Fête of Britain Update: Off to Wigan | Reflections on Wrexham

It’s been a busy summer of all things Fête-organising and figuring out where we take it next.  The Absurd crew have been traversing the country speaking to community organisers from Sheffield to Luton, Wales, Hull and Manchester, and figuring out what we can all do together. 

So, as it’s been a busy week we thought we would give you a little update about what’s happened….and what’s coming next!

Fête of Wigan

Let’s start with what’s coming up. 

On October 31st we’re headed to Wigan, a town known for its unapologetic sense of humour and identity, and rich history rooted in the grit and hard work of its people. 

Sitting at the heart of Greater Manchester and Lancashire’s historic industrial landscape, Wigan has both Roman roots and a proud mining heritage. It was possibly most famously immortalised by George Orwell in his book The Road to Wigan Pier, an examination of the conditions for the working class in the north of England prior to WWII (and Orwell’s reasons for becoming a socialist). 

Wigan also became one of the spiritual homes of Northern Soul thanks to the legendary Wigan Casino, voted “the best disco in the world” by Billboard in 1978. Music is still woven into the town’s DNA — it’s given us ukulele-strumming comedy legend George Formby, rock giants The Verve, singer of 80s pop group Kagagoogoo, Limahl, and more recently, indie band The Lathums. It also produced the legend that is Sir Ian McKellen, rugby heroes such as trailblazer Billy Boston and Shaun Edwards, Olympic athletes Jenny Meadows and Keely Hodgkinson, and comedian Roy Kinnear. 

And then there’s the uniquely Wigan specials like Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, made in the town since 1898, the legendary Wigan kebab (a meat pie tucked inside a bread roll — quite literally a part of the local folklore, celebrated in songs, stories and sporting culture), and of course, the distinctive market town banter that apparently inspired Ian McKellen’s love of performance. The local Lancashire dialect, influenced by the town’s industrial and working-class history, is truly without equal. Sayings like “Ey up”, “made up” and “our kid” can be heard up and down every street. Much like the town’s music, food and sense of humour, Wigan’s dialect is right at the heart of its identity.

And we can’t wait to bring the Fête to town! On 31st October we’ll be based at The Old Courts on Crawford Street for a jam-packed day planned of music, art, food and conversation, to talk honestly about the issues shaping Wigan and Greater Manchester — and how we put power back into our own hands.

Our one day festival will be an opportunity to explore where Wigan is headed and where people think it should go. We’ll be working with dozens of organisations, community groups, and people interested in building their own democracy from the bottom up, including CommUnityCorner, Bylines Network, Wigan Council, Wigan & Leigh Archive, Ey-Up, inABLE Creatives Access Network (iCAN), Wigan Arts & Heritage Trust (the Old Courts) and more.

Artistic Director at The Old Courts Jonathan Davenport told us, "The Old Courts has always been about bringing people together and The Fête of Wigan will do exactly that. Music, art, big conversations and family friendly activities all under one roof is a pretty comprehensive offer.

“Events like this are incredibly important as they give the community the opportunity to speak and hear about what's shaping our town, what's important, what's unique and how we can all play a part in what goes on - proper equity."

Throughout the day we’ll be exploring what it means to find common ground and asking attendees what they might be able to agree on with those who vote differently to them. We’ll be joined by our friend Adam Brichto who will be helping us explore this across the day! He will also be appearing on Good Neighbours the evening before when we host drinks for organisers, shakers and doers in Wigan on the eve of the Fête.

If you can join us on the day, let us know via our Eventbrite page here. 

And if you’re from Wigan and want to get involved in the plan for the day, or might know someone who is, then reach out to us at hello@absurdintelligence.com!

Ffair Wrecsam

In September, we took our campaign for In Real Life Democracy to Wales again, joining forces with Climate Cymru and our friends TCC (Trefnu Cymunedol Cymru / Together Creating Communities) Wales to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Working with TCC and their partners, including Wrexham Africa Community CIC, Y The Lab, Lle Hapus, Wrexham City Radio, Extinction Rebellion Wrexham, the Wrexham Sewing Studio CIC as well as Bylines Cymru, Our House, and others, the three-day celebration was a chance to push back against the tide of polarisation, the flags on lampposts, and the fear that comes with not knowing your neighbours.

We landed in a place called Eagles Meadow, a shopping centre built in the 2000s on the land of the old weekly town market. Locals say it took life away from the high street. And then, like a lot of shopping centres, its ‘anchor’ stores – Debenhams, M&S – moved out and left big holes.

Those holes have started to be filled by other things - new ‘anchor’ spaces, reclaimed by the community. Community organisations like Wrexham Sewing Studio CIC, Lle Hapus and Y The Lab, that are genuinely providing affordable or free spaces for local people to sit down together, take part in activities and get to know their neighbours. 

The Wrexham Signing Choir stole the show on the day with their epic renditions of Eye of the Tiger and Living on a Prayer, as well as the local Diaspora community coming together for a Unity Walk through the town. There were sewing drop-ins, incredible performances, spoken word, breakdancing and DJing workshops, as well as a screening of the National Emergency Briefing and art blocking. Brilliant conversations were had throughout the day as the courtyard buzzed with people coming and going to and from watching Wrexham FC win at home to Southampton!

We were really chuffed with how many people came out and it was great to hear from our friends at TCC that the experience has given them the confidence to put on more events in the future. Wrexham, we can’t wait to come back!

Here’s a few images below from the brilliant Ethan Gilbert:

Elsewhere in Absurdity...

Diya went to see The Strokes at the O2! 🎸🎤

Diya and Charlie went to the launch of Nothing But Love at Camden’s Jazz Café. In the grand tradition of Rock Against Racism, can music be both catalyst and glue that sets Britain on a better course? Watch this space – exciting things are afoot. 💕👩‍🎤

Charlie saw The Social Reckoning, and a stellar Q&A afterwards with Maria Ressa, Roger MacNamee, Ava Lee (from our good friends People vs Big Tech) and Carole Cadwalladr. The presence of a silent Sarah Wynne-Williams (author of Careless People) totally brought home what shitfuckery is entwined in the fightback from the Broligarchy. The film’s great. Go see it.