flack #4

Pilot Issue 4 : December 2010

get involved with FLACK

Got an idea for an article?

Interested in learning some new skills?

Want to help with binding or distribution?

FLACK NEEDS YOU!

We’re at Wintercomfort every Monday from 10 – midday

and at 222 every Thursday 3 – 5pm

email: kirsten@!ackcambridge.org.uk

text Kirsten on: 07962 685220

or drop by on a Wednesday 1 – 5pm :

The FLACK Base is is a friendly welcoming place with a reliable supply of good conversation, tea/coffee and biscuits. It’s marked on the map on the back cover – very near the Access Surgery , just ask for FLACK at Reception.

Why FLACK ?Well ... homeless people get a lot of !ack ! (aka random criticism) ... and ‘to !ack’ means to publicise and promote and that’s what FLACK is all about ... providing a positive insight into who homeless people are, what they have to say and offer.

front coverMany thanks to Eija Reini who lives at Corona House for her artwork made especially for FLACK’s December Issue.

We are always on the look-out for front cover images - do get in touch if you’ve got artwork you’d like us to consider.

FLACK extras ...beer can photographynext workshop is:

Thursday 16th Dec11- 4pm at the FLACK Base

If you would like to make photographs using a beer can a n d l e a r n m o r e a b o u t t r a d i t i o n a l d a r k r o o m processes - give us a ring on 07962 685220 to book your place, there are 6 available.

There will be more opportunities to get involved in the future with workshops at Wintercomfort and 222.

Ian Summer!eld posing for his beer can camera!

Christmas Pretty Things Wed 15th December 2.30pm - 4.15pm Fitzwilliam Museum Workshop

make something pretty for someone you love this christmas

FREE tea and coffee too !

meet by side entrance at 2.30pm

FLACK 2011 Calendargorgeous artwork by homeless artists from across the UK including our very own: Julian Raphael, Paul Galley, Nick Ward and ghettokid

all proceeds in aid of FLACK

purchase online for £10 at:

www.!ackcambridge.org.uk

SPECIAL FLACK OFFER ! £3.99 (that’s cost price) to anyone on bene"ts from the FLACK Office - see map at back.

Dear, beloved readers of FLACK, what can I say!? It's a chilly sunday lunchtime in November and I'm sitting here glowing with pride and straight-up happiness. Why? Well because it feels like my fairy god mother has shaken her magic wand and answered prayers I'd either forgotten about or given up any and all hope of ever materialising.

The carrot has appeared, I still have to follow the stick!

My name is Jude and I have been a fairly regular contributor to FLACK magazine since July and so far the style of my articles has been pretty journalistic and investigative. I enjoy telling stories on behalf of people who deserve a voice and aren't usually afforded the consideration;the marginalised, the disenfranchised, the labelled and the excluded. People like me who're #ghting a common spiritual war with themselves.

This time though I've decided to be brave and share something of my own life because my recent set of circumstances are having such a profound affect. I feel like I've been rewarded for my faith, not in God so much as in my belief that however bad things get and however long it takes, life can get better. Life will #nd a way - for now. The other day I found out (to my delight) that the FLACK project I've found so healing has got a growing set of fans, some have even contacted us via the web (you know who you are Naomi - your support made me cry !)

Anyway, as I said, over the past few months the universe has decided it's my turn to be happy and after over ten years of on/off homelessness, drug abuse and general f***edupness, plus over a year and a half sentenced to 222 (the biggest hostel in Cambridge), I'm #nally home.

Not only have I found a tenancy of my own, I've found myself in a healthy enough head space to go ahead with the treatment that will radically improve my quality of mental health; something I've battled with all my adult life (no you don't need to know how old I am! Lets just say I remember Bagpuss and leave it at that!).

Anyway I wonder how many of you have experienced the elation of going into a brand new cozy little !at after the misery that is homelessness mixed with the misery of an invisible ball and chain (in my case drugs,

A Slice of LifeJude Evans

This article is dedicated to Joby for reasons that I want everyone to know. He faithfully sold me his (this) laptop for twenty quid which I've taken months to pay. None of my work for FLACK would exist without his generosity.

Sorry Joby, you're a good man.

depression and, as my GP calls it, 'acute anxiety') that makes everything twenty times harder.

I'm high as a kite but I haven't touched any drugs. I'm just genuinely happy, terri#ed, but happy and I feel free whether I am or not and that's the main thing!. Listen, please don't think it hasn't been a bumpy ride that'll only get bumpier still!! If I didn't have such a sound support worker I'd have totally freak out with all the little practicalities of setting up my #rst home!

Problem 1 - How the hell do I face packing up my life and sifting through nearly two years of accumulated crap from the hostel/alternate universe.

Problem 2 - How do I get my things to my new place?!

Problem 3 - It's freezing and I don't know how to get the power on or how to #nd cash to feed the meters.

Problem 4 - The boiler is broken, so how do I wash or keep warm 'till its #xed (over a week with no boiler-thanks cambs cc.x Once you've moved out of the warmth of the hostel you aren't allowed back for a month so I'm essentially stuck in a !at with no heating or hot water.

Problem 5 - The Department of Work and Pensions has declined my application for a Community Care Grant (I suspect because of government cuts) so, of the £1500 or so I applied for, I get zero! How the hell do I afford a cooker, washing machine, carpets, curtains etc? You know - basic living standards?!

