Plot 9 Presents... (#4) 'The Power of Community'

Under a parachute in SE London… 5 presenters, Q&A, community call-outs and fire-side chat 'til late. A brand-new event in a brand-new outdoor community space. FREE BUT PLEASE BOOK A TICKET. The evening kicks off at 7:30pm with arrival from 7pm.

Join us for Plot 9 Presents… #4 ‘The Power of Community’ at the magical Plot 9 - a council allotment in Greenwich that Andy has transformed into a new community gathering space. The event will take place in a living sculpture he (and hopefully in time, the world!) calls the 'Dodeca-Den' - a 12-sided/circular space designed for workshops, talks and therapeutic practices.

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The Idea...

Andy co-creates this event with Clare Barry of Urban Curiosity (also a Greenwich-local). We plan to hold it monthly (on the second Thursday of each month-ish). Three events in and we're very happy with how it's progressing. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback and for the joy of seeing new connections being forged before our very eyes…

The evening is designed to showcase a wide range of voices, speaking or performing from the heart, around something they're passionate about… instigators, changemakers, sensemakers, curious and creative minds who seek and create the weird and wonderful in the fringes and liminal spaces.

The night has already opened doors to further conversations, connections and collaborations and we hope for many more. We are committed to long-term community-building and plan to hold the event through-out the year, no matter the weather.

The area is covered and will go ahead unless the wind is strong enough to make the ex-army parachute break free from its tethers and take to the skies again! …and even then, we'll find a way…. and if (when) it gets cold, we have fire!

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Presenters for our 4th event… ‘The Power of Community’

* Rich ‘Stories’ Sylvester lives in east Greenwich and says “I came to London for the day and stayed for 40 years.”  His voicemail message says: “ I am a guide to Green Spaces and Old Places.”  As “Holly Man” he helps organise a local Wassail (a new year celebration of fruit trees) in east Greenwich Pleasaunce, a burial ground for old sailors. Now and then he leads a story-walk along the river and runs workshops in storytelling and forest school-type learning through play. Rich is also an active member of the volunteer team than manages the 4-acre Westcombe Woodlands, right by Maze Hill. Rich's instagram

* Karl Brown is the co-founder of Curv - a social network, reimagined. An app to discover movements from around the world and join others in taking collective action. Previous to Curv, Karl has worked within behavioural and cultural change, gang prevention, and as an actor, once performing at the National theatre under the guidance of Sam Mendes. Instagram: @joincurv website: joincurv.com)

* Kirsty Dunlop, originally from Largs, Scotland, lives right next to Plot 9 and is one of the team of 3 locals that recently opened the first community-owned pub in Greenwich. Kirsty spotted that the derelict pub was to be redeveloped and brought the team together to save it. The primary purpose of the Star is to bring people together and improve community cohesion. Their vision is to create the most inclusive pub in London.
website: https://www.starofgreenwich.co.uk Instagram @StarofGreenwich

* Phineas Harper is chief executive of Open City, a charity dedicated to making cities and neighbourhoods more open, accessible and equitable. They are also director of Open House Worldwide, an international network of nearly 60 organisations that stage annual festivals of architecture and urban landscape. Phineas has written for a wide number of publications including the Guardian, the Independent, Harvard Design Magazine and the Literary Review.  

Phineas lives locally on the Vanbrugh Park Estate where they launched a campaign to save residents' front gardens, after the council sent men to dismantle them, citing fire safety concerns. The petition Phineas created gained over 31,000 signatures on change.org which led to national press coverage on the issue and, eventually, to a dialogue during summer 2023 with officers and councillors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich that resulted in a positive outcome for residents on the estate.  Phineas' website: https://phineasharper.com/

 * Bristena G. Mantu is a psychospiritual counsellor, psychotherapist and poet and author of the book of bilingual poetry ‘Inner Callings - a pilgrim’s diary’. Bristena has been on a personal and spiritual growth journey over the last 10 years. Bristena will be reading one of her poems about community. Instagram: @inner_callings_therapy web: https://linktr.ee/bristenamantu

* Rens Juris Tesink a local theatre-maker and songwriter and is half-Latvian, half-Dutch, but grew up all over. He graduated from East 15's Acting and Contemporary Theatre course in 2022.  Rens will be performing two of his songs during the evening with guitar and his friend Frankie Golding on cajon. [Also…. we can't say much right now but Rens and Plot 9 are working on something very exciting in 2024…] Rens' Instagram.

