archival solstice shenanigans

it occured to me yesterday that last weekend saw the first solstice in a long time there wasn't an "official" LRM event

as some of you know i have felt for a while i have spent so much time facilitating that my own creative practices and observances have been neglected and i just couldnt fit this in. Apologies for those who felt an absence

I'm going to repost last years communique on the blog because its another useful excercise to feel connected to the loitering spirit.

i wish you a joyous and wonderful last week and a bit of december however you spend it and whatever you belive in.

Hopefully I will be using time away from my day job to update the website and spend time replying to all the wonderful emails folk have sent; as ever iIapologise for my tardiness.

If anyone would like to propose making me a kept woman i may reconsider my aversion to selling out so i can concentrate on the psychogeographical revolution full time!

glittery love and mulled wine M x

solstice communique from the LRM 2007

The LRM recently thought about celebrating our first birthday but we decided to build a space rocket and play our melodica instead.

It didn't feel like a birthday because we're still not quite sure we exist. But it's a year since the Accidental International Festival of Psychogeography, which is when we were given a name and started the first Sunday shenanigans (how long does something have to go on before it's a tradition?)

Our manifesto is disgracefully over due; we keep getting distracted by the beauty of flowers growing out of the side of buildings and the tragedy of commercialisation. It will appear one day, when you least expect it, but generally we like chaos more than rules.

We are becoming afraid that some people think psychogoegraphy is just for first Sundays or special occasions and one must be taught how to drift or heed expert directions. This is anathema to the LRM.

Don't listen to us! We like DIY (but we're scared of power tools) and we never, ever want people to think we are custodians of some secret knowledge.

Symbols, maps and anniversaries matter because we invest them with power. The solstices have always been an important time for the LRM; we like to melt time and blur the boundaries between the worlds of myth and materialism. Last year we collaborated with The Shaping to dematerialise the gruesome Beetham Tower which for us represents much that is rotten within our glorious city but we won't dwell on past glories.

This solstice practicalities mean many LRM collaborators are spreading magick and mischief outside Mancunia but still we wanted to join together to celebrate both the sacred and profane so we politely ask you, whoever, whatever and wherever you are, to join us in a great experiment and help answer the eternal question 'but what is psychogeography?'

We invite you to play a game with us at a time and place of your choosing on 22nd December 2007.

These are the rules for you to ignore:

1 Stop what you're doing and tap your heels together. Spin around if you feel like it. (the LRM accept no liability for any accidents that may occur due to over zealous spinning so please take care)

2 Head off in whichever direction takes your fancy and wander at will until you want to stop.

3 As you traverse, aim to discover something new and marvellous and look for something you have never seen, felt or listened to before (we bet there will be something)

4 Repeat as desired at intervals through out the day 5 Or don't. If you think this is pointless you may be right. But we think it will be fun and we can create something beautiful from it.

6 If you do have a solstice adventure please send us a few notes, observations, random words or pictures. We will weave them together into a virtual derive, and thus create a psychogeographical dot-to-dot linking freelance flanauers into a unique and amazing work of art (trust us, we will)

Friends and comrades, this Solstice reclaim your footsteps, invent your environment and discover your own psychogeography.

We don't know what it is.

With glittery love and golden apples fromThe Loiterers Resistance Movement

PS The LRM would like to thank everyone who has inspired, frustrated, bumped into, walked, talked and raised a glass with us this year, whether you consider yourself a loiterer or not. You have changed our course and bought new ideas, joy and mischief. We thank you all whole heartedly for this and hope to get lost with you again in the new year

signs and wonders

It feels a little wrong to have a favourite first sunday but the metaphysical treasure hunt was surely one of the most fun and insightful i can recall. A report will appear sometime soon but in the meantime here are the instructions so you can play it yourselves (pictures are some amusing signs I've seen recently and not related to the text)

Thanks to Alan for collating, and indeed creating most of, the clues. He truly is a loiterer of distinction

Ask someone not playing the game to print off the instructions, cut them into separate strips, fold them and put them in an envelope.

Make groups of no more than 5 or 6 people.

There are 20 instructions in your envelope – take them out one at a time over the next 2 hours – some of the instructions will take 10 minutes to complete, others can go on for the rest of the walk.

You don’t have to complete one instruction before you pick another – it’s good to combine them.
The instructions are open to interpretation – be creative, have fun and play

UMBRA(GE)
Follow your shadow – if you don’t have a shadow try to find some

MEMORIALS
Cities mark their history in stone – once the names have been carved they are rarely heard again. Find a memorial and read aloud the silent words and names.

ROADWORKS
Find a hole in the ground – instead of thinking of it as an inconvenience, look at it as an impromptu open-air exhibition or archaeological dig.

SIMULACRA
Unintended images are everywhere. Look out for simulacra, they are eruptions of secret history. They mean things...

CIRCUIT
Walk between two arbitrary points or around a block for the next 10 minutes – note what you discover on each circuit. Walk until the streets themselves are taking you for a walk.

NO U-TURN
Find a way to get to where you want to go by walking in the opposite direction.

DANGER
Push to the edge of your comfort zone. Notice, if you reach it, the point at which you no longer feel safe. Then take one more step...

DAY OF THE DEAD
The streets are filled with zombies. Move through the crowds without giving yourself away. Observe the dead and their places covertly. Make sure you always have an escape route. Survive by moving.

NATURE WALK
Look for the non-human. Maps drawn by snails. Birds nesting in alcoves. Spiders decorating windows. Trees on rooftops...

ON REFLECTION
Use the big plate glass windows of your city as cinema screens. Watch them like a movie-goer. Or be a director and call the shots.

EDGES
Identify and explore edges, where one place becomes another. Travel along a boundary – if you think it’s safe enough, leap across it. Are the edges clear cut? Or are there transitional zones? Enjoy the blurred liminal territories.

THE HEART OF THE CITY
Ask as many people as possible for directions to the heart of the city. Keep asking...

PUBLIC/PRIVATE
Fin somewhere to be private in a public space.

WINDOW ART
For this week only there is a citywide exhibition of art displays in the windows of the city’s homes. How many can you find?

READ THE CITY
The pavements and streets are a book. Look for the writing on the city – on posters, on rubbish, on graffiti, on manhole covers, on bins, on drains, on street furniture. Use this to guide your drift and rename the streets.

STOP!
Stand still, stay exactly where you are for the next 10 minutes and watch the human traffic ebb and flow around your island of calm.

QUIET!
For the next 10 minutes do not speak or use any sign language. Observe how the dynamics of the group affect the drift when you don’t communicate verbally.

DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT?
Follow your ears – let the sounds around you guide your drift. Hunt for places of quiet or noise – listen out for accidental music and the mutterings of the ghosts under the pavements...

SAFARI
You are now on the hunt – track down as many lions, horses, elephants and ducks as you can find.

EVEN A STOPPED CLOCK TELLS THE RIGHT TIME TWICE A DAY
Look out for clocks on buildings and in windows. How does the city run like clockwork? How does time affect the use and meaning of a place?

hulme environmental project

A message from our friend Jonathan (who some will remember for organising the garden city social which so memorably celebrated the end of Get Lost... actually did I say memorable? Its very blurry in my mind but I know it was fun!)

I am working with David Haley who runs the Art and Ecology MA at MMU. We have submitted a project which you can vote for here: http://www.mmu.ac.uk/fellowship.php?area=riversup until Friday 12th December.

We want to run a series of projects with people in Hulme, working with local groups to promote the environment and biodiversity in Hulme, now and in the future. With the MMU looking to move into Hulme we think it's important that local people have a say in what happens and that whatever is built addresses environmental issues.

Please circulate to people who might be interested.

Thanks very much,Jonathan and David

geography is sexy

oh yes it is

i am really excited about http://engaginggeography.wordpress.com/ and plan to go there for some post christmas inspiration, if anyone else fancies the trip let me know and maybe we could travel together (dont get me started on travel today, oh manchester what have you done?)

