PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, AUGUST 2013

On the first Wednesday evening of every month, Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) meets upstairs in The Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street.

Our stimulus tonight is the statement, "The world is what you think of it. So think of it differently and your life will change" (from Paul Arden's Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite (Penguin, 2006). The stimulus is provided - and the session facilitated - by Clare Carr.

Last month's stimulus was "Can you choose what you believe?". This month's veers at times toward "Can you choose what you think?"

This is the first session of Leicester PIPs I have attended in five months. It's good to be back!

Visit Leicester PIPs page on Facebook (and check out The Crumblin' Cookie too, while you're there).

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, MARCH 2013

Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) meets upstairs in The Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street, first Wednesday evening each month. Our stimulus tonight is the question, "Is bias good?" facilitated by Lezley Finch.

There's a live gig in The Cookie Jar (the basement venue in The Crumblin' Cookie) so we have to strain to hear each other - not necessarily a bad thing for this sort of conversation, when we should be paying close attention to what we're saying.

I missed the last two session at the end of last year and there was no meeting in January. It's good to be back!

Visit Leicester PIPs page on Facebook (and check out The Crumblin' Cookie - and The Cookie Jar too - while you're there).

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, FEBRUARY 2013

On the first Wednesday evening of every month, Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) meets upstairs in The Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. Our stimulus tonight is the question, "Is chronic boredom a problem that politicians should worry about?" facilitated by Clare.

I missed the last two session at the end of last year and there was no meeting in January. It's good to be back!

Visit Leicester PIPs page on Facebook (and check out The Crumblin' Cookie too, while you're there).

CITIZENS' EYE "OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY" AT THE CRUMBLIN' COOKIE

I'm pleased to accept an invitation from John Coster and Tina Barton to the Citizens' Eye "Office Christmas Party" this evening in the Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester's High Street.

There's plenty of food and plenty of disco in the Cookie Jar, downstairs. The Cookie jar is an adaptable venue that's been used for all sorts of public and private events since it opened earlier this year. Last thing I attended in the Cookie Jar was the launch of Rethink Your Mind on 12 May this year (see blog post for that date). I'm glad to see Peter Hirst here, who was behind that successful evening in May.

The food's very nice (with arguably the best hot cheese chilli dip I've ever tasted) but the music's a bit too loud for my ageing ears, so I spend most of the evening upstairs, nursing a couple of gingerbread lattes (tis the season to be jolly, after all). Since I've become such a devotee of Strictly Come Dancing over the past few years, I can't really imagine myself up on the dance floor just throwing shapes any more - and I'm not brave enough to tackle an American Smooth (and I wonder who might be willing to throw caution to the wind and dare partner me for that, in some imagined fanciful AU).

In lieu of that, I enjoy some entertaining and stimulating conversation, particularly with Linda Faulkner regarding some improvised experimental music sessions taking place in Leicester once a month in which I might be able to get involved and with Dan Lamoon of From Dusk 2 Dawn (aka FD2D) on the topic of intrapreneurship. We discuss its difference from entrapreneurship and how it might be the key to pulling Leicester Council of Faiths out of its funding nosedive, preserving my post and restoring our fortunes in the year ahead. I had never heard of intrapreneurship before; thanks to Dan for enlightening me.

I welcome a couple of comments from people whose opinion I care about regarding the blog. Though hardly more than throwaway lines, they stiffen my resolve to get new posts out on time and to catch up on a growing number of Lost Episodes before the turn of the year. A busy festive season of filling in the gaps throughout 2012 awaits!

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone involved with Citizens' Eye, The Crumblin' Cookie and to all whose paths they cross. Stick together and we can take on whatever 2013 has to throw at us!

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, OCTOBER 2012

On the first Wednesday evening of every month, Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) meets upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. Our stimulus is the two-part question, "What is honour? And does it matter?" Clare facilitates this evening at what proves to be one of the most lively enquiries we've had for ages, carrying on well beyond the final thoughts that close the formal part of the proceedings.

Visit Leicester PIPs page on Facebook (and check out The Crumblin' Cookie too, while you're there).

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, SEPTEMBER 2012

On the first Wednesday evening of every month, Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) meets upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. Our stimulus this time is the question, "Is it time to call an end to the 'War on Drugs'?"

I arrive late and five out of the thirteen people here have to leave early, so the experience is a little disjointed this evening. But there's still an enjoyable wide-ranging exchange of beliefs, experiences, ideas and opinions.

Visit Leicester PIPs page on Facebook (and while you're there, check out The Crumblin' Cookie too).