Problem 6 - Last but in no way least, how do I simultaneously handle all this PLUS an out-patient detox from my state-sponsored dependency? the powerful little bottle of green nastiness I've relied on for so long?

With all due respect, I need to believe that I deserve more than the fate of the forever lost. And I'm damn well going to make sure that my forefathers, the long suffering line of my family didn't result in me, for nothing.

Laters.x

PS: There is a saying: Pray to god but row for shore.. prayer and action ... get it!?

Keep rowing!

You can tell Christmas is just round the corner by the number of calendars on sale, obviously none quite as brilliant as our FLACK Calendar! But there is a very close contender.

Daniel Lopez has designed and produced a calendar called Esteem, it contains twelve mouth watering Spanish recipes.

It's not always been sun and sangria for Daniel, from the age of 16 he found himself homeless and living in a hostel in Southend. Living in a hostel was a far cry from Daniels ambition to be a quali#ed electrician, determined not to be another statistic, Daniel started looking for work within the catering industry.

Daniel quickly caught the catering bug and in 2007 quali#ed as a chef. Settled with his #ancee, life was good, a steady income a home and a career. Unfortunately life is never that easy. In 2009 Daniel's relationship broke down and he found himself homeless again,

Daniel moved to Cambridge and sofa surfed for a few months until a bed became available at the YMCA. Whilst staying at the hostel Daniel decided to utilise his skills and volunteered as a Chef for the YMCA and Centre 33. It was whilst volunteering his services, a fantastic opportunity presented itself, the opportunity to volunteer abroad and learn new skills.

In May this year, Daniel travelled to Spain to work with the charity Esteem. Having collected many wonderful speciality recipes, Daniel decided to produce a calendar, with all pro#ts going to Esteem. Earlier this year Daniel moved in to his own property and has been busy preparing to set up his own business as 'Chef On The Move'. The idea is he will come to you and cook a delicious meal to enjoy in your own home.

Daniel has been accessing the training and resources on offer at FLACK to learn more about desktop publishing and has just #nished working on a new recipe book featuring more mouth watering recipes as well as poetry from our very own, Jade Rivers.

Daniel’s Esteem Calendar & Recipe/Poetry book are now on sale in aid of Esteem - get in touch with Daniel c/o FLACK if you'd like to order a copy.

Chef On The Move ~ Daniel Lopez

Emma HydeMaking Mental Notes Jade Rivers

Making Mental Notes is back on air with special thanks to Cambridge 105FM.

MMN was set up by a group of people based in C a m b r i d g e w h o s e c o m m o n g r o u n d w a s experiences of various mental and emotional health issues. Their mission is to squash the stigma that is attached to mental health and burst some of the myths around issues such as depression, psychosis, dementia and therapies.

MMN are not just the creators of a brilliant radio programme, indeed their beau has many ribbons!Check out the MMN website which plays host to a range of news articles, real stories, poetry, videos, links to other relevant organisations, podcasts of recent programmes and info on the team and how you can get on board and have your say.

At the moment MMN are looking to recruit both service-users and ex-service-users and the range of posts available include Engineer, script writer, researcher, presenter, technician and audio editor. Do not be put off by some of these titles as training will be provided in a safe and supportive environment.

MMN are always on the look out for creative souls so if you’re in a band or feel like giving yourselves a bit of poetic justice, what are you waiting for ?

Contact MMN at www.makingmentalnotes.org.uk MMN is also on Facebook and Twitter

TUNE IN CAMBRIDGE 105 FMMaking Mental Notes will be broadcasting every two months on 105FM. The next broadcast will be on Sunday the 19th Dec 2010 at 3pm, featuring an interview with a Peer Support Worker all the way from Arizona, USA. Peer Support is a new initiative being rolled out in Cambridge. There will also be a discussion on Seasonal Affective Disorder, news, reviews and other interesting stuff!

http://www.makingmentalnotes.org.uk

http://www.makingmentalnotes.org.uk

almost where the wild things are ?

Diane Morrisson

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a notoriously fraught label, relatively new and contentious. It used to be that the term ‘Borderline’ signi#ed the fact that people suffering with this condition weren’t quite crazy enough to be signed off with the so-called genetic mental health diagnoses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression), but were much more seriously ill than people who ‘just’ had depression, or anxiety, or obsessive compulsive disorder. It was on the ‘borderline’ between psychosis and ‘normal neurosis’. This view of BPD is now recognized as inaccurate and outdated. Yet it lingers.

I was diagnosed with BPD a few years ago and have been bewildered by it ever since. Bewildering – a euphemism if we take it to mean puzzling, but the effect I want to get across is not a casual disorientation, I mean to be made wild, be-wild-ered, to be cast into the wilderness, like Hansel and Gretel, not knowing if the gingerbread house (NHS mental health treatment, sectioning under the Mental Health Act) is a sanctuary or a trap.

