Welcome to the Emmaus Community Blog

We’ve just completed another solidarity job at Emmaus Preston, just thought I’d write a bit of a story about it. Ms Evans, of Avenham, had moved into a new property, and was left with practically nothing in the way of furniture or belongings after doing so. We were aproached by helpdirect.org.uk to see if we could lend a hand, and after a liason between Mark in the shop, Craig on the van, and of course the staff here, we decided we were in a position to help turn her new property into a home. So, today Craig, Big Chris and I set off in old reliable (our van) with a new double bed, mattress, TV stand, coffee table, stereo and other items.

We delivered the items and helped set them up in her new home, the look on her face as she saw the transformation was fantastic. She was truly grateful, and couldn’t thank us enough. I got some cracking pictures of the items being delivered, after we helped her get everything organised and then had a little chat with her.

“I can’t thank you all enough. it’s been a massive help, and a load off my mind, to know I can move in here and have what I need to turn this into my own home. Emmaus have been very kind, and you’ve all made a real effort to help me out. Please pass on my thanks to everyone in your wonderful organisation”

I’m proud to be part of an organisation that makes such a difference in people’s lives. With the recent changes in Preston Emmaus,the new avenues we’re exploring to make money, help others, raise our profile and so on, I’m sure this won’t be the last time that I get involved in a project to help others. As Abbé Pierre said, “First, serve those who suffer most”

Great News for Emmaus South Lambeth!
Last week saw ESL beat off tough competition to win the ‘ Best Dressed Window In West Norwood 2011 ‘ after some tough brainstorming and caffeine Companions and Staff worked for hours to get the Windows to our 2 shops looking good.
We got into the top 5 and an hour later we had won the coveted prize.

I had an exciting fog-bound drive across Saddleworth Moor on my way to Emmaus Mossley. Heady stuff for a Southerner more accustomed to puny mists across the Fens. I emerged from the car blinking, to see small children with big brass instruments and the Mayor cutting a cake and remembered that I had been told prior to my departure that the Community was participating in a Heritage Open Day. Emmaus Mossley is in a former cotton mill and a room has been set aside for a small centre charting the history of the building. I thought for a wild moment that brass bands and mayors were there to greet every visitor.

The Community in Mossley, which is a small town 9 miles east of Manchester, opened in 1997 and is now home to 24 Companions. An on-site shop and cafe are located in the building and there is a second shop in nearby Uppermill. They also have a special shop that only opens twice a week in which the real treasures are hidden and three minutes after arrival I was already looking meaningfully at the locked door.

The reason for my visit (apart that is to get out of the office and get into the aforementioned shop) was to get some new photographs of Companions in action. Our picture archive is beginning to look decidedly dated and our five good photographs have been used on everything from book marks to banners. The Companions had kindly agreed to be photographed taking furniture off the collection vans, renovating items in the workshop, cooking lunch in the kitchen (thank you Dennis for delicious fish and chips) and Stuart was good enough let us take pictures in his room where he keeps two pet rats (with creepy tails and pink eyes).

Mike the photographer who had a slightly dazed look, due it turned out to being a very new father, had great ideas of interesting images and was careful and respectful of the fact that this was the Companions home. Gassy and Dennis posed in their somewhat crumpled chef whites in the garden. Having recently acquired level 2 NVQs in cookery the Community is enjoying some good hearty fare. When I say hearty I witnessed the slightly alarming sight of a Companion who shall be nameless (you know who you are) eating a combination of fish pie and beef burgers. As the Companion in the Community who is known to be of superhuman strength when it comes to shifting sofas, the boy clearly had calories to eat and a reputation to maintain.

I left with wonderful photographs, a recipe for the world’s best carbonara, some tips on how to get a good shine on a table top and yes, THREE vases from the special collectors shop that only opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays but opened for me on a Friday. Thanks Emmaus Mossley.

As a newish companion to Preston Emmaus, I was surprised, but happy, to have been offered a spot in our group heading down to Swanwick for the assembly. I had no idea what to expect, other than I was being press-ganged into playing in the five-a-side football, and that there was a darts tournament that I was planning on winning! Beyond that, although I had a basic itinerary it was a bit of a mystery, the only thing I had been told was there would be workshops to attend, and some fascinating keynote speakers to listen to.

