the rest of the animal kingdom.

Berries dropped when stretching across the defences are left as a tribute to the insects, rather than a cause for concern.

It is all very well to make desserts and jams from the haul, but it would be a crime not to eat some while picking.

My loose rule is to eat all the ones that are a bit squidgy, oozing their purple dye over my fingers. I put the unbroken berries in the tub, otherwise it never gets filled. In order to balance the sharp and sweet tastes of individual brambles, a decent handful should be gorged on at once. Bliss.

You don’t have to travel too far from Govanhill to enjoy such riches.

Queen’s Park has a healthy supply of brambles, while I’ve found raspberries in Pollokshields and blackcurrants on Langside Road. Herbs are widely available from streetside planters if you keep your eyes peeled. I’ve been getting dill, oregano, sage, rosemary and mint in this manner for years.

In spring, it is worth visiting Linn or Pollok Park, where wild garlic takes over whole swathes of ground, particularly near the river. The smell is pervasive.

Popular as a pesto, this milder form is

also nice in salads and as a garlic substitute in most recipes. When it starts to dry up in May, garlic mustard pops up to replace it. In the opposite direction, three-cornered leek can be found by the River Clyde or Kelvin.

This makes a fine alternative to spring onions and, like wild garlic, the whole plant can be eaten.

It’s not all about free food though. My forays into mushroom picking, for years tentative, accelerated dramatically during lockdown, and introduced me to whole new worlds at a time when my usual existence was on hiatus.

Fungi hold a unique place in our ecosystem, interconnecting our forests underground and popping up to spread their spores when the time is right. The huge variety of shapes and colours are a delight to spot, with an added bonus if it happens to be edible. This learning process is necessarily laborious, given the risks (I started out by learning the deadly lookalikes), but a deeper understanding of how weather, seasons and habitat interact is rewarding and addictive.

When foraging, it’s important to ensure our relationship with the environment is not destructive. Cut greens with scissors, and mushrooms with a knife – rather than yanking out of the ground; don’t take everything, or you may not see it next year; try to leave the surrounding area intact.

It is also important, of course, to make sure you have picked what you think you 29

Turn ov for our p er out-and ull-ke foraging ep poster

have (never munch on a hunch!). This is particularly true of mushrooms, but you wouldn’t want a daffodil leaf in among your wild garlic either. I have seen several edible varieties of mushroom in Queen’s Park, but also a few more dangerous ones which are not always obvious.

It is generally wise to avoid the sides of busy roads when foraging as the fumes get absorbed in berries, and you should maybe avoid dandelions in areas popular with dog walkers.

Other than that, take your time and enjoy the experience and, if you wouldn’t mind, leave some for me.

The sour leaves of sorrel appear in meadows with tall grass during summer (the slope up from the pond is a good spot). Chef Răzvan Kim says that in Romania it is commonly used in a sauce with cream or as an ingredient in ciorba de loboda, a soup made with “everything green and with a comically large dollop of smântână (sour cream) on top.” As a kid he used to eat it “just for kicks; we loved it, we looked for it in strange gardens and usually got yelled at by someone’s grandmother to leave her crops alone.” In Lithuania, Ieva Grigelionyte says they also use it in soups and salads, while she enjoys it: “in the form of sorbet or summer cocktail – mixed with lemon juice, sugar syrup and vodka, gin or white rum.”

Ubiquitous in parks and by the roadside in autumn, brambles or blackberries can be eaten in a multitude of dishes, from cakes and crumbles to drinks and jam.

In Poland it is also sometimes used to make a soup and as a flavour for vodka.

Found mainly on dead elder, jelly ear or wood ear fungus appears all-year

Commonly found lining paths in the park, linden or lime trees produce their flowers in summer. Ieva Grigelionyte, part of Salt Collective, recalls picking them in Lithuania as a child: “During the hot summer days in July, the sticky honey inside these flowers would melt and start to drip on the ground. After collecting the flowers, we dried them on a windowsill dressed in newspaper and stored them in a dry place for winter.

My nan always made me a cup of linden flower tea with a spoon of honey when I was sick. This tea has a very specific place within my taste memory and I almost exclusively drank it when I was ill. Only recently I started to make ice cream or panna cotta infused with fresh flowers. I imagine it would make into a nice cake if I was into baking.”

The creamy and fragrant flowers and berries are the only edible part of elderflowers, which you’ll find in woods, hedgerows and wasteland, flowering in early summer. Sprigs are battered and fried to make fritters while a cordial can be made by simmering for 30 minutes with a little lemon juice, straining and mixing with sugar to taste. The plant is mildly toxic and should be cooked before it is eaten.

Nettles are best picked when young in spring, using gloves to avoid stings. Nettle soup is one of the most common methods of cooking, the Romanian version adding the ubiquitous sour cream, as well as onion and garlic. Chef Răzvan Kim says it is frequently prepared in a similar manner to creamed spinach, but with less cream adding: “The secret to this is garlic, and loads of it”. The leaves also make a pleasant tea.

round but principally in autumn and

Remember: don’t munch on a hunch! Never eat anything you’re unsure of.

winter. The young fruiting bodies have little flavour but provide an interesting texture in Chinese recipes; jelly-like but with a firm bite. Artist Clarinda Tse recommends using it cut into smaller pieces in stir fries, soups or salads – for the latter soaking the (cooked) fungi in a garlic and vinegar-based sauce. Wood ear is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and is considered therapeutic in Chinese medicine.

THE THE FEELING’S FEELING’S MUTUAL MUTUAL

As lockdown hit last year, Glasgow Mutual Aid groups sprung up to offer a no-questions asked service for those struggling to buy food. We hear from Yas and Derrick, who have helped each other in ways that go beyond a loaf of bread.

Content warning: mental illness, food poverty, suicide

Illustration by giacinta frisillo 32

NAME: DERRICK AGE: 54

O

ur family moved to a housing scheme called The Circus in 1967, the year it was built. Although it had a rough reputation, it was a great place to grow up. Parents would look out for each other’s weans and neighbours were always in and out of each other’s houses.

My father was a big influence in my life. He was well respected and was always helping other people. My mum was the home maker and she’d cook us dinner from scratch every night after a full day of work.

My dad worked for years longer than he should have done because he wanted to provide for us until I was 16, but the progression of his emphysema made that impossible. We lived in a top floor flat and when he got back from work he had to take a break on every flight of stairs. He really hated it if any neighbours passed and saw him unwell. Like me, he didn’t want anyone to see him struggling. I took care of my mum and dad until they passed away. It was never a burden.

Most of my life was great, I used to buy and sell guitars. I always had enough money and some wheels.

AFTER YOU DON’T EAT FOR TWO DAYS, YOU GET A BIG FIST IN YOUR STOMACH

NAME: YAS AGE: 27

T

hat call from the café didn’t come as that much of a surprise: a voice telling me I’d lost my job and making coronavirus feel real four days before lockdown was even a thing. But I couldn’t stop my mind tracing back through every moment of the past few years, criticising my lifestyle and my life choices. This was my fault. Again.

Things would have been different if I’d just been a real person and had a stable job. I have no family in Glasgow, just a handful of friends I made during the nine months before lockdown.

I hung up the phone and I was back to square one: living on £82.47 a week in Universal Credit. But this time it was different, because when COVID-19 happened, something changed inside me. I’d been too ill to work for a year before I got that job in the café. I didn’t tell anyone, I just disappeared. We are all struggling so much more than we tell people.

In April, I started seeing friends join a Facebook group called Glasgow Mutual Aid. Posters bloomed across Bridgeton’s bus stops and shop windows overnight. I joined the G40 Mutual Aid postcode group and that’s

HE’S THANKED ME FOR HELPING HIM, BUT PROBABLY HAS NO IDEA HOW MUCH HE’S DONE FOR ME.

My dad had to retire at 49, he was told he had a year to live, but he got ten. Then my mum passed away. I was a musician and thought my lifestyle meant I would live fast, die young. I told everyone that I’d die at 33. I’m still here, but maybe I was right. I lost my mum when I was 33, which was so hard that a part of me did die.

how it began. Glasgow Mutual Aid (GMA) doesn’t require a constant commitment and that works for me. The group didn’t ask me lots of questions, they just assumed that I’m a decent human.

EDGE OF SURVIVAL

As the months of spring passed by, I met lots of my neighbours by accepting requests on the G40 WhatsApp group, I heard their stories, we laughed together. I love the Glaswegian accent, there’s something comforting in it.

I began coordinating the mutual aid in Bridgeton in early April 2020. My role at GMA encouraged me to apply for a job as a support worker, so I could continue to help people and I’d be able to afford life a bit more.

You can’t care about what you eat when you’re living on £329 a month: if you try a new recipe and it fucks up, you’re not eating dinner that night. You can scrape by and not physically die, but our mental and physical health combined is what makes us real. Food nourishes more than the human body. I got the job.