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, AUGUST 2012

First Wednesday of the month and Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) is meeting upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. Fourteen of us are gathered here this evening, including special guest Paul Doran, one of the founders of the original Philosophy in Pubs in Liverpool more than a decade ago (that's Paul in the photo above, with facilitators of the Leicester group, Lezley Finch and Clare Carr. Our stimulus this time is the question, "Is it immoral to ask the plumber for a cash discount?"

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, JULY 2012

Leicester PIPs (Philosophy in Pubs) meets on the first Wednesday of the month, upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. There’s a dozen of us around the table and our stimulus this evening is an article from The Guardian blog by Jon Henley, reproduced below.

Mount Everest: the ethical dilemma facing climbers

Since the first recorded deaths on Everest in 1922, 233 people have lost their lives trying to reach (and return from) the summit of the earth's highest peak. As expedition organisers' experience has grown and equipment improved, the ratio of fatalities to success has fallen. But the sheer numbers of people now climbing Everest – more reached the summit on a single day in 2010 than in the 30 years after the first 1953 ascent – means 70 deaths have occurred since 2000 – including 10 this year.

The deadliest situations occur when large numbers of climbers, all relying on the same forecasts, decide to take advantage of a weather window to make their summit bid at once. This can quickly lead to dangerous, oxygen-wasting bottlenecks of two hours and more, particularly on the more popular southern approach pioneered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, which follows a single rope line over almost 10km to the summit.

That is what happened when Leanna Shuttleworth, 19, and her father Mark headed for the 29,035ft summit on May 19-20. Up to 200 others had the same idea; six of them lost their lives. "There were quite a few bodies attached to the fixed lines and we had to walk round them", Shuttleworth said later. "There were also a couple who were still alive." Shuttleworth describes coming across one man who she assumed had perished. "As we passed he raised his arm and looked at us," she said. "He didn't know anyone was there. He was almost dead. He was dead when we came back down." Their sherpa did manage to help one of the people they found who was still alive.

The debate around ethics on Everest has raged since 2006, when an estimated 40 climbers passed a dying British mountaineer, David Sharp, without stopping. A week later a US climber, Don Mazur, and his team gave up their own summit bid to co-ordinate the rescue of an abandoned Australian, Lincoln Hall. He survived. On the weekend the Shuttleworths reached the summit, an Israeli climber, Nadav Ben Yehuda, carried a Turkish-born American climber, Aydin Irmak, to safety on his back for eight hours. So should the Shuttleworths have stopped and tried to help? There are no formal guidelines issued to climbers, and we don't know the risk it might have meant for their own lives. But can it ever be right, in the words of mountain leaders Chris and Simon Holloway, for climbers to "carry on to the summit, while there are living people dying behind them"? Ben Yehuda, a former soldier, described his decision to stop as "automatic". For others, it plainly isn't. In an era when climbing Everest has become a form of extreme tourism open to anyone with $10,000, has human life come to count for less than the fulfillment of a personal ambition?

RETHINK YOUR MIND LAUNCH EVENT

This evening I'm at The Cookie Jar (downstairs at The Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester's High Street) for the launch of Rethink Your Mind. 

Rethink Your Mind is an innovative new mental health project from Safe Inside Safe Outside (SISO), a well-being organisation run by service users for service users, supported by Advance Housing and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. SISO encourages and empowers service users to engage in creative outlets (e.g. music, writing) as part of the process of dealing with their conditions.

I found out about this project through Pete Hirst (who is a member of the board of SISO). Pete has gained a strong positive reputation with his band Refuge. I first met him when I taught Creative Writing for ReMit (Leicester City Council's education provision for adults with long-term mental health issues) at the Watershed Youth Centre. Pete was in my Tuesday afternoon group there. That’s Pete in the photo above (all smiles, on the left) with Lyndsey Shaw, Manager of SISO.

Rethink Your Mind will feature a competition, starting October 2012, based around the positive brief, "With good mental health I have ...”. SISO ran a similar competition last year, the entries of which were quite dark. They’re going for a different outcome this year, hoping to create a new public profile for mental health.

Cllr Manjula Sood, Assistant Mayor, who holds the Cabinet brief for Health and Adult Social Care (and, of course, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths), speaks in support of SISO, of this project and of Pete in particular.

Lord Kamlesh Patel, Patron of SISO, will host an award presentation for the completion in the House of Lords next year.

