Young Quakers from LLG attend climate strike earlier in the day

On the 20th – 22nd September London Linkers Gathered in Epping. We had one of our most ambitious and “logistically heavy timetable” – Michael Wood events planned, and we’re happy to say we succeeded, with the assistance of 7 brilliant volunteers, in showing 14 “Linkers” not 1, not 2 but 3 centuries worth of delight in Essex in a weekend that utilised 5 trains, 3 buses, and 1 (not so) secret nuclear bunker!

Epping Meeting (established in the 1700’s) offered to host London Link in their beautiful Meeting House situated in the Market Town of Epping. The fun started on the Friday night with a tasty pasta dish (with roasted broccoli proving an unexpected hit with the young folk), games and a peaceful Epilogue.

Metropolitan number 1

An solid (veggie) cooked breakfast gave everyone the energy they needed to make the early start on Saturday – with a huge stack of sandwiches being constructed around the tidying up. We made it to the bus stop on time and all (just about) piled on to the vintage (Routemaster) 339 bus with a group of

Morris Dancers(!) for the pretty journey to our destination – the historic Epping and Ongar Railway where we spent a happy 20 minutes at the North Weald Station admiring the trains, architecture, Morris Dancing and the gift and tuck shops (we won’t let on to parents and carers quite how many snacks were purchased but it is was all for a good cause).  An 1800’s steam engine (Met 1) (perhaps appreciated more by the older members of the group) conveyed us to Ongar Station where a mad dash got us back on the 339 for a trip to the 1950’s and a product of the Cold War…..

Kelvedon (not so) Secret nuclear bunker

Picnic at a nuclear bunker

But before starting our tour of Kelvedon’s (once) Secret Nuclear Bunker it was agreed that feeding stomachs took precedence over feeding minds and we had our picnic sitting next to a stack of military equipment (and a replica missile) – not a usual location for Quakers.. Once in, we spent several hours exploring the 3 floors of the bunker which started life as an RAF ROTOR Station, then had a brief period as a civil defence centre, then becoming a Regional Government HQ before being decommissioned in 1992. It was designed for up to 600 military and civilian personnel, possibly even the Prime Minister (there were several dummies meant to be representing Margaret Thatcher in different locations which were properly scary), in order to organise the survival of the population should there be a nuclear war. The communications, medical, working and sleeping spaces were fascinating but also quite spooky – though nowhere near as scary as the government information films and adverts telling people what to do in the event of a nuclear war. The official commentary was very dark and confirmed my reasoning that survival might not in our best interests…..

Vintage Routemaster bus

A sit in the sun to absorb both the horror, and a piece of flapjack, preceded another bus ride on the bouncy bus back to Epping for a cup of tea, sit in the garden, and for groups of Linkers a wander around the shops. After a full day, Saturday evening was chilled with board games, music and a gorgeous potato and spinach curry.

On Sunday morning we joined Meeting for Worship and many of us then spent a happy Children’s Meeting making cards to thank Michael for his 10 years as Clerk of London Link!

Thank you to Epping Meeting for hosting us!

Next committee meeting we will be planning our programme for late 2019/2020, watch this space! Helping set up the Quaker Homeless Action Christmas Shelter and Winterval at Westminster in the New Year are likely to be the next two events. Sign up to our mailing list to get notification.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon,
Rebecca

Alan, Amy, Eli, Margarita, Michael, Philip (and we can reassure everyone that Michael hopes to volunteer in future events – phew).

p.s. Note for parents/guardians – Unfortunately this time there were some issues with respect for Meeting House property in the library/female sleeping area – despite being asked to leave the contents of a cupboard belonging to a hirer alone, after the event we found this not to have been respected, leading to the loss of chocolate and sweets belonging to an Alzheimer’s group who were understandably upset. Please remind young people that they agree to adhere to the boundaries at our events and that we do rely on the goodwill of Quaker groups to host us, which part of this is respecting the building and contents! Thanks

A group of 8 young people and 5 volunteers from London Link Group (LLG), aka ‘Linkers’ (nickname pending), spent the weekend at Hampstead Meeting House from 26^th to 28^th July 2019.

The small group meant the weekend was quite casual this time around with lots of chilled sessions and discussions with the obligatory Friday night getting to know you games and use of the many nooks of the Meeting House for a few rounds of the classic Sardines.