Before I was told I ‘had’ BPD, I had a sense that I was different. But then, don’t we all feel that least some of the time? It’s a common trick of new age healers or self help gurus to gain the trust of the impressionable by telling them they are different from other people: this works because people like to think that their problems

arise from them being fundamentally unique and therefore special. There is a #ne line, however, between being unique and being alien. Being given a medical diagnosis of a mental illness confers a certain sinister seriousness with a sticking power that’s hard to shake. It should be obvious that me and my fellow branded (whether branded by mental illness, homelessness, debt, criminal conviction, addiction, disability, marginal religious belief etc) are complicit in our own sense of being ostracized and set apart. We could refuse to accept the validity of our labels, get philosophical about it, everything’s relative, obviously, and everyone’s got some kind of baggage, no?

However, here’s what’s interesting about my experience with BPD. After several years of having the label hanging over me, I went to see a psychologist whose conclusion, after the obligatory exhausting outpouring of my epic struggles with life, was that “it’s not possible for you to have BPD. People with Borderline don’t get degrees from Cambridge and do Masters and PhDs”. She hadn’t given the psychometric questionnaires I’d been given before when I was in clinical treatment for BPD. She didn’t know my full history. Suddenly I was ineligible because of my achievement. I wanted help, she was bemused by this (probably not realizing I was a self-referrer).

What had happened? Had I fallen for my own hype? Convinced myself I was ill when I was merely a sensitive eccentric with strange habits and a predilection for self-destructive behavior? It turns out that having a label taken from you can be just as alienating and weird as being given it in the #rst place. The worst thing is that I know how to act to get the attention from the NHS clinical psychologists. I have to cry, stop wearing makeup, make feeble suicide attempts. I have to have a ‘relapse’ to be given any support that would, if I was given it now, stop me from having a relapse. It’s tough being mental, but not mental enough to be locked up. Perhaps this is a borderline condition after all.

How to Conquer Christmas Top Five Countdown!Jade Rivers

Eat Plenty of protein and complex carbs to keep your blood sugar busy. Tryptophan (and yes it’s legal) is the amino acid that creates seratonin and alleviates the dreaded depression. Have yourself a nice Turkey and Nut roast and get rid of those Christmas ghosts! Exercise Go for a walk with a friend or crunchy Christmas jog ? With a

free helping of that natural happy chemical you could burn off some of the sins of that chocolaty Christmas log! Change is as good as a rest! Give yourself something different to do, volunteer for a charity or night shelter they always need a hand this time of year serving meals and the different activities available. Or give yourself a little

tick list of positive attainable goals, moving into the new year with a spring in your step Be a big kid! We all like presents this time of year and we all like being pampered, so pamper yourself! Do something nice for you that really makes you feel good, cook yourself a really good breakfast or send yourself a card, really we’re all the same underneath we’re all a child at heart!

a flack rant by jay raphael

when I became homeless i lost all social currency, by currency i mean pretty much exactly what is meant by monetary currency once homeless and on the streets i became a pre-decimalisation penny in a world of #fty pound notes having realised not having any money makes you somehow invisible and smaller and really does make you appear to be ‘worthless’ i had to seriously re-assess my belief about friendshipmy most shocking moments of realising i’d lost social currency came when speaking with people who i felt were friends (mostly from school) i’d be saying “this and that”, blah dee blah perhaps trying to be funny perhaps soliciting for serious advice or a favour ... nada nothing … … they were seeing me as a tramp and they couldn’t be friends with a tramp i was a drain i was money going down the drain I wasn’t making or earning money therefore i was a failure and failure might be contagious consequently i have given up being friendly to people i don’t have to associate with the homeless have entered the black hole in society’s map of the known universe they have plunged off the straight foaming edge of the world and disappeared the homeless are one of life’s big mysteries Light is unable to escape (due possibly to tighter state bene#ts) the black hole of homelessness can be seen as a hell in the heavens a dark glitch in the g l i t t e r i n g c u r t a i n o f c l i n i c a l l y shinyhappy shopping precincts of futureworldnow.co.uk fail to assert your place in the known universe of work and ambition and whumf! you are sucked, as if at the speed of light, into it a strange world where normal laws do not apply they say if you go into a black hole and through the other side you will arrive at a parallel universe maybe but #rst you’re squashed !at(or whatever) and time ceases to exist what is it inside some people binds them #rmly to the known universe of mortgages tax returns and package holidays while others of us !oat off into the mental chaos of black holes and alcohol induced poverty? why is it once past the event horizon of homelessness it is (almost) impossible to return to the ‘real’ world …… and any such return always posing the philosophical question did i return to the world i left or go through to an alternate universe? for me having sat around in the black hole of homelessness on and off for ten years i found that like the house of God containing many mansions one black hole, rather unrelentingly leads to another like a pair of mirrors facing each other creating the illusion of an in#nity of similar spaces, moods and alienating perspectives so it was i was drawn into another singularity

FLACK JOKES

English man, Irish man, Scottish man and a Welsh man walk into a pub.Barman: Is this a joke ?

from Tony Dawn

Three men in a pub are having a chat. The Englishman says, “I’m meeting my son here in a while. We called him George because he was born on St George’s Day.” Welshman says, “I’m meeting my son here too. We called him David because he was born on St David’s day.” The Irishman says, “I’m meeting my son here too in a while. We called him Pancake.”

from Ian Summer!eld

What's the difference between God and a Social Worker. Well, at least, God doesn't think he's a social worker.

from Peter Durrant

Mark Pleasance was delighted to receive this text message from his lovely niece ..