Something was happening, suddenly we weren’t being targeted and personally blamed for our circumstances. Through trying to access food parcels for my neighbours, I realised how difficult the process of accessing essentials is, and how it would be even harder if you hadn’t eaten for days or if English wasn’t your first language. Services like GMA are needed because accessing free food can be really stressful – we’re a

On 7th March I woke up in hospital. I’d been struggling with depression for a long time and I was finding it hard to survive on benefits. The combination of being depressed and not being able to afford food meant that I’d dropped down to six and a half stone. I took an overdose, but I survived.

This is my situation: I live with 24-hour pain. They found out about my osteoarthritis when I was 17 – I was in hospital because some drunk individuals took it upon themselves to stamp my arm over a curb. It was almost amputated. I can be stuck in bed all day, my whole spine seized up and my neck bent in agony.

I can’t move half an inch. Every morning I don’t know whether it will be five minutes or five hours before I can get up. Staying at home is generally my only option because my knee just gives way. Nobody really knows how bad it is, and when I go to the doctor I just tell him the arthritis is worse, the depression is worse.

Each time money would come in, it would go straight out to pay people back what I’d borrowed. Then – nothing for two weeks.

THE FEELING’S MUTUAL

After you don’t eat for two days, you get a big fist in your stomach, then the next day you don’t feel hunger anymore. It’s like your brain says, ‘well, there’s no money for food, so that’s that’. I could go weeks and weeks without food, easily.

If there was some help for people who are on their way to feeling suicidal, if there was some net, there would be a lot less suicides in the world. I certainly didn’t know who to contact.

SIGNS OF SUPPORT

I was lying there out of it, but against all the odds I had survived – this wasn’t a cry for help. One of the women who came in was a psychiatrist, the other one was from Navigator, which helps people who’ve been affected by violence. I didn’t know who was who.

I met Anne Marie a week later for a coffee. She helped me get a proper bank account, so I could do online banking. She also organised bags of food. She was like a counsellor because there was no one else I could talk to.

It felt like I suddenly had some support for the first time in years.

All this coronavirus thing blew up at the worst time because it meant I couldn't see my friends when I most needed them. Anne Marie was the first one to give me help, then my GP called me out the blue. He was concerned about me and put me in touch with the practice social worker who called Glasgow Mutual Aid looking for a food bag. She had tried a few places, but this was the only place that she heard back from.

WHO TO CONTACT IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP

Samaritans operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year, by calling 116 123. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org If you live in Govanhill, you can also use the GCDT telephone helpline if you need assistance with food, benefits & money, fuel, housing, emotional & physical health or support for children & families and older people.

simple place where anyone can get help. There are no questions asked, apart from how urgent your request is.

I decided to move to Govanhill, in the Southside of Glasgow. It’s a neighbourhood famous for a mix of cultures. No one bothers asking me where I’m from anymore.

MEETING DERRICK

Yas gave me a ring saying that the social worker from the health centre had been in touch, and we just got chatting over the phone. She was easy to talk to. She offered to bring a bag of food around to me the next day and had a laugh after asking about my dietary needs. My answer was ‘no veg’.

When she came round, we chatted at the door and stayed in touch on WhatsApp. She came round the next week with another bag of food. We chatted about music and all sorts. One afternoon I invited Yas in for tea. It was easy for me to open up to her, I felt I could tell her stuff and she listened to me.

We’ve seen each other every week for the past few months. Yas is new in Glasgow and she’s interested in the history of the city. I’ve lived through the miners’ strikes and Thatcher. You see photos of crowds at punk gigs outside the Apollo and I know I was in that crowd.

Music had been my life since I was nine years old and was introduced to John Peel. The very first gig I went to was when I was nine. The bouncers found it funny and just let me in. I’d go down to the Apollo and they’d chuck me a few free tickets.

The help I’ve had during lockdown from the likes of Navigator and Mutual Aid has improved my life. My benefits have been sorted out, which gives me more financial stability. I’ve been able to get a kitten: Iggy. He’s already my wee buddy. And over the months, Yas has become a good friend.

I fell into coordinating G42 as soon as I moved. That’s how I met Derrick. I remember our first phone call, he seemed apologetic to be asking for food, which upset me.

I went to the food bank and got him everything I could, though they kept asking me if he liked stuff and I had no idea. Apart from the fact he’d told me that he didn’t like vegetables!

When I first went round to bring Derrick his messages I sat on the steps outside his flat and chatted. I soon established that he lived alone and that none of his friends or family could come and visit him because they were high risk. When he invited me in for a cup of tea one afternoon, I said yes.

I started visiting Derrick every week, and we were able to talk openly about things. He told me loads of stories about the city’s violent history and all the bands that cut about here over the decades. He’s lived through all the music: the 70s, 80s and 90s (he says music died in the 90s – I disagree).

Derrick describes himself as an open book, but I don’t usually share my story. Glasgow is a place of hope for me. It was my last resort – a tiny part of me believed that I could free myself from my own past. Moving here didn’t make my problems go away. I was in a dark place in my life when I survived a serious car crash on The Black Isle, driving back to Glasgow. The kindness of one man, Richard, the head of the retained fire service, showed me that my life was valuable All it takes is one act of kindness; you never know the impact it might have on someone. Richard refused to let the police drop me off at a train station at Inverness after the crash, instead his partner came to pick me up and made me a cup of tea. He let me stay with their family and I came to work with him the next day. I didn’t realise it at the time, but such a small and simple thing changed the way I see myself and just being cared about by a relative stranger led me to believe that I deserve to live. It showed me that life can be kind, your past doesn’t matter.

Derrick accepts me exactly as I am. He’s pretty much nocturnal so we end up having some really late nights chatting. That’s the thing, he’s thanked me for helping him, but he probably has no idea how much he’s done for me. Having him as a friend makes me feel safer because he’s lived here his whole life and I imagine he could be scary if he needed to be. It’s MUTUAL aid, he reminds me.

IT’S GOT TO THE STAGE THAT MAYBE I DO WANT TO GET UP IN THE MORNING.

SOME MORNINGS I WAKE UP AND FEEL SO LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

MEETING YAS

MUTUAL AID

where everyone is valued By the Pollokshields Community Food Point team Photos by Sam Mosca

“We try to do everything with a smile on our face, and never judge anyone who walks through the door. It’s not just about ‘here’s a bag of groceries’, it’s about asking ‘how are you today?’”

John is a volunteer at the Pollokshields Community Food Point, a project born from the efforts of G41 Glasgow Mutual Aid volunteers, who came together to support our diverse, tight-knit community at the start of the pandemic.

Over the past year, thanks to the help of local partners, donors, and around 60 volunteers – we have delivered over 11,000 personalised food parcels. Located at 423 Shields Road, the Food Point is open every Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It enables people from G41 (and those referred by partners) to pick up parcels of fresh produce, tinned items, oil, milk and hygiene products. Volunteer drivers deliver parcels to those who cannot leave the house.

Local organisations have been instrumental to our success. The Southside Housing Association partnered with us to organise a venue and help with welfare rights. We work with Pollokshields Burgh Hall and the Scouts, who offer us kitchen space to cook delicious meals as part of our fortnightly Hot Food programme.

Community organisations like G42 Mutual Aid, East Pollokshields Quad, The Bowling Green and a rich network of groups have had our back – working together for the best outcome.

As with other groups within the wider Glasgow Mutual Aid network, the Food Point is organised by postcode. No two groups are the same. Each is made up of diverse people who understand their neighbourhood and work together to meet the needs of their community. Everyone is valued and anyone can volunteer in their own way – from helping with carrying boxes to regular shifts. It’s about mutual decisionmaking and mutual support.

One person collecting a parcel noted how they have made connections with people they would never have otherwise met. Another now helps an older woman with her food collection. One volunteer who also used the service, said that they help out simply to give back, adding: “During lockdown, I have found it great to have a purpose. Not to be sitting around at home.

I can meet people and help. That’s really important to me.”

Our recent survey indicated that 94 percent of volunteers felt participating benefited their mental health and wellbeing, 35

and 91 percent felt more empowered. We aim to ensure our volunteer demographic is close to the community and create opportunities for development. Our youngest volunteer is 17 and the oldest is 78. Collectively, we speak seven languages.

We hope to challenge beliefs about what emergency food provision can be. We aim to be as ‘horizontal’ as possible, meaning that everyone who provides or uses our services can help organise the Food Point. We try to be mindful of trauma and inequalities, and to create a friendly, low-stress and open space.

This shows in the feedback we receive.

One person approached the Food Point after they had been bankrupted and suddenly lost everything. Reflecting on their first time using the service, they said: “I had no expectations whatsoever.

It was just going in blind. But they were so accommodating, so welcoming. I like their spirit. And it gave me an uplift. There are people out there who show empathy.”

Rebecca, a volunteer, said: “There’s something incredibly dignified about a community donating their time and food to the Food Point and people being able to come along and get what they need, no questions asked”.

One year after opening our doors, the Pollokshields Community Food Point gained charitable status, providing access to more funding opportunities so we can continue supporting our community. The path forward is unclear. An increase in service hours, or a move to larger premises, is appealing. But unfortunately, this depends on funding, which is harder than ever to guarantee.