After a well-deserved lie-in on Saturday, we started our sessions. The weekend’s main conversations, focused on looking at the upcoming Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair Expo and the mobilisation of people resisting the Expo. We looked at the promotional material that DSEI used, which noticeably omitted the actual use and consequence of arms. We also partook in an exercise where we had to guess the cost of the armed forces and military equipment which was quite the eye-opener. This session opened up lengthy discussions on the high number of recruitment ads that target young people, centring around the supposed attractive perks of choosing a career in the armed forces.

From the alternative perspective, we looked at promotional materials by the network of groups from within Stop the Arms Fair, including Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). From this, we explored how Quakers engage in the activities through living their beliefs and putting their faith into action. We specifically looked at the activities that Roots of Resistance (RoR) will be doing within the days leading up to DSEI. It’s likely that some of the LLG may end up attending RoR with their Local Meetings.

Mother Nature decided Saturday needed rain, which scrapped our plans to go over to Hampstead Heath for a picnic lunch and a dip in the swimming ponds. Instead, when the rain settled, everyone had free time to roam around Hampstead. The evening was another chilled affair with more classic LLG games and board games.

As always, it was a pleasure to attend Meeting for Worship with Hampstead on Sunday, ending the weekend in the late afternoon. Over the whole weekend, suggestions for future LLG were collated. Who knows, we could have Kayaking added to the activities and maybe raisins will be added to the shopping list?

Thank you Hampstead Meeting for having us and thank you to the volunteers and the young people for a wholesome weekend.

Until next time!

Sally, Amy, Tas, Nick, Sue

On the 15-17th March 2019, 21 young people and 5 volunteers met for London Link Group Brighton 2019!

This event coincided with the international climate strike that was organised on the Friday 15th. We were all impressed to hear stories of this march and glad that members of London Link Group could help bring young Quakers together for it. We headed off to catch a train, a few snacks-to-boost-our-energy-levels later we arrived in Brighton Meeting House to the welcome of local Brighton Young Quakers, the meeting house and dinner.

Our theme for the weekend was ‘Welcome’, so this not being lost on us… we welcomed everyone to the event! it was great to have a number of new faces with us. We didn’t have long left of the day so we had an Epilogue (a short reflective evening Quaker meeting) and then a bit of free time and bed.

Saturday Breakfast filled us with veggie sausages, scrambled tofu, potato waffles, toast and beans!  We then ran a marathon workshop, based on a resource from Becoming Friends Together . We considered ‘what makes a good welcome’. From exchanging smiles, reaching out to people, asking how they are, to making sure there is always a space for someone to join a group (e.g. sitting in croissants not doughnuts!  O ⇒ C ).

After this we ventured out into a very windy Brighton and in groups went to explore. The young people having exhausted Brighton of it’s cultural, arts, architectural and historical sights (or was it Tescos? I forget..) and the volunteers having drunk all the teas and eaten all the cakes, gathered back at the meeting house for lunch, that being a wrap we had a little more free time until gathering again to hear from two young people who came to the UK as refugees.

Supported by the The Humming bird project they spoke movingly about their journey to the UK from Syria, the incredible danger of their journeys, such as hiding in lorries headed for the UK and the treatment they had in Calais by police. We were shocked that even in a welcoming (to us) place like Brighton they struggle against racist behaviour and islamaphobia on a daily basis, keeping themselves only just afloat with the money they are given to survive on compounded by the difficulty to get any work because of different qualifications or outright discrimination.  At least an hour past where you could have heard a pin drop.

Their stories were that of immense hardship and difficulties, but incredibly they still had enough hope and determination to try to live their hopes and dreams. They explained that part of what keeps them going was being able to share their stories with people like us, countering the increasingly hostile environment and being a part of the humming bird project to try and make sure that future refugees don’t suffer as they did. Truly inspirational.

After a break to digest this session the young people organised some games, quieter games like bannagrams, cards and mafia broke way to several rounds of everyone’s favourite game: sardines. Before dinner we practised a song that we were invited to sing in ‘all age worship’  (like regular Quaker meeting but a bit more programmed to help involve all ages) on Sunday. You can hear our second practice of the song in the video below .

A curry dinner gave us the energy for a fantastic ‘open-mic’ session. We had 10 or so brave and excellent performers, including our very own Eli Carjaval performing his own song “about finding those places and people that help you express your whole self, without fear.” A clip of him singing to us also below . Thank you to everyone who contributed and the audience who listened and encouraged so well.