I know it’s a long shot and I shouldn’t really be asking you but I need a massive favour ... I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate and I would really appreciate it if I could possibly borrow your face for Halloween.

and John Abrams ... we were dead chuffed to hear that you were so inspired by the article about Glyn Putwain in last month’s issue of FLACK that you went out to see how many different lamp posts you could #nd ...

and we know it’s not funny ... but we did fall about laughing when we heard you were so busy looking for lamp posts that you walked into a telegraph pole!

hope the bump’s not so sore now...

WHAT’S ON@ wintercomfortfor the homelessalso welcoming people at risk of homelessness and those who have moved on into their own tenancies.

8.30 - 10: Street Outreach

8.30 - 10: Mental Health Drop-In with Laurence

10 - 3.30: Weaving & Sculpture with Roger and Susanna

10 - 12: meet up with FLACK

10.30 - 1: Squeaky Gate Music



1 - 2: Computers with Alison

1.30 - 3.30 : Sports with Ally

2 - 3: Shaw Trust Advice (by appt)


10.30 - 3.30: Willow Weaving with Roger

10 - 11: My Cambridge with Alison

11 - 2 : Film Club

1 - 2: Maths with Alison


10.30 - 2.30: Meet up with Cambridge Link-Up

Matchstick Crafts with Mark


9 - 11: Alcohol Drop-In with Malcolm

9 - 12 : Quiz and Board Games

12.30 - 2: Cooking with Wendy

2 - 3: Literacy with Alison

& everyday...8.30 - 10 Showers, laundry and clothing store

Free cooked breakfast for rough sleepers or £1.75 + free sandwich lunch if taking part.

8.30 - 3.30 Internet access

& elsewhere see the map on back page for where these activities take place >

2 - 5pm : FLACK Workshop Make an appointment and we’ll help you contribute to the magazine . 07962 685220

Roots ‘n Shoots: 9.45 pick-up from Wintercomfort

9.30 - 10.30 RSPCA Open Sur-gery, Abbey Pool Carpark

12 - 1 Football Kelsey Kerridge

11 - 5 : Reworks Bike WkShop

Cyrenians Ceramics: 9.45 & 1.45 pick-up from Wintercomfort

1 - 5 : FLACK Drop-In


9.30 - 10.30 RSPCA Open Sur-gery, Abbey Pool Car Park

3 - 5 : FLACK @ 222

9.30 - 12: Carpentry at Cam-bridge Woodworks

Cyrenian’s Women’s Pottery : 10am - midday

12.30 : Women’s Group @ 222


9.30 - 10.30 RSPCA Open Surgery, Abbey Pool Car Park

sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday

F LACALENDAR ~ DECEMBE R13pm : Cambridge Link-Up Meeting @ 222 Self Build

2

Matchstick Crafts with Mark @ wintercomfort

3 Street Voices 10.30 - 12.30Akeman Street

10 - 12 Cup Cake Prep @ wintercomfort

Art Group 12 - 3@ wintercomfort

4Mill Rd Winter Fair - come and help with the Homeless United Stalls at St Philips and Mill Rd Baptist Church.

5Homeless United Stall @ Farmer’s Market

68 - 9 Medical Advice Drop In @ wintercomfort

10 - 12: St John’s Footcare @ Wintercomfort

7Badminton - meet @ winter-comfort at 2.30 for lift

8 9Matchstick Crafts with Mark @ wintercomfort

5.45: Street Voices performing at Akeman Street

10Street Voices 10.30 - 12.30Akeman Street

11 Tune into: Cambridge 105FM

11-12 Bums On Seats12 -1 Flavour of the Month7 - 8 Club Global8 - 9 Beatnik (funk,jazz)


13 14Badminton - meet @ winter-comfort at 2.30 for lift

15 2.30 - 4.15 :Christmas Pretty Things Work-

shop at the Fitzwilliam

10.30 - 3pm : Red Cross First Aid Course @ wintercomfort

16Matchstick Crafts with Mark @ wintercomfort

11 - 4 : Beer Can Photography Workshop @ FLACK

17 Art Group 12 - 3@ wintercomfort

Street Voices 10.30 - 12.30Akeman Street

No Carpentry at Woodworks



193 - 4 : Making Mental NotesCambridge105 FM

20 10 - 12 Buffet Prep @ wintercomfort


218.30 - 12: St John’s Footcare @ Wintercomfort

Swimming - meet at winter-comfort at 1.30

2210 - 12 Xmas Dinner Prep @ wintercomfort

23 24No Carpentry at Woodworks

Jimmy’s OPEN from 3pm

2510 - 3.30 : Christmas Dinner @ wintercomfort

JIMMY’S OPEN ALL DAY

2610 - 3.30 Wintercomfort OPEN


27WINTERCOMFORT CLOSED

JIMMY’S CLOSED FROM 11am


29FLACK OPEN : 1 - 5pm


here’s hoping for a

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

WHAT’S ON@ wintercomfortfor the homelessalso welcoming people at risk of homelessness and those who have moved on into their own tenancies.