There’s no pleasure in the sustained high demand for emergency food or chronic economic struggles. We can, however, find joy in mutual support, relationships and knowing that our neighbourhood looks out for one another.

Donatio ns are vita l in the sho rt term.

To supp ort the project, visit: bit.ly/ Polloks hields

What I Learned Growing Up in Govanhill

By Sehar Mehmood Illustration by Rachael Procter

‘

Y

ou’re the first Muslim – or Pakistani – I’ve met!’ was a common refrain I heard from the friends I made at university. It was the first time I had lived outwith my native Glasgow, far from the familiar buildings, cafes, and roads of good old Govanhill.

My first few weeks were a startling reminder of my position as a minority. It was a jarring contrast to my experience growing up in Pollokshields and Govanhill where I had always been surrounded by so many different cultures, nationalities and religions. Here, I was often the only person of colour, in a room full of white students.

Many of the friends I made from across the UK, confessed to having grown up with less than five people from ethnic minority backgrounds in their schools. This was a shock for sure, having always been surrounded by so many from my own community and with others from countless different walks of life. Such contrasts made me reflect and consider my experiences of growing up in Govanhill – the things I had learned and the benefits I had gained in growing up in such an area.

This biggest thing I took from it is about the ignorant and damaging effects of stereotypes. This is not a new revelation but growing up in such a multicultural community meant that while many of us were still figuring out our own identities, we were pasted over with stereotypical images and assumptions. Because of this shared experience, the awareness of how damaging these stereotypes are grows significantly. You become aware of not just your own struggle, but that of your neighbours and friends, each in their own way battling the labels forced upon them.

My teenage years in Govanhill – an area which itself is often ignorantly stereotyped – became a period of mental growth and awareness as I, and many others, approached the next phases of our lives. I worked with fellow students and residents in Govanhill, learning about different cultures and identities. We laughed at shared experiences, like the eye-catching packed lunches we brought to school, which stood out from the jam sandwiches and Lunchables of our fellow classmates. I also learned how my experiences of prejudice shared so many similarities with others’, such as the discomfort in answering the question: ‘where are you from?’. Suddenly, my experiences of prejudice and that of my community became opportunities for camaraderie and connection with people from outwith it.

My tunnel vision was broken down growing up in this area. This was because I have learned about my own unconscious biases, which like all of us, I have socially learned.

Having these unconscious biases does not mean that you are, for example, sexist or xenophobic, unconscious biases exist in all communities. Even people who honestly report that they are not racist, or homophobic can hold unconscious biases about different races, or the LGBTQ+ community. These biases are described

as ‘unconscious’ because they automatically occur outside our control and we can be influenced by them, without knowing.

I sincerely doubt I would have ever recognised my own unconscious biases, had I not grown up in Govanhill, an area rich in different perspectives and cultures. It forced me to realise, with horror, the existence of my own biases at a young age. This made the task of re-evaluating and challenging them easier.

Regardless of where you have grown up, or how old you are, it is possible to reflect and uncover your unconscious biases towards people from communities other than your own. Spend this unique time, in which all of humanity shares a common enemy in COVID-19, to start recognising and addressing these biases. Challenge yourself and find ways to change your mindset, from reading books such as Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race Book by Reni Eddo-Lodge*, or watching online lectures by Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term intersectional feminism.

Or you can simply do what I did, and spend time with different people by volunteering in one of the various charity shops on Victoria Road, or for one of the many community-based projects based here. Share what you learn. The lessons I learned on these Southside streets have shaped me a great deal.

*

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You can pick up books on these subjects from the South East Integration Network’s borrowing library.

A social enterprise is run like a business, but the profits are invested back into the local area to create meaningful change At GSEN, we’re creating a space for different organisations to come together and exchange ideas, resources, and support. Our membership is growing and we’re always open to new members. GSEN brings together over 200 social enterprises (our members) and organisations that support their work (associate members)

We Support

We Develop

We Promote

We Connect

Offering bespoke services, provide information and signposting to specialist services

Providing and enabling access to events and training

Providing an outlet for awareness raising of social enterprises

Undertaking research to influence policy and strategy development

Engaging and consulting with social enterprises to ensure their views are represented

Facilitating a safe space for members to share resources, ideas and experiences

Offering a platform for members to form partnerships and collaborations

Enabling opportunities for trading between members, the public sector and private sector

We’re a growing movement.

The past year has shown how valuable relationships with others in our local area can be. It has never been more important that we can share our skills and create opportunities for each other.

Not a social enterprise? Don’t worry, you can still be part of our network. Whether you’re starting up a social enterprise, or your organisation supports them, there’s a membership for you. GSEN membership is free for everyone.

Full membership? You’re an established social enterprise in the Greater Glasgow area and you meet the voluntary code for social enterprise in Scotland Aspiring Membership? You’re developing your organisation, and you’re working towards the voluntary code for social enterprise Associate Membership? You’re a supporter or partner of social enterprises in the Greater Glasgow area

Get in touch: info@gsen.org.uk

@glasgowsen

Some of our members (from bottom to top, left to right): Jeely Piece Club and African Challenge Scotland. GalGael and Locavore. Urban Roots and People’s Pantry (Govanhill Baths)

community

By Rhiannon J Davies Photos by Virginie Chabrol

For more examples of how communities have taken over derelict spaces and how you can follow their lead, visit MyLand.Scot, a new website set up by the Scottish Land Commission which aims to connect the public with land and demonstrate how it can empower communities.

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ast year, when lockdown narrowed horizons, supermarket shelves emptied and food scarcity fears heightened, many started growing their own food for the first time. In Govanhill, where tenement living is the norm, this meant experimenting with pots in backcourts and planters on window sills. It also provided a useful new hobby to fill the time. But public interest in growing food started before lockdown kicked in and has itself been growing apace ever since.

Despite the glorious green expanse of Queen’s Park, Govanhill does not initially conjure images of fertile fields. Tenements are packed cheek by jowl rising from land which was once home to Dixon’s Blazes, the ironworks whose furnaces were landmarks here in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Yet if you look closely, you can still see pink radishes pushing their way out of the soil in front gardens, herbs cascading from planters, tomatoes blushing in tenement windows.

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Growing is happening on a larger scale too. Back in 2013, Locavore and South Seeds took on the overgrown tennis courts belonging to the Queen’s Park Bowling and Tennis Club. A market garden is now well established, supplying the Locavore shelves as well as other organisations. A workers’ co-operative, Tenement Veg, rents some of the land using it to grow vegetables and promote healthy and sustainable food. Each year, South Seeds support around 24 local people to ‘adopt a bed’, allowing many city-dwellers to try their hand at vegetable growing for the very first time.

Lucy Gillie, general manager at South Seeds says it’s about more than what you produce: “Once you start growing your own food, you get a much better idea of seasonality of what you eat – when seasons start, what you would be growing or harvesting at what time of the year. People know to look out for beans in mid-late summer.

They have a better idea of how weather impacts food growing and what can be grown in this country. Food growing in Scotland also introduces people who dabble to the delights of kale.”

The industrial history of Govanhill means that she doesn’t advise people to grow food directly in the ground, recommending building raised beds instead: “A lot of the tenement courts were infilled with industrial waste. Chromium was used a lot. It is an incredibly toxic metal and the cost of getting soil tested is huge.” For those interested in building their own raised beds, tools can be borrowed from the South Seeds tool library and instructions are provided by them too.

Although traditional allotments do exist in Glasgow, waiting lists are several years long and the demand for them has increased significantly throughout the pandemic. This is where various community groups are stepping forward and seeking to take over unused space. In some instances, self-styled guerrilla gardeners are transforming the smallest of spaces, planting in verges and seedbombing wastelands.

One group of wannabe growers got tired of waiting for an allotment and decided to form The People’s Plot to try and get access to their own piece of land to grow food on. Speaking about the project, member Euan McLaren said: “We believe that everyone who wants to grow should be able to do so, and so we are working together to gain access to local land for food growing to support our ambitions of self-sufficiency, lowering carbon emissions, community wellbeing and supporting positive mental health.”

The group have now been granted space in Pollok Park, but they see this as only the beginning. They plan on continuing to organise, develop and campaign for access to local land to grow food. They also want to empower others to collectivise and take action.

According to Euan, there are a number of steps that could be taken: “Firstly, more allotment associations should be opening up their plots to community groups. The current model with waits of over ten years is not sustainable. They need to remove the barriers to people getting involved. So many plots sit empty and it’s a real shame when you think about how many people want to grow. Secondly, the city council needs to stop granting planning permission to greedy developers who often go on to build unaffordable housing – like we are seeing with the situation in Agnew Lane. The council should be investing in its communities who could, and often are, using the space for growing food. Thirdly, we need to change the way we think about our food and where it comes from. From an environmental perspective, growing food locally is the future, so why wait? Why not sow the seeds now?”

The plot in Agnew Lane has been the subject of a local row over land use. Originally developed as a community garden by South Seeds, it was bulldozed by the land owners in 2013 as part of a move to build flats in the space. But it has lain empty ever since, and in the past year community groups have once again been growing food here. The same developers have now returned, attempting to build over the garden. On 10 June, the council issued a temporary stop notice, ordering a pause in construction until 8 July.

