something to bang – like a baking sheet and a wooden spoon
your voice for a bit of singing / shouting
an instrument – drum, pipe…especially if you’re good at improvising
And dress up warm!
Wassailing, from the Anglo-Saxon phrase ‘waes hael’, which means ‘good health’, is a traditional, rousing ritual of fire, food, song and togetherness in nature in the winter depths, to celebrate the apple trees and to warm them up for the coming spring and to encourage a bountiful harvest. ‘Historic UK’ say There are two distinct variations of wassailing. One involves groups of merrymakers going from one house to another, wassail bowl in hand, singing traditional songs and generally spreading fun and good wishes. The other form of wassailing is generally practiced in the countryside, particularly in fruit growing regions, where it is the trees that are blessed.Wassailing (historic-uk.com)
Apple wassailing was traditionally celebrated by orchard & cider-making communities in the West Country, or in the Welsh border counties. It happened on ‘Old twelfy night’ before the Gregorian calendar – which falls on 17th January. Modern wassails happen all over the country throughout Janaury – see here – The Tradfolk Wassail Directory: Wassailing Events in the UK
At Squash our apple trees are a key partner in our 100-year vision – which began with the planting of apples trees in The Grapes Community Food Garden in 2010. If nurtured, an apple tree can live for up to 100 years. Our love of wassailing comes from a shared passion for ritual, being close to nature & community and feeling embodied in the seasons. We’ll also be welcoming the new annual guardians of the orchard (which fortunately involves eating cake).
We’ll be attempting to sing a wassail – one of many different songs of this tradition – which happens at different sections of the wassail – have a listen here The Gower Wassail – YouTube and check the lyrics below (we’ll have some printed out for those who’d like to join in).
Gower Wassail
A-wassail, a-wassail throughout all the town Our cup it is white and our ale it is brown Our wassail is made of the good ale and cake Some nutmeg and ginger, the best we could bake
Chorus Fol de dol,
De dol, de dol, de dol, de dol, de dol, de dee Fol de da ro Fol de da ri Sing too ra li o
Our wassail is made of the elderberry bough And so my good neighbours we’ll drink unto thou Besides all on earth, you have apples in store Pray let us come in for it’s cold by the door
Chorus
We hope that your apple trees prosper and bear So that we may have cider when we call next year And where you have one barrel we hope you’ll have ten So that we may have cider when we call again
Chorus
There’s a master and a mistress sitting down by the fire While we poor wassail boys stand here in the mire Come you pretty maid with your silver headed pin Pray open the door and let us come in
Chorus
It’s we poor wassail boys so weary and cold Please drop some small silver into our bowl And if we survive for another new year Perhaps we may call and see who does live here
Chorus
We know by the moon that we are not too soon And we know by the sky that we are not too high And we know by the star that we are not too far And we know by the ground that we are within sound
Chorus
4 MANDALAS by Tabitha Moses
4 Season Mandalaexhibition launch Saturday 29th January 10am
Join us to see all 4 displayed together on the front of the Squash building. Then from 11am-2pm join Tabitha to craft your own winter mandala.
MANDALA* MAKING;
This year, artist Tabitha Moses has been rummaging around the green spaces and gardens of Windsor Street, chatting to gardeners and thinking about the healing potential of plants. At the turning of each season, she has lead on the creation of spring, summer, autumn & soon to be winter mandalas.
The first, hand-embroidered during spring lockdown, shows the blossoms of fruit grown on Windsor Street. The second, summer flowers and third, autumn seeds artworks were made collaboratively, during more sociable times by visitors to the Grapes Community Food Garden.
Tabitha embroidered the years final mandala in the Front Room of Squash on the winter solstice, 21st December, between dawn (8.25am) and dusk (15.54), considering the growth and decay of the season. See photos below. An 8 hour playlist of winter sounds compiled by Clare Owens that accompanied the sewing can be heard here.
