SPCK reports (latest)

29 Responses to “SPCK reports (latest)”

1. ken says:
   

   Since the Brewer/ A C A S meeting no-one has received a contract–they are all waiting with baited breath! So as yet there is nothing to sign.

   November 2nd, 2007 at 6:53 pm
2. Joe says:
   

   As a current member of staff at SSG (Or should that have been SPOCK?) I just want to say thank you for all you’ve been posting on our behalf.

   I’m unwilling to say more on the situation, but the posts on here are pretty close to the reality of the situation, on the whole.

   Thanks again,

   November 2nd, 2007 at 7:44 pm
3. Boko Fittleworth says:
   

   Actually, contracts were printed out for us at Birmingham last Thursday while the Brewers were on site. Maybe they thought we were more gullible there than elsewhere, maybe they’d heard about the reputation of the brummies. The fact that our manager was on holiday might also have been a factor.

   None of us signed on Thursday but we agreed to take them home for a read. On Wednesday this week Phil Brewer came in again and after a lot of other intriguing meetings with various people in the office he called me and one other staff member into the office individually and (in my case at least) handed over a contract to be signed. I was determined that I was not going to sign in front of him and I didn’t appreciate being put into that position.

   I told him that one of the matters on the contract bothered me. Mr Brewer gave an explanation which sounded plausible at the time but when I looked at the contract later it didn’t seem to hold water. Somehow I got away and as I left the office he told me I would be on a slightly higher wage. Not tempting enough I’m afraid! Nothing would be really.

   I’m at my parents’ place now and don’t have a copy of the contract with me. I do remember that they had put a copyright sign on it but I don’t remember whether there was any warning about reproducing any part of it. Obviously I don’t much fancy being taken to court by a couple of lawyers, not even silly Texan ones who misquote church councils and expect to get away with it.

   There have been other strage goings on but I’ll have to leave it at that for now.

   November 2nd, 2007 at 9:16 pm
4. The SPCK saga and Texan "Orthodoxy" » Metacatholic says:
   

   General updates now available at this post of Cartoon Church.   « Son of man: both–and, please | Top Verses, bottom idea »   …

   November 2nd, 2007 at 11:12 pm
5. Doug Chaplin says:
   

   Dave, I’ve now added an update to my post, after looking into their Orthodox links a bit more.

   November 2nd, 2007 at 11:12 pm
6. Annie says:
   

   I would like to thank Dave and all of those who have and who continue to support the Bookshop staff (indeed this Blog is their only hope of true and acurate reporting of what they are going through)
   Their situation has been increasingly desperate
   It must be very hard for professional and dedicated staff (who, lets face it, don’t do it for the money!)to continue to offer good customer service in the present climate
   Please offer your support to the few ,original staff left,many of whom are remaining not for the Brewers and what they represent but out of loyal committment to customers and each other.

   November 2nd, 2007 at 11:31 pm
7. Neil says:
   

   Just been up to the Exeter shop which is just about open, there are half filled card racks outside and upstairs massive gaps are appearing. They have 3 NIV bibles left on the shelf (we used to have a range of about 20 or 30). A sign in the window said they would be closing early today at 4pm.

   Most interestingly all the SPCK signs were still up, and there was no indication that it was no longer an SPCK shop.

   November 3rd, 2007 at 5:41 pm
8. Anne says:
   

   This is so hard to follow if you’re reading along from somewhere else (like the U.S.). Is this about right?
   1) There’s a respected, longstanding, much-loved, and wide-ranging chain of booksellers in the U.K., patronized by booklovers with a wide variety of interests and beliefs.
   2) Some sort of religious society purporting to be Orthodox but without any ties to a recognized patriarchate has arrived in the U.K. from the U.S. Over some period of time, they’ve used their money (of which they seem to have a great deal) to take control of this chain of bookstores.
   3) During the “takeover,” employees of the bookstores have been subjected to a variety of unfair or at least not-customary employment practices. (The idea of someone who works in a retail store having to sign some sort of “employment contract” is strange, to say the least.) People have been let go, required to work undue hours, work on Sundays, sign these “contracts,” and have been subjected to other unfair practices.
   4) (From another blog) These people are also trying to take over no-longer-used parish church buildings, but their authority to do so is somehow in doubt.
   5) The inventory carried in the bookstores seems to be censored, regulated, or changed. The names of the bookstores are also being changed in some cases.