This struggle brings the conflicting interests of local residents and property developers into stark contrast. In a densely populated urban environment like Govanhill, where private gardens are a luxury, space to grow is highly prized and sought after. For those who have the opportunities to get their hands into the soil, the rewards are plentiful. Back at the Urban Croft, one grower explains what it means to them: “I love living in Govanhill, but the lockdown has sometimes made me feel trapped here and really made me long for outdoor space. I know it isn’t much, but being able to grow – and eat – my own produce has given me a taste of ‘the good life’. And more than that, it’s made me feel part of the growing community.”

By Anna Širjajeva & Ellen Vanderhoven Photos by Alexander Hoyles

Connecting through food

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hen lockdown was introduced last March, like many people making the first tentative steps towards a relationship, we had to choose between moving in together or spending weeks, if not months apart. In a matter of days, we went from casual dating to living and working together 24/7.

With empty social calendars and screen-frazzled brains, food and cooking took on a new importance. A steady supply of bread, cakes, stews, pies and sauces emanated from the kitchen as planning and making increasingly elaborate meals became a way to structure and fill our time. It also helped us learn more about each other’s cultures and past experiences as we got to know one another.

Anna grew up in Riga, Latvia, where the local cuisine is infused with German, Russian, Scandinavian and Eastern European influences, while Ellen is from London, her tastes shaped by the city’s global outlook as well as years spent living in France and Spain. Taking it in turns to prepare meals and swap recipes opened up new culinary horizons for each of us. Even more so, it brought about new conversations. Each meal shared would provide a window into the words, idioms, histories, memories and emotions that make up our lives and identities.

For Anna, a steaming bowl of pelmeņi (pork dumplings) and sour cream would evoke memories of after-school snacks with an old friend, prompting a long-overdue video call. Bubbling batches of damson jam would remind Ellen of gathering fruits from the family garden every autumn, in turn delighting Anna’s parents when a jar of the homemade, unknown-fruit jam arrived in the post.

Hunting down ingredients also became an important pastime. Thanks to the incredible diversity of food shops in Govanhill, particularly Eastern European stores, we were able to source everything we needed to prepare classic Latvian meals and experiment beyond our culinary comfort zones.

Bucuresti Magazin (14 Dixon Avenue), Transylvania Shop & Coffee (462 Victoria Road) and Polish Daisy (77 Calder Street) became firm favourites for the acquisition of sour cream, fresh dill, briny pickles, zaļie zirnīši (conserved peas) and toasted buckwheat that are Latvian staples. Buckwheat is such a cornerstone of cooking in Latvia that during lockdown, it flew off shop shelves there as fast as toilet paper did here.

As travel to Latvia was impossible, celebrating festivals with traditional food became a way for Anna to stay connected to home, and for Ellen to explore the culture, customs and people of a country she couldn’t visit. Easter called for the customary activity of lieldienu olu krāsošana, or Easter egg colouring, when we used grains, leaves and natural dye made of onion skins to decorate hardboiled eggs. After slicking the finished eggs with butter to make the intricate patterns shine, we had an egg fight much like a British game of conkers.

For Līgo, the Latvian summer solstice, there were plump, salty pirādzinji – mini pasties stuffed with smoked bacon, steamed sauerkraut or creamy mushrooms, perfect enjoyed with an ice-cold beer. Anna shared stories about cherished pagan midsummer traditions, like making flower crowns and singing round the bonfire. The first hot days of summer called for aukstā zupa (cold beetroot soup), while the long dark evenings of winter were warmed with frikedeļu zupa (meatball soup).

Once lovingly prepared, we always send photos of our dishes to family back home, although it often feels bittersweet to only share a meal in the digital realm. While Latvia might have dominated the holidays, Ellen also had her chance to share some family traditions. Whelks and cockles weren’t such a big hit, but kedgeree, pumpkin pie and slow-cooked brisket proved popular. The year closed with rich mulled wine, a brandy-soaked Christmas pudding sent by Ellen’s parents, and Anna’s first Christmas cracker.

While the last year has been challenging and taken away many of the things we love, it has also pushed us to explore new things. Food has expanded to fill the spaces left by other interests that are no longer accessible and has become one of our most reliable sources of joy, relaxation and creativity. It’s helped us to stay connected with family and our local community, become closer to each other, and delve into our own individual memories through different dishes and recipes. Best of all, we have created new traditions for our shared home along the way.

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I “ n a matter of days, we went from casual dating to living and working together 24/7”

Recipe

Rosols or Olivier Salad There’s one recipe that has become a firm favourite of ours all year round.

Perhaps not the most fashionable or good-looking dish, rosols salad is an essential part of any special occasion in Latvia; Anna’s mum makes it every time she goes home, as a welcome-back treat. Also known as Olivier salad (салат оливье in Russian), rosols has evolved from its roots as an elite foodstuff served to the Russian bourgeoisie in prestigious Moscow restaurants to a much more humble, everyday dish. While recipes vary from country to country and from family to family, the dish is a beloved classic throughout Eastern Europe, used to celebrate birthdays, the New Year, weddings, and funerals.

This recipe is vegetarian, but you can make it meaty by adding some chopped doktordesa (boiled sausage, or literally, “doctor’s sausage”) or smoked pork. It’s best served with dark, dense rye bread and unsalted butter, or alongside marinated herring. We like to eat ours with tangy kūpinātām vistiņām (smoked chicken).

Rosols or Olivier Salad

Rosols, Rasols jeb Olivjē Salāti

Ingredients: • 4-5 medium potatoes (waxy, if possible) • 2-3 carrots • 4 pickled cucumbers/gherkins (make sure they’re in brine, not vinegar) • 4 tbsp of zaļie zirnīši (jarred peas in brine, available in most Eastern European shops) • 3 eggs • 3 tbsp mayonnaise • 3 tbsp sour cream (18% fat or higher) • Salt & Pepper • Dijon-style mustard • A handful of fresh dill and flat-leaf parsley

Sastāvdaļas: • 4 vidēja izmēra kartupeļi • 2 burkāni • 5 skābēti vai marinēti gurķi • 5 ēdamkarotes zaļo zirnīšu • 3 olas

Preparation: 1. Place the carrots and potatoes in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer until soft. In another pan, hard boil the eggs (approx. 10 minutes).

L A T V IA

• • • • • •

2 ēdamkarotes majonēzes 2 ēdamkarotes skābā krējuma Sāls Melnie pipari Sinepes Dilles un pētersīļi

Pagatavošana: 1. Kartupeļus un burkānus liek katlā, pielej ūdeni un vāra kamēr mīksti. Citā katliņā liek olas, pielej ūdeni un vāra lai cietas (aptuveni 10 minūtes).

2.

Kad kartupeļi un burkāni ir gatavi, nolej ūdeni un atstāj atdzesēties. Pēc tam, kartupeļus un burkānus nomizo, sagriež tos mazos gabaliņos (apmēram ½ cm lielumā) un liek bļodā.

3.

Smalki sagriež olas un liek tās klāt.

Ja gribas izmantot gaļu vai desu, to var pievienot šajā stadijā.

2.

Set the vegetables aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use your fingers to peel off the skins. Chop the veg into small cubes approx. ½ cm across and place them in a large salad bowl.

3.

Finely chop the eggs and add them to the bowl. If you're using meat, you can add the chopped pieces at this point.

4.

Drain the peas and pickles then chop the pickles into small cubes to match the vegetables. Add both to the bowl.

4.

Kāt liek zaļos zirnīšus, un smalki sagrieztus gurķīšus.

5.

Add the mayonnaise and sour cream to the bowl. Mix well.

5.

6.

Add salt, pepper, and mustard to taste.

Pieliek majonēzi un skābo krējumu, tad kārtīgi samaisa.

7.

Leave the salad to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.

6.

Pieliek sāli, piparus un sinepes pēc garšas.

Garnish with the dill and parsley. Serve cold.

7.

Salātus atstāj ievilkties uz pāris stundām ledusskapī.

8.

Rotā ar svaigām dillēm un pētersīļiem. Pasniedz aukstus.

8.

You could try adding fresh cucumbers for a lighter taste, or grated horseradish for an extra kick. The salad can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to three days.

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! abu apetīti 42

Ja ir vēlme, var pievienot arī svaigu gurķi, vai mārrutkus. Rosolu var uzglabāt ledusskapī 3 dienas, vislabāk uzglabāt hermētiskā traukā.

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We recently asked a group of young people in Govanhill how they thought the neighbourhood could be reimagined to work better for young people.

Matus, Leon, Sandra, Alex and Marisa had the following suggestions:

“I would like a space where we can play music and show people what we can do.”

“There isn’t anywhere where young people can go and dance.”

“We need more sheltered outdoor space. In bad weather, there’s nowhere for us to go.”

YOUNG VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE

“I wish we could have a studio where we can record podcasts.”