The great metaphysical treasure hunt this sunday....

Dear friends, flaneurs, flippertygibbets and miscellaneous super heroes The great LRM metaphysical treasure hunt will take place THIS SUNDAY December 7th 2008, 2pm and the Manchester contingent will be gathering at the John Rylands Library on Deansgate

We will be finding hidden beauty, discovering portals to parallel universes, liberating forgotten ghosts and conjuring magic tricks to help us gain new insights into and amazing views of our familiar environment.

The clues are such they can be followed wherever you are in this world (and we are pretty sure the next one too) so if you would like to take part please email loiterhepzombie.co.uk or text 07974929589 The latter is preferable because then you can experience real time updates (whatever that means)

All shenanigans can be shared via our brand new wiki (cheers to Julian)
http://loiterers-resistance-movement.pbwiki.com/ and also the flker pool http://www.flickr.com/groups/816115@N22/ (thanks to everyone who contributes – all those pseudonyms confuse me but there are some amazing images - some posted here now) Both of these, alongside http://www.nowhere-fest.blogspot.com help document the essentially ephemeral experience of the LRM so please share your thoughts.

At the risk of turning this bulletin into an Oscar speech I’d also like to thank everyone who participated in the planning meeting last week (the report is imminent I promise – my apologies for the delay, I have been afflicted by the modern clichés of information overload and extreme business) There are some very intriguing and wonderful ideas brewing; many will be manifesting early in the new year so watch the (un)usual spaces.

This Sunday promises to be the LRM’s most spectacular expedition yet and I for one am very excited. All you need to join in is an open mind and appropriate clothing – no whinging about the weather please – and I really hope you will partake either in Manchester or via the etheric link that joins loiterers everywhere when they stop to feel their way around begin to transform their mundane surroundings into a kaleidoscope of joy

The city is an adventure, please come and play out with the LRM

Much love, glitter and hot chocolate

Morag x

Map of the week

http://photographywithoutborders.blogspot.com/

Disturbing but not all together surprising mapping of a Smash Edo demo

Wiki

Hello boys and girls.

A pal has just informed me that we're on Wikipedia. I didn't know that.

We're right here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loiterers_Resistance_Movement

Gosh, we sound impressive. Although it doesn't mention the Get Lost festival.

Love,
Seán

clues needed..please help

Dearest friends

Please accept apologies for my breaking the one message a month rule, but heas our friend says 'no forbiding allowed' and i hope you will think it worthwhile

Next sunday is decembers extravaganza uniting loiterers across the world (and even in that london) on a quest... and a quest requires clues... so that is what i'm asking for.

please send me (OFFLIST - DONT RELPY TO ALL - IT'S A SECRET) a phrase or a place or somesuch that can be found anywhere - and thus can be applied wherever a loiterer finds themselves at 2pm next sunday.
all will be revealed next week but in the meantime please shower me with clues and shhh remember not to tell

if you want to take part in the shenanigans outside manchester please send a mobile or pager number or details of how to talk to some other receptacle that can accept sms text messages. If this isn't possible don;t despair i will employ my secret army of passenger pigeons but they need a bit more notice so let me know as soon as you can that you want to take part

Woooh its gonna be exciting... in the meantime please keep warm and enjoy some chilly mischief

love
M x

identity cards and racism are too of the most un-loiterer friendly activities i can think of. I am too angry and sad to think of anything witty or insightful; i'd ranted elsewhere anyway but tomorrow is a bleak day and our friends from no borders and no2id are doing something about it. i send them love and power and i'm sorry i can;t be there but if anyone get backs from liverpool and makes it to the britons meeting let me know and i'll buy you a pint. Heres the message:


On 25th November, the government will begin introducing ID cards for non-EU nationals living in the UK. We invite all opponents of social control to join us at a protest in Liverpool outside Reliance House (the Border Agency’s offices and a short-term immigration prison) at 12 noon on that day. Reliance House is one of the six centres in the UK for ID cards processing. Other groups campaigning against ID cards on that day are Manchester NO2ID and Liverpool Defy ID and we hope to see Merseyside No Borders activists there as well.

We will travel there as a group, meet at 9am on the steps of the Student Union of Manchester University, Oxford Road. We will try to get everyone into minibuses leaving from there or take the train together from Oxford Road station (£6.20 return with railcard) if there are too many of us.
In Liverpool, assemble in Exchange Flats at 11am and then move around the corner to Reliance House, 20 Water Street, L2 8XU, for the protest from noon to 1pm.
Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=334008&y=390449&z=0&sv=L2+8XU&st=2&pc=L2+8XU&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf


The six Border Agency centres that have been setup to take fingerprints and photographs are Croydon, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Glasgow. From the 25th in Croydon, and then rolled out to the other centres over the coming weeks, overseas students and non-EU spouses of UK residents who apply for an extension of their stay in the UK are required to attend one of the fingerprinting centres and have their biometric data registered with the Home Office.

Due to delays, some foreign students are already told not to make travel plans for the near future. Failure to comply could mean the revoking of the permission to stay in the UK, and non-attendance at the centres could lead to fines of up to £1,000. Lecturers will be required to aid the Home Office in identifying foreign students with low attendance rates. Those students would then lose the right to study in the UK.

The law used is the 2007 UK Borders Act, whereas ID cards will be rolled out to UK citizens as part of the 2006 ID Cards Act. The attack on foreigners living or wanting to live in the UK is part of the Home Office’s ‘points-based system’, whereby migrants wanting to settle, study or work in the UK have to earn enough ‘points’ to be granted the right. The rationale is purely economic, in that it allows the government to select foreign workers and students who it deems useful to the economy.

The issue of ID cards is thus an inherently political one. It is no coincidence that ID cards will be rolled out to non-EU nationals first. This is another mechanism for the control and management of undocumented migrants, further reinforcing the division between legal and ‘illegal’ residence status. Whilst we reject ID cards entirely, on 25th November we aim to highlight the links between ID cards and migration management in particular.

No Borders! No Nations!
No One is Illegal


Manchester No Borders
e-mail: manchesternoborders@riseup.net
Homepage: http://www.manchesternoborders.org.uk

Forthcoming events

Dear friends, elemental beings and other comrades in loitering

I hope this email finds you discovering treasure under the dirty pavements and glory in the gorgeous autumn sunsets.

The LRM are having a bit of a planning meeting / social shindig / moonlit derive on 7pm next Tuesday 25th November at The Britons Protection pub Great Bridgewater Street

It would be splendid to see you there. In case you are worried the meeting bit sounds like hard work it won’t be and I dare say a map of the event will not resemble an equilateral triangle

This is an opportunity to discuss some of the fantastic ideas floating around in the ether at the moment and see how we can make them happen. Probable subjects include

• Future First Sundays and derives on other days. If you have an idea for a walk you would like to share please don’t be shy; the LRM are here to support you in any way we can.

• Artistic interventions and exhibitions – again there has been a lot of talk which it would be marvellous to see manifest (including the cake map)

• Collaborations with other organisations such as Greater Mapchester, Urban Research Collective, Bitc, Marbella etc – how can we work together to further everyone’s aims? (Representatives from further afield will be joining us to let us know what’s happening)

• Loitering outside the city – various trips have been suggested, also how can we link with lone loiterers and those outside Manchester
• Subvert the City with film and music and the University of Interesting Stuff (calls to action will be revealed on Tuesday night)

• The website / forum / mailing list – what do people want?

• Documenting the LRM – we have some money specifically to produce a new leaflet or some such.

