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Amplify Stroud
@amplifystroud.com
73 followers 290 following 130 posts
Voice of the Valleys. Long-form slow news and journalism from the Five Valleys of Stroud District. Art, Culture, Politics, Society, Activism, Resistance
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The blessing forms part of a global campaign to give rivers fundamental rights: to flow, to be understood as having sentience, to be free from pollution; to restoration and to be treated as living entities with legal guardians.
A woman with long grey hair, wearing a pink jacket and a green, pink and blue tartan scarf stands amongst a line of people on the grass. She is holding a small bodhran (Irish hand drum) and watching the celebration closely. In her pocket she has a red woolly hat. The image is half covered by a pink panel on which is written the following text: ”There is a campaign across the world to give rights and sovereignty to rivers and watercourses and this is in direct opposition to the continued pollution of our rivers by water companies. 

“Many local councils up and down the country are engaged and committed to this shared outcome.” — Robin Layfield
February 7, 2026 at 8:22 PM
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Robin Layfield takes us on a deeply personal journey of inspiration and celebration, of chanting and wishing, of practical magic and climate activism.
In the foregound a small brazier is set on the grass. It is stacked with wood and it is burning with the flames leaping into the air a few inches above it. This is where people will cast their fears and doubts and where they will draw in the warmth and heat of Brigid, Celtic goddess of the end of Winter. A woman dressed all in white stands in the background. She is a Water Maiden, part of the celebration and there to channel the energies of the Frome into the ritual. A pink panel covers half of the image, overlaid is the following text: “THERE IS SOMETHING DEEPLY MAGICAL about reconnecting with the land and the water around you, about acknowledging that we are all just a tiny part of this world and that no amount of tarmac, river pollution, AI or doomscrolling can take away our fundamental links to and our origins within nature.” — Robin Layfield
February 7, 2026 at 8:22 PM
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THANK YOU for reading, you don't know how important your support is!
December 28, 2025 at 11:38 AM
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What we aim to do is produce evergreen content that captures a mood, a spirit or a feeling. We are building a social history of Stroud from 2015 onwards and we are capturing each moment as it happens
Cover of a recent article, titled "REDS - Stroud's new youth hub". The image features a group of young people standing with their arms outstretched and cheering. The tag line reads "Community" and there is a small amplify brandmark in the cornre (a lower case underlined white letter 'a' on a pink squircle — square with rounded corners)
December 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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We have covered a diverse range of topics from the hyper local, to the global, from community activities, to local government and national policymaking. We've had good representation from Dialect Rural Writers and from the young people of the RYSE, which is a point of pride for us.
A selection of recent articles from 2025. The titles are as follows The Ghost of Christmas Future 50 Years of Rising Stars FC — Nikki Laine interviews Ayoob Moulla It's not just workers calling for a wealth tax — millionaires are too! Requiem for a Protest? — A response Emergence Re-Stock — the Campaign to reduce textile waste Common Ground World Suicide Prevention Day ”Music is the Key to Radical Resistance” — Los Fastidios
December 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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An older man with short spiky hair smiles at the camera. He has a distinctive gap between his front teeth and the lines on his face show that he has seen a lot in his career. This is the former MP David Drew. He is wearing a suit jacket and stripy shirt. On his jacket is a small cross badge depicting his Christian faith. A young Brown man with a beard and a baseball cap is at a protest. The banner behind him reads "Stop Rosebank". He is wearing a Palestinian Kuffiyeh. The label reads "KAM" A young woman with brown-blonde hair and a blue scarf smiles into the camera. An older Jewish man with rectangular glasses and spiky hair looks into the camera. Behind him a demonstration is taking place. He looks concerned and intense.
December 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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A woman with smart glasses and shoulder length dark brown hair is looking thoughtfully towards the camera. The label reads "SARAH" A young man smiles into the camera. He has short black hair and a trim black beard. He is wearing a blue / grey teeshirt A Syrian man with a short black beard and rectangular glasses tilts his head to the side and looks into the eyes of the viewer. He is wearing a green jacket and smiling slightly A young person with small hoops in their ears and short spiky hair looks into the camera.
December 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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Thank you Alex and Alyssa (top Deputy Editors), thank you David, Emma(s), Nikki and Alun.

Thank you Sarah, Roma, Kam, Rami, Eli, Jezza, Tattie, Milly, Will @willluker.bsky.social from The Shire News, former MP David Drew, and Chikara Shimasaki from the Stroud Commons.
A young person looks away into the distance. They have long brown-blondish hair and several ear piercings. An older man in a smart grey jacket with a navy shirt and a green and navy scarf. He has short grey hair and a short grey beard. He is wearing an 'XR' badge and has an 'XR' patch pinned onto his jacket. He is staring off into the distance A man with piercing blue eyes stares directly into the camera. He is wearing a flat cap and standing behind the peeling bark of a Silver Birch tree. A smiling young woman with long red hair is holding a black labrador to her as she looks towards the camera. The label reads "ROMA"
December 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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THANK YOU
~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to everyone that has put pen to paper and taken the time to write one or more articles for Amplify Stroud over the course of 2025.