8.30 - 10: Mental Health Drop-In with Laurence


10 - 12: meet up with FLACK

10.30 - 1: Squeaky Gate Music



1 - 2: Computers with Alison

1.30 - 3.30 : Sports with Ally

2 - 3: Shaw Trust Advice (by appt)



10 - 11: My Cambridge with Alison

11 - 2 : Film Club

1 - 2: Maths with Alison


10.30 - 2.30: Meet up with Cambridge Link-Up

Matchstick Crafts with Mark


9 - 11: Alcohol Drop-In with Malcolm

9 - 12 : Quiz and Board Games

12.30 - 2: Cooking with Wendy

2 - 3: Literacy with Alison

& everyday...8.30 - 10 Showers, laundry and clothing store

Free cooked breakfast for rough sleepers or £1.75 + free sandwich lunch if taking part.

8.30 - 3.30 Internet access

& elsewhere see the map on back page for where these activities take place >

2 - 5pm : FLACK Workshop Make an appointment and we’ll help you contribute to the magazine . 07962 685220


9.30 - 10.30 RSPCA Open Sur-gery, Abbey Pool Carpark

12 - 1 Football Kelsey Kerridge


Cyrenians Ceramics: 9.45 & 1.45 pick-up from Wintercomfort

1 - 5 : FLACK Drop-In


9.30 - 10.30 RSPCA Open Sur-gery, Abbey Pool Car Park

3 - 5 : FLACK @ 222

9.30 - 12: Carpentry at Cam-bridge Woodworks

Cyrenian’s Women’s Pottery : 10am - midday

12.30 : Women’s Group @ 222


9.30 - 10.30 RSPCA Open Surgery, Abbey Pool Car Park

sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday

F LA CA L ENDA R ~ DECEMBE R13pm : Cambridge Link-Up Meeting @ 222 Self Build

2

Matchstick Crafts with Mark @ wintercomfort

3 Street Voices 10.30 - 12.30Akeman Street

10 - 12 Cup Cake Prep @ wintercomfort

Art Group 12 - 3@ wintercomfort

4Mill Rd Winter Fair - come and help with the Homeless United Stalls at St Philips and Mill Rd Baptist Church.



10 - 12: St John’s Footcare @ Wintercomfort

7Badminton - meet @ winter-comfort at 2.30 for lift

8 9Matchstick Crafts with Mark @ wintercomfort

5.45: Street Voices performing at Akeman Street

10Street Voices 10.30 - 12.30Akeman Street




13 14Badminton - meet @ winter-comfort at 2.30 for lift

15 2.30 - 4.15 :Christmas Pretty Things Work-

shop at the Fitzwilliam

10.30 - 3pm : Red Cross First Aid Course @ wintercomfort

16Matchstick Crafts with Mark @ wintercomfort

11 - 4 : Beer Can Photography Workshop @ FLACK

17 Art Group 12 - 3@ wintercomfort

Street Voices 10.30 - 12.30Akeman Street

No Carpentry at Woodworks



193 - 4 : Making Mental NotesCambridge105 FM

20 10 - 12 Buffet Prep @ wintercomfort


218.30 - 12: St John’s Footcare @ Wintercomfort

Swimming - meet at winter-comfort at 1.30

2210 - 12 Xmas Dinner Prep @ wintercomfort


Jimmy’s OPEN from 3pm

2510 - 3.30 : Christmas Dinner @ wintercomfort


2610 - 3.30 Wintercomfort OPEN



JIMMY’S CLOSED FROM 11am


29FLACK OPEN : 1 - 5pm


here’s hoping for a

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Ready Steady Ping ~ Noodle Soup

1 packet of Sainsbury’s basics 10p chicken noodlesPut in a good sized microwavable container.Add hot water to cover the noodlesAdd 1 dessert spoon of spanish sherry vinegar (or a few dessert spoons of Polish Pickled salad vegetables) Add 3 dessert spoons of tomato sauce (pasta sauce is good for this) Add 1 large dessert spoon of garlic paste Mix together a little bit but don't make too much of a fuss(if you want it spicy add half a teaspoon of paprika)Add a pinch of dried chopped parsley 3 mins at full power in 750W microwave, eh voila.

Bon appetito! Msr Flack

object of the month # 4by Josie Camus (Fitzwilliam Museum)

The coy shall inherit the earth!

December is not a good time to be a turkey in England, but it’s no worries for Polish turkeys. In Poland the traditional Christmas feast is a #shy one, and Carp is the #sh of choice. This carp tureen, made in 1755, would be the perfect pot such a dish. It is beautifully painted, with a cunning loop of reed forming the lid handle.

Carp are fresh water #sh, and I’m told they have a bit of a muddy taste! They originated in Asia, but were introduced in England in the 1200s. They soon became a favourite of monks who kept them in large monastery #sh ponds.

Today carp are caught for sport and are put back into the water. On the 7th of Jan 2010 a world record breaking carp was caught in France. It weighed 94 lbs or 42.73 kilos; which is apparently the same as Kylie Minogue!

You can !nd the carp tureen in Gallery 26, case 21

Join us for a ‘Christmas Pretty Things’ Workshop at the Fitzwilliam on Wednesday December 15 @ 2.30 We meet outside the Shop Entrance.

© Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

FLACK recipe # 4Daniel’s Budget Christmas Dinner: serves 3 to 4

1 Whole Chicken6 Carrots4 large potatoes1 Cabbage1 Cauli!ower3 Parsnips1 Packet of peas1 Packet of stuffing 1 Pot of gravy4 Tbsp honey4 Tbsp oil50g Goose fat

Method:

Cut the potatoes into roasts sized pieces.