If you have any ideas or materials to contribute but can’t come please do get in touch and we’ll convey your thoughts. Remember manchester is an imaginary city; you can join with us wherever you may be

Also if you want to join us later we will be out awandering but are highly likely to end up in another hostelry so please text or call to find us. As ever the hotline is 079 749 29589 and the email is loiter@hepzombie.co.uk.

www.nowhere-fest.blogspot.com has more information and some important points about why we do this for love, not money

Glittery love and power

Morag x

PS Decembers first Sunday (stardate 07.12.08) is going to be very special and focuses on helping anyone, anywhere free their inner loiterer. It will take place at 2pm local time anywhere you want it to. More details and the location for the mancunian meet up to be revealed next week but in the meantime please put the date in your diary and have a rummage for a coin and a dice

Communique on money and The LRM to those who think i don't know when i'm being ripped off

The LRM is run entirely by volunteers. We do this for love and not money. This doesn’t mean we are all ideologically opposed to artists or theorists getting paid for their time and skills BUT the LRM is not an opportunity to make money or build a career.

Anti capitalist ideals are central to our project and we don’t want to add to the illusion that you need money to have fun or be creative. Not being paid does not mean the LRM has no value; rather it is priceless. Psychogeography is for everyone and anyone can be an expert; we don’t want to create a hierarchy where some contributions are more deemed important, and therefore more worthy of material payment, than others.

We do not and will not ever charge an attendance fee; there are many barriers to engagement with psychogeography and we don’t want money or lack of this to be one of them. (As an aside language and the academy are others; we strive to keep the situationist ideals alive on the street not in the classroom or cage; flanuers by their very nature thrive in the open air and we want to reach people who are alienated by the academic elite and corporate sponsored art. This does not mean we have not read your books or formulated theories but for now we focus on deeds not words)

We are open to all who are curious about our work. We did not invent psychogeography; we don’t own these ideas; we build on foundations laid by illustrious forbears and our work, in turn, will be destroyed by those we inspire. Any and all contributions to our project are welcome and anyone can post to the website if they wish. We embrace outsider art, DIY creatives and self taught mavericks alongside those with traditional skills and specialist knowledge; within the LRM those distinctions dissolve and all ideas are valid.

There is an element of trust implicit in our openness and I know we (and myself personally) have been exploited because of this but I’d rather meet 20 good people and one rogue than be closed to our community so we will continue with this folly and trust in natural justice that those who disrespect us will never find what they seek here.

There is no psychogeography anymore; there are multiple versions, as many stories as the city can hold, infinite and contradictory. We welcome diverse views, it makes us richer and stronger and more interesting. This isn’t just a nice ideal; we mean it as demonstrated by that symbol of new Manchester The Beetham Tower. Some of us call it Satan, others call it home (personally I’m bored of it now; we dissolved it so now its irrelevant)

We own the city but it’s not ours to sell. Play is a fundamental human right; we want you to join us having fun. It would be rude to ask you to pay. Of course others think differently and that is their right.

My favourite slogan from May 68 is “Forbidding is not Allowed” and we welcome other groups and ideas; there is enough room for us all and psychogeography deserves multiple interpretations and manifestations. The revolution always fails because factions argue about the correct way to tie shoelaces; we don’t want to get distracted by petty squabbles and so respect your right to make money and artistic reputations on the back of our hard work, we just ask you do not steal our unique identity too.

Selling out is a bullshit notion; we live in a recuperated society where everyone is compromised. We believe in being true to your soul and looking beyond the material and we hope others will not exploit us for this. We don’t knit our own internet or live in on the big rock candy mountain. Most of us have day jobs; some may have a psychogeographical element to them (mine does not) None of us can claim purity of soul or deed. I do not know my price yet but I may one day be offered enough to abandon my principles and all that I cherish. I hope not but people are subject to change as much as cities

We believe in honest and transparent communication so to be clear: The LRM have received small amounts of money in the form of grants and donations. They came with no conditions and have gone towards group activities, notably during Get Lost.

Money has been spent on flyers, leaflets and artists expenses (travel, materials etc) because people should not be left out of pocket if they choose to work with us. However no one has been paid for their time or received any wages. All expenditure was approved at open meetings and you are welcome to see our accounts. I personally have lost money and not received any expenses because I choose to subsidise LRM activities but I will not be a martyr to the cause and do not expect others to do the same.

To the LRM it seems self evidently hypocritical to rally against consumerism but charge people for the privelege of hearing us. It would be as wrong to instigate a membership fee as it would to fill public space with advertising and petty restrictions. The streets are our playground and the best games are ones we invent. Don't just be a spectator: join in, become us, make mistakes and grow with us as we discover new universes and old.

We are re-imagining the world we want to live in, creating it ourselves and redrawing the map in our own image. This is far too big an opportunity to squander away haggling over something as vulgar as cash.

Please join us in our mission to keep psychogeography free and for everybody; we can’t offer you money but open your heart and mind and leap into a world of treasures beyond compare with The LRM. It’s a way of life but not a lifestyle choice

Greater Mapchester

What: Meeting to discuss community mapping in Greater Manchester. What ideas do people have for maps? How can the maps link to OpenStreetMap? What practical steps are needed?

Who: Everyone is welcome.

When: 7pm, Thursday 20 November 2008 (arriving from 6pm)

Where: Marbella Café, Sunshine Studios, 52-54 Newton St, Manchester, M1 1ED (nr Piccadilly. See http://marbellacupcakes.com/ for map)

Questions: Email Jon Porter (jon@archenfield.net). If you can't make it to the meeting, send in your ideas and we'll read them out.

Background: If you're not familiar with OpenStreetMap, it would be useful to take a look at http://openstreetmap.org/

Boredom is always counter revolutionary

Bored in the City take their name from my favourite classic situationist text Ivan Chtchglov's Formulary for a New Urbanism (The Hacienda must be built) which you can read in its entirety at http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/Chtcheglov.htm

Rather more in keeping with this website I have been meaning to share the text below for some time, it was originally written for the zinefest treasury and is an attempt to introduce the curious to the basic tenets of the Situationist Internationale and explain a little of their enduring fascination

Why I love the situationists

I can’t hope to do the situationists justice in a hastily scrawled midnight ramble as I eagerly await zinefest; these are just thought scraps. I urge you to investigate them – a really fascinating movement and one with lasting repercussions on popular culture.

The slogans overleaf are all graffiti from Paris in May 1968 – when situationist agitators and others conspired to oh so nearly overthrow the government. If they sound like clichés now it’s because they have been appropriated by every flavour of punk, anticapitalist and radical and also diluted and recuperated by advertising and the mass media.

Like all the most interesting movements the situationists were gloriously messy and inherently contradictory – talking about everyday revolution in elitist language and riddled with internal schisms – but they were passionate, sexy, mischievous and wise.

*******************************************************************************
Audience member: ‘Can you explain what situationism is all about?’
Guy Debord: ‘We’re not here to answer cuntish questions’
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1961

In answering this cuntish question, some unraveling needs to be done. The situationists were anti-capitalist: they were against work and looked to play and spontaneity as the cornerstones necessary to modern life. As they saw it, modernity, limited work and relative abundance, city planning and the welfare state produced not happiness, but depression and boredom.

Boredom to the situationists was a modern phenomenon, a modern form of control. With God missing (presumed dead), people felt their condition not exactly as a fact but simply as a fatalism, devoid of meaning, which separated every man and woman from each other

They sought to understand that moment when people gain insight into the alienated patterns of their everyday lives, prompting the question: ‘I’m not happy- what’s wrong with me?’ In a new world of unlimited leisure each individual might construct a new life just as in the old world a few privileged artists had constructed their representations of what life could be. It was this desire that drove 25 year old Guy Debord to gather artists and writers avant-garde into the Situationist International.

From Situationism and Rock
by Paul Fitzpatrick (Perfect Sound Forever October 2000)

********************************************************************************

Key terms (very briefly and clumsily explained by me)

The Spectacle Modern cities are constructed as a series of spectacles, created by authority and the mass media to dazzle and control. Disrupting the spectacle and reclaiming the city – and our lives – are key to the situtionist manifesto. Overthrowing the capital system will create a revolution of every day life which we can experience in an unmediated and non-hierarchical way

The SI (Situationist Internationale) see picture was formed in 1957 and was a fusion of members of several smaller groups all interested in the avant gaurde, radical Marxist politics, dissolving the barriers between art and life and rejecting dogma. The key theorist was Guy Debord. Members included Alexander Trocchi, Ralph Rumney, Michele Bernstein, Raoul Vaneigem and others

Detournement – the act and art of: turning the system’s images against them (literally divert.

