Song for the Open Road

Ever wondered where our name comes from? Well credit to the wonder that is Walt Whitman, he uses the word camerado in his poem “Song for the Open Road”, Walt wrote that on the open road of life more important than food or money is to have a “camerado” beside you to share the journey.  So this led to Camerados, having someone halfway between a stranger and a friend alongside you, without judgement, who just looks out for you and vice versa.

Tea Drinkers Revolution Started

The gentle tea drinkers revolution starts in Maff’s bedroom, inspired by Srđa Popović
“Camerados” gets used in emails and sticks
Camerados becomes the name.

First Public Living Room opens

The first Public Living Room opens in Sheffield bringing life to an undertakers. Public Living Rooms have gone on to be created in more than 80 places across the globe, from a library in Bristol to a market place in Oswestry, a community centre in Baltimore to a cafe in Australia and a school in Norwich to a University in Strathclyde. The Public Living Rooms are all run by the movement for the movement and are there to provide a space for folk to go in tough and good times, to meet others and just be alongside them, in a very human friendly way.

Maff goes to USA

Maff heads to the USA to seek out fellow camerados, he finds a few and they end up joining the movement, eventually setting up their own Public Living Rooms.

Baltimore Public Living Room opens

The USA gets it’s first Public Living Room in Greenmount West Community Centre in Baltimore, opened and run by Kisha and her fellow camerados in this amazing community.

Prison Living Rooms open in UK

The first Public Living Room in a prison opens in UK at HMP Kirkham with another to follow in 2019 in HMP Dovegate.

Neighbourhood Kitchen events launch

Neighbourhood Kitchen events launch, the movement coming together over food, creating, cooking and then eating it together, one of the fantastic ways to mix with people who don’t look like you!

Public Living Rooms in a Box sent to 12 communities all around the world

Growing Public Living Rooms by creating resources for the movement to take the lead and make the spaces themselves, so 12 communities all around the world received our prototype Public Living Room in a Box, they went to make public living rooms appear in places from beach huts to community centres.

Human hospitals

The creation of Human hospitals starts with a Public Living Room based in a teepee in Blackpool Hospital, more than 15,000 people used it during the 3 months it was there, it was open to patients, visitors and staff. Human Hospital Public Living Rooms went on to be created in 5 other NHS hospitals across the UK in James Cook University Hospital Middlesbrough, Rotherham General Hospital, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Hospital, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and Craigavon Area Hospital.

Wilderness Festival

A Public Living Room was taken to the Wilderness Festival to provide a space for folk to look out for others during the festival and show the impact of what it is to be more human. The following year the Public Living Room returned in the shape of a dome with a mobile Public Living Room touring the festival site too.

1st Camerados Movement Campfire

The movement got together for it’s first ever campfire on a chilly Oxfordshire weekend in November, bringing together those who had started Public Living Rooms or were interested in finding out more about the movement. The weekends have continued and moved around to different locations to allow as many folk to attend as possible, now notorious for their hot apple drink, pub quiz and chilled welcoming vibe.

Public Living Room opens in a university

The amazing movement members at Bristol Student Union open the first university based Public Living Room in the student union building on an entire floor! They even designed and introduced their own interpretation of the principles as well as creating artwork across the walls. The student union living room is used by 700 people a day, students have found it a welcoming place to go and sit, so much so that Bristol University has gone on to create 4 more Public Living Rooms in their halls of residence.

Since the opening of the Bristol University Public Living Room, the universities of Strathclyde, Derby and East Anglia have also set up theirs, more have also been opened at Further Education colleges in Dover, Sheffield, York and Leeds.

Decorated bus stops all over the world for Christmas

The movement took to the streets to raise awareness that Christmas can be a really tough time for some folk, by decorating bus stops all over the world showing that it’s important to look out for each other all year round and not just at Christmas.

Camerados Chronicle is published

The Camerados Chronicle newspaper first edition is published, created and designed entirely by members of the movement and sent to all the Public Living Rooms.

Camerados Council

The start of a new way of Governance, set up to protect and oversee the mission, our Camerados Council is made up of members of the movement who act as a critical friend to the Association of Camerados. The Council Members rotate usually after a year to enable other movement members to take part, anyone in the movement can be part of the Council and new folk are recruited annually each Autumn.

New Style Public Living Room in a Box

The Public Living Room boxes are proving to be so popular that a new design was created so that more could be sent out to the movement, by the beginning of 2020 more than 70 new style boxes had been delivered to communities around the world.

Meaning Conference

The Meaning Conference invited our Founder, Maff Potts, to speak at their conference so a Public Living Room made it’s way to Brighton Dome for the conference attendees.  You can watch and listen to Maff talk all about the meaning of life, so grab a brew and draw up a cosy chair.

Podcast recording tour

Listen out for a camerados podcast, Maff toured with a fluffy microphone and a gizmo to collect tales from Public Living Rooms and meet the folk who set them up and those that attend.

Opened the online shop

Camerados launched it’s online shop with all our merchandise in December, with lots of types of t-shirts, tote bags and badges. A way to help raise money for the movement and help to spread our message.

SpoonRoom is created

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that getting together in a Public Living Room was no longer possible, so a great camerado in Germany, helped come up with the idea of online Public Living Rooms, we called them SpoonRooms, why? Well they are a video call that can sometimes become a cacophony of sound unless you take your turn, so spoons are our version of raising your hand. SpoonRooms are now held twice a week hosted by the AoC on a Wednesday evening and Saturday morning, other folk in the movement also hold their own local SpoonRooms.

BitOfCompany

Connecting with others during the pandemic included creating a bit of the spirit of camerados in the shape of BitOfCompany, an online broadcast twice a week presented by our Founder, MaffPotts during the first UK lockdown. You can watch all of the episodes on our YouTube channel.

Here is the last episode if you fancy watching.

Camerados in schools

Lots of schools are part of the Camerados movement; Aureus School in Didcot, Ormiston Academy in Norwich, Queen Elizabeth Grammar in Horncastle to name a few. So the AoC wondered what it would be like to have Camerados in more schools along with resources to help understand what it means to be a camerado to others. Our pilot in primary schools was launched in September 2020 with 7 schools taking part.

#BitofCompanyLive

BitOfCompanyLive was the first live online gathering of folks from around the movement, our virtual version of a campfire, which couldn’t happen due to the pandemic. The guest speaker to end all guest speakers Srdja Popovic, made an appearance to inspire the movement and get everyone thinking about ways to form human connections through laughtervism.

OpenHouse

OpenHouse is the way the movement can get together and meet the folk that work at the AoC and the Camerados Council, they are held usually once a quarter and give an opportunity for anyone to ask questions about anything related to the movement.

HouseParty

HouseParty started to bring parties to our houses during the pandemic and give folk the chance to dance with others from their own living rooms.