Seven of us, five companions/RCs, our assistant community leader and our director turned up at 1pm Friday afternoon, just in time to grab a cup of tea, warm up and hit the football pitch. For a bunch of lads who have never played together beyond a quick kickabout onh the part, I’d say we did ourselves proud, finishing third overall and ending the tournament undefeated thanks to some heroic goalkeeping from Craig, who quite literally took one for the team. Hope it gets better soon Craigles!

After the football, unpacking and a meal it was time for the introductory speeches and our itenerary to be made clear, this was a real eye-opener, seeing over three hundred people in one room, working together, in one mind with one goal. How can we take Emmaus as a whole forward, and all play our part. This truly did make me see what I am a prt of, and I really felt honoured to be here. This was followed by two minute (alledgedly!) speeches from each community, chatting about what we’ve done, what we’re going to do, and where we’re going. I was taken by complete surprise by some of the incredible things some of the communities have achieved, and humbled by the work and effort some amazing people have done to make this movement work. When it came to our turn, three of us each had a part to play, and although my part seemed to go all right, I was absolutely terrified, and glad once it was over and I could sit down and enjoy the rest. And then the reason I came here…bring on the Darts!

Unfortunately my confidence didn’t quite match my ability. Although I breezed through qualifying, I came up against the defending champion in the quarter finals. Ouch! Congrats Bev, and I sincerely hope never to play you again! After this, the Preston boys sat around with a drink, discussed our first impression, and away to our fantastic rooms. Double bed, broadband, en suite, and very, very comfortable, I had the best night’s sleep I had in ages…in no small part due to being exhausted from football.

Next morning we arose, most of us carrying minor injuries, ready for a long and productive day. The speeches and discussions in the morning, particularly listening to Arvinda and the aspiring community groups, were absolutely inspirational. It really made me think more about my role in Emmaus, and what I can do to do more, and to play a bigger part in moving Emmaus Preston, and Emmaus as a whole, forward. Listening to Jenny Edwards talk about homelessness, a subject close to my heart as I’ve been on the streets three times, was a real eye-opener, and I was honoured to get the chance to ask a question of her and to get a great, well considered answer.

After the speeches and discussions came lunch, and if I have one gripe about this wekend, it’s the food. I’m lactose intolerant, and twice the staff forgot and I had to go off the premises and pay for food from my own pocket. A minor gripe, and one I’m used to, but it did stand out as the only part of this weekend that wasn’t absolutely fantastic.

On Saturday afternoon came the workshops. I couldn’t comment on all of them, as I chose to attend one about ebay and online selling, something I’m very very passionate about bringing to Emmaus Preston, and one about improving customer service and experience, as I work in the shop in Preston and am always looking for ways to improve myself there. Great workshops, fascinating speakers, and a lot of information for me to take back which I think will be a huge boon to our shop. After the speeches came free time and optional workshops, such as the drumming, which I listened to with great enthusiasm and enjoyment until the noise made me remember just how tired I was, and that an early night might be in order. So, away I wandered, chatting to a couple of people from Emmaus Leeds and Hampshire about everythying from shop work to World of Warcraft (Hi Seam, see you on the battlefield!)

And now I’m sitting here, waiting for breakfast on Sunday, sore feet, a lot to take in, but having had a fantastic time, and looking forward to seeing the last part of the weekend today, speeches from Md Aminul Haque, the final part of “How to get involved in the Emmaus International Movement”a closing address from Terry Waite, and of course the awarding of the trophies, awards and so on.

It’s been an amazing weekend, I’m honoured to have been part of it, and hopefully I’ll be back next year to see more, learn more and win that darts tournament! I’ve met some fantastic people, been made to feel welcome, and been inspired by so many people’s stories, community life, and the sheer enjoyment and passion people feel about this great movement. See you all next year.

Andi, Emmaus Preston Companion.

It was meant to be a challenge and for me, Lawrence Buckley and Companions Tam Comrie, Dave Hall and our driver and Housing Services Manager Lee Bostock, it certainly turned out to be. Cycling 300 miles from Sheffield to Paris was, in my own delusional mind, going to be an absolute breeze… and it was so to speak. The problem was the breeze was blowing the wrong way. It was going North and we were heading South, or at least once we’d zipped across the North Sea to Zeebrugge on the overnight ferry. The ride from Sheffield to Hull on day 1 was done in bright sunshine and with the wind behind us and was to prove to be something of a rarity over the next 4 days.
So as we docked in Zeebrugge we prized ourselves from our tiny 4-man cabin, which I have to say, once we’d inserted all of our luggage looked like the lost property department of rural railway station. Luckily the air conditioning had been set to ‘TURBO-BOOST’ to deal with the nocturnal emissions of 4 adult men and none of the snorers had been suffocated with their own pillows by fellow group members during the night.