You have all written such interesting articles and hopefully you have more to share.
A young man with a septum piercing or nose ring, shortish brown hair and a beard. He is smiling towards the camera. The label reads "ALEX” A young woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and wearing a teal cardigan. She has brown eyes and is smiling towards the camera. The label reads "ALYSSA" A woman with long blonde hair stares confidently into the camera. She is smartly dressed in a grey polo-neck with matching grey jacket. The label reads "NIKKI" A young woman with shoulder-length curly light-brown hair and hazel eyes. She wears a green dress with a geometric print. She stares off into the distance. The label reads "EMMA"
December 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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“The events related to direct solidarity are always the most important for us, because they further demonstrate the power of music. That's the music we love: the music that unites people from the East to the West.”
A man wears red-framed sunglasses and stands in front of a stone wall, looking intently into the camera. He has a navy t-shirt with the logo of the Trojan record label on it and green, yellow and red stripes across the shoulders. Overlaid is a quote from the article: "The planet's problem is not the people, but those in charge, those who hold power. We must understand that another world is possible, but if we want to change something, we must remain united and oppose those who would instead use the difficulties they have created to put us against each other" — Enrico
October 15, 2025 at 7:17 AM
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“We can't wait to return to Stroud. Last year was wonderful, and this year will be even better,” says singer Elisa Dixon. “We return to Stroud with great enthusiasm, a new album and a great desire to have fun and entertain, in the name of solidarity.”
A woman with short dark hair and stylish black sunglasses smiles at the camera. She has her arms folded and is wearing a black t-shirt with an illustration of woman with a 'suedehead' hairstyle - the t-shirt is a band t-shirt and the illustration is of the woman herself. Accompanying the picture is a quote attributed to Elisa: "Music has always been an important vehicle of resistance and criticism of fascism. Today, more than ever, as our musical masters — The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, The Clash etc. — taught us, we must turn up the volume on our radios, our amplifiers, our microphones to spread the music of unity and freedom everywhere."
October 15, 2025 at 7:17 AM
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A woman smiles to camera. She has brownish shoulder-length hair and oval glasses with a dark frame. She wears a blue and grey scarf. Overlaid on a pink block is the following text: With a packed schedule of talks, workshops, and socials, it's a timely gathering for anyone interested in building resilient, equitable futures amid ongoing social and environmental challenges.
 
Simon Opher, Pam Warhurst, 
Indy Johar, 
Andy Goldring
, Tony Cealy, 
Jess Steele, Jem Bendell, 
Matthew Slater, Sue Bell, 
Dil Green, Tom Woodroof
, Zoë Blackler
September 10, 2025 at 12:49 PM
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A bearded man in a check shirt stands giving a presentation. Overlaid on a pink background is the following information: Stroud Festival of Commoning

14 / 15 September Lansdown Hall & Centre for Science & Art

“Bringing together thinkers, activists, and practitioners from across the UK and beyond, the event promises a deep dive into how communities can reclaim power through shared resources, innovative governance, and mutual support.” 

Article by Chikara Shimasaki
September 10, 2025 at 12:49 PM
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“And particularly, I'm fed up with certain leaders of the Orthodox conservative Jewish tradition who claim to speak on behalf of the whole Jewish community. I am not alone in this.”

— Colin Levine from Na'amod Gloucestershire
June 30, 2025 at 11:19 AM
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“I've felt that it's important for me to identify as a Jew who feels this way, rather than simply as a person who feels this way, because I think Jewish people are generally perceived as supportive of Israel, and if we don't say anything, then that's what people will assume.
Pictured is a man wearing a red beanie hat, a reddish-orange scarf and small black round glasses. He is holding a large banner which is charcoal coloured and has the word Na'amod written on it in yellow, along with the tagline "UK Jews against occupation & apartheid" Overlaid on a pink background are the following words: Na'amod - “We Stand” exists to bring about change within the Jewish community in Britain. Local activist Jeremy Green interviews Colin Levine from the recently formed Na'amod Gloucestershire branch to get his perspectives on the Jewish campaigning organisation that is calling for an end to the Occupation and Apartheid.
June 30, 2025 at 11:19 AM
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Nick Hayes is the co-founder of the Right to Roam campaign and author of The Book of Trespass.

It’s part history, part nature diary and spans several centuries of land rights in the UK.