* YOU! Community Call-outs… 10 minutes set aside for anyone attending to announce or request anything that the group might be interested in or able to help with. 1 minute per call-out. The call-outs will also be emailed to all attendees in the post-event email with contacts/links/socials.

Please contact us if you'd like to speak or perform at a future event or get involved in any way.

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Schedule

7pm: Arrive in time for the start...

7:30pm: We will start with a short intro and a grounding meditation

7:45pm: 4/5 presenters*,  followed by Q&A. Socialising until...

9:15pm(ish): Presenters finish, socialising begins…

10:30pm(ish): Close. Realistically the event doesn’t close until we call it a night…  Please leave quietly. (Trains back into town leave at 21:44, 22:07, 22:14, 22:37, 22:44, 23:07… a few mins walk away). 

*and if we're lucky, Basil, our charming resident fox (pictured) might make one of his regular unscheduled appearances before he takes on the night shift at Plot 9.

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Travel info: Arrival

Plot 9 is in east Greenwich, a few minutes walk from Maze Hill Overground Station which is served by Southeastern and Thameslink trains. You can catch a direct train to Maze Hill from any of: Greenwich, Deptford, London Bridge, Cannon St, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon, St Pancras or West Hampstead.  

VIDEO DIRECTIONS: It's a short route from Maze Hill station to Plot 9 but a little bit convoluted so please look at video directions here showing how to get there from Platform 2 of Maze Hill where you'll alight if coming from central London.

It is also possible to travel via North Greenwich and get the 188 or 422 bus, alighting on Trafalgar Road or Woolwich Road and walking up Vanbrugh Hill, turning right onto Restell Close. The space is halfway down the hill on the right. Look for the bright green campervan and the entrance is 10 metres beyond it on the right.

Google maps pin. Postcode: SE3 7RD

If you're driving then there's usually plenty of free space on nearby Humber Road (free parking from 6:30pm).

Plot 9 is not (yet) wheelchair accessible.  

Travel info: Leaving

To head back into town at the end of the event, trains leave platform 1 of Maze Hill - only a 1 minute walk from Plot 9. 
Trains back into town leave at: 21:44, 22:07, 22:14, 22:37, 22:44, 23:07…
Please leave quietly as it's a residential area and any noise complaints could put the fledgling venue at risk.

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Refreshments - BYO

Please feel free to bring any refreshments and snacks. Water will be available for humans and dogs.

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Toilets

On arrival: Toilets in the ticket office on platform 1 of Maze Hill station are open until 7:30pm

We have a proto-loo (a bucket in a covered area) and hope to have a composting loo soon, pending permission and funding. Also a toilet in Andy's flat adjacent to Plot 9 by request after the presentations.

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Diversity

Andy and Clare are committed to bringing a diverse range of voices to Plot 9 Presents… that represent the local community and wider-London. One of our most frequent conversations is about how to make this happen. We know that we have some way to go. We'd love your help by suggesting people or organisations that would help us reach out to a more diverse range of presenters for our fledging event. Whilst a particular monthly line-up may not seem diverse, please judge us by the whole series of events over the coming months and years as we strive to grow our networks beyond where they are currently.

Donations

This is a free event but Plot 9 is happy to accept your donations which can be your time, plants, ideas, a donation when booking a ticket or via paypal to support the development and maintenance of the space. Plot 9 has been built almost single-handedly by Andy and he has funded it himself until recently. Andy has welcomed donations of plants from the Moat Foundation and Greenwich Park and is grateful for their support, alongside friends and family that have lent a hand and much moral support. We have ambitious plans!

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Keeping in touch / interested in using the space?

Plot 9 is available to hire (by donation) for events that align with our values of providing an inclusive, therapeutic space for activities that support community-building, well-being, nature-connection, creativity and learning. Send Plot 9's Instagram a dm or email andy.millns@gmail.com if you're interested in talking.

To stay informed of events at Plot 9 and Andy's other projects or to get involved, fillout this form to join our mailing list and Whatsapp Community or follow Plot 9's Instagram.