Although Hobo was about music, poetry and Art, it also began with a social conscious. Part of the petition that led to
Hobo was a complaint about the RU 18 squad (and local authority only busting underage drinkers and not doing anything to provide alternative venues for them where they can attend music events rather than the often rejectd tradition youth club affair.
Bo (John Bargeant) co-founder of Hobo, used to work with Release in London and set up Central Spot as part of Hobo - we tried to get a room at Bardelsey house for him to operate and maybe also city centre base for Hobo. Central spot didn't really take as Bo took off himself to roadie on Khayym's euro-tour.
The Hobo Workshop began with a similar perspective, as can be seen from the letters on the intor to the Hobo Workshop, the CCVS had employed a Detached Youth Worker to look into these type of problems in the City Centre area and establish an informal advice service for young people. Apart from facilitating for the Hobo Workshop, Bob used to chat to people informally at the workshop and identifiy any problems. He provided a reference for me to get in to Henley Coolege to
do a Social Studies course. As my 'Social work placement' I worked alongside him at the Workshop which was pretty neat! One of the objectives was to establish a drop in house for young people called S.H.A.C.K.
and in 1975 I was invited to do some training in giving advice at Canley Teachers Training college - more of a day school. I was one of the volunteers when the house opened up. By 1976 I'd gotten involved with the Coventry Unemployed Workers Centre at Bardsley House as a Welfare Rights advisor and the magazine editor after Hobo folded . Although I still wrote and went to gigs I moved more in to advice and community work for a few
years after 76, coming back to the music scene in 1979 - just prior to
moving up to Teesside in the autumn of 1980 to do a degree.. On Teesside, althugh I had a band and played gigs, the work became more focused on Creative Writing developments as can be scene on the Outlet and Writers Cafe sites..
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