Author: Deborah Castellanos
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Manorial Records for Beginners
I remember sitting in a drafty basement archive three years ago, the smell of damp parchment and old glue thick in the air, staring at a pile of vellum that looked more like dried skin than history. I had been… Continue reading
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Free Legal Clinics and What They Cover
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’94, watching a local residents’ group fall apart because they’d spent their entire tiny grant on a single hour of “consultation” with a high-street solicitor. They thought they needed a… Continue reading
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A Tool Library for a Street
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall three years ago, listening to a consultant drone on about “community resource hubs” and “integrated literacy infrastructure.” It was exhausting. People make it sound like you need a government grant and a… Continue reading
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A Litter Pick That Is Actually Safe
I remember sitting in a drafty village hall three years ago, watching a lovely lady try to explain a complicated volunteer rota to six confused neighbours, only for the whole thing to fall apart by Tuesday because no one had… Continue reading
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Dealing With a Complaint in Front of a Crowd
I remember standing in the drafty community hall during the 2004 regeneration project, clutching a lukewarm cup of tea while Mr. Henderson loomed over me, his face a shade of red that matched the local council’s branding. He wasn’t there… Continue reading
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Checking What You Are Entitled to
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall three years ago, watching a lovely woman from two streets over struggle with a mountain of paperwork. She’d been told by a local “consultant” that she needed to pay a hefty fee… Continue reading
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A Community Garden From Permission to Planting
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall in 1994, staring at a pile of glossy brochures that promised “transformative urban ecosystems” through massive grants and professional landscaping. It was all nonsense. People think you need a mountain of paperwork… Continue reading
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Putting Volunteer Time in a Funding Bid
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in the nineties, staring at a blank grant application while a local councillor insisted we needed a professional consultant to calculate our “human capital metrics.” It was absolute nonsense. People get… Continue reading
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Counting Volunteer Hours and Why It Matters
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in the nineties, watching a perfectly good neighborhood garden project fall apart simply because no one could prove how much work had actually been put in. We had passion, we had… Continue reading
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Free Debt Advice and Who Provides It
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’98, listening to a “financial consultant” in a sharp suit explain to a room of exhausted residents why they needed to take out a private loan just to restructure their… Continue reading