Cut the carrots and parsnips into sticks.

Cut down the cauli!ower and slice the cabbage ready to put in a pan.

Place the potatoes in a pan and boil for 10 to 15mins till !uffy once done rinse with cold water.

Place the chicken on a roasting tray and coat with the oil, once you have coated the chicken cover with tin foil and put in the oven at 180c/Gas 7 for about 50mins to a hour. Take the foil off 20 minutes before the end so that the skin crisps.

After the chicken has been cooking for 20 minutes place a baking tray in the oven at 180c/Gas 7 with the goose fat. Once the goose fat has melted (3 mins) place the potato you have cut up ready on the tray and coat the spuds with the fat and put tray back in oven.

Rub honey over the carrot and parsnip sticks and place on a baking tray in the oven with the potatoes and chicken.

Make up the stuffing following the instructions on the box.

When the chicken is done take it out to rest until the vegetables are ready, you can add some of the juices from the chicken to your gravy.

Boil the peas & cabbage for no more than 5 mins once everything else is ready.

Enjoy!

ACROSS1. Santa’s entry route (7)5. Twinkles very bright (4)6. Spherical thing hanging on a tree (6)8. Chinese lighting system (7)10. Pagan name for Christmas (8)11. 22 across in French (3)12. Jesus’s Mum (4)14. _ _ _ Land (Rudolf’s stomping ground) (3)15. First King’s Gift (4)16. Christmas symbol of regrowth (4)17. Santa’s helpers (5)19. Saint Nicholas, also known as (5,5)20. Old name for beer (3)22. Word used to refer to oneself (2)23. Christmas song (5)24. Ivy’s best mate (5)

DOWN1. Pull one this Christmas (7)2. Deal or no deal - host ? (4)3. Second King’s Gift (12)4. Dainty Christmas illuminations (11)7. What you do to your presents (6)

compiled by CERSOBLEPTIKFLACK CROSSWORD # 4

8. Sparkly tree boa (6)11. Third King’s Gift (5)12. Midnight _____ (4)13. Santa’s reindeers’ special power (6)18. Yahoo! I’ve got one (5)20. You leave it behind when you’ve had too much mulled wine (3)21. ‘God Bless Us One and _ _ _ ‘ said Tiny Tim (3)

NOVEMBER’S ANSWERS:

ALLCOMPLETED

CROSSWORDS WILL BE

ENTEREDINTO A DRAW

for

TWO FREETICKETS!!

Cambridge United

vMansfield Town

TUESDAYDEC 28th

> your name here >

> how do we contact you if you win ? >

drop this completed page into FLACK (see back page)

or leave for Kirsten’s attention at 222 or

Wintercomfort. by Dec 22nd.

good luck!

In November there were two documentaries about homelessness in Britain. The #rst one, Dispatches: Britain’s Street Kids, was aired on Channel 4 on the 1st of November and the second, On the Streets, was on BBC Four on the 10th. Each has a different focus: as the title suggests, Britain’s Street Kids follows the lives of four teenagers who are experiencing homelessness, while On the Streets looks at a range of characters from London’s homeless population. The question is, what sets them apart from one another, and what do they add (for better or worse) to the public’s awareness of the issue?

Street Kids is just over half the length of On the Streets, yet it seemed to capture succinctly the spirit of its young subjects in a way that the sprawling On the Streets never quite managed. Perhaps this is partly due to style and the context of the #lms’ commissioning. Street Kids, as part of the Dispatches series, proclaims itself to be topical: it has a narrator who tells us that teen homelessness will increase drastically as a result of the current welfare cutbacks of the coalition government. By contrast, there is no narration in On the Streets, and it’s not part of an investigative journalism series like Dispatches. It also went out on BBC4, which means the #lm makers were aware that less people might see it. We occasionally hear the #lmmaker Penny Woolcock’s questions, but she gives the impression that she wants the images to tell the story. And yet in what was probably an attempt to avoid delivering an agenda, Woolcock runs the risk of giving us her

patronising version of the issue via the back door. This seemed to come across mainly in the tone of her voice as she asked questions, particularly when she was asking her subjects about their self harm (Woolcock asked the timelessly stupid question. “why did you do that to yourself” in a fawning, poor you, whine).

Another problem with On the Streets is probably that London is huge and its ‘parallel’ homeless world would need decades of #lm to do justice to the gamut of experiences within it, so focusing on a location rather than a set of people was probably not as effective for the 90 minute time slot.

I enjoyed both documentaries very much, as all the characters within were very interesting, and their ways of coping with their situation varied dramatically (take the well-spoken maths graduate in his #fties who slept on night buses, the skinhead who tattooed his face to revenge his wife who’d kicked him out, or the immensely strong and mature Glaswegian teenage girl who was artistically #lmed in her stairwell injecting heroin). Yet while Street Kids really seemed to give a voice to its subjects, On the Streets merely followed its characters around, pretending not to judge and in the process making the viewer feel the listlessness and confusion that characterised a lot of the activity being #lmed.

It’s worth checking BBCiplayer and Channel 4 OD to see if you can watch these documentaries online.