Recouperation: the dominant hegemony appropriating radical art and neutering its power

Psychogeography: Debord defined it as‘ the study of the precise effects of geographical setting on the emotions and behavior of individuals.’ It includes both objective and subjective views of the city Later, Will Self said psychogeographers are ‘glorified local history buffs’ The concept has evolved and the LRM definition consists of a Venn diagram you can find throughout our literature

Derive or Drift – the practice of aimlessly wandering through the city, abandoning usual restrictions and experiencing all is glory and horror. It’s a key tool in psychogeography

A Flaneur is described by Baudelaire as a "gentleman stroller of city streets", the notion influneced the development of psychogeography and streches back a long way. Despite not being a gentleman I consider being a flaneur my vocation.

Inspired? There are many situationist resources on the web. The original texts and much else can be found here at http://www.bopsecrets.org/ and there’s some interesting articles at http://www.notbored.org/index1.html

bored in the city? don't be anymore, they are back!

I was pleasantly surprised to recieve an email from old friends and comrades at Bored in the City. Having been silent for some time it's good to have them back.

We first crossed paths many years ago when i was foolishly handed a megaphone at a demo against something or other (i am not being flippant but my memory is playing tricks; I know i was wearing a big pink ball gown and there was a free market... i suspect it was buy nothing day which in retrospect always had a muddled but good hearted message) anyhow i was enticing people with vegan cake when Mr Bored approached with bag of photocopied flyers Urbis would not let him distribute and uttered the immortal greeting 'so, are you a situationist then? I've been looking for you...'

That message then in full:

The Bored in the City Collective will be doing psychogeographical drifts around the streets of Manchester and we invite people to join us to make sense of the city and to creatively imagine what cities of the future could look like. We will be conducting a series of drifts across the city centre doing things like using maps of Cairo and New York to walk around Manchester, using dice to determine where we will go and generally enjoying getting lost in the city!

We will be meeting under the Queen Victoria Statue at Piccadilly Gardens at 11am on 11 Jan, 24 Jan, 8 Feb and 21 Feb in 2009.

Bored in the City and friends will be undertaking a psychogeographical investigation of Manchester in order to understand urban space and to question and challenge the capitalist order of things. It is a further aim to produce some writings of the investigations conducted and those that would like to be involved should contact boredinthecity@hotmail.co.uk.

The Bored in the City Collective are a group of curious people interested in wandering around cities and range from flaneurs, artists, activists, theorists and other people. We're a friendly bunch and we like to meet new people, so do join us :)

There will be further information at www.boredinthecitycollective.blogspot.com

The emoticon is entirely BitCs own and proof I do not edit contributions to this blog. A central revelation of the aforementioned The How Yellow is Manchester tour, and a point illustrated by The Yellow Paper was about the diversity of (dis)organised trails around our city and how walking is central to understanding our city; personally i'd add that a variety of voices makes for a far richer psychic landscape too. I have had my differences with BitC but frankly that's part of the fun; from philosophical disagreement comes imaginative evolution and we have spent many a happy pint debating both the sacred and profane in psychogeography.

new news

The LRM have been in the news - thanks Natalie (and congratulations on transforming my ramblings into something coherant!)

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw86IlxrJpqiNwF6IHqi&realname=The_Loiterers_Resistance_Movement,_Manchester

there's also another interview here, it's quite old but still relevant. It was the first time anyone asked me about the LRM and i was dead happy, although my ego was dented when i realised i'd been mistaken for a man (a rant on gender and geogrpahy coming soon)
http://www.gomag.com.au/feature-articles/on-a-roll-by-ella-mudie

The next LRM event will be a planning meeting / general social / moonlit derive on November 25th, more details coming soon along with how YOU - yes you, wherever you are - can help make LRM history on December 7th

November First Sunday and Beyond

Dear friends, flanuers and fellow loiterers

Lot's going on this month, i hope some of this hits the spot that x marks on your personal map...

November 1st Sunday Come and celebrate All Souls' Day, the feast of the faithful departed and a belated Samhain with the LRM.

We'll search Manchester for traces of the King of Witches, listen to the whisper of ghosts beneath the pavement and share Dee-lightful stories of our favourite Elizabethan alchemist. Be prepared for a few ghoulish surprises, magical street art and some spectral silliness too...All welcome to join us, but kids must bring an adult with them.

The drift will last approx 2 hours so please dress appropriately (zombies and vampires will get a special treat), bring an open mind and sensible shoes and remember to take care when crossing roads - we don't want any new departures.

Meeting point is 2pm Sunday 2nd November in the downstairs bar at the Cornerhouse Oxford Road, if you're feeling shy please feel free to get in touch first, otherwise look for the short lass with pink hairThis Thursday - special guests being inducted into the LRM world

This Thursday evening, 30th November I am very excited to be meeting with members of Antwerpen Averechts http://translate.google.co.uk/translathl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.antwerpenaverechts.be/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dantwerpen%2Baverechts%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX (excuse the very long link, I'm assuming everyone else is as ignorant at languages as I am)

Antwerp counterproductive organizes tours about their city today but with an eye to the city yesterday and tomorrow which they say are (and I love this phrase) Critical but with a warm heart for the city and its inhabitants.

I'll be talking about the LRM and then we will be exploring public space and how it feels in the dark. If anyone wants to join us that would be splendid – please email or phone me for details as the meeting points a wee bit sketchy but it will be 7-9pmish and end somewhere warm for a chat and a drink.

I'd really appreciate your support and will furnish you with the beverage of your choice. They are particularly interested in guerrilla gardening if anyone knows anything about that hem hem.

There will be another moonlight derive, general social and chance to plan future shenanigans on November 25th 6pm onwards - more details to follow but just to prove I do listen to those who can't come out to play on First Sunday or indeed in daylight

We now have some LRM (un)business cards to give out - so when loiterers meet curious bystanders they can invite them along, although please be respectful and remember they are not get out of jail free cards. It is an offense to flyer in the city centre without a permit.

Finally I heartily recommend going to Cube to discover How Yellow is Manchester? http://www.cube.org.uk/exhibitions/detail.asp?id=189

Please forward this as you see fit, also apologies if you don't want it or only get it too late, the email list is still a bit messy but some kind folk have offered to help and I promise to fix it very soon

Thanks as ever for your interest, insights and inspiration

glittery love and toffee apples

Morag x

PS The LRM has always aimed to be an international network and we now have loiterers across several continents – so we're planning a synchronized something for Decembers 1st Sunday…. If you are loitering anywhere outside Manchester, from Altrincham to Antarctica and fancy taking part in our biggest experiment yet please let me know. Contact details as ever are email loiter@hepzombie.co.uk phone 07974929589 website www.nowhere-fest.blogspot.com or join the facebook group

November 1st Sunday

Come and celebrate All Souls' Day, the feast of the faithful departed and a belated Samhain with the LRM.

We'll search manchester for traces od the King of Witches, listen to the whisper of ghosts beneath the pavement and share Dee-lightful stories of our favourite Elizabethan alchemsit. Be prepared for a few ghoulish suprises, magical street art and some spectral silliness too...

All welcome to join us, (kids must bring an adult with them) The drift will last approx 2 hours so please dress appropriately (zombies and vampires will get a special treat), bring an open mind and sensible shoes and remember to take care when crossing roads - we don't want any new departures.