Once off the ferry we began to get lost. The GPS we were following must have been French as it didn’t like Belgium and kept wanting to take us back to the ferry port. It was an omen. So we tried to use our maps and headed South. We ended up getting lost in Bruges within the first hour but on the positive side we passed right through the beautiful central square and the heart of what makes the city a destination for many tourists… and clueless cyclists from South Yorkshire.
Eventually the GPS decided to send us on a southerly route and off we went, like maniacs on two wheels trying to make up for lost time. The paranoia of an Englishman abroad began to develop as I noticed a big black cloud on the horizon, probably sent over from Northern France, I thought, to thwart our attempts to enjoy the ride through continental Europe. It eventually began to spot with rain near the French/Belgian border. But the expected downpour turned out to be a bit of wind and some fairly pathetic drizzle. Ha! Was that all they had? I thought.
After crossing the border into France we began to follow the van and let Lee’s sat nav do the routing for us. Lievin and our Hotel was eventually reached around 9.45pm by three very tired cyclists and a driver whose sat nav couldn’t find the address.
Like true athletes once we were changed we headed down to the high street in search of a kebab shop. So it was kebab and chips all round and everyone was happy-ish.
The next morning we had breakfast and set out on our longest leg of the trip. An 80 mile jaunt through the Somme. Just North of Arras disaster struck as Tam reported his gears were jammed. We stopped outside a Czech war cemetery and on a closer inspection it was plain that his chain had got somehow been bent and he was going to need a new one. After a fruitless 45 minutes of trying to sort this out myself we despatched him and Lee to Arras in search of a bike shop with the phrase “Ou est la velo magasin?” planted firmly on their lips. An hour or so later we had found a bike shop and a new chain was fitted. Eighty miles in the saddle, cycling into the wind and the odd shower of rain was a big ask but we were up to the task. That night we reached the hotel very late again and after another superhuman change of costumes we found a restaurant that was open. We ate and chatted and laughed and returned to the hotel to sleep like dogs, drugged with fatigue.

The next day, our final day, was supposed to be our shortest. By this time I was walking like John Wayne and Tam had had his 3rd puncture. A mere 56 miles lay between us and Paris. And if it wasn’t for a missed road sign and waiting for Dave to catch up when actually he ‘d got in the van, we would have been fine. Heading to Claye Souilly on the North East of Paris we jumped on the Canal de l’Orc and witnessed the drama of two intoxicated French men arguing and then one pushing the other in the water. The aggressor then began to try to retrieve his soggy friend and had to be assisted by a nearby fisherman. Realising our life saving skills were not required we cracked on. This route along the canal was chosen as it has a fantastic bike path that was tarmacked most of the way into Paris.
At one point I stopped to see how Tam was doing and witnessed one of the best somersaults on a bike I’ve ever seen. Always use both brakes and not just the front one I thought. I gave him a score of 9.9 for his artistic interpretation and execution. Had he completed the triple salka and the half pike then he’d have had a perfect 10. He’s such a show off!
In the end Dave didn’t quite make it to Paris which left me and Tam to complete the journey. We clocked up 74 miles and got hit by a thunderstorm that soaked us to the skin and ended up cycling through the very centre of Paris passing the Palace de la Concorde and weaving in and out of the often static traffic and kamikaze pedestrians. We stopped to take a picture of each other on one the bridges over the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background, too tired to make a detour to the tower itself. When we reached our hotel we were met by lots of our colleagues from other Emmaus communities who congratulated us on our achievement. It was over and weren’t we glad. A sense of achievement was somehow overshadowed by the sheer fatigue we were feeling and what we did as relative novices to cycling is only just sinking in now. Would we do it again? Well, like childbirth, as the negative memories fades and we’re left with the positives, it’s a distinct possibility and it would be a shame to not repeat the journey and not learn from some of the mistakes we made this time. So it’s definitely a ‘maybe’.

Hello again,

A leisurely break over Streatham Common this morning to mark the end of my week’s holiday at 6.40am seems to have used up the remainder of the sunshine for the day.

I have been cat-sitting for my son; rather an imprecise term, since the cat did far more sitting on me and elsewhere than I managed! Trips to the Museum of London, the Dulwich Picture Gallery and of course the allotment have made the time melt as ever.