HOMELESSNESS ON TVDiane Morrisson reviews Dispatches: Britain’s Street Kids and On the Streets by Penny Woolcock

IMPORTANT NEWS: Changes to Cold Weather Provision in Cambridge

This winter, between 1st November and 31st March 2011, if the weather forecast predicts the temperature will drop below zero degrees for three nights in a row, Cold Weather Provision will be activated.

So, what is CWP? It’s a service provided by the City Council to ensure that no one has to sleep rough in extreme cold. The www.bbc.co.uk/weather forecast is checked daily and the hostels and Jimmy’s will be informed 24 hours before CWP is activated. CWP will operate for three nights, and then 24 hours before it is due to end, the forecast will be checked again. If the predicted temperature stays below zero, CWP will continue for one day at a time, until the weather is back to zero or above (which we all know is positively balmy!).

If you are rough sleeping, you will need to be veri#ed by the Street Outreach Team, so that you can access CWP. This year, there will be no CWP at Wintercomfort. Instead, beds will be made available at Jimmy’s, even to those who can’t normally stay there, such as people who are not eligible to claim Housing Bene#t. If you are banned from Jimmy’s or beds there run out, there will be extra bed spaces available at 222 (or YMCA for young people). If 222 #lls up, people will be given B&B beds. There will be no breakfast or showers at 222, you’ll need to go to Wintercomfort for this from 8:30-10:00 Monday to Friday. Cooked breakfast is free for all veri#ed Rough Sleepers.

The Street Outreach Team are at Wintercomfort every morning except Thursday from 8.30 - 10.00

‘Twas Monday morning two weeks ago

About three minutes to ten

As I dialled the magic number

I smiled, here we go again.

0845 blah blah blah

It’s stuck there in my head

If I wanted to hear Vivaldi

I’d put the radio on instead

About twenty minutes later

When I was just about to go away

A voice cut in reciting words

He must say #fty times a day.

Now an hour’s passed and I’ve got

As far as name and number

Honest, folks, it’s like a scene

From the movie Dumb and Dumber.

His name was Bert, from Geordie land

He seemed an alright gent

But twenty minutes later it dawned on me

He had no idea what I meant.

(I was) Trying not to lose my rag

And give him bloody hell

Someone was passed the phone,

He had no idea as well.

Two and a half hours passed me by

Living a joke that wasn’t funny

All I want, it’s so simple mate,

Is my two weeks’ sickness money.

I’m sorry sir, the problem is

Your med cert’s disappeared.

David Copper#eld works in the social

It’s magic but it’s what I feared.

So I must go and see my doctor

To get another cert.

Then back on the phone like two days ago

To speak to another Bert.

I’m really skint and really cross

They really take the mick.

Ten years of dealing with these clowns

No wonder I’m on the sick.

Seven days, a week, don’t matter

Cos the postie’s been and gone

I got a letter, not a Giro,

Saying sick notes, you need another one!

I’m still sitting here waiting

Six weeks have come and gone

I got some compensation

I heard Bert is signing on!

a poem for FLACKby Ian Summerfield

I was thinking I ought to try and get #t. Well, okay not #t exactly, but I could try and stop the rot. Something t h a t m i g h t s t o p m e spiralling towards being the physical wreck that I am fast becoming. But what to do?

Nothing too strenuous, just enough to work up a bit of a sweat and more importantly something I can do in private. I mean, I don't want to make a complete fool of myself in public do I? It's embarrassing enough not to be able to manage a !ight of stairs without bringing on my smoker's cough, not to mention the dizzy spells.

Then it comes to me. Dumb bells. Cheap, discreet and I can start myself off gently, very gently. That's decided then, off to Argos. Monday mid-morning and the place is packed. It's like Wembley Stadium during a cup #nal. No problem, I need time to peruse the catalogue. Small dumb bells I think would be suitable. Ah, 1 Kg, perfect. Oh dear, they only do them in pink. No, that won’t do at all, I'll have the larger ones in macho grey, the 4.5 Kg size. 4.5 Kg! Not exactly suitable for a beginner.

So, they have to be a in a butch grey colour, but in a small size. I scan the catalogue looking for inspiration. Yes, they have an alternative that #ts the bill. A complete set of grey dumbbells ranging from 1.1 Kg right up to 5.5 Kgs. Six dumbbells in all, including a nifty looking stand to sit them on. That's decided then, but they are a bit pricey. Still I am prepared to pay a bit more to avoid those bloody pink ones. I'll check the machine to see if they are in stock, still debating whether I am prepared to shell out £19.99.

Not only are they in stock, but they're on special offer, only £9.99. That clinches it, quick get straight onto it, no time to lose. I'm in the queue without a second thought, a saving of £10, I can't miss this. Up to the till and I hand over the £9.99. Brilliant, just the job, I’m feeling well pleased with myself. I take a seat and watch their funny screen, awaiting my number. I still can't believe my luck. Number 249, that's me. Over I go to the counter and a huge box arrives as the conveyor belt stops in their hatchway at the back of the shop. The lady retrieving the items goes to pick it up, but fails. The lady at the counter goes to assist her, they still can't pick it up. "Shall I get that for you" I hear myself say as I walk round the end of their counter.