Meeting point is 2pm Sunday 2nd November in the downstairs bar at the cornerhouse, if you're feeling shy please feel free to call or email first, otherwise look for the short lass with pink hair

glittery love and toffee apples

Morag x

PS I finally have some LRM (un)business cards to give out too - so when we meet curious bystamders we can invite them along. Oh and I hope everyone notices this is A FULL WEEK in advance - yes, this month I actually saw first sunday coming!

another clue

in the mystery photo quiz (scroll down for the details) becuase i don't want to give an unfair advantage to facebook members....

the bench you seek is within sight of, and roughly eqidistance between, what some loiterers call Satans Tower and the place where evil wailings (or top pop hits depending on if you agree with the dionysian or not) were recorded in manchester

i'll post another picture which will probably give the game away... x

free spaces

Tuesday night there is a meeting about the future (or not) of The Basement Social Centre Collective Thats 14th October at the Friends Meeting House (Mount Street) 6-8pm (becuase 24 lever street is still closed post fire and flood)

a chance to find out whats happening with the basement collective, think about whether manchester wants or needs another social centre and find out what everyone has been up to since the fire last year please come along, share your thoughts and help shape the future. If you can;t make it but have something to say please email mustsocial@yahoo.co.uk

I won't witter on again about the place but heres a poem by Chloe Poems

BASEMENT CAFE
Jigsaw puzzle of afterthought
And heartfelt pieces
Misfits fit and click into
Each other's pictures.
The cautious tread careful
As the gregarious dismount their politics
Rogue riders and bicycle cops
Screeching
Dust dirt and gravel.
Ideas are flown like kites and happen.
It's where Carol Batton Tickertapes
And decorates with poetry.
Bookshop like a clam twitching on
A seabed of radical oratory.
Performance space speculates
"Whatever next?"
Held together by blutack
And hope.
Moth-eaten northern nirvana
Of atheist blessed anarchy
A hidey-hole
A headquarters
A honeycomb
A home

Yesterday was International Action Day "Freedom not fear - Stop the surveillance mania!" http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/content/view/242/144/
which I'm sorry passed me by. By coincidence I was in Liverpool to look at art but it felt shallow as i walked down church street and saw police arresting people for the audacity of having an information stall in a public space and talking about freedom of speech. Scarey. More details when i have them. I did Richard Wilsons Tuning The Place Over - best bit of public art I've seen in a long time

Love Morag x

Ps this is lovely and very inspiring: power and love to the climate rushers www.climaterush.co.uk

a treasure trove amidst some meanderings

I bloody love the LRM. It’s a real privilege to meet so many great people and experience our city in so many ways. This year its felt like loitering has really gathered pace (which is an oxymoron but I hope you know what I mean) and I feel a gentle glow of what I think might be pride mingled with all the glorious possibilities that lay ahead.

I was, frankly and delightfully bamboozled by the number of folk who turned out last Sunday. Thank you one and all! Drifting about together felt very special, I heard some great stories and it reminded me of the power a group has to push boundaries, open doors and become greater than its individual components.

However, sometime I worry there’s a tendency to see First Sunday as something extraordinary – which it is and paradoxically it isn’t. Please remember loitering is a state of mind that can be enjoyed any day and any where and to assume The LRM expedition is the only true derive would be very wrong. The city holds a multitude of tales and no one can know them all.

Solo or duo loitering has its own intense pleasures – a different power comes from inconspiousness, independence and quiet contemplation. It can transform even the most mundane commute into an adventure.

So what makes a loiter? I think it’s an insatiable curiosity and an open mind. Loitering is about looking for the details, the buried treasure, the interesting detrius; it’s listening to echoes and whispers and ghosts and songbirds and its asking the unanswerable questions. Where am i? How did I get here? Where am I going? Who built this place? Why? What’s it for? Who is here – and who is not? What kind of imagination built it and how can it evolve? What signs and wonders have been left here? Perhaps most importantly how does it make me feel?

I was pondering all this on Monday as I enjoyed the iridescent autumnal air and a few moments peace in the city. I was thrilled to spot an apple tree laden with fruit intertwined with rosehips very close to the bustle of big business.

Foraging for food and making art from found objects are key to the loitering way of life. Apples are of special significance because if there is a patron deity of the LRM it must surely be our lady dischordia HAIL ERIS! Seek out the golden apple… This one wasn’t golden but it did look delicious and tantalisingly just out of reach (ah! The story of my life!)

I knew I would never devour it because it was so perfect and I dare not risk the dangerous climb. I merely sat for a moment to reflect on the fruits beauty. Handily the tree was positioned close to a bench; as I sat down I saw the bench had a very peculiar plaque on it. I can’t pretend to decipher the meaning of its inscription but it sounds vaguely smutty and made me laugh out loud for the sheer joy of our wonderful city.

A special prize is on offer to the first person who can tell me the location of the bench and another for anyone who knows the story of the plaque. If the riddle remains unanswered I will post more clues but with each clue the prize diminishes….

Merry puzzling and an even merrier weekend

love

Morag x

Some things for the weekend

A couple of beautiful online maps, I love the idea of rainy city stories ‘an interactive literary cityscape that enables you to click on a location in Manchester and read a story or poem set there’ http://www.rainycitystories.com/ I suspect I will be whiling away many an hour in its company

There’s a lot of LRM friendly art in Manchester at the moment – The Castlefield Gallery is hosting KISSS The Kinship International Strategy on Surveillance and Suppression which includes some gems, especially amongst the films you can choose from, although I found some of the work a little trite

http://www.cube.org.uk/ has information about a forthcoming show and critical walking tour asking how yellow is Manchester. Sounds intriguing!

I also wanted to share the blogs of a couple of loiterers who also happen to be fascinating people, clever blokes and really interesting writers.

http://templeofpegasus.blogspot.com/
http://www.d10ny505.blogspot.com/

Remember: boredom is counter revoluntionary and thinking is sexy

i spy

This is the text Alan distributed yesterday, which he produced with thanks to Wrights & Sights www.mis-guide.com who do some lovely stuff - the misguide to exeter is something to treasure. Anyhow, cheers to them and to Alan

In a climate of concern some of the LRM’s activities could be interpreted as activities one might expect of a spy, an undercover agent or a conspirator. Since 9/11, 7/7 and other worldwide incidents, notices have appeared in the media and public spaces cautioning people to be wary of unusual behaviour. Indeed some of this advice could be adopted as pure psychogeography in that there is encouragement to view the ordinary as potentially extraordinary.

The kaleidoscopic unsettling of the sense comes rapidly once we move from the passive gaze of the tourist to the intrusive, naughty, performative and inquisitive behaviour of the psychogeographer. To break the pattern of moving in a functional manner through the urban environment is to suddenly feel vulnerable to and free from the laws, lores and regulations of place. This sense can be uncomfortably heightened when one considers the obsessions and prohibitions built around the idea of property, race, sovereignty and security.

Some of the derives the LRM carry out may lead the walker to edges and edgelands that are assumed to be invisible, un-navigable, and beyond the expected daily itinerary of both local and tourist. Every city has its secrets and hush zones, ambient hubs, invisible boundaries, strategically sensitive installations and buildings that we may chance upon by running counter to the expected behaviour of the crowd. On the one hand, heightened perceptions may be to our benefit in an awareness of potential dangers and enjoyments, but on the other hand, we may, by degrees, become fearless and more able to take an unexpected detour down an alleyway or through a dark doorway. And in so doing, our activities, if observed by police, security guard or concerned member of the public may be misconstrued. Something as simple as entering a shop with no intention to buy could rouse suspicion, could lead to a supposition that the drifter is a thief.

The very activities we are promoting as ways of re-seeing the world could be, for all we know, the kinds of methodologies being suggested by more covert, formal or informal militaristic groups. The right to roam where you wish will be different in different contexts of time, place and recent history. It leads us to consider ways in which we may become more aware of these concerns and thus more critically engaged in issues of society, security, human rights and freedom, as if, in some utopian manner, the LRM’s activities may lead to artistic activism that may in some ways influence the story of the city and even the planet.

With fear and terror on the wind and in the streets, we may need to face that alleyway and dark doorway in a different manner. As Bertolt Becht said, “Change the World, it needs it.”

