strange movements in the heavens of the collaborative endeavour

BIG NEWS! martin (the chair of the co-operative endeavour for the last 7 years) is retiring. 

who will be the new chair?

well that depends on who is elected to the management committee (because they elect the chair from among themselves). forward to the annual general meeting. 

what happens at the AGM? (end of april) handbacks, rent rises, all the good things. (the AGM will be conducted by zoom this time).  horsemouth doesn't expect it to be too bad because to be heard and to discuss requires a even more co-operation on zoom than it does in real life. and if someone gets out of order you can just mute them out - something that is considerably more difficult in real life.  

at some point as soon as possible  there will have to be a face to face general meeting. 

horsemouth must say he's annoyed by the fetishisation of the balfron tower (in contemporary leftist discourse) that said it does look great. why not be as concerned about robin hood gardens (which was just as concrete brut)?  or indeed the destruction of social housing on the next door aberfeldy (replaced by rent farming investment blocks)? all of this strikes horsemouth as just as egregious (but it doesn't raise the same level of comment). 

and then there's the soon to be redeveloped chrisp street market (festival of britain model estate)?

there's an outside chance this scheme will die because events have pushed back the start date and undermined the rationale (posher tenants and sales equals more money for housing associations battered by government rent limiting measures). but I don't think this is enough to actually stop it

the pandemic slows everything down to a snail's pace. but the dinosaur of redevelopment just keeps walking forward (even as its economic rationale vanishes). sheer momentum keeps it going through the 'dip' and  into the promised land of investor confidence. (and if not? fuck it, it's been built already). 

the new ball game for the city is coming but it won't be here for a couple of years yet. 

horsemouth discovered (from a belated guardian obituary) that milford graves (the jazz drummer) ran a herbal garden, taught a martial art and redecorated his house in the style of gaudi. 

what a don! 

respect! 

Milford Graves Full Mantis from Full Mantis on Vimeo.