   I’m a complete outsider, but I have been victimized in my own small business by a couple of these “out in the weeds” religious splinter groups. I was saved simply by the fact that my particular oppressors didn’t have any money. But it was bad, bad, bad. These people have money, which makes it worse, worse, worse.

   I guess my question is, why on Earth are they doing this? Are they trying to take over England for Orthodoxy? Are there enough Orthodox bookstore patrons in England to sustain a chain of bookshops of this size and extent? Who is this group affiliated with over here? Why England (as opposed to Spain or France, I suppose)?

   If you look at it as an outsider, as I am, the most striking thing is that these people didn’t make their Texas millions by being bad businessmen–but it seems they’re making bad business decisions right and left with respect to these bookstores.

   There’s no reason at all for anybody to want to respond to this, though I wish somebody would. I suspect these people will begin hemorrhaging cash very shortly, if they aren’t already. When it becomes apparent that nobody is interested in their limited assortment of books, perhaps sanity will return. I hope so for the sake of everyone who works at or patronizes these shops!

   November 3rd, 2007 at 6:26 pm
9. Lois Keen says:
   

   Anne,

   As a fellow “outsider” (U.S.A.), to respond to your observation that the actions of the Brewers are just plain bad business decisions, it seems so to me, also. The only reason I can think of for it is that it is intentional. Dave, pardon me for feeling a little paranoid, giving in to conspiracy thinking, but I think the destruction of SPCK is exactly the goal. And I think it stinks. With SPCK gutted, where are people with brains, who insist on using them, to go to find the books, literature and other materials of the wide range SPCK used to stock?
   Lois

   November 3rd, 2007 at 8:05 pm
10. Pax Vobiscum says:
    

    In answer to Anne,
    Yes they are trying to save England for Orhtodoxy. Which in itself is not a bad thing, I guess, trying to be generous. Its the methods which are being used which are so despicable and the attitude that religious tolerance = weakness.

    Latest example of their behaviour. A press release was issued on 2 November 2007 byt J. Mark Brewer stating that ‘Mrs Carole Burrows, manager of the Durham Cathedral Shop, has resigned her position, effective 31 October 2007.’

    He then goes on to say some gushing things about Mrs Burrows qualities (so true, she is brilliant bookseller and caring person) and that the charity had agreed to transfer the operations of the Cathedral Shop to Mrs Burrows and expressed regret that this had not gone through.

    HOWEVER - and you knew that was coming - this is not the case at all. Mrs Burrows, who was trying to work with her solicitors on a proper affordable deal to take over the shop - a deal instigated by the Brewers and not by her - was told by Mr M Brewer that she must either accept his deal (with no amendments) or clear her desk within the hour. As the deal offered was not affordable she didn’t have much choice. That is not resigning - that is being sacked.

    So, 2 members of the staff representative body who were trying to work with ACAS on legal contracts have now been booted out.

    I think you will be hearing more about this story in coming days, if not hours.

    November 3rd, 2007 at 8:06 pm
11. Anne says:
    

    We’re so beaten down by these tactics in the U.S. that it’s disheartening to see that they’re being exported. I suppose I perceive it as a difference in our national psyches. On that side of the pond, if you don’t like a book, you might write a satirical review or decide not to patronize the seller or publisher. Over here, the procedure involves inciting a riot, attempting to get the book burned or banned, and hounding the author/publisher/seller into bankruptcy and starvation.

    Everything’s bigger in Texas, and it appears that the Brewers have adopted the tactics of their fundamentalist/evangelical brethren and sistern. I feel badly for the store staff, management, and patrons who’re being victimized. I hope they will either lose interest or realize that they can’t sustain their business model, but it appears (from further reading on the Web) that they are appealing to the bookburning, religious-right mentality. There’s a lot of “buzz” out there about their refusal to carry the Koran–just as an example. That could mean they’re in it for the long haul.

    Any time a good source of books and thought, a nourisher of thinkers, goes away, we’re all diminished. I’m saddened that this is happening.