Tabitha said:
*”A mandala, which means circle in Sanskrit, is a symbolic design used in some spiritual traditions to represent the universe or provide a focus for meditation. The eight-pointed Windsor Street mandalas represent the cyclical nature of life and death as well as the days and seasons. Marking the seasons by making mandalas connects us to people across time – our farming ancestors whose lives followed a seasonal pattern – and space – the followers of the Eastern traditions where mandalas originated.The making of a mandala – whether by sewing or drawing shapes or by placing objects – is a calming, meditative activity in itself.
During this process I may not worry too much about how the final thing will look; I just enjoy losing myself in the making. It helps to empty my mind of the background chatter, focussing on the repetitive actions of sewing or drawing. In this way I create space in my head and in my day; space where thoughts and feelings can quietly arise. I have never made a mandala I consider to be perfect – there is always something spurring me on to make the next one and the variations are endless.
One of my favourite memories of this year is the group dismantling of the autumn seed mandala. As each seed was placed back in its pot, ready for planting, the mandala gradually disappeared. Its fleeting beauty a reminder not to get too attached to the things around us.”
ALMOST LIVERPOOL 8 FILM SCREENING
WEDNESDAY 26TH JANUARY 2022 7PM
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SCREENING IS CURRENTLY SOLD OUT. JOIN THE WAITING LIST HERE. WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING TO ARRANGE A SECOND SCREENING IN FEBRUARY – WATCH OUR SOCIALS FOR UPDATES.
In the early 1970s, photojournalist Don McCullin photographed Toxteth, capturing the community during an era of transition and decline. 50-years on, a group of filmmakers paint a contemporary portrait of the postcode.
Join us for the first community screening in L8 itself, and meet filmmaker Daniel Draper for a Q&A after the screening.
DONATIONS:
The suggested donation for this screening is £5 or £3 unwaged / general concessions – you are of course very welcome to donate more! You can do this via our web page or by card or cash on the night.
Part of Squash’s WINTER programme – more info HERE
PLEASE BOOK YOUR SPOT BY EMAILING CLARE@SQUASHLIVERPOOL.CO.UKOR CALLING 7077897
Come by and say hola! Come and join in some soup making, chatting in Spanish and eating together at Squash. Beginners & Spanish-speakers welcome.
Inspired by the many Spanish-speakers in our midst…a recent visit by Zapatista comrades…the joy of cooking & eating together…and the deep human need for connection, here’s a winter warming food session to get involved in! Bring an apron!
This is the first of monthly sessions – every second Weds of the month. So 8th December, 12th January & 9th February are booked in so far.
And we’re planning to do more cooking and language sessions soon – so far French & Arabic are potentials…any thoughts / suggestions, please get in touch x
Donations from these sessions go towards our ‘Soup-it-Forward’ initiative – free soup for neighbours in need of nutrition. Suggested donation is £3.50 or pay what you can. If you can’t join us but want to support this or other initiatives we’d be really grateful if you could Soup it Forward in the shop or donate here.
WINTER AT SQUASH!
In January & February, join us at Squash to warm up your winter!
WINTER WARMER
WEDNESDAY 15TH DECEMBER 4-7PM AT SQUASH HQ & KITCHEN GARDEN
Come and join us for a cosy evening of seasonal food, music, fire and good company!
PLEASE NOTE WE WILL BE OBSERVING UP TO DATE COVID GUIDANCE AT THIS EVENT;
WE ASK YOU TO WEAR YOUR MASK WHEN INDOORS
WE WILL BE MONITORING CAPACITY IN OUR VENTILATED SPACES
WE HAVE EXTENDED OUR EVENT TIME TO ENCOURAGE A SMOOTHER FLOW OF VISITORS
FESTIVE VIBES!Come by and say hi to Squash gardeners, staff and volunteers, have a mulled spiced apple punch round the fire and sample our tasty scran!
SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS SHOPPING! Support SQUASH, local crafts-people and other social businesses in the run-up to Christmas – come and check our fab festive gifts! Plus fab Squash-made preserves!!