Dana Cherepkova and Ariane Porte of G42 Pop-Ups have gone one step further and put together proposals, aiming to strengthen connections between the social and cultural groups of Govanhill and make the neighbourhood happier, cleaner and safer. They are working to develop it in partnership with Govanhill Baths Community Trust. Below they explain more: The project was inspired by a new appreciation of the neighbourhood after our long walks around the place during lockdown. The pandemic showed us the importance and power of local communities. It also compounded underlying challenges in our area, including a lack of trust between different social and cultural groups.

This, combined with a lack of accessible outdoor spaces for socialising has added to an increased sense of isolation.

G42 Pop-Ups aims to address this by supporting and strengthening Govanhill through a series of events across the neighbourhood.

GOVANHILL COMMUNITY MARKET

The first of these will be a neighbourhood community market to help create a common understanding between different communities and an appreciation of the underused venue. The market will support the local economy by working with local producers and makers and will be an opportunity to celebrate the cultural diversity of Govanhill.

In order for the project to have a lasting impact, we are working closely with local support organisations to tailor the market to the needs of the community and make it truly inclusive. The market will be a chance for different groups in Govanhill to partake in a programme of performances, workshops and street games for all. It should be truly an event run by locals for locals.

WHAT IF… FUTURE THINKING

Longer term, we intend to work with the young people of Govanhill, via community gateway organisations, to help them develop the skills they need to make a positive impact in the neighbourhood. Our dream is to convert an old advertising trailer into a mobile community hub for more pop-up community events.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to learn more and get involved! Send us an email to g42popups@gmail. com or message us on @g42pop.ups account on Instagram.

Thriving Places Govanh ill are currentl y engag with yo ing ung peo ple in th area to e develop the You Strand th of thee G o v a nhill Locality Plan. Fo llow them on Faceboo k for upd ates.

“It would be good if there was a cinema or somewhere showing outdoor screenings.”

The

Wild World

Natural Wines of

By Polly Rappaport Photos by Audrey Bizouerne

Made From Grapes display

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“OK, but…

what is natural wine?” ...asks the second, or possibly third person in the online bartering group where I’m attempting to transform a couple of bottles of conventionally produced Brut into something much more exciting.

It’s a good question. Natural wine doesn’t have an official definition, but characteristics include grapes that are grown organically or biodynamically, hand-picked, naturally fermented with no additives (bar a dash of preservative sulfites at bottling, though some eschew this measure) and very light, if any, filtration. The whole process is low-to-no intervention, and the result is a living wine, full of kaleidoscopic flavours and engrossing textures, many brimming with fruit flavours that makes them helplessly gluggable. A frequently easy drinker you might have heard of is orange wine, or ‘skin-contact’ white wine, which gets its colour from the grapes and their skins spending some quality time together in the fermentation vessel.

The novelty of the colour, joining the traditional red, white and pink, has drawn interest and made orange a common gateway wine into the wild world of natural.

It’s a world that’s attracting an increasingly enthusiastic, inquisitive and diverse array of explorers. Between ethics and Instagram, natural wine is undeniably having its moment.

Nowadays, many people are concerned about the provenance and sustainability of the food they eat. This means biodynamically-grown wine made by small independent producers fits neatly into the moral and environmental framework they’re consuming within. There are even perceived health benefits thanks to the natural fermentation process involving wild yeasts and ‘gut friendly’ bacteria (kombucha heads, assemble). If the positive ecological and postulated physiological impacts aren’t enough of a draw, the distinctively quirky labels and pop-culture-tinged names are also key attractions.

Another fun fact about the emergence of natural wine, and good news for the Southsiders seeking biodynamic bottles: the best area of Glasgow to find a healthy selection of the stuff? We’re in it.

Suz O’Neill at Curious Liquids in Shawlands says they deliberately created a natural wine section featuring orange, because so many customers were asking about it – most likely after seeing it on social media.

She holds up a perfectly Instagrammable bottle. It’s a succulent peach-flesh-hued wine you can all but taste just by looking at it, wrapped in a candy-coloured label depicting an orange-slice sunrise. Like, retweet, add to story.

They’ve also noticed people coming to natural wine via natural cider, or some of the more funky sour beers – customers who otherwise wouldn’t go for wine at all. It’s the naturalness, Suz thinks, that appeals and gives these customers the confidence to ask. The fact that it’s a ‘cool’ thing to ask for gives it accessibility that conventional wine lacks. Price-point aside, there’s also an inclusivity to natural wine, from the people who produce it via the language that surrounds it to the people who consume it, that sets it apart from the conventional offering.

Suz has observed firsthand the prejudice and exclusivity prevalent in the wine and wider drinks trade. It was in reaction to this that she started Vinclusive, a non-profit project promoting diversity and inclusion within the trade. The aim is to support and amplify a broader range of voices; to educate and provide opportunities not generally available in the frustratingly homogenous industry. Natural wine is certainly part of that picture.

Up the road in Pollokshields is Made From Grapes, which began as an import and pop-up project while the owners, Liam and Sév, sought out space for an eventual wine bar and bottle shop. The heavily developed

Between ethics and Instagram, natural wine is undeniably having its moment.

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West End wasn’t quite right for the pair’s planned offering. However, they found the Southside to be welcoming and open to small new businesses, and so they opened shop on Nithsdale Road in December 2020.

Made From Grapes sells a mix of conventional and natural wines, and again, orange is a popular ask. They haven’t noticed much trepidation when it comes to asking about the wines, in part because the labels tend not to give much away. This encourages questions, opening a dialogue about the wine and its producer. This is particularly helpful when it comes to understanding the somewhat elevated cost of natural wine; that the price ensures fair payment for the people who grow and make it. Customers tend to understand this, as they do with other organic produce, and once they’ve tried a glass, can taste the genuine value for their money.

If you've been to visit Nanika or Bar Vino in the past six months or so, you may have spotted the Southside’s tiniest wine establishment, Judo Madonna. It was run by Jake Belben, who started holding pop-ups a few years ago following a gateway glass of natural Riesling at a street food market in London. Working in the restaurant industry

he'd noticed natural wine trickling onto the drinks scene, coming up with the rise of craft beer though nowhere near as noisily. He wasn't looking to be converted, but the tastes and textures in that fateful glass were a total revelation and he was hooked.

Jake's nomadic natural wine journey began.

Judo Madonna was installed in a cosy corridor lined with satisfyingly well-stocked shelves of natural wine.

A friendly neighbourhood bottle shop like a sweet shop, a record store, and a used book shop happily crushed into one. His customers were a diverse mix of locals who are curious, like good wine and want a couple of interesting bottles for the weekend, or were gradually working their way though his shelves finding new naturals to try. He also had regulars who will swing by every week or so for a firm favourite.

Jake is brilliantly well-informed about the winemakers, whose personalities frequently shine

through in their offerings, and his relaxed enthusiasm is reassuring and compelling. He’s opened a bottle for the interview (I have suffered for this article, folks) and it’s a deep, complex blend, practically fizzing with crunchy red fruit. Jake introduces the grapes used; discussing the wine using joyful, unpretentious words.

The Victoria Road store has now closed, but he describes his next venture as “noodles, buns & natural wine – in convenient proximity to one of the postcode's best Guinness taps.”

[Ed: just announced it will be upstairs at McNeills.]

All in, a key aspect of natural wine is its openness and approachability.

It is inviting, and its ethics are sound, which is important to a community with its eye on environmental responsibility, inclusivity and supporting small businesses, from the growers to the importers to the sellers.

The future’s bright for natural wine on the Southside – and it’s so much more than orange.

by Toni Tochel, member of Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council Illustration by Rachael Procter

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY COUNCIL?

A community council is a group of local residents that act as a bridge between their local community and Glasgow City Council.

They both represent residents’ views to the council and help to share information from the council, the Scottish Government and other organisations with the wider community. They work in the interest of the local community to make the neighbourhood a better place to live. Getting involved with the local community council is a great way to participate in local democracy.

The majority of Govanhill is covered by the Govanhill and Crosshill Community Council, while the area between Victoria Road and Pollokshaws Road is covered by Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council.

like to If you’d want to or just , l d e lv o ur loca y get inv g to o on, you methin ti o n s e g tt n a bri uncil’s ebook nity co eir Fac commu t them via th g c ta ailin can con r by em nhill.org.uk pages o dgova n la il h s t@cros or contac .com. @gmail ungocc b th y a p p tr a ndss very h shawla ould be They w m you. o fr r a to he

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE MEETINGS?

If you’re looking for drama on the scale of a Handforth Parish Council meeting then you’re likely to be disappointed, but you can get a lot from participating in the meetings.

You get to hear more about what’s happening in the area, put forward your views and have your questions answered.

There are routine things which happen at every meeting like the police and local councillors’ reports as well as discussion of planning and licensing applications.

Community Council members who also belong to other local groups, committees or sub-groups report back so that everyone is updated on a range of issues.

There is also discussion of the issues that the community council are working on and an update on any actions that are needed to take that work forward such as funding applications. And it is common for outside groups to come and talk to the meetings about initiatives that are going on in the local area or Glasgow more widely.