This potent mixture of topics and styles made reading it feel as easy as a glass of cold water on a hot day.
May 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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“Between Emma’s down to earth humour and Nick’s relaxed and impish charisma, it’s a highly entertaining and informative hour. There’s no pretentiousness here, and I was immediately drawn to the way that Nick talks about the outdoors.”
May 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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Tattie Baker, writing for The RYSE, finds out more.
A photograph of a young person, with short spiky hair and earrings. They are wearign a blue t-shirt under a charcoal hoodie and a silver necklace. They have a quizzical expression, part considerate, part smoiling. Overlaid on a pink panel is the following text: “Starting with the personal is great, so how do we open these conversations up further, to create the emotive spaces that we need, so we can talk about our grief over the climate emergency and those in other parts of the world who are dying from the overreach of UK arms industry.” 
— Tattie Baker | The Ryse
May 13, 2025 at 6:47 AM
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One of the talks was about an ambition project from the minds of Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, situationist anarchists. The People’s Pyramid is being built in Birkenhead one brick at a time from the cremated ashes of ordinary people to form an anti-capitalist monument for the generations.
A monochrome print of an artist's impression of the People's Pyramid. A towering structure made of 34,592 individual bricks containing cremated remains. Overlaid on a pink background is the following text: “The panel described the structure as “part manifesto, part peoples artwork”, intended to create situations of profound feelings – love and loss, grief and joy – attempting to open us up to talk about death in more honest and insightful ways. ” “Seeing projects like the The People's Pyramid tackle as deep and humbling topics as the end of life and still come away with rampant joy is delightful. ” — Tattie Baker | The Ryse
May 13, 2025 at 6:47 AM
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NeoAncients is the Beltaine Festival of Weirdness that pops-up once a year in Stroud. Organised by Julie Howe, John Best and Ben Wardle, in partnership with “Weird Walk” magazine it presents a varied and eclectic diet of oddness and out-there events: dance, music, books, spoken word and comedy.
A bald man with a sharp beard holds a brick (off camera) in one hand and a microphone in the other. The light glistens off the top of his head. He is wearing a dark shirt and black jeans. Overlaid in a pink panel to the right is the following text: “Something that struck me about the speakers was how rascally they seemed, like they had never lost their sense of play. Call it a twinkle in their eyes. “They seemed completely convinced of their unserious-ness yet (un)grounded in deeply sincere work, calling potential mourners in with untethered joy and “ambient house residual sludge”.

— Tattie Baker | The Ryse
May 13, 2025 at 6:47 AM
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Read more at >> amplifystroud.com/2025-05-kirs... <<

#crafts #environment #nature
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The Amplify Stroud logo: a small letter 'a' on a pink square background. Below it are the words: "subscribe today" an down the right hand side the website address: https://amplifystroud.com/
May 8, 2025 at 12:08 PM
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Kirsty left the world of tv production and art to be closer to nature and the land. She discovered a passion for the traditional craft of dry stone wall building.
A photograph of a smiling woman in a blue baseball cap, leaning against a stone wall and holding a heavy stone. There is a large pink panel obscuring the left side of the photograph. On it is a block of text in white that reads: "There are so many stories of the people who do them, the reasons they get into it, the histories, the stone and all of the treasure that you find, like the old sweet wrappers, and marbles, and pottery. I did one at a house that was an old children's home, and apparently there was a stone that they used to hide their cigarettes behind in that wall but unfortunately we never found it. - Kirsty Donnelly"
May 8, 2025 at 12:08 PM
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“I would like to see more promotion, it would be nice for it to be more commonplace, if I’ve inspired even just one of those kids from Thrupp Primary school I would be happy.”

— Kirsty Donnelly
A photograph of a woman holding a masonry hammer in one hand and a big stone in the other. The right hand side of the image has a large pink panel with white writing on it that reads: "I love all the different dry stone walls in the Cotswolds, those dreamy stones for me are absolutely part of the fabric of the Cotswolds and what makes it beautiful. In Scotland they have massive boulders in their walls so you can see right through In Devon they put them upright with slate. - Kirsty Donnelly"
May 8, 2025 at 12:08 PM
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The event takes place with a gathering on Selsley Common, talks, drinks, music and film over two days at the Prince Albert pub in Rodborough.
A photograph depicting a mural in nearby Newport that has sadly now been destroyed. It shows English Redcoats soldiers firing at a mob of protestors some of them in top hats. The "Red coat" fabric was made exclusively in Stroud and the colour is known as "Stroud Scarlet". Some of those being shot at may have been millworkers that made the fabric.
May 7, 2025 at 7:53 AM
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The event is the brainchild of Stroud-based Radical Historian Stuart Butler and Radical Stroud, with support from Stroud Trades Council and Unite the Union.

It will comprise a 2 day festival commemorating the Chartists and Stroud's deep connection to them.
A monochrome photograph of Stuart Butler local historian. It depicts a thoughtful, gray haired man with striking black round glasses looking into the distance. Overlaid is the following text: "This event is the brainchild of Stroud-based historian Stuart Butler" and "Relatively little is well-known about Stroud's involvement with the protest movement of the 19th Century, so the festival is a way for people to learn more about it. The gathering of thousands of people locally to call for political reform was perhaps the precursor to the ethos of political activism that we still see in Stroud today"
May 7, 2025 at 7:53 AM