    November 3rd, 2007 at 8:25 pm
12. Durham Cathedral SPCK » The Cartoon Blog by Dave Walker says:
    

    SPCK reports (latest)  9 Pax Vobiscum, Lois Keen, Anne, Neil, Annie, Doug Chaplin […] …

    November 3rd, 2007 at 8:30 pm
13. SPanonCK Mousey says:
    

    Christmouse Carole

    Oh, Ebenezer Brewer
    Clank your chains lest we forget
    that our Carole is departed,
    though it isn`t Christmas yet.

    But, forgive me, I`d forgotten
    that percussion has been banned!
    As it`s not such strict UNorthodox
    as SSG has planned.

    Being even with the Stephens;
    there will dawn a Boxing Day
    when Stephen the First Martyr
    is the Stephen who holds sway.

    (ie. surely St Stephen of Acts 7 fame is GREATER than Stephen the Serbian Sword Swinger - although an American group formed post 9/11 may prefer the latter….)

    November 3rd, 2007 at 10:07 pm
14. Boko Fittleworth says:
    

    Thanks for your concern, veritas, but there’s no need to worry about me, except for the fact that I have no job now because I resigned on Wednesday night by email.

    However, I’m afraid I have to tell you that one of my colleagues did sign the contract (I’m pretty sure she did anyway). She has only been working in the shop for about 6 weeks and Phil Brewer has made her a Senior Assistent, perhaps this had a dizzying effect.

    If we had been allowed to talk to each other it might have been possible to organise a strike but I don’t suppose the Brewers would have flinched at the idea of sacking all of us in one go.

    And I think you’re right, the seige mentality that they have developed gives them an explanation for everything. A bit like some evanglicals; when things go wrong it’s because Satan is attacking us, he’s attacking us because we’re doing something right. If things go right, God’s blessing us…

    When I heard we were being taken of by St. Stephen the Great, I thought ‘Oh that’s nice, first Christian martyr’. How wrong was I?

    November 4th, 2007 at 12:51 am
15. Anne says:
    

    Veritas, this is what I find so incredibly odd about this whole thing. I, too, have Orthodox friends, and they’re really not about engineering hostile takeovers of booksellers, churches, or anything else. I can only conclude that these people are money-fueled members of some sort of lunatic fringe. It’s a bit scary when you think of it. Their Website is a carefully-constructed tissue of propaganda. They seem to be saying that any British saint who came along before the Norman Conquest is somehow magically Orthodox–St. Dunstan being their “featured saint” at the moment. I also learned that their takeovers include a lot of bookstores at what I would think of as “the great cathedrals of England,” such as Salisbury. They’re certainly making a big deal out of that. Sounds as though they’re somehow trying to co-opt an ancient religious heritage.

    Continuing prayers for those affected, and I will cherish the “indie” Episcopal bookseller where I shop all the more.

    November 4th, 2007 at 1:02 am
16. Anthony says:
    

    Anne, you’re right about the SSG being lunatic fringe, but I don’t think there’s any big conspiracy. They took over a small (23 or 24) chain of well-regarded religious bookstores which was already in serious financial trouble because of competition from big retailers and a general loss of customer interest in religion. They then proceeded to bungle the operation in every way imaginable for the last few months thus speeding the demise of the chain. They actually seem to be rather short of capital, despite being from Texas. Their Serbian or Rumanian orthodox missionary aims seem particularly wacky. It is a shame all around, but it is hard to know what could have saved the SPCK chain in the long run other than finding a nice rich non-profit to subsidize it, but maybe some of the individual bookstores will be able to reorganize and survive.

    November 4th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
17. Anthony says:
    

    On the contrary, veritas, where I come from people on the lunatic fringe have been known to do quite a bit of lethal harm. Like Lee Harvey Oswald. I did not mean to imply that the Brewers were bumbling but well-meaning people. They sound unbalanced, desperate, and somewhat out of control. I would not want to have to deal with them. However, I am sceptical about how much money they really have, beyond what they have spent on their vacant churches. Does anyone know how much they payed for SPCK? And was it cash or promissory notes?