Regular monthly meetings are currently being held remotely and aren’t open to the public as they usually would be. If there’s an item on the agenda that’s been tabled for a particular resident or group of residents, it may be possible for them to attend so they can give their input. Minutes of the meetings are published afterwards so anyone can read what happened, even if they aren’t able to go along.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

There are a few ways you can be involved with the community council. The easiest way is to come along to meetings (once they’re held in person again). Dates are advertised online and on posters around the area. The agenda for the meeting is circulated in advance on the respective Facebook pages.

Although in-person meetings are open to everybody, if you’d like to be able to vote, you need to become a full member. To be elected to the Community Council, you need to be nominated by two people who are registered to vote in the area. If there are vacant seats, that’s all that’s required and this can happen any time. If more people want to join the Community Council than there are vacancies, a full election takes place. Community Council elections take place every four years.

Associate membership is an option if you’re interested in being more involved in the work of the council but aren’t eligible for full voting membership because, for instance, you work in Govanhill but aren’t registered to vote here.

Joining a sub-group of the community council is also a great way to get involved.

That way you can work with them on an issue that you’re passionate about, without needing to attend full meetings.

The more people that get involved, the more democratic and representative the community councils are. It’s particularly important for people from under-represented groups to take part so that councils can better serve the whole community.

W

e normally have the streets to ourselves, but not here.

Cycling through Glasgow on long lockdown nights is often like navigating an eerie postapocalyptic wasteland. But here, on Victoria Road, there is still life. People still venture outside to share their neighbourhood with one another. Govanhill sometimes feels like the last pocket of resistance in a city which has been taken over by the turquoise-clad army to which I belong – the Deliveroo riders.

We pass through often, but we don’t hang around. Despite being home to a flourishing cafe and restaurant scene, Govanhill is not fruitful terrain for Deliveroo riders.

There are few places to pick up orders from. As Deliveroo takes a cut of up to 30 percent from restaurants, it is large chains – not the small independent eateries found in Govanhill – that dominate the platform.

I meet Thomas, a softly-spoken 18-yearold chemical engineering student. He is a newbie, you can tell as much by his shiny branded gear and his generally cheerful demeanour. He is a living, breathing advert for Deliveroo, embodying the image the company likes to present of its workers – youthful, bright-eyed, stress-free, enjoying the freedom that comes with riding outdoors and earning money when it suits them.

I first started riding for Deliveroo just after university. Weary of abstract academic life, there was something thrilling about the physical immediacy of the labour – ride a bike up a hill, work up a sweat, make someone smile as you hand over their weekend treat. In a very small way, it felt like it made some tangible difference in the world. For an introvert like myself, it was the perfect gig – spending all day on my bike, listening to music and podcasts, not having to answer to anyone.

For the urban explorer, there is no better way to learn about a city than by working the streets as a delivery rider. I moved to the Southside just before lockdown.

Within a few weeks, I had picked up a taxi driver’s knowledge of the roads. From my saddle, I observe the everyday happenings across the city and feel like I could write a Glaswegian version of The Wire. I get a vivid impression of the stark contrasts the city throws up; I can ride through the vibrancy of multicultural Govanhill and then five minutes later find myself in the staid suburbia of Newlands. I also get to see strangers at unusually intimate

moments – stoners grinning as they collect a munchie box in just their pants, a pair of arms sheepishly reaching around the door to snatch away the KFC bucket ordered on a Monday afternoon.

Basically, doing takeaway deliveries can be a pleasurable and interesting activity.

And although Deliveroo gets criticised for the lack of workers’ rights offered to riders, the flexibility certainly has some benefits over traditional employment. Feel tired and don’t really fancy doing that shift? No problem. Have a couple of hours going spare and want to earn a few quid for beers that night? Easy, log on and do a couple of drops.

However, these are only benefits for one faction in the rider community; the hobby enthusiasts – those who have other sources of income and may look forward to more gainful forms of employment in future. There is another, far less privileged camp; those who don’t have anything else to fall back on.

Gabor, a 44-year-old from Hungary, gets the train here and back from Kilmarnock everyday. He spends at least seven hours working the streets, no matter the weather.

After briefly being made homeless following the breakdown of his marriage, he started with Deliveroo to keep up with child maintenance payments and stop himself falling into debt.

He can’t hang around to talk for long. With grim determination he zips up his bag and heads off.

Gabor is unlikely to appear in a Deliveroo advert any time soon, but it is people like him who are the true model workers. They are the ones who have been out there toiling on the pothole-ridden roads to bring the lockeddown people of Glasgow their Saturday night takeaways. As there is no obligation for riders to work, Deliveroo depends on a large pool of hardcore riders to keep its service up-and-running at all times. On a stormy night, most hobbyists would rather be at home ordering takeaway than outside delivering it. Fortunately for Deliveroo, there is no short supply of people with little choice. Takeaway delivery has been one of the few boom sectors in the COVID-19 recession. In 2020, as unemployment shot up, Deliveroo doubled its number of riders.

It is the full-timers who are exposed to the real inequities of the working conditions

which include: unsociable hours, no chance of progression, no holiday pay, and no guarantee of even being paid.

Deliveroo are keen to highlight that riders make more than minimum wage on average, but order fees have gone down in the past couple of years and it’s possible to spend hours on shift just waiting for an order and, thus, for any pay at all.

Public perception of riders does seem to have improved since the start of the pandemic, which is hardly a surprise, given that takeaways suddenly became the highlight of the week for many.

However, this gratitude didn’t necessarily translate into increased generosity.

Tipping remains the exception. A polite ‘thank you’ at the door doesn’t always feel like sufficient reward for cycling through torrential rain and hauling a packed thermal bag up three flights of stairs, especially knowing that the same customers would automatically tip the people who bring them their food in restaurants.

Deliveroo is a profoundly impersonal system. To the customer, the rider appears as nothing more than a moving dot on a screen. Everything is controlled by an algorithm, which can be prone to inflicting random acts of cruelty. A rider may accept an order that seems like a five-minute job only to realise the app got the address mixed up and that in reality a 40-minute round trip to the other end of town will be required. With no extra compensation for the time and effort it can start to feel like being in an episode of Black Mirror in which a malevolent computer programme forces you to complete tasks for your economic survival.

Uber’s recent defeat in a Supreme Court battle over workers’ rights suggests that change could be around the corner, but for now, the game remains the same for food couriers. As lockdown lifts and people have more ways to treat themselves, it’s likely that orders will go down and lots of riders will be resigned to loitering on the street waiting for their phones to ping.

Despite everything, I still like doing Deliveroo. I still enjoy being paid to cycle.

Being part of the diverse legion of riders who patrol the city streets has been a unique way to experience this moment in history.

I just wish we could be treated a bit better.

It is the fulltimers who are exposed to the real inequities of the working conditions

48

“there is no better way to learn about a city than by working the streets as a delivery rider”

Delivering

Your Dinner

A Deliveroo Rider’s Perspective

By Danny Macpherson Photos by Eoin Carey

49

peek into the past part 3

GOVANHILL DURING THE

POST-WAR YEARS

By Arthur Oliver

T

hose of you who read Issue 2 of Greater Govanhill rationing for both foodstuffs and clothing continuing for may remember that part two of this series ended in many years after the war had finished. Foods which we take a somewhat euphoric manner, with the then Prime for granted today, such as bananas, had never even been Minister, Winston Churchill announcing V.E. (Victory in seen by kids who were under ten years of age.

Europe) Day on 8th May 1945. This ended World War II as Eventually the situation improved and all these items far as Europe was concerned. became available again. However, children’s sweets were an It was then that Churchill’s famous ‘V for Victory’ sign exception. When sweets came off the ration, families were started life. It originated from radio propaganda on the buying in massive amounts for their kids who hadn’t seen BBC’s Belgian service. The famous notes them during the war years – so much so of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – dot dot that sweets went back on rationing for dot dash – replicated the Morse code another year. (I was reminded of this for V and were played over the airwaves, more recently by the shortage of toilet going viral across Europe. Churchill then rolls etc. when coronavirus first struck!) adopted the symbol.

Troops began to come home and for However, we were still at war with some of the younger children who had the Japanese in the Far East. This war been babies when their fathers had gone continued for another three months and off to war, it was a big surprise to find a would probably have lasted a lot longer ‘strange man’ coming into their family. had the first ever atom bombs not been As the years passed, life gradually dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, improved and families even managed causing virtually complete destruction of holidays ‘doon the watter’ – in popular these cities and leading to the Japanese resorts such as Helensburgh, Largs, surrender. This part of World War II came Millport, Rothesay and Dunoon – when all to be known as the forgotten war and the Glasgow factories closed during Fair there was nothing like the celebrations Fortnight, in the last two weeks in July. seen on V.E. Day. During the closing stages of the war, Nevertheless all hostilities had finished Winston Churchill and US President Harry and it meant that the troops would be S. Truman were very concerned about the coming home. This was not a simple or growth of communism in countries taken quick process, as many troops still had over by Russia under President Joseph Arthur Oliver (left) during National Service with work to do, not only in Germany where Stalin. Those concerns led to the Cold the RAF. the government had collapsed, but War, and the introduction of National elsewhere, having to help feed and repatriate the people Service in the United Kingdom in 1949. National Service was in concentration camps and relocate the populations of required of all physically fit young men between 17 and 21 countries who had been occupied by the Nazis. years of age, and lasted until 1960.