SPROUT CURRY! Get into the Christmas foodie spirit and order a bowl of SPROUT CURRY!! Plus loads of other tasty seasonal scran & gorgeous cakes and hot drinks!!!
SUPPORT HABIBTI! Our wonderful friends from Habibti will have an exclusive collection of beautiful, seasonal, pre-loved clothes, raising essential funds for Al Sabeen Children’s Hospital in Sana’a, Yemen.
CHOIR! 5.30-6.30pm come hear wonderful seasonal singing form Hope Street Harmonies!
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! Make your own eco Christmas decoration with family food & play team Family Hive!
SEE YOU THERE!
Bettylicious Cooks @Squash
To mark and celebrate Liverpool Black History Month, we are excited to welcome back plant-based chef, writer & African food activist Betty Vandy (aka Bettylicious Cooks) to Squash for 2 autumn evenings of food and ideas.
Betty, founder of Bettylicious Cooks and social enterprise, Gather at the Table, has recently returned from journeying across Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast & Sierra Leone on a culinary adventure.
Come and join her both in person and on-line to hear about her travels and to learn more about West African food and culture.
Free / booking required in advance
Flavours of my West African Kitchen
Friday 29th October 6.30-8.30pm Online (via zoom)
Join Betty, cooking live from the Squash kitchen, for a fun and interactive online cookalong exploring the West African origins of her food practice. Learn how to cook 3 delicious, affordable and nutritious simple dishes at home for yourself, your family and friends.
Cookalong packs for you to follow will be provided in advance and will include an ingredients list, preparation & cooking instructions, utensils and food hygiene and safety requirements.
Join Betty Vandy as she explores the dynamic arena of African women, food and power in Africa and across the diaspora. Land ownership, farming and the politics of food and who is truly representing it will be at the heart of this discussion. Are women across other cultures affected in the same way?Come and be part of this important discussion. Betty will be preparing food to share during the evening.
These events are part of Liverpool Black History Month and are funded by The Mayors Fund and supported by Culture Liverpool.
SQUASH SHOP & CAFE
Squash is a proper community shop & cafe, run by passionate locals, really bothered about your health and happiness.
Our kitchen team produce brilliant seasonal vegetarian food – soups, curries, stews, pies and cakes. And we all have a specialism including producing fresh sourdough, preserves, cream cheese and wild/foraged treats! Come and sample the tastiness – eat in our cafe or garden or take away.
We stock around 150 ingredients (inc. organic, seasonal fruit and veg, dairy, eggs and other staples) – to help you cook brilliant food, offering an alternative shopping experience to supermarkets. Come by and check out our high quality, ethically-sourced and affordable produce!
We also offer a weekly organic veg box and fruit bag service – please get in touch for more info elise@squashliverpool.co.uk
Really looking forward to welcoming you!
OPENING HOURS;
PLEASE NOTE THE SQUASH CAFE & SHOP REPOEN WEDNESDAY 19TH JANUARY 4-7PM
WEDNESDAY 4-7PM
Squash provide bespoke catering for events, meetings and conferences.
A great evening to pick up your pre-ordered veg (& fruit) box, your weekly staples and enjoy a delicious evening meal – inside or in our beautiful garden!
THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS 11-4PM
All day shopping plus come and have a delicious lunch.
SATURDAY 10-4PM
It’s Sourdough Saturday! Come and pick up one of our fresh baked loaves – all sorts of variations await you like focaccia, sourdough cookies and banana bread. Also a great time to pick up your weekly fresh fruit & veg and cupboard staples
CATERING
To find out more and to discuss your requirements please get in touch with Elise elise@squashliverpool.co.uk
Food for Real: AUTUMN
Welcome to our Autumn festival! At this Equinox time of year when day and night are of equal length, we promote balance and celebrate community wellbeing; taking time to work, rest, eat and make, together.
WEDNESDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER COMMUNITY GATHERING / FUNDRAISER 7-9.30pm (Drop in) SQUASH HQ
Come along with your pennies and an open heart ready for some fruity fun at our annual harvest auction! On this magical evening of food, music (DJ Harvest in the house) and comedy, all sorts of wonderful Liverpool-grown produce and artwork will be up for grabs! Help raise money for 2 vital causes; HabibtiLiverpool who support the medical staff and children at Al Sabeen Hospital, Yemen and Squash’s own ‘Box it Forward’ campaign (see below) And if you’re a grower, artist or food producer – get in touch to donate homegrown/made fruit, veg, jams, artwork etc. via rachael@squashliverpool.co.uk
The Harvest Display of lots up for auction will be available for viewing from 3.30-6.30pm on 22nd September. The Squash cafe will be open from 7-9pm for autumn drinks & snacks.
PLUS! Enter our BEST IN SHOW:
CATEGORIES:
Most magnificent Liverpool-grown fruit or vegetable
Squash sells the freshest, most colourful organic weekly veg boxes & fruit bags – support us by ordering yours via elsie@squashliverpool.co.uk Plus you can support a family in need in Liverpool 8 with a box of fresh organic veg and other vital supplies through our ‘Box it Forward’ scheme in partnership with the Family Refugee Support Project (frsp.org.uk)
Join chef Abraham Ojapah, founder of Yammtree, for a yam cooking and education session. Founded in 2020, Yammtree is a healthy afro fusion plant-based movement designed to elevate the wellbeing of people through greater awareness of African food. More info via @yammtree on insta
In collaboration with BlackFest.
BlackFest is a grassroots Black Arts festival piloted and founded in 2018 by Co-Founder, Artistic Director Jubeda Khatun. The annual combined arts festival platforms, empowers and develops work by Black artists across community spaces and established venues running this year from 20th September – 9th October. The programme includes music, theatre, film, visual arts spoken word and poetry across community spaces and established venues. The Festival answers a crucial need in the city’s cultural offering, celebrating Black arts and bridging the gap between institutions and the marginalised communities they represent. BlackFest encompasses active conversations and collaborations breaking status quo with artists, communities and venues. To cultivate and nurture work from Black Artists and communities. Reflecting the dual identities, multiple experiences and narratives not seen and heard. Putting the lens to stories that are political, social, economically and emotionally charged that simultaneously intertwine to bring together our identities of what it means to being Black and British in the UK today.
THE ART OF SEED SAVING
SATURDAY 25th SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP 11am- 2pm (Drop in) SQUASH HQ
At the heart of food sovereignty lies seeds. Join the Squash Gardeners to sort, clean and pack seeds collected from our gardens to replenish the Toxteth Seed Library and choose a packet to take away to sow next spring.
SEED MANDALAS
SATURDAY 25th SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP 11am- 2pm (Drop in) SQUASH HQ
Join artist Tabitha Moses to design your own circle pattern (mandala) inspired by the seeds we grow on Windsor Street.
Tabitha said:
“A mandala, which means circle in Sanskrit, is a symbolic design used in some spiritual traditions to represent the universe or provide a focus for meditation. They can represent the cyclical nature of life and death, the days and seasons. Marking the seasons by making mandalas connects us to people across time (our farming ancestors whose lives followed a seasonal pattern) and space (followers of the Eastern religions where mandalas originated).
The making of a mandala – whether by drawing or painting shapes or placing objects – is a calming, meditative activity in itself. During this process I don’t worry too much about how the final thing will look; I just enjoy the making. It helps to empty my mind of the background chatter, focussing on the repetitive actions of drawing or arranging. This way I can create some space in my head and in my day – sometimes sacred space.Once the mandala is finished it may be a beautiful thing, providing a focal point for meditation. Or it may not look so pleasing, yet provide inspiration for the next mandalas – the variations are endless. If the mandala is made of sand, leaves or petals it may be swept away – reminding us not to get too attached to the things around us!”
INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSTING
SATURDAY 25th SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP 1-3pm GRAPES GARDEN
Are you keen to start composting but not sure how to start? Come along to this training session that aims to give you the skills and confidence to compost your food waste. You will learn about how to set up and manage a home composting system, what should and should not go in and what to do if things go wrong. We will focus specifically on food waste composting but the principles apply on garden waste also. We will look at different kinds of composting systems but the focus is on affordable and accessible systems.
Trainer Minna Alanko-Falola runs Compost Works, a Liverpool-based social enterprise that aims to divert food waste from incineration and landfill through setting up composting facilities and running educational activities.
Free to attend, booking essential. Limited places. Email info@compostworks.co.uk with your name and contact details.
More info via Twitter/Facebook @CompostWorksUK
A LATE SUMMER DRAWING OF WINDSOR STREET
ON DISPLAY FROM 22 SEPTEMBER SQUASH HQ
During lockdown last winter and early spring, Jon Barraclough made a drawing of every building (and tree) on Windsor Street from Toxteth Library, to Squash and back again.
As the summer moves into autumn, he has revisited his Windsor Street Drawing to update the street with seasonal change and colour. His latest version will be on display from 22 September at SQUASH.
UPCOMING EVENTS THIS AUTUMN:
THE HEALING GARDEN, for World Mental Health Day – Sunday 10th October
BLACK HISTORY MONTH – Exploring West African food origins with Betty Vandy
MORE INFO SOON!
Food For Real: AUTUMN is being funded by:
And supported by:
We’re Hiring!
Squash is delighted to be recruiting new members to our team. These new jobs are provided through the KICKSTART SCHEME and are subject to the following eligibility criteria:
Applicants must be aged between 16 and 24
Applicants must be currently in receipt of universal credit
Please note that the Community Arts Worker post has now been filled.
Community Food Grower
Number of Hours per week 25
Rate of pay 16-17 year olds rate of pay is £5.20 per hour 18 years and above rate of pay is £9.50 per hour (Real Living Wage)
The Community Food Grower will support the effective operation of the Squash growing spaces. Our gardens are very much integrated into our holistic food offer and the food we grow is at the heart of our café, catering and food services. We are looking for a proactive, inventive person who has a real passion for learning how to sow, grow, harvest, seed-save and compost. You will be working with the whole Squash team on our prosperous and successful community business and exemplar neighbourhood growing project.
Rate of pay 16-17 year olds rate of pay is £5.20 per hour 18 years and above rate of pay is £9.50 per hour (Real Living Wage)
The Community Food Worker will support the effective operation of the Squash food shop, café, takeaway and catering service, working with the whole Squash team. We are looking for a proactive, inventive person who has a real passion for co-producing great tasting, vegetarian food and helping the Squash community food business to run smoothly.
Squash is a community organisation, based on Windsor Street in Toxteth, Liverpool 8.
Since 2010 we have been making positive social change in our neighbourhood through exciting, participatory food and art practices including food-growing and cooking, arts and crafts, and through our affordable food shop and café.
We are a Community Interest Company (CIC) – a not-for-profit membership organisation that is accountable to our community. Squash runs from our community-designed building & kitchen garden which opened in 2018 and from our community food garden that was founded in 2010.
We have a 100-year vision, inspired by nature; we are actively transforming our Windsor Street Neighbourhood into a people-powered place that is known throughout the world for being a playful, resilient and loving community where everybody thrives!
ABOUT OUR CURRENT KICKSTART VACANCIES
All the following vacancies are for a 6 month work placement but Squash is committed to making as many of these training roles as possible lead into continued permanent work with Squash. Kickstart employees will develop skills, discover new passions and gain enriching experiences that support and inspire the next steps into their future careers.
Squash is also part of a kickstart partnership of 26 community businesses and organisations across the country (Hastings, Brighton, Somerset, Birmingham, and Liverpool) Our work placements are supported by a national shared learning programme provided by https://www.koreo.co with opportunities to work and learn and be inspired by community businesses across the country.
HOW TO APPLY FOR THESE ROLES
If you’re interested in applying for any of these jobs, please contact your job coach in your local job centre and quote the following postcode as a reference:
