Together Culture Connections: Meet Peter and Yvonne

Together Culture is growing a community of outrageously curious, open-minded and creative members who care for each other and want to build a more inclusive and ecological Cambridge. Our Connections programme aims to facilitate communication between all members to offer and gain support and connection based on shared interests, experiences, and values. 

Today, we're excited to introduce you to Peter, the founder of CamLETS, and Yvonne, former assistant to the Manager of CoFarm. Both Peter and Yvonne are deeply involved in Together Culture, where they contribute their expertise and passion for building connected communities.

Why did you become a member of Together Culture?

Peter: 30 years ago I started an organisation, a skills exchange which is called CamLETS. I started it as a means of building community because I was a bachelor living alone and I wanted to put down roots. LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) is an alternative economy that even has its own currency. It's a bit of anarchy in a way. We've been going for 30 years with around 100 members, but it's not exactly dynamic. When I saw Together Culture I thought, this is the next level because we've never had a physical focus, a place to call home. 

Just after COVID when a lot of shops were closed down, a number of us in the voluntary sector were invited to take on a vacant shop. We didn't manage to get it together. But somebody else has got it together! That's why I am here.

Yvonne: I joined Together Culture because I was working on CoFarm at October time 2023. Peter and I were having a conversation on the farm in between tasks when he alerted me to the series of activities happening at Together Culture. He kindly bought me a ticket and I arranged to come and see a wonderful film with him and his wife [‘The Flaming Rage of the Sea' by Rosanna Greaves, shown as part of our Fenland Fog and Folk Wisdom even at Together Culture]. I absolutely adored the film at that time as well as the rest of the programme that year.

I began to get more engaged and when I picked up the Living Book [Together Culture’s toolkit to living our values] I found the Theory of Change resonated with me. I was working quite hard outdoors with lots of volunteers coming and going and I was missing deeper connections. Then I decided that I would not only become a member, but I also became an investor in Together Culture as it's something that I really, really want to support.

And what is your work or passion and how do you hope to use that at Together Culture?

Peter: One of the things I'm hoping to get out of Together Culture is that I bring more CamLETS people in, then we take CamLETS to a new level of learning about communication and outreach. As Yvonne is so embedded here, she's going to be my mentor and point of contact. I don't want to burden her, but just a few words from her can work wonders. It's this business of building a network and I think my sister has talked about the power of weak links. If you can just touch base with people on occasion, you get an idea from them and you go off and do something with it. That can be immensely powerful. We've developed a friendship, we live not very far apart (on opposite sides of the river) and we meet regularly. Yvonne has joined our Friday evening event called Bread Club, that my wife and I started before Covid.  We break bread together, have some wine and cheese and cement that sense of community.

Yvonne: I think one of the things that I have realised at my advanced physical age is that I'm not able to put into practice some of my enthusiasms anymore. I just don't have the capacity to do it. However, one of the skills that I do have, that Peter has alluded to, is the fact that I'm really very good at connections. Actually getting two ends of something and holding them together for a bit, for them to communicate and form a connection.

One of the things that I'm involved in at Together Culture is the Connections team, I'm very, very committed to people making connections on one level or another. I'm able to just provide support. All I did with Peter was listen to what he was trying to do and then suggested a sort of order or a structure within which to put it. I know that that's one of my skills now. And that's what I hope to do. I hope to help build from the ground, laterally, to weave together something that's going to be sustainable. Something that's going to go forward, something that's not going to drain each of the participants but is going to make something that's bigger and stronger than an individual.

And what, if anything, has exceeded your expectations about Together Culture?

Peter: I suppose the potential for change. I haven't involved myself widely, with a range of groups but I am part of the Repair Cafe, that's my anchor. Beyond that, it’s good to know that people are taking a different view of the world, a world that is more cooperative rather than competitive. And please excuse my favourite hobby horse, meeting people who work from the right hemisphere of their brain rather than the left hemisphere. I'm a great fan of Dr Iain McGilchrist, who has worked on this extensively. Yeah, it's the fresh viewpoint.

Yvonne: I think what has exceeded my expectations is the fact that I appreciate being seen and being acknowledged for who I am and what I am, rather than me having to try and to make any kind of impression. One thing that really delights me is every time I meet new people the depth and breadth of their knowledge, experience and the amount of research they’ve done. Peter’s detailed information base provides a balance to my broadly practical experience. The members have such diverse backgrounds that there is always someone who can help with an issue or at least signpost to someone else who can help. The vision and the forward-looking intentions of Together Culture in this area in Cambridge and as a community are inspiring.

And how has being a member of Together Culture impacted your well-being, if at all?

Peter: I think it builds on the last answer, really, meeting thoughtful change-makers. And as you were saying, Yvonne, being accepted for who you are. So I feel I can pull out a design like this matrix (see below) without feeling like an oddity. To me that goes quite deep. Note that wellbeing is right there in the mindful matrix.

Yvonne: I came to Cambridge in May 2023 and I felt a little bit rootless, and also felt overwhelmed with a new job and the large number of volunteers. The Together Culture ‘Lifting the Veil’ programme of events gave me the opportunity to explore and experience the deeper contemplation of the historical and spiritual development of changes in life for those from the Fen. The Living Book concerns the “how” of change and group development and provided me with real connection with people and community.

What would you tell someone who is interested in joining Together Culture?

Peter: That’s a little difficult. I have a specific aim to bring more CamLETS people into the fold, under the banner of Organisational Membership, so that our project might benefit from the fresh cultural energy that is incubating here. Even if we don't know exactly where we are going there is a palpable sense of possibility in the air, a feeling of a movement whose time has come. We (CamLETS) have never thought of ourselves as a business yet business insights could be just what we need to reach out to a wider membership.

So I hope to attract not a curious individual but a set of my colleagues who are motivated to think outside the box, build a wider network and hopefully re-invent LETS for 2025. Ellie is going to help explain what a Together Culture could bring to a mature but static community.

Yvonne: I also find that a very difficult question because it's very... it depends on how much time you've got and who you're talking to. I can only go by my own experience, the space was welcoming, safe and flexible. That meant I could come in on a casual basis or to an event or just pop in to work at a table. It was the subject matter of the events and the people I met that fired me up. You can come to the Connections Cafe once a month, which may enable you to connect with people more. So… it's sort of suck it and see really. Come and give it a go and see what happens for you.

Peter: I wonder if I could actually come back on this just from a slightly different direction. One of the events here was a meeting that involved Jon Alexander, author of the book Citizens. I think a lot of what this is about for me is that message of citizenship; not being a consumer. And in that context, the possibility of moving up the street to a really grand piece of architecture that can involve so many parallel organisations, that to me could be a centre for citizenship.

And how do you hope the Together Culture membership can change Cambridge?

Peter: I think that's it. I just said it. It's about citizenship.

Yvonne: In my case, I want to be part of an integration of diverse people to create a strong, sustainable community to grow deeper connections. As a retired teacher I’d like to see people sharing their skills, increasing their resilience and their confidence to enable them to give support and act collaboratively, responsibly and creatively. That's what I'm looking for.

Become a Community Member of Together Culture for £18.50 a month here. Email ellie@togetherculture.com to find out about Pay What You Can membership.