Grow Social Capital

25/03/2026

A Very English Chat

We’re asking everyone a simple but powerful question: What 5 objects signify what England means to you?

To get the conversation started, we’re sharing the Top 5 from some familiar faces:

🌱 Caroline Lucas’ Top 5:

The Magna Carta
The London Underground
The Beatles
The Levellers Manifesto
Birds eye view of Shropshire

🎸 Billy Bragg’s Top 5:

Marmite
Nobby Stiles
The White Horse
Jerusalem
The Lion and the Union

Now it’s your turn! Whether it’s a specific landmark, a favourite food, or a beloved band, we want to hear your story.

Visit the website to enter your 5 objects: https://www.averyenglishchat.org.uk/pages/share-your-story

Explore the toolkit and join the movement: www.averyEnglishChat.org.uk

Which band or artist would you include? Do you like Marmite too?

25/03/2026

What does England mean to you? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✨

It’s more than just a flag. It’s our stories, our values, and the objects that define us - from the Magna Carta to clotted cream and scones 📜🤗.

We’re launching ‘A Very English Chat’, a space to have respectful conversations about our national identity. We want to move past the division and celebrate a story built on fairness, inclusivity, and democracy.

How to join in:

1️⃣ Visit our brand new website (link in bio!)
2️⃣ Think of 5 objects that signify what England means to you.
3️⃣ Share your story and join the conversation by going to the Share Your Stories section on the website and send in your ideas by 31st March 2026!

Let’s reclaim the narrative, one chat at a time. ☕️🤝

17/03/2026

Songs, Poetry and Dance of the People (In-person Live Performance)

Join the RadhaRaman Society for an evening celebrating working-class poetry from Bengal to Britain, and the launch of the New School of Cockney Poets project.

Drawing on the struggles of workers - from the paddy fields of Bangladesh to the factories of northern England - Ahmed Kaysher curates an evening of song, poetry, dance, and striking imagery featuring emerging and established performers. Inspired by generations of British and Bengali poets, the performances bring to life stories of resilience from working-class communities around the world, gathered here in London’s East End.

The night blends the spirit of a Cockney knees-up with the warmth of a Cockney-Bengali adda, and ends with Dhamail - an energetic folk music and dance from Mymensingh/ Sylhet that invites the audience to join in.

Event details:

🗓️ Date: Sunday, 29th March 2026
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM (GMT)
📍 Venue: Hason Raja Centre, 117 Vallance Road, Whitechapel/ Bethnal Green, London E1 5BW

Standard ticket £5. Limited places.
Register here:
https://buytickets.at/moderncockneyfestival/2119138

More about the Modern Cockney Festival 2026: https://moderncockneyfestival.org.uk

09/03/2026

Join us for

We were thrilled to be featured in last Saturday’s edition of The Guardian alongside Caroline Lucas, Kojo Koram and Billy Bragg for the launch of A Very English Chat, our approach for engaging people in a far less toxic, polarising and more inclusive way of discussing that very messy of concepts: ...

09/03/2026

Some incredibly perceptive things here from Billy about Englishness.

What objects - the buildings, customs, quirks, cultural motifs and more - would you pick to express your own personal concept of Englishness?

‘A Very English chat’ works to tackle England’s growing social division and polarisation with a simple response to a potentially difficult and divisive question around ‘What does it mean to be English in 2026?’

01/03/2026

We've been back and fore to this last couple of weeks. It's a veterans hub in Ton Pentre and we're undertaking a Most Significant Change enquiry with members of the hub on behalf of the health board.

Buom ni nôl ac ymlaen i Valley Veterans yn Non Pentre dros y bythefnos ddiwethaf. Hyb ar gyfer y rheini a fu'n gwasanaethu yn y lluoedd arfog ac rydym ni'n cynnal ymholiad Newid Mwyaf Arwyddocaol yno ar ran y bwrdd iechyd.

26/02/2026

Another humbling morning spent with Valley veterans in Ton Pentre collecting Most Significant Change stories.

Bore ymddarostwng arall yng nghwmni Valley Veterans yn Non Pentre heddiw gan gasglu straeon Newid Mwyaf Arwyddocaol.

25/02/2026

Back in Usk delivering the panel element of the Most Significant Change method.

Nôl yn Mrynbuga i gyflenwi elfen panel y methodoleg Newid Mwyaf Arwyddocaol

09/02/2026

Lovely day in Usk last week training member of the voluntary and community sector in the Most Significant Change methodology. We're heading back at the end of the month to help them run the panel phase of the method.

Diwrnod braf ym Mrynbuga wythnos ddiwethaf gan hyfforddi aelodau'r sector gwirfoddol a chymunedol yn y dull Newid Mwyaf Arwyoddcaol. Rydym ni'n dychwelyd ar ddiwedd y mis i'w helpu nhw cynnal cyfnod panel y dull.

28/01/2026

Edrychwn mlaen at fod yng nghwmni British Future fel rhan o sesiwn 'Cymodu’r Llen' yn Sir Gâr heddiw. Ymhlith eraill fe ddown ni â dosbarth meistr ar gyfalaf cymdeithasol; technegau i gynnal sgyrsiau positif; ffyrdd o godi bwrlwm ar gyfer newid blaengar mewn cymunedau; a thrafod ymddiried yng nghymunedau.

Looking forward to being in the company of British Future as part of a Healing The Divide session in Carmarthenshire today. Among other things we're bringing a masterclass; techniques for holding positive conversations; how to stimulate progressive change in your community; and discussing trust in communities.

11/10/2025

Enjoying the 9th Saturday Heritage Fair in . Thanks for the invite

08/09/2025

“Our work with Modern Cockney has highlighted how we need to invest and grow our shared identities, stories & narratives to tackle growing division in Britain”

This is the crux of what our co-founder Andy Green will be saying at this week's Fate of Britain Convention, hosted by Absurd Intelligence and Speak Up in London on Thursday.

https://growsocialcapital.org.uk/fate-of-britain-convention/