I took a break from this gallivanting to help out at the Community for ESL’s Solidarity Sale yesterday (11th June) at which our Market Garden had its inauguration; hanging baskets, both of flowers and ‘salad’ (tomato, lettuce, marigold); bedding and house plants – and courgette and lettuce pots. Many thanks to the Chief Organiser (they know who they are!) and Companions, Trustees and Volunteers who baked cakes. We raised money for Emmaus International’s various projects ; examples include South Korea, where the work is focused with people with mental disabilities and homeless people. In India the emphasis is on the defence of the rights of women, children and Dalits, as well as on training them. Organic farming plays an important role. In Bangladesh Emmaus has created jobs for women with no income and a school for their children thanks to the manufacture and sale of fair-trade textile products. In Indonesia projects are particularly carried out for children and the sick, through a drop-in centre, a clinic and training. The Lebanese Emmaus group has the special feature of being an alternative bank which grants loans for micro-projects.

Next week will be busy rising to frantic, as I am privileged to be going to the Emmaus Paris Salon – travelling to Paris on Friday, helping to set up our stand at the Expo Centre on the Saturday, and the mad whirl of the Sale itself on Sunday. Once again, funds raised will go to Emmaus International, but this time to projects in Latin America. From past experience it will be an exhausted little bundle travelling back on Monday – but with the the comfort of a worthwhile job done – and in excellent company!

I will provide a full account of how it went about ten days from now.

Take care, Elizabeth

Happy 20th Birthday, Cambridge Emmaus! And many thanks to its founding Trustees for giving us a highly plausible reason to celebrate – and to Baroness Armstrong for hosting the event at the House of Lords, as well as the Federation for their usual hard work organising it – and to staff here for asking if I would like to be one of two Companions from South Lambeth to attend. Last but of course never least, thanks must go to Terry Waite for his wonderful speech. Gosh, this is starting to sound like an acceptance at the Oscars, but genuine nonetheless.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable event, and even the weather played its part, since the threatened showers held off, and it was warm enough even for my posh frock and skimpy cardie! There was a fantastic lemon sponge cake in the shape of the Emmaus logo, and I must get tips from whoever made it; I get the central round sponge, just two big tins and a lot of patience – but – well, I just hope there’s a picture available on the website so you can see how intricate the rest was!

As time passes and I get to meet more and more people from the different Communities and Groups, it is always nice to meet up with them again at such events. It was particularly exciting to hear of the leaps and bounds of progress taken by the groups in Hastings and Norwich, both due to open in the next month or two – my best wishes to all concerned.

Back here at South Lambeth we seem to have trade which reflects the improved weather and I personally have been beavering away potting up plants to sell at our next Solidarity Sale on 11th June. So, should you find yourself short of a hanging basket or pot plant, a bush tomato or some red hot chilli peppers, why not call in and see what we can offer? It will be lovely to see you!

Enjoy the sunshine till we meet again,

Elizabeth

Rarely known for being trendy, I made the grade by having a ‘stay-cation’ this time, just taking a day down in Brighton to grab some sea air.  Rather a lot of sea air, in fact with a semi-gale force wind pouring ozone into my lungs!  However, my newly acquired Freedom Pass got well-used, with a nice afternoon at Barnes Wildfowl Reserve and a visit to the Natural History Museum, etc.  Then a visit as a guest of a Companion who belongs to a local theatre group to watch a play which took me back to childhood with ‘Dick Barton, Special Agent’;  they only had to play the music to bring to mind the kitchen table where my mother and I would sit listening to it !  A most enjoyable evening.

Lots of Rest and Recreation…

Returning to work, the clothes shop was under reconstruction, and we are now almost there, with a new wall-racking system to complete the new decor.  To add to this, we had a trouser press donated which has come down to the basement and it is rather fun having that on the go whilst I am busy with the steaming machine on another garment!

Unfortunately I have not been up to the allotment for a while, but have been busy sowing tomatoes, aubergine, peppers – and the first batch of sweet peas are doing their spindly 8-inch best to reach the trellis in the car park which is going to be their ultimate destination.  When I’m sure we’re clear of frost, which could be August, with the length of winter we’ve had this year!  Still, at least we had some sun this weekend, though I nearly had to go to Wikipedia to find out what the strange gold disc in the sky was…

Many of the Community went bowling one night, but I was off to an old friend’s 60th birthday, which was on a 60s theme and very enjoyable.  However, I understand the bowling was a howling success and I look forward to joining in the next time they go.

Time to do some more seed sowing, so have a good time till we meet again,

Elizabeth