Piccies from Yesterday

Hello darlings,

The photos I took from yesterday's dérive are now up on our Flickr group.

You can find them HERE! Feel free to add your own.

The picture below, though, deserves far better exposure than just a Flickr group.

Love (after a thump from Morag),
Seán

thanks

to paul v for the picture in the last post. what a cheery sight!

October news

Dear friends and fellow loiterers

I hope you are well and happy and finding joy in the iridescent autumnal light. Lots of news to share this month so I’ll not dither

October’s First Sunday Shenanigans will proceed from the café at John Rylands Library, Deansgate, THIS SUNDAY October 5th at 2pm. There we will be revealing a secret mission which, if you choose to accept it, will add a whole new dimension to your loitering fun…. We’re keeping the details sketchy so it will be a wonderful surprise

The day before the LRM will be joining forces with The Manchester Women’s Design Group (MWDG) for an Urban Wander Saturday 4th October, 12noon-2pm. We’ll be thinking about how the city makes us feel, how we interact with it and if our gender shapes perception. Maps, like roles, can restrict and liberate us… This is a collaborative adventure. As well as interrogating the ‘man made’ environment, we’ll be sharing tales and hidden herstory.

The meeting point is in Urbis Café but unlike other LRM events you must book in advance for this one, please email Hannah at WDS on hberry@wds.org.uk Men and children are welcome to join us. MWDG is a group of women from interested in gender and the built environment. They share information, learn and lobby decision makers to ensure that proper attention is paid to the needs and aspirations of women in way our towns and cities are planned and designed. Their website is at http://www.wds.org.uk/

Our clever friends who prove GPS isn’t all bad The Open Street Map Project are hosting another Manchester mapping weekend on 25th 26th October. The venue details are yet to be confirmed, more details are available from http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Mapchester

If anyone technologically minded has a spare afternoon I would really like to get the LRM mailing list and website sorted this month and will gladly repay you with cake. In the meantime, as ever, apologies for cyber tardiness and cross / lost postings but the streets tempt me so much more than the screen

Last month we introduced the world to CCTV bingo; no one has called ‘house’ yet so the prize is still up for grabs. Do get in touch if you would like a game card. More information about the issues raised can be found at http://www.no2id.net/ or from an international situationist perspective http://www.notbored.org/the-scp.html

I have been trying to write something about the psychogeographical effects of the enhanced security and paranoia the labour conference bought to town. I’ve been too angry for coherance but that, along with various apocalyptic stories I’ve been told recently, have left me feeling a bit scared and gloomy so I’ve hatched a plan to harvest these feelings and transform them into an LRM extravaganza….

Trick or treat? Where are you scared of in Manchester? Is there somewhere you’d love to go but fear stops you investigating? Please let us know at loiter@hepzombie.co,uk or via the facebook group and get ready for a terrifying experiment to celebrate Samhain…. Let’s turn our fear into a positive energy… together we can transform Manchester

Future plans If I can be metaphysical for a moment where should the LRM be going? If you have an idea or a dream of a derive, walk, game or random psychogeographical project we would love to help make it real. It would also be good to have a few future First Sundays planned and publicized in advance. Please, do share your thoughts on this and don’t be shy. The LRM is an open collective and we welcome everyone

I hope our wandering paths cross soon

Love and toffee apples

The loiterers resistance movement

PS don’t forget… 2pm at John Rylands café, Sunday 5th October

hark! the blowing of trumpets

Some people have been saying kind things about us on the internet

the awe inspiring Eugenia P Niblock whose writings we particularly treasure http://diaryofabluestocking.blogspot.com/2008/09/loitering-with-intent-to-make.html

and the indie pop darlings behind an exciting new zine and fun times at
http://pullyourselftogethermcr.blogspot.com/

Other people say we are bringing psychogeography into disrepute; this also counts as a compliment in our book but it was down the pub not online

This Thursday - Andrew Big Smoke

Hello all, not strictly psychogeographical but the event is the result of serendipity and my wanderings in the desert 4 years ago

Cree Prophet Andrew Big Smoke is in Manchester to share stories and wisdom. Please come and join us this thursday (25th september) 7pm at the Friends Meeting House, Mount Street (off Albert Square)

To be truthful I don't know what to expect but I feel it will be inspirational. Please also spread the word as I know its short notice and i really want people to know about this xx

listen to paddington

Below is a message from our friends at Manchester No Borders.... I am especially glad that they are going on another tour; the last was by all acounts a great success but sadly clashed with lots of TRIP activities (entirely my cock up that one) so i hope lots of people take this opportunity to see a completley different world within our city. The LRM stands in solidarity with No Borders for many reasons; put simply racism is stupid and shit, everyone is valid, noone is illegal, compassion is good and freedom of movement, like loitering, is a basic human right. Incidentally, am I the only person who thinks those 'Manchester Welcomes the Labour Party Conference' posters are blatant incitement to criminal damage?

On the 20th September the Labour Party Conference will return to
Manchester. To coincide with this there will be a demo organised by Stop The War and a counter conference organised by The Convention of the Left. Manchester No
Borders will be hosting a number of events including a block on the demo,
workshops, a tour of Manchesters immigration system and a punk and poetry
evening.

Saturday 20th September: 'Freedom of Movement' block on
the demo with the Anarchist Federation. Meet at 12:30pm All Saints Park.

Sunday 21st: No Borders tour of Manchester. An alternative
insight into the Capital of the North, taking in the physical outposts of the
government agencies and corporations involved in the UK asylum and detention
system. Meet outside the Mechanics institute 11am.

Manchester No Borders presents: 'Punk and Poetry!' 7:30pm
- late. Downstairs at the Saki Bar, 2 Wilmslow Road. Music, magic and poetry.
Donation.

Tuesday 23rd:Imagining a World Without Borders: Manchester
No Borders hosts a series of talks discussing the history of migration and
resistance, power and borders, and how we can begin to imagine a world without
them. University of Manchester Student Union 7pm.

See you there, Manchester No Borders.
http://www.nobordersmanchester.blogspot.com/

Flash, Bang, Wallop!

What a picture!

Blimey there are a lot of cameras in Manchester. During today's dérive I took more than 50 pictures of them in the space of about an hour and a half.

And nobody tried to arrest me - I'm almost disappointed.

Anyway, they can be found at the Flickr group if anyone fancies a look.

See y'all soon.

Love,
Seán

The revolution will not begin in shops or require a uniform

An advertisement has been bought to my attention that may well give entirely the wrong impression about loitering and I wish, on behalf of the LRM to squash the evil lies being pedaled before they damage the reputation of loitering beyond repair.

A television commercial for some kind of outdoor supplies emporium is currently being broadcast. The name of the establishment escapes me but it features an over zealous goon running about extolling the virtue of some particular cut price tents.* He then goes on in a rather vexatious manner to explain you can also purchase the correct clothing for all manner of pursuits – including hiking, climbing and loitering!

When I heard this I nearly chocked on my noodles with the audacity and indignity of the very idea and urge you all to ignore this filthy nonsense

There is NO correct attire for loitering except that which you feel comfortable and stylish in.

I would venture to suggest ensuring you dress appropriately for the weather, wear comfortable shoes and be sure to add some glitter – but that is my taste and the LRM welcome anyone, no matter what they look like or believe in. Further more we reject attempts by the capitalist system to recuperate our actions for its own nefarious ends and believe loitering should be available to all, regardless of income. Indeed the right to loiter is a basic human right that should be enshrined in law not used as a tawdry attempt to sell so-called leisure wear.

The LRM: reclaiming the city for everyones pleasure. even those with crap hair.