When event kicks off, there are two dozen people in the room. By the time I leave, some two hours later, that’s grown to at least three dozen. And the evening wasn’t over yet as Refuge were yet to take the stage for a live set.

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

The Leicester chapter of Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS) meets on the first Wednesday of the month, upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester High Street. There’s a dozen of us around the table, including (as always) a few newcomers. Our stimulus this evening is an article from Metro about the student jailed for inciting racial hatred in his tweets about the footballer Fabrice Muamba.

When I've been talking about PIPS with various people, they usually ask what it's about and how it goes. I've copied this from the national PIPS website, which says it very well:

"The PIP's are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres). [...]

"Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!"The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.

"Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.

"No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy."

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

The photo above features the mosaic created for the Crumblin' Cookie earlier this year by Laura Hadland and is taken from her blog, Ray Mears Extreme Housewifery. Normally, I'd vary the photo used on a blog entry like this, which recurs regualry on the first Wednesday of each month. But I really like this picture and am happy to keep rolling it out for a while longer. Follow Laura on twitter: @Morrighani 

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS, APRIL 2012

The first Wednesday of the month is time for Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS), upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester High Street. There’s a dozen of us around the table this evening, including a couple of newcomers. Our stimulus is the question, "Should the police and security services in the UK be allowed to access data without a warrant?"

When I've been talking about PIPS with various people, they usually ask what it's about and how it goes. I've copied this from the national PIPS website, which says it very well:

"The PIP's are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres). [...]

"Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!

"The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.

"Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.

"No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy."

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

The photo above features the mosaic created for the Crumblin' Cookie earlier this year by Laura Hadland and is taken from her blog, Ray Mears Extreme Housewifery. Follow Laura on twitter: @Morrighani

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

The first Wednesday of the month is time for Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS), upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester High Street. There are 20 of us around the table this evening, including some first timers. Our stimulus this evening is the question, "Should Leicester welcome all its visitors?"

When I've been talking about PIPS with various people, they usually ask what it's about and how it goes. I've copied this from the national PIPS website, which says it very well:

"The PIP's are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres). [...]

"Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!

"The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.

"Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.

"No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy."

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

The first Wednesday of the month is time for Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS), upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester High Street. Our stimulus this evening is the question, "Is it ever right to cheat?"

When I've been talking about PIPS with various people, they usually ask what it's about and how it goes. I've copied this from the national PIPS website, which says it very well:

"The PIP's are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres). [...]

"Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!

"The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.

"Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.

"No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy."

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

CITIZENS' EYE 2012 PROGRAMME LAUNCH

At The Crumblin' Cookie this evening, for a party launching Citizens' Eye's 2012 programme. Preparatons continue apace for their coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics later this year, that will see Leicester the biggest media hub outside London.

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

It's the first Wednesday of the month (first Wednesday of the year, even) and that means the regular meeting of Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS). Seventeen of us gather upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. There were nine of us last month. Five of those attending this evening have come for the first time.

Our stimulus this evening is a quotation found on the website of the Holocaust Education Trust: "When we understand where prejudice leads, we can stop it in its tracks."

When I've been talking about PIPS with various people, they usually ask what it's about and how it goes. I've copied this from the national PIPS website; it says it very well:

"The PIP's are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres). [...]

"Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!

"The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.

"Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.

"No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy."

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

OCCUPY LEICESTER

The outpost in Leicester High Street continues to grow. This photo was taken around 2200 this evening, on the way back from the regular monthly meeting of Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS) at The Crumblin' Cookie.

Visit Occupy Leicester's website.

Join Occupy Leicester's Facebook group.

Follow Occupy Leicester on Twitter: @OccupyLeicester

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

First Wednesday of the month means the regular meeting of Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS) at its new home, upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie in Leicester's High Street. This evening, nine of us are gathered to discuss the question, "Should we always be a Good Samaritan?"


Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.


Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

First Wednesday of the month means Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS), upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie in Leicester's High Street. This is our first time meeting at this new venue, having decamped from our first home at the Swan & Rushes, Infirmary Square. Our enquiry this evening: "Is it really better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?"

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Naw-Rúz @ the Crumblin' Cookie

Bahá'ís from city and county met up at the Crumblin' Cookie in Leicester High Street this lunchtime, to celebrate their New Year (Naw-Rúz) together. Pictured above is one of the Crumblin' Cookie's "Special Milkshake". Nothing "Bahá'í" about it, nor is there anything traditionally "Naw-Rúz" about it. I've just fancied one for ages and thought it a good day to treat myself to one!

Visit the Crumblin' Cookie's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18393182424&ref=ts