Govanhill, like all other areas of the United Kingdom, Govanhill, like the rest of the UK, saw its young men being would experience severe austerity for years to come, with called up to serve in the armed forces for 18 months. Many 50

The Boys’ Brigade Bugle Band ‘Taking the Salute’ on Cathcart Road. Hermon Baptist Church can be seen on the very right hand side of the picture.

saw action in the Korean war and a very high proportion went overseas. After my initial training in the Royal Air Force, I was posted to Holland and later to Germany and that was when I realised what war had been really like for people in those countries. The Dutch people could not have been kinder, responding to the help they had been given in the way of food and other supplies by the RAF and the UK. In Germany, with their cities still devastated by bombing, the RAF were not very popular – for obvious reasons.

The post-war period also saw the coronation of our present queen in 1953, and the formation of the very popular Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. This saw a large number of Govanhill teenagers, both girls and boys, take part in a wide variety of outdoor and charitable ventures.

Govanhill Boys Club also thrived at this time, and had a field day within the Glasgow Union of Boys Clubs, winning trophies in football, athletics and swimming throughout the early 1950s.

The Boys Club wasn’t the only Govanhill organisation to bring honour to the area in the post-war era. The local 33rd Boys Brigade Company, based in the Hermon Baptist Church Hall in Inglefield Street, were proud winners of the Glasgow BB Battalion’s semaphore signalling cup. They also had a top class bugle band who played at all the Glasgow BB Battalion parades and march pasts. The youth of Govanhill were well catered for in the way of activities during this period.

Some of you may not know about the different currency we used in the 1950s. The decimal coins we use today only

came into circulation in 1971. In the 1950s a man could go to Burton the tailors and order a suit for the equivalent of £2.50. Burtons became known as the ‘Fifty bob tailors’. A ‘bob’ was a shilling in old money, equivalent to 5p today.

On a more personal note, I married in 1958 and bought a room and kitchen flat with inside toilet but no bathroom at number 4 Carfin Street – for the grand total of £300! But to give readers an idea of money in those days – or lack of it I should say – I had to take out a mortgage to pay for it. The average weekly wage was less than £10.

My wife and I were very diligent at saving, and two years later we moved to a four-in-a-block house in Rutherglen.

This leads me to the fact that as I left Govanhill in 1960, I can no longer continue with this series that I have enjoyed producing and which brought back many memories.

The good news is this creates a great opportunity for someone to continue where I’ve left off, from the 1960s. This was the start of a period when many people from different countries settled in the Govanhill area. I feel sure that people will enjoy reading about the change of culture and customs this brought to the area.

If you lived in Govanhill in the 1960s and would like to carry on the series and share your memories of the area, please send your details by email to: hello@greatergovanhill.com As I found out, it’s well worth a try!

51

D O O FNOT BOMBS Anarchic Food Provision in Queen’s Park

By Liam Smillie Photos by Dylan Lombard

our bright red commercial bins seem to almost glow under the halogen lights of a supermarket delivery bay somewhere deep in the Southside.

Ker-chunk... Ker-chunk... Ker-chunk…

A young man dressed all in black moves quickly from left to right, opening the flat plastic lids of the bins in perfect rhythm. I watch as three other figures follow behind and take their place at each bin. In silent unison they begin rifling through the waste, pulling out transparent bin bags and sorting them into separate piles.

It’s been five minutes since the raid started. The team works quickly and quietly – taking well-preserved food items and loading them into rucksacks and saddlebags on a bicycle. I stay quiet a few yards back, watching and listening.

Suddenly, one of the team members puts his hand up. The team stops instinctively.

Before they have a chance to flee, they hear footsteps approach from inside the supermarket. The sound of the delivery door opening pierces the air.

“What the fuck is going on here?!” a gruff Glaswegian accent demands. The divers have been caught red-handed. The team doesn’t say a word. Instead they frantically grab their bags, turn on their heels and briskly walk away, ignoring the shouts that come after them.

The bin squad is a part of Glasgow Food not Bombs: an independent cell of an international collective set up in America in the 1980s as a ‘non-violent direct action initiative’ to protest nuclear armament by providing free food for vulnerable people.

Cells have now been established in over 1000 cities in more than 65 countries, all fully autonomous of one another. There is no hierarchical structure within the collective, there are no leaders or headquarters, all decisions within a chapter of the group are reached by consensus.

The night-time activity I was shadowing was a ‘bin-raid’, one method of food procurement used by Food Not Bombs.

The raids themselves fall into a legal grey area. But divers can get into trouble for trespassing, which is often necessary to get into commercial rubbish containers.

Bin raiding isn’t Food not Bombs’ primary method of food procurement. They also receive a lot of support through food parcels both from the public and organisations like Green City Whole Foods.

However, the group cannot always rely on donations. The activist (who wishes to remain anonymous) who had been leading the bin raid explained the group’s reason for dumpster diving: “Dumpstering is an anti-capitalist action.

We’re fighting food waste - the amount that 53

just gets thrown out. It’s blatant classism. If you’re eating out of the bin, you’re eating out of their profits.”

It might sound shocking that people are willing to wade through rubbish to feed people – but beyond the political motivation, it's also seen as a necessity in the fight against starvation.

In the Family Resource Survey, published by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) on 25 March, it was reported that between 2019-2020, 43 percent of people on Universal Credit reported having low or very low food security. The amount received by those on Universal Credit is not enough for people to be able to feed themselves; it barely sustains the claimant in a state of poverty.

The Trussell Trust lists the top three reasons for food bank usage between 20192020 as: low income (39 percent), benefit delays (17 percent) and benefit changes (15 percent).

Almost half of all households surveyed at food banks by The Trussell Trust in the summer of 2020 owed money to the DWP for loans and overpayments. On top of that, nearly three quarters of households surveyed were paying arrears out of their allowance each month from their ‘advance payment’ which is offered to cover the initial five week period before their Universal Credit payments start.

This leads us back to Food Not Bombs, one of many community groups working on food provision in Glasgow. What sets them apart from many other groups is that they are overtly political, acting as a pressure group as much as a food provider. They also only offer vegan and vegetarian food.

They see this as vital, as trying to live on a restrictive diet like vegetarianism (and especially veganism) is incredibly difficult when living with food insecurity.

All the food that they gather from the bin raids are cooked the next morning, for distribution the day after that. The food they use is safe from contamination due to overpackaging. Cooking so soon ensures that the food they gather doesn’t spoil, and sell-by dates in shops are often exaggerated for legal safeguarding purposes.

“Free food! Free haggis!” shouts a lone English accent in Queen’s Park one Sunday afternoon. This is Flo, standing proudly behind the Food Not Bombs stall. Their hands shield their eyes from the afternoon sun as they shout to passers-by enjoying a Sunday stroll.

“I’m alright hen. You’re doing a great thing though!” an older woman replies, out for a walk with a pair of pristine white Westies.

The clientele in Queen’s Park is varied to say the least; middle-class families, young

hipsters, skateboarders, goths, recent immigrants from all over the world, people who are seeking asylum, as well as homeless or otherwise vulnerable people.

For the food to reach the people who need it most first, the group sends out runners with meals on bikes, while a team of two or three stay with the stall doing community outreach and food distribution in the park.

One such runner is Rory who rolls in on his bike shortly after the stall was set up.

He towers over everyone else, wearing a white Hello Kitty t-shirt tucked into slimfit black trousers cropped above the ankle and held up by black suspenders.

Explaining his t-shirt choice, he laughs: “I’m a big guy and people can get frightened if I rock up in front of them, so I wear non-threatening clothes like this when I’m doing distribution. I’ve got a whole drawer of t-shirts like this!’

Two teenage girls approach the stall on rollerskates soon after, emphatically telling the volunteers how great a thing they’re doing. They take a few boxes to hand out as they skate around the park.

One recipient is a Romanian hornviolinist in his 70s, busking just a few

yards down from the stall. He’s been playing music since he was a young boy, and now plays every day in Queen’s Park, saving up money to return to Romania.

He visits the stall every Sunday for his lunch and a brief chat with the volunteers before getting back to busking.

An older man approaches the stall, he picks out a few boxes for him and his wife, saying: “You are good people for doing this. I am going away for a few months but I hope to come back. I hope to see you here also. Staying around is the most important thing.”

Back with the bin diving team, enough distance has been put between them and the supermarket, meaning there’s a chance to go through the haul. The raiders had gathered eight bags of potatoes, loads of assorted fruits and vegetables, as well as hundreds of biscuits & chocolates. They’ll be cleaned, cooked and distributed. Then the team will be out again, doing their bit in the fight against food insecurity.

arts and culture Wander in Wonder Wander in Wonder is a creative sound project that invites you to go for a walk while listening to a curated set of questions and answers, along with the sounds of Govanhill, and a specially composed soundtrack.