*Just to clarify the LRM love camping and do recommend you procure something waterproof to shelter in but we do not endorse any particular brand. In fact we suggest sharing, borrowing or swapping stuff as much as possible so you need less money and thus have to work less to accrue it - becuase less work equals more time for loitering equals a happier and more just world. Taa daa! xx

September First Sunday

Greetings all loiterers and lovers and friends old and new (especially if you found us via zinefest and our maptastic goodie bag)

Hooray! Its that time of the month again – yep, this Sunday is First Sunday and due to popular demand we’ll be hosting a walk focused around the CCTV cameras which guard the people’s republic of Mancunia. Who is watching us and why? Let’s have some fun and spot the undiscovered wonders on our streets. This promises to be an enlightening and fun mooch with a twist with some special, spectral guests…..

Please join us this Sunday, 7th September, 2pm at Café Pop (Oldham Street, basement of Pop Boutique) I’ll be there from 1 O’clock enjoying one of their scrummy veggie roasts so if you want a natter first don’t be shy.

Plans are afoot the derive may end in folk music and refreshments but as ever proceedings will evolve with the flow of participants. And don’t worry; we may lead you delightfully astray but we promise it’s all perfectly legal.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us on our mission to remap Manchester; the only requirement is an open mind….

For more details please email loiter@hepzombie.co.uk call the hotline on 07974929589 or find us at http://www.nowhere-fest.blogspot.com/ or hidden in the depths of dreaded time sucking facebook monster

Love and cup cakes

Morag x

PS I’ve have been asked to forward an invitation for a very good cause from Dale whom many of you will have met at LRM events….(nb unlike LRM events this isn’t suitable for under 18s and you need to buy tickets in advance)

Wine Fair Friday September 5th, 6pm – 9pm at Spotlights Bar, Library Theatre, Manchester Central Library.

Come and try over 50 top wines from around the world (and some rather fine malt whiskys) in an exclusive venue There is also a private bar and live entertainment. Tickets are a tenner - literally pennies for each wine you try. Tickets can only be purchased IN ADVANCE from my shop in Manchester City Centre. Oddbins-0161 228 0849. We're just off Saint Peters Square a few yards up from the Waterhouse pub. PROFITS-if we make any, go to the mental health charity MIND, in memory of a long-term friend and colleague who recently passed away. This is a ridiculously cheap quality night out

The LRM at Zinefest THIS SATURDAY

Saturday 30th August

MANCHESTER ZINEFEST RETURNS!!
at URBIS, ground floor, between midday and 6pm

Lots of stalls full of wonderous zines and self published works as well as workshops on paper manipulation with Dans La Matin, Zines, a Radical Politics discussion Music Zines debate and possibly more alongside an exhibition of some form. Bring a zine, opinions, eyes, ideas or just some pocket money.

For more details please email info@manchesterzinefest.org.uk

We're really excited about this and would like to send a big cheer to our inspiring zinester friends for all their hard work organizing it. The LRM will be there with a few copies of a selective history to swap for almost anything. We'll also be facilitating a couple of activities and it would be splendid if you could join us in between browsing

Radical History Tour (1-2pm)
Come for a wander with us and discover the hidden history of one of the oldest and strangest parts of Manchester. Share tales of alchemy and levitation, demons and angels, revolutionary writers, street drinkers, secret tunnels, hanging ditches, moving pubs, digital cathedrals, music, mayhem and more

DIY Map Making Workshop (3-4pm)
How did you get here? What's the city mean to you? How does it make you fee? What would you like to change… Maps have the power to control and define our landscape; an a-z misses out the glorious wonkiness of life. Lets make some DIY maps that show the view from here and spread the word - cartogography can be sexy

Glittery Love and treasury tags

Morag x

PS news of September's first Sunday coming soon and apologies for all unanswered emails and facebook messages; I've been off gallivanting but am slowly catching up…. also please forward this message to anyone who might be up for it. thanks xx

wooohoooh

yep, i'd like to echo what sean said - it was a revelatory and magickal walk - and welcome to all the new loiterers who joined us.

i'm getting ready to go to proflux and i am thrilled but also terrified (i hate those pesky plane things, they scare me witless) but damn it: i'm crossing the ocean to host a twisted tea party that will include the premier of the manchester cake map, radical morris dancing, cross cultural ranting and assorted shenanigans. oh and maybe the return of the bench project....
http://provfluxv.wordpress.com/
http://www.pipsworks.com/

i'm planning to blog about my adventures as they happen but i've still not transcribed my trip report so please don't shout if i'm tardy

love and swedish fish

morag x

ps thanks to my fairy godmother for helping me to fly and to all the pipsters who have been so encouraging - can't wait to meet up with you all xx

Keep the Caduceus Flying

Hi all,

I'd just like to say thank you to Pegasus and Alchemy man for the excellent and informative Caduceus walk which we enjoyed today.

If anyone wants to play Spot the Occult Symbolism, I've put my photos on the Flickr group page, and Sara will follow with hers soon.

You can find them HERE!

Love,
Seán

NEW AND IMPROVED - THE CADUCEUS WALK II

By popular request a repeat performance of a walk around our city centre taking in the esoteric and weird Mysteries of Manchester.

During this walk we will be unearthing the mysteries of Manchester’s esoteric architecture - from a theatre built on Kabalistic and Rosicrucian dimensions and Manchester's famous three-sided, seven-tiered municipal building to the home of the greatest Elizabethan Magus and the ancient library that houses many great esoteric works. All thematically linked by the mysterious ancient symbol of the Caduceus.

Saturday 2nd August 11am. Meet inside the Royal Exchange Theatre Foyer (probably somewhere near the bar as it has seats and tables).

Thanks to Pegasus and Alchemy Man for arranging this

quote of the day

The city of cats and the city of men exist one inside the other, but they are not the same city.

Italo Calvino

tripping over

glad to see the trip blog http://trip2008.wordpress.com/ is still active and has some updates on some splendid sounding international events. There is also a shout out for feedback from the TRIP conference; if you attended please do share your thoughts via the website or email (I belive participants recieved a questionairre)

i (and i'm sure my fellow loiterers) would also love to know what you thought about get lost - what worked, what didnt, ideas for the future, ways to improve and reach new people etc etc. Please share your thoughts. Reports, pictures and found objects also very welcome. The LRM hotline is now working again if you would like a natter or as ever you can email loiter (squiggleysymbol)hepzombie(dot)co(dot)uk but please be patient if a reply takes a few days as I don't always get time to check my inbox

From the LRM archives #1

becuase i'm still tired and a wee bit poorly but i want to keep the blog active... more get lost action reports will appear soon... but in the meantime this is the introduction to Where are You? Manchesters First Accidental International Festival of Psychogeography. I've resisted the urge to edit or amend....

View subject to change but this is what we can see now. It’s a few hours before the festival starts so please excuse our poor grammar and giddy bewilderment

When I first heard the word psychogeography I had a wonderful turnaround moment of clarity, a little epiphany. It encompasses lots of things I’m fascinated by but I still find the best way to explain it to you is with a picture.

Names have such power – they give life and strength and meaning although that’s something different to everybody of course. But they limit too and it’s the same with maps – its hard not to be seduced by boundaries, Perhaps I like making maps because I’m useless at following them, A straight a-z misses out all the splendid wonkiness of life.

If you asked 20 people to draw a map of the basement they would all make something different and I bet none of them would resemble the ordinance survey or a fire plan.I’ve always loved aimless wandering and exploring, my favourite pastimes include catching random trains and finding secret passages across town and (best of all) watching urban wildlife… but hey! I’m not just an idler, I’m a flaneur and this is a derive… disorientation as experiment, play as an artistic statement…

The Loiterers Resistance Movement is about this and more. We got our name from Phaedra who was lamenting the lack of uncommercial public space in Manchester; she said having fun in Brisbane gives you a suntan but in Manchester all you get is as ASBO.

Sometimes it feels like its all about money and power in our post bomb nirvana. Every space has an advert on it and why is Canal Street the way it is? Why aren’t there any nurseries or greengrocers or haberdashers in the village? Who made gay a business opportunity? How does that make you feel and what if it’s meant to be your space but you don’t feel welcome?

