And that’s another thing about the 1 in 12 club, you learn all these skills that you never knew you had because you’re just thrown into it, and it’s like everyone will muck in. And I met some very long-lasting friends that I still hold very dearly. So in terms of social life, it was my social life … I’m not in- volved at all anymore, but my friendship group is still people that were all 1 in 12-ers, and it’s you know, whenever you meet someone, even if you didn’t know them at the time, from the 1 in 12, if you find out they’re a 1 in 12-er, there’s that immediate sense of solidarity with them… But the 1 in 12 was kind of in action. It was doing it. Catherine (Peasant Collective) It was like, you would give up your days and time to do stuff, but at the same time the club kind of gave back. And then people would, like, kind of almost teach each other and sort of exchange ideas ... you kind of learn, like, cooking techniques from some of the older club members, and then at some point, another, a new wave. And it was, it was interesting, because they’re really tied in with the university. So the universities start and you’d sort of these younger kind of people. They were usually connected with the Peace course. Richard Claxton It became a key part of my development as a zine writer … the 1 in 12 club. I got introduced to desktop publishing because we had a computer and we had people who have the patience to tell one another what to do, or they’ll show them … my first time using a computer was at the 1 in 12. I also learned to sort of it inspired me to really look into cooking as well. The catering side of it. We used to do buffets for 50/100 people and things like that. We had some amazing cooks in there, and you know, we would be sharing knowledge and things. Richard Cubesville It turns out I had ADHD. Didn’t know that, and only recently know that. But because of that, it made me feel quite othered, I think. And so being able to be involved meant that I was actually in a learning environment without even realising it. There are so many life skills that I picked up. There so many skills that are actually employability skills … also that kind of mutual aid, the kind of working cooperatively, the making things happen. If you want something to happen, do it yourself or you’re empowered to do it within a community … all sorts of things which have gone on to kind of inform my career, really. Sally Stone
It taught me about everything that I later needed to know in life, like I learned about safer spaces there before it was a big thing that everyone was pushing. I Iearned about equality, not being racist, not being homophobic, or anything like that. I’m glad that that’s actually becoming a more widespread message, because it definitely wasn’t when I was growing up. Sean Barrett
PART THREE: A PLACE OF CREATIVITY
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