Stroud Pound: we need to spend more

As reported recently on this blog and in the local press we have now issued the 10,000th pound. I just wanted here to update on a number of activities....details of 4 events including one today. But first an appeal - people are not spending as many Stroud Pounds as we had hoped.

Photos; Randwick woods last weekend

Some members have said that they think if they spend in shops they are putting pressure on the owners, so they would rather use the same shops with sterling instead. I hav eto say I have been amongst those - but in reality, if shopkeepers do not get a regular flow of Stroud Pounds coming through then they question the value of the scheme. And the 3% they may need to pay if they trade them back is not a loss to the community, because it is invested in local charities. That is how the scheme is designed to work so that all sections of the community benefit together.

So, please buy Stroud pounds from at Stroud Valleys Project new Eco-shop in Threadneedle Street, or from Uplands Post Office or Kanes Records, in the town, or Green Spirit in Nailsworth, or Minchinhampton and Stonehouse post offices. Together we can start building up the volume of Stroud Pound trading in the build-up to Christmas.

Today, as part of the Stroud Street Festival, Stroud Pound folk will be serving Stroud Pound breakfasts, probably outside Tony's in Kendrick Street. All the ingredients will have been bought with Stroud pounds.

Saturday 9th October, a Stroud pound produce market. This will probably be held in the afternoon in the British School. People will be encouraged to bring the vegetables they can't eat or wines, jams and chutneys they have made from them. Only Stroud pounds will be accepted.

"Maybe I Should Have: Tale from the Economical Wonder Iceland"A film by Gunnar Sigurdsson 30th September, 7.30pm, Exchange

Although Iceland is a tiny economy with a smaller population than the city of Bristol, what happened to its economy in 2008 explains in microcosm the financial crisis. In this amusing and accessible film, Gunnar Sigurdsson explores how his national economy was gambled away by a few money-men and shares with us the route he followed when he decided to 'follow the money'. Gunnar's journey has involved considerable air miles as he trekked from Guernsey to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands to track down the movement on the non-existent money on which the Iceland miracle was based. There he discovered 600,000 financial companies were registered, with no regulation whatsoever, including 120,000 in just one small office block. His deeper journey of disillusion and loss of trust is one we are all embarking on, whether we choose to or not.

The film will be followed by a discussion of what the implications are for our own national economy and for Transition Stroud.

Mary Mellor: Money: From Financial Crisis to Public Resource on 2nd December, 7.30pm, Exchange

Ecofeminist economist Mary Mellor will be visiting Stroud to share her analysis of the financial crisis. Her recent book The Future of Money provides an insightful (and comprehensible!) account of what has gone wrong with money, and what we need to do to put things right. Mary's conclusion is that the state is central to the stability of the money system, while the chaotic privately-owned banks reap the benefits without shouldering the risks. She argues that money is a public resource that has been hijacked by capitalism. Mary is Emeritus Professor at Northumbria University in Newcastle, where she was founding Chair of the University’s Sustainable Cities Research Institute

This article in Red Pepper gives an idea of the flavour of Mary's talk: http://www.redpepper.org.uk/The-future-of-money