But there’s still magick too if you want to find it.Did you know the grass mounds by Urbis are designed to make you want to play – but are deliberately to small to hide behind? I like that bit of town, all the kids making it their own territory. Legend has it there’s a medieval street somewhere underneath the triangle – its where the great Elizabethan alchemist John Dee lived when he was sort of banished to Manchester. I imagine his ghost finds the museums shiny glass surface an excellent scrying stone. (You can see the arse mark of a devil conjured by Mr Dee on a chair in Chethams but that is another story)

Anyway, I was thinking about all this on Sunday. We were taking pictures for the launch night quiz. The autumn light was glorious, everything was glowing and a friend and I were rushing about showing each other favourite haunts before the sun set… I’d love to tell you what we saw but then you’ll know all the answers and the quiz will be no fun… there’s some great prizes by the way, all treasure I’ve found on the city’s pavement… its amazing what you can find when you’re looking but I really ought to stop. Too much stuff is suffocating.

We walked home through the park, eating falafel and laughing at how beautiful it was and how peaceful – mostly because everyone’s too scared to go there at night. I would be too if I was on my own (that’s another map I want to draw, a collaborative one about street harassment but I can’t quite figure out how to make it work, what do you think?)

It felt like the only place in town the modern panoptican couldn’t see us – cameras everywhere these days and don’t get me started about the beetham tower, there’s not room. We discovered new constellations amongst the stars whilst a fox watched us trespass on his land. Back on the street halogen glowed and litter blew around us as we passed the old factory and a roadside shrine. There was some barbed wire on the kerb – a morag trap – I fell and cut my leg.

As above, so below

I hope you like the exhibition (mmm.maps are sexy) and enjoy the accidental festival. It should evolve over time, there’s some great work coming to us soon from 56a via Italy that I’m very excited about, plus reports from the various expeditions and explorations. Please add your own embellishments, stories, maps and musings.

The LRM are planning further actions and some point soon we might even publish our manifesto.Its central tenet will probably be that we like flowers growing out of the side of buildings and yuppification makes us sad.

Glittery love and golden apples

The Loiterers Resistance Movement, December 2006 xxx

funny but in some ways i feel we've travelled so far but in a different light it's all still the same.

important message just recieved

From our man in the wilds of manchester... hope it reaches all in time...

I`m afraid my enemies at The Ministry have foiled our plans to visit the Hanging Gardens of Castlefield but the expedition to the Lost World of Pomona will still go ahead.

The scouts I sent on today`s reconnaissance send back reports of PRIMEVAL JUNGLE, PTERODACTYLS, EXOTIC WILDLIFE and the remains of a LOST MONOLITHIC CIVILISATION!

Rain or shine, please come dressed for adventure - sturdy shoes or Wellington boots and a waterproof jacket are strongly recommended.Brave and adventurous women and children are welcome to join the expedition but please remember we will be ENTERING THE HEART OF DARKNESS!

Message ends....

A Great Customer Experience

A parting treasure scavenged (or sort of stolen) on the Cafe Nero walk/endurance test. All employees are asked/ordered to follow these instructions.

Thanks to all those who worked towards getting the Get Lost Festival off the ground. It was lovely meeting you all and I look forward to many more future encounters. Keep in touch!

Best wishes and sweet dreams,
Kaspar
http://treacleonline.wordpress.com

Has anybody found the precinct paradise island yet? Maybe it's disappeared.

July 1st Sunday: hanging gardens and lost worlds

the monthly LRM communique (july 2008)

Dear friends, comrades and loiterers old and new

Thank you to everyone who made getting lost in Manchester such a wonderful wander. It’s not safe to hang up your walking shoes yet because it’s first Sunday, this Sunday (July 6th) and thus time for our customary shenanigans and there are a plethora of delights planned…

At 12 noon Jenny wants to play and invites everyone to join her in keeping fun alive on our streets. Please bring along anything you may need to share your favourite street game such as a washing line skipping, chalk for Hopscotch, Jacks, marbles, string for cats cradle and empty cans to kick

The meeting point for the games fiesta is under the giant bicycle outside Deansgate train station – which will also be, at 2pm, the meeting point for a rather wonderful LRM derive

An Expedition to the Hanging Gardens of Castlefield and the Lost World of Pomona

Join us for an expedition to the fabled Hanging Gardens of Castlefield - a hidden garden in the sky - followed by an exploration of the Lost World of Pomona. Safari suits, pith helmets and elephant guns recommended!

In case of shocking discoveries or tropical storms the Knott Bar is nearby for Sunday lunch and fortifying Indian Pale Ale. There is also a child friendly rendezvous by the giant bike - Love Saves the Day - where intrepid families can enjoy fine tea and lashings of organic lemonade before the off. I dare say the exhibition will end with appropriate refreshments and story telling too….

If, like me, you can’t be in Manchester this Sunday but want to still engage in first Sunday psychogeography I’d like to heartily recommend the excellent http://www.stunned.org/ for ideas and inspiration; in particular you can generate your own Joyce Walk because somewhere, sometimes, its always bloomsday.

The create a walk function is here http://www.stunned.org/walks/index2.php It’s the work of Conor McGarringle whose Freedom Trail of Manchester was one of my personal TRIP highlights and I suspect his bono locator could come in handy if I ever get to Dublin

Please forward this message far and wide and accept my apologies for any cross posting. I’ll try and get a proper mailing list sorted this month (tech help welcome; I prefer staring at the streets to the screen) and in the meantime find The LRM (Loiterers Resistance Movement) on facebook, myspace and at http://www.nowhere-fest.blogspot.com/

Love, lollipops and autoharps

Morag xx

Ps don’t forget the Peterloo Massacre Memorial- Design Day on Sat 5th July 08 2pm to 5pm, Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess St more details from
http://www.peterloomassacre.org/, also please excuse the vulgarity but I’m trying to raise funds to take the LRM message and radical morris dancing to Proflux and have a month to raise £500 so if anyone has any ideas, or would like to buy a very nice cake, please don’t be shy

PPS the LRM hotline is temporarily broken but will be fixed very soon, in the mean time email queries to loiter hepzombie.co.uk

Reclaim History

HELP DESIGN A MAJOR MANCHESTER MONUMENT!

Peterloo Massacre Memorial- Design Day

Sat 5th July 08 2pm to 5pm, Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess St, M1 6DD

The Peterloo Memorial Campaign (who successfully lobbied to have the offensive blue plaque on the side of the Free Trade Hall replaced) are inviting everyone interested to join them for a design session aimed at exploring potential designs for the forthcoming Peterloo Memorial.

“There's been a disastrous history of whitewashing the memory of Peterloo” said group spokesperson Paul Fitzgerald “and we're determined this won't happen again. We're taking the initiative here, and inviting members of the public to have their say as to what they think would be an appropriate way to commemorate this crucial event in the City's history. When Manchester City Council begin considering designs for the monument they've committed to creating, we'll want the ideas that come out of this event to act as great examples of what a decent memorial could look like.”

Artists will be on hand for the day, to work with people who wouldn't normally want to put pen to paper. There'll also be a slideshow of previous Peterloo images and other inspirational monuments. People will be welcome to drop in for a short while if they're unable to participate in the full event...

ALL WELCOME!

www.peterloomassacre.org

the lrm hotline

The LRM hotline is broken; apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Hopefully it will be back soon; if anyone can unlock mobile phones please holler

I'm drifting down south this weekend but will still be some first sunday shenanigans in the city... more details soon.... xx

It's not just us. YOU ARE HERE

Manchester is a truly maptastic place.

Over the past two months, our friends at the Royal Exchange Theatre have been working with a collection of community groups, schools, adults and young people to explore the theme 'YOU ARE HERE'. This weekend, in The Studio, they will be hosting an exhibition of the varied outcomes of work from this project. The exhibition is open to the public 10am - 7.30pm on both Friday 27 and Saturday 28 June.

I heartily recommend a look around before the hidden rivers walk; tomorrow is also a last chance to see the LRM exhibition in one of manchesters most interesting spaces too