Shouting,“Who says you can't get something for nothing”, the small gang set up 'shop' outside the new Costa coffee. Handing out free coffee, tea, vegan cake and (hastily made) leaflets on the current state of the Cowley Road, passers by stopped to chat, chew and slurp.

HOMOGENISATION AND RENTS RISES

According to new economics foundation (nef):
"The homogenisation of high streets is also not a benign or inevitable product of ‘progress’:
* Loss of diversity ultimately leads to a loss of true choice for consumers as well as a loss of local character
* Replacement of locally owned outlets by retail multiples can damage the local economy as profits drain out of the area to remote corporate headquarters and local employment is destroyed
* The many people who now wish to return to local, high street shopping may find that their distinctive local shops have been replaced by “micro-format” supermarket or chain branches"  http://neweconomics.org/gen/clonetown.aspx

And it's not just cloning that's wrenching the heart out of East Oxford, thanks to the rate rise on the Cowley Road, small shops have gone out of business. Coopers, the newsagents and a family run business for 15 years - closed recently. The 'Plain Traders' are also feeling the squeeze, with Bead Games, over 20 years old, considering shutting up shop too. Here big business benefits from its huge revenues; moving in and making the whole world a blander place. As well as challenging the cloning, capitalism needs dismantling too! Starting with free cake is a small step in the right direction!

"...TOTALLY AGREE"

And people passing by concurred; some of the feedback we received included:
* "Good on you, I visit Oxford once a year and it's heart-breaking what's happening to East Oxford"
* "We've just written stuff about gentrification for our A levels, we feel dead guilty because we're meeting some mates in Costa"
* "Wow, this cake is delicious. I totally agree with what you're doing. I mean, do we really need another coffee shop? Do we really need another George & Danvers?"
* "In Jericho we've started to call it New Deli, coz there's delicatessen after delicatessen after delicatessen."
* "You doing this to piss off Costa? Fuckin' nice one!"

It'd be well cool to see other people taking the initiative: free sandwiches freshly made outside the Subway (remember, it still doesn't have planning permission), sound systems outside the new Carling Academy. Use your imagination; reclaim your world!

As for Costa, we'll be back there next Saturday, maybe upping the ante a bit too. Meet 1pm at the OARC (1st floor of the East Oxford Community Centre) and we'll go from there.