Funded by Sustran’s South City Way small grants fund, Wander in Wonder is a collaboration between Anne Milne (Writer/Producer), Marcin Knyziak (Sound Designer) and John Lemke, (Composer). All are residents of Govanhill.

The project will have its official launch on 3rd July at Some Great Reward on Victoria Road where details of how to download the audio will be revealed. Limited edition prints by Govanhill-based Illustrator and Designer, Alice Brown will also be available.

Govanhill Picture House

By Bel Pye

If you’re anything like me, you’ve watched a lot of DVDs over lockdown. Possibly too many. When we want to think, to feel or to be entertained, many of us turn to cinema. The moving image appeals to people from all walks of life, and now there is a chance we will be able to watch films on the big screen right here in Govanhill.

The Govanhill Picture House opened in 1926 with a capacity of 1200 people. It is one of a small number of UK cinemas built in ‘Egyptian style’, with the original scarab beetle design still visible above the entrance. Since closing as a cinema in 1961, it has been used as a bingo hall, a retail unit and a warehouse.

The Glasgow Artists Moving Image Studios (GAMIS) aims to bring cinema back to the picture house, reinstating it as an arts hub for the Southside. Pop-up film events have already taken place. Free, outdoor reading and gardening workshops are currently being run.

The Picture House is currently on the Scottish Buildings At Risk Register, and renovating it will not be a cheap project. A feasibility study was made to see whether the space could be repaired and made fully accessible. Based on the results of the study, GAMIS have decided to bid for funding to take on the challenge. To make sure the project is shaped by local residents, paid opportunities and voluntary roles have been created to allow as many people as possible to get involved. Completing the project won’t just require funding, but the support and enthusiasm of the Govanhill Community.

Do you have memories of visiting the Picture House when it was a cinema or a bingo hall? Do you want to see more film events in Govanhill? What kind of films would you like to see being screened? If you have thoughts, ideas or questions get in touch via hello@glasgowamis.org or find GAMIS on social media. And keep an eye on social media for their summer programme of outdoor screenings.

Art Space Opens on Albert Road 20 Albert Road is a new art space which has opened up in what was known as the Cheap Shop. It’s an initiative set up between A-M-G5, Ivory Tars and Cento.

All those involved ‘share an interest in developing critical conversations around material-based practices, and in the role of writing and publishing alongside visual art.’ The programme will be rotated between each project, and the space will host exhibitions, events and discussion.

The first exhibition is ‘FLAW’ by Kate Davis presented

by A-M-G5. The show is open Wednesday-Sunday until 27 June from 12-5pm by appointment. For appointments, contact: mail@a-m-g5.co.uk or text 0771006296

Occupy Occupy Occupy!

20 Year Anniversary of The Battle of Calder Street In January 2001, what was then known as the Kingston Swimming Club received notice of closure. But the local community wasn't going to take it lying down. The Southside Against Closure Save Our Pool Campaign was quickly established. In March, protestors chained themselves to the swimming pool cubicles, a 24 hour picket was set up outside and the baths were occupied for 140 days.

On the 7th August, in what has become known as The Battle of Calder Street, mounted police were sent in to forcefully remove the group. Campaigning continued, and the Govanhill Baths Community Trust was established in 2004. Funding has been secured and work is about to begin to reopen the baths as a Wellbeing Centre. Twenty years on, the Govanhill International Festival and Carnival will take place in the first two weeks of August. Look out for their programme launching soon!

55

What’s On

Below are one-off events. For more regular events and groups, see our noticeboard: www.greatergovanhill.com/noticeboard As with everything at the moment, all events are subject to change. Please check online for more information.

JUNE

Pop Up Opera

When: Wednesdays to Sundays, 12-5pm until 27 June

What: Scottish Opera is planning an outdoor performance in Queen’s Park Arena which will include classics from Gilbert and Sullian.

FLAW by Kate Davis

When: Wednesday 30 June

What: Appointment only exhibition presented by A-M-G5 at new art space.

Tickets: scottishopera.org

Where: 20 Albert Road Bookings: mail@a-m-g5.co.uk

JULY

Exhibition: Sammy Baloji and Bodys Isek Kingelez When: 11 June - 15 July

The Greater Govanhill Show on Radio Buena Vida

What: Democratic Republic of Congo artists Sammy Baloji and Bodys Isek Kingelez will be exhibiting their work exploring colonial legacies and the future of urban environments.

What: Every month, we bring you the audio version of Greater Govanhill, with interviews, music from local artists, poetry, chat and more.

When: Friday 2 July (and first Friday of every month!)

Tune in: www.buenavida.co.uk

More info: tramway.org

Folksy Theatre presents: Little Red

Body of Land

When: 7-8 July

When: 12th June - 1st August 2021

What: Folksy Theatre will present their interpretation of a number of popular children’s stories accompanied by puppetry and live music.

What: Body of Land is an intimate exploration of African diasporic femininities in Scotland and Kenya, featuring exhibitions by Awuor Onyango and Sekai Machache

Where: Queen’s Park

Where: Street Level Photoworks

Tickets: ticketstripe.com

More info: streetlevelphotoworks.org

Mapping Glasgow’s Queer History with Jeff Meek

AUGUST

The Govanhill International Festival and Carnival

When: Wednesday 23 June What: Historian Jeff Meek will give an online talk detailing his creation of historical LGBT maps of Scotland, focusing in particular on his work relating to the city of Glasgow.

When: August What: An anti-racist festival that celebrates the contribution immigrants have made to the diversity, culture, community and the rich history of the area of Govanhill.

Tickets: glasgowheritage.org.uk

Tracing African Caribbean Ancestry – Who Do You Think You Are?

More info: govanhillbaths.com

Recovery Connects

When: Friday 25 June What: Ancestry Talks’ Paul Crooks is hosting an online talk on the tracing of African Carribean ancestry. Attendees will hear how Crooks uncovered the details of his own ancestry and learn how to do the same.

When: Sunday 18 August What: Scotland’s first alcohol-free music festival.

Where: Queen’s Park Arena More info: The Recovery Collective on Facebook

Tickets: glasgowzinelibrary.com

In Conversation with Diljeet Bhachu

Early Summer Foraging Walk

When: Wednesday 19 August

When: Monday 28 June What: Join herbalist and foraging tutor Catriona Gibson on a guided walk around Queen’s Park.

What: Glasgow Women’s library is hosting an online conversation with the musician, activist and academic Diljeet Bhachu.

Tickets: glasgowzinelibrary.com

Tickets: womenslibrary.org.uk

56

What’s On SEPTEMBER

The Glad Cafe Presents: Jake Xerxes Fussell When: Wednesday September 8 Where: Folk and Blues Musician Jake Xerxes Fussell will be performing a set at The Glad Cafe.

Tickets: thegladcafe.co.uk

Glasgow Funk & Soul Festival When: Sunday 12 September What: Glasgow Funk & Soul Festival will host a variety of musicians and DJs for a day of open air performances in Queen’s Park.

Tickets: tickettailor.com

When cooking seems too much of a faff Four pounds; that sounds a fair price to pay

Y R R ET NE P O OR C

I very often go get a flaf

For a filling munch that saves the day Sometimes the most veg I’ve had all week When fresh and filling is what I seek Affordable and fills a gap I do love a Kurdish falafel wrap

Hot Shot Al-Farooq Mosque

I love a lot of things about Govanhill, but the Al-Farooq Mosque on Dixon Avenue is one of my favourites. I love the repurposing of the church (originally the Hutchestown Free Church, built in 1892) for the local community. I also love how the clouds looked on this day.

Chris Moses of Gulabi Photo Lab likes walking and likes making photographs and likes combining them into one activity.

Y OR LOCALL GOT A POEM E? R A TO TO SH TAKEN PHO E FEATURED WANT TO B T ISSUE? IN THE NEX

in to Send them anhill.com eatergov ed. gr @ llo he nsider to be co

58

Falafel Rap

by Vegan Burd

ALLISON ST ST CLEANERS CLEANERS ALLISON

open77days daysfrom from09:15am 09:15am open

COIN-OPLAUNDERETTE LAUNDERETTE COIN-OP Servicewashes washesand andtokens: tokens: Service Small:50p 50poff off Small: Medium:£1£1off off Medium: Large:£1.50 £1.50off off Large:

IRONING IRONING 20%off off 20%

DRYCLEANING CLEANING DRY

Secondgarment garmenthalf halfprice price Second

RUGCLEANING CLEANINGSERVICE SERVICE RUG 10%off off 10%

RUGDOCTOR DOCTORHIRE* HIRE* RUG 10%off off 10%

110Allison AllisonSt, St, 110 GovanhillG42 G428ND 8ND Govanhill 0141423 4233958 3958/ /07775 07775854505 854505 0141 Terms and conditions apply.

See staff.

Terms and conditions apply.

See staff.

Offers end 31st July 2021.

Offers end 31st July 2021.

Not use with any other offer.

Not toto bebe use with any other offer.

Excludes special cleans, skins, wedding dresses.

Excludes special cleans, skins, wedding dresses. *Please book advance.

Photo required. *Please book in in advance.

Photo IDID required.

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