Oh my God, the seriousness of the situation suddenly dawns upon me. No way to back out now. I casually

stroll over to the conveyor belt and brace myself. Knees bent, I get it clear of the conveyor belt, just. I take it to the counter. I can feel my back going, my arms are painful and I am short of breath. The lady stamps my receipt and politely asks "Would you like a bag for that." I can't believe my ears, I am tempted to say yes just to see what kind of reinforced steel bag she has in mind. "No, I'll take it as it is." I splutter as I stagger out of the shop, trying to ignore the sea of turning heads watching me shuffle past them. I can guess what they are thinking, "he's probably got the car just round the corner." Well this is Fitzroy St. and I've got to get to Victoria Rd, only 2 miles at the most.

I make it to the bench down the street and I stop for a smoke. This is going to require a strategy; I could be all day getting home. I put the box on my shoulder, it hurts like hell, but I can manage it for at least a hundred yards. Fortunately I can sit on the damn box every time I get tired. Now it's about my 5th or 6th rest, I am sitting on Midsummer Common and I am beaten, I am ready to dump the damn box and cut my losses. Then a better idea occurs to me, I'll catch a bus, I can get one on Victoria Avenue. So I stagger over in that direction, but to cross the road successfully I have to wait for a gap in the traffic. A big gap. Finally when the nearest vehicle is a speck on the horizon I take my chance and limp across the road. Made it.

At the bus stop I am the envy of the queue, I have brought my own seat with me. The bus arrives and I wave everyone on before me, not out of politeness, but to enable me to have a shorter distance to stagger, once aboard the bus. It doesn’t work out that way and I get the last seat at the very back of the bus. Ah, what a relief, I sit back and enjoy the ride. Now, I want the top end of Victoria Rd, but I’m not sure where the bus stop is. Knowing that I am a little unsteady when carrying my cargo, I allow a group of little old ladies to move to the front of the bus before I even attempt to stand up. One of them rings the bell, I notice how very little and very old they are. The bus slows as it passes the “2’s”, so I risk standing up. Both my hands are full so I cannot hold onto anything to steady myself. The bus turns into Histon Rd, it’s a bloody hairpin bend. My box causes a momentum that I cannot control “whoooaaa”. The little old ladies are like ten pins in a bowling alley. You never saw pensioners move so fast, thank goodness. I see a gap to the right. Head #rst straight into the back of the driver’s cabin. Dazed, seeing stars, I am on the pavement at the bus stop.

Home, home at last.

Dumb BellHomeless Harry on the hidden dangers of impulse shopping

Remembered Friends

For the moment I would just like to say a few words about my cousin, Katrina. We grew up together from very early on and were very close, doing all the silly things kids do like bouncing on beds and playing tiggy.

As we each turn a corner, life throws different challenges to us all. I moved away from Carlisle to study but each time I went back if ever I bumped into Katrina we would say hello or maybe even go for a drink and have a catch up.

I was devastated when I heard the news that she had passed away on all Hallows Eve, but in true Katrina fashion whatever was going on you would always notice her. Yes, she too was a feisty little northerner, but she was my cousin and I loved the bones of her.

Well Katrina is in a safe place now forever lasting.

My cousin was a lovable rogue and I bet if any of you out there met her you wouldn’t be able to help yourselves but like her and you wouldn’t be able to resist smiling by the cheer she could spread, well, when she was in a good mood eh!

You may all have been at a party or having your own celebrations, but my little cuz drifted into the next realm on all Hallows Eve, in true Katrina fashion. Unforgettable. So, yet again she’s ahead of the queue!

In memory of my little cuz, Katrina Broughton

Rab Macadam 1961 - 2010

I knew Rab for over seven years. Rab was the #rst person I met when I went to the 2's. He was like a brother to me always looking out for me making sure I always had a beer and a smoke. He was a brilliant friend, even after we both moved out of the 2's, every morning we used to meet at the chemist on Mitchams corner for a beer and a chat.

Rab, I miss you it's like I've lost my brother and my best friend. I miss our chats and your wicked sense of humour.

Sleep well.

John Rogers & Selena

Editor’s Note: Rab suffered a brain hemorrhage at Willow Walk Hostel and died in hospital 36 hrs later. He never regained consciousness.

< Rab, on the Self-Build Team Building weekend in 2007

Losing Katrina

Exploding like an atom beneath a pile of leaves

No one knows what it’s really like, or what we’re supposed to be doing when comes our time to grieve

I suppose it’s like a #ngerprint of sadness on our soul

We live it when we lose some one and pass it on when it’s our turn to go

Jade Rivers

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Useful Telephone NumbersAccess Surgery : 01223 358961 Addaction (Alcohol): 01223 723020Addaction (Drugs) : 01223 723069Addenbrookes Hospital : 01223 245151Cambridge Link-Up (Emma) : 07527 646045Camdoc (out-of-hours) : 01223 464242Centre 33 : 01223 316488Crisis Loan : 0800 1695198

DWP : 0845 6043719 FLACK (Office) : 01223 366532Jimmy’s Nightshelter : 01223 576085 Police: 0345 456 456 4 Willow Walk Hostel : 01223 519400Wintercomfort : 01223 518140 222 Victoria Rd Hostel : 01223 352718Boots Late Night Chemist: 01223 357487any others we should include? let us know ...

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