Event: 5th March Swish for Oxfam

The Art of Swishing comes to Greenwich,

from the new Greenwich Oxfam Fundraising Group

Bring your unwanted frocks and too tight tuxes to The Pelton Arms on Saturday 5th March and join in the swishing trend. The swishing party, or clothes swap, will celebrate International Women's Day while raising dosh for Oxfam, and is organised by the Greenwich Oxfam Fundraising Group.

Visitors will have the chance to spend an afternoon in a lovely pub, sprucing up their wardrobe while raising money for an important charity. Refreshments will come in the form of a special "Oxfam Afternoon Tea and cake" from the lovely people at the Pelton Arms, with a portion of the price of every one sold donated to the charity.

Popular with fashionistas, the frugal and the eco-conscious, here’s how swishing works:

- Everyone brings at least 1 item of clothing in good condition that they no longer wear (you can bring as many as you like), which gets handed to our lovely helpers on arrival

- The clothes are then sorted ready for everyone to start shopping. In the meantime, grab a drink from the bar or visit the Oxfam info point to find out what your donations will be spent on, not forgetting to order your afternoon tea & cakes!

- Have a rummage, find something you like, try it on, and it’s yours for a small donation to Oxfam

Both ladies and gentlemen are welcome and there's no entry charge.

Venue: Pelton Arms, Pelton Road, Greenwich, London SE10 9PQ http://www.peltonarmspub.com

Date: Saturday 5th March 12.30pm - 4.30pm

Transport: Cutty Sark DLR or Maze Hill rail

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=SE10+9PQ&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.26154,28.256836&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=London+SE10+9PQ,+United+Kingdom&z=16

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=142366659160648

Contacts:

Bhaswati Guha, Chair, tel: 07536 087464, email:bhaswatioxjam@gmail.com

Katy Ellsmore, Group Treasurer, tel: 07759 456749, email: katyellsmore@gmail.com

Notes

1. For more information on swishing visit swishing.org

The Art of Swishing involves getting your friends together to swap gorgeous clothes and party at the same time. Every lady must bring at least one good quality, clean item of clothing, or an accessory, that she'd feel proud to hand on.
"Save money, save the planet, have a party: swishing effortlessly touches all of these buttons. Swishing parties are for all those women who want to combine glamour, environmental protection and frugality."

2. Greenwich Oxfam Fundraising Group, http://greenwich-oxfam.webs.com/

We are a group of Oxfam supporters who have come together to give our spare time for Oxfam’s good causes. We established the Greenwich Oxfam Fundraising Group in the borough with an aim to raise funds for Oxfam’s work on eradicating global poverty and suffering.We enjoy and organise exciting and interesting fundraising events for Oxfam.

We believe in contributing to the community we live in and making an impact globally with the funds we raise. We meet once a month and our meetings are open to all. If you are interested to attend our monthly meetings to find out more about us and our plans feel free to contact us.

This group is fundraising in aid of Oxfam GB. Oxfam is a registered charity in England and Wales No 202918 and Scotland SC039042 and a company limited by guarantee registered in England No 612172. Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International.

Event: 16th April Benefit Gig for the Plumstead Make Merry

Right let's get something straight before we go on. I'm not a huge fan of the Make Merry. I've been a few times, blogged about it last year and have come to the conclusion it's really not for me. BUT, and this is a huge but (snigger, snigger), there are a lot of locals around here who do like it. AND (boolean logic here), I would like it to continue and (OR) become more my kind of festival ... foodie/crafty/dare-I-say stuck up me would like.
What strikes me as bleeding obvious is that the Plumstead Make Merry is the closest to BIG SOCIETY that I can think of. It's a David Cameron dream event run by volunteers for the purpose of serving the local society. So the fact that it's meagre grant from local council has been cut just seems contradictory (even though I suspect it means perhaps a service like childcare can go on).
As their funding has been cut, the Make Merry men (and women) have to find alternative funds and equipment. To this end, they are holding a benefit bash at the Pavilion (fingers crossed soon to be local hub of cafe society and defo my kind of place) the Rugby Club Pavilion on Plumstead. Woohoooo I'm one for supporting any gig that happens there and if the end result is that there is some dosh in the coffers for the PMM then superdooper. They are still looking for talent for the show so if you are the next Tinie Tempah, or JLS, follow the link to volunteer your services.
To hear a discussion on the cuts and their effect on services, tune in the In the Meantime radio show this Sunday and ask Tory Councillor Nigel Fletcher (who's title is dep leader of opposition blah blah Social Inclusion) why the Make Merry is not Big Society.

One Day Cafe???

Does anyone know what's happened to the One Day Cafe group and their site as the link I have no longer seems to be active.