    November 4th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
18. chris clark says:
    

    Dave thanks for keeping us up to date on this important topic.

    Can I counsel caution to your bloggers. It is quite easy to be sued for expressing strong opinions carelessly. Please use phrases such as “in my opinion” or “allegedly” which help in this area.

    I am no lawyer but it sounds as though cases of wrongful or constructive dismissal could be raised in an employment tribunal. I just feel none of this helps the cause of the kingdom where orthodox, catholic and evangelical all acknowledge Jesus and as Lord and King.

    November 5th, 2007 at 9:00 am
19. Pax Vobiscum says:
    

    Anthony
    SSG paid nothing for SPCK Bookshops. They were gifted them, including a handful of the freeholds to the 13 or so properties SPCK owns. Much could have been done to save the shops. The managers had indeed tried to tell their seniors about what was required. But no one was prepared (because they cared about the individuals) to take the hard decisions which would either have meant closing some branches and running with a more streamlined chain or selling off the shops piecemeal to interested UK booksellers and accepting that some shops would simply fade away.

    To the SPCK Governing Body the Brewers were like a dream come true - agreeing to take on the whole chain, to save all jobs and to preserve the integrity of the shops. However, we now know better than that and some of us bear the scars.

    November 5th, 2007 at 10:02 am
20. Anthony says:
    

    Pax vobiscum - Thanks for the background. A very sad story. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.

    Chris Clark - Thanks for the wise counsel.

    November 5th, 2007 at 11:15 am
21. Peter Kirk says:
    

    Did SSG take on any responsibilities or make any promises when they took over the bookshops? Have they kept their promises and fulfilled their legal obligations? Or were they simply given a gift of valuable freehold properties, not to mention stock etc, in return for general expressions of goodwill?

    Any other suckers out there who would like to give me freehold properties etc with no binding obligations?

    November 6th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
22. Rupert of the rind says:
    

    Can anyone properly explain what the deal is with the shops being unable to order from certain publishers? It makes no sense. This stuff reminds me of the Silly Stalinists you used to find chairing meetings of “consensual” alternative communities. A few years later you go back and find they’ve bought the house!

    November 7th, 2007 at 2:15 am
23. Doug Chaplin says:
    

    I’ve now had a comment from the Antiochan Orthodox deanery’s webmaster, in relation to their Poole “church” which ends saying:

    We have not had a relationship with Mr. Brewer or his organisation since we relocated, nor do we wish to have one. Nothing that has happened since has led us to regret our decision.

    November 7th, 2007 at 11:01 am
24. Pax Vobiscum says:
    

    To Rupert of the rind.
    Re: shops not being able to order books from certain publishers.
    1. Certain publishers are saying that their bills have not been paid.
    2. Shops are now only able to place customer orders and these have to be sent to another chain of Christian booksellers for fulfillment. This other chain has been contracted to do this work.

    Which I think tells you that the SSG shops will no longer see books as their main income. Expect to see more icons (possbily good), more agate icons (bad transfers on nice slices of rock) and more ‘orthodox’ beauty products (very expensive and not quite the right market).

    November 7th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
25. Phil Groom says:
    

    So will anyone join me in setting up a support fund for disenfranchised SPCK booksellers? I’ll start the ball rolling with £100. It’s not a lot, I know, but hopefully it’s a step in the right direction.

    I’ll created a donation page on the UKCBD website this evening. Will post another message here later when I’ve set up the page…

    November 7th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
26. Phil Groom says:
    

    And I’ll learn to type properly one day - that’s “I’ll create” not “I’ll created”. Sorry.

    November 7th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
27. Pax Vobiscum says:
    

    Phil

    You know that booksellers don’t get disenfranchised. They get remaindered.

    Secondhand booksellers get slightly foxed.

    November 7th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
28. Phil Groom says:
    

    Ha ha - like it, Pax

    Have now set up a Save the SPCK Booksellers page.

    Please spread the word and get in touch if you’d like to help or have any suggestions. Depending on how it goes I guess I’ll have to get it registered as a charity or something - watch this space…

    November 7th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
29. Phelim McIntyre says:
    

    Pax - what happens then to those booksellers which already deal with remainders?

    November 9th, 2007 at 1:46 pm