What a day!

A very gathered and still epilogue. Some hot chocolate then bed.

Sunday sun shone in to the Meeting House. A breakfast of cereal and toast took us to joining all age worship which was coordinated to also be on the theme of ‘welcome’.  After this some participants and members of the meeting joined a workshop run by Ben Pink Dandelion about making our meetings accessible and focusing on things that are important.

Lunch time all too quickly lead to saying goodbyes as we left to journey home.

As one participant said “One of the best trips ever, Will enjoy channelling my new found inner Quaker whenever in need, thank you so much”.

Thank you to everyone who was involved and made it such a great weekend.

You’re more than welcome here.

In Friendship,

Michael, Kathy, Amy, Philip H, Alex and Eli

London Link Singing Citizens Shanty by Boff Whalley (after Roll the Old Chariot Along)

(@elisongs)

On a slightly drizzly Sunday (27th January to be precise), 31 young people and 7 adult volunteers gathered in Westminster Meeting House for the first ever joint London Teenage Meeting and London Link Group Winterval extravaganza!

Buoyed by biscuits and the hopes of a New Year, Friends regathered and exchanged stories before gathering for worship planned by the Clerks of London Teenage Meeting. Some classic icebreaker games followed, before most decided to brave the rain and take a guided walk around the surrounding London streets.
Having worked up an appetite, we all then took a culinary adventure and made our own pizzas. Whilst some were more artistically presented than others, all were delicious and there was more than enough vegan cheese to go around. Special shoutout goes to the kitchen clean up team who left it sparkling.

Far too soon, it was time to say goodbye and we parted with bonds strengthened and looking forward to seeing each other again in March.

– Georgina

We were in a new space but, as with last year and the year before, setting up the Quaker Homeless Action Christmas Open House included a lot of fun, laughter, a yummy lunch (pizza, cake and cookies!). This over a six hour day of hard work lugging boxes, moving furniture, sorting (mostly new) clothes and (mostly tin) food, scrubbing and cleaning the loos and shower cabin, putting up tents (inside!) and making and decorating the hall and night space (a smaller portacabin).

With the new location, at the International Church near Goodge street, there were new challenges. The ‘chain’ (of people passing delivered boxes and food stuff) had to be longer. It led from the street, down cold metal stairs, to not just one but many different locations! Some stuff went straight to the kitchen, other stuff continued through the hall up a few stairs to a storage space on a stage, and other stuff was detoured to the room that would later become a ‘shop’ of food and clothes.

A different chain was made to direct stuff straight to the big hall. The hall was much larger and when we arrived couches, chairs and tables were piled near the entrance. Walls were bare and the space felt drab and unwelcoming.

When we finished six hours later, tables were laid out ready for the next day’s arrival of lonely and homeless people. They would have a warm, friendly place to eat, play board games or cards, and paint or draw. With lots of heaving, pushing and pulling, welcoming spaces had been created by moving comfortable lounge chairs and the couches into position, and seasonal decorations put on the wall. A Christmas tree with bright lights and baubles graced one side of the room, and throughout the room chains of peace doves had been threaded together and hung by patient and nimble fingers! (The origami doves were donated by Quaker Peace & Social Witness staff at Friends House.)

Down the hall, the room that had been overfilled with scattered boxes of clothes and piles of food was now sorted into an orderly ‘shop’ with items stacked on and under long tables. In the week to come, homeless people would be guided through to choose food and suitable clothing.

The Open House shelter ran 23^rd to 30^th December. Unlike other winter shelters, this Quaker space welcomed guests with dogs and was open and serving food around the clock.

Quaker Homeless Action has come to rely on the energy and commitment that London Link folk give to setting up the Open House shelter over Christmas. Noel, from QHA, profusely thanked all the young people for giving up their first Saturday of their Christmas holiday. “Without you, we’d really struggle to get this set up on time,” he said.

Here’s looking to next December! This is an event when London Link graduates (those beyond the 18 year old limit) are welcome! And if you’ll be 18-years old or older next December 2019, you could also volunteer with QHA when the shelter is open and welcoming homeless and lonely people over the holiday season.

We also managed to get into The Friend, 2^nd February 2019.

– Augene