Nicholas Albery

Nicholas Albery

Nicholas Albery (born July 28 1948; died June 3 2001)[1][2] social inventor and author, was the founder or leader of various projects related to the improvement of society, often known as the Alternative Society.

While a student at St John's College, Oxford, he became involved with psychedelic and spiritual movements in San Francisco, dropped out of college and joined the anti-university in London.[1] After a period in Haight Ashbury he returned to the UK and became involved with the newly started BIT Information Service quickly becoming a driving force in the development of wider activities for BIT so that it became a Social centre.

In the aftermath of a violent attack by police on the Windsor Free Festival in 1974 - Nick, playwright Heathcote Williams and his partner Diana Senior successfully sued David Holdsworth, the Thames Valley Chief Constable for creating a riotous situation in which the police attacked the plaintiffs.[3]

Nicholas was a Minister for the Free State of Frestonia in North Kensington and a Green Party candidate in Notting Hill.

The Global Ideas Bank - From small beginnings (a network of inventors, a quarterly newsletter), the Institute grew into a full-fledged organisation under his leadership: producing an annual compendium, running social inventions workshops and promoting creative solutions around the world.

Nicholas founded the self-organising Saturday Walkers' Club in the mid-1990s.[4][5]

References

External links

Literature

  • Beam, Alan (1976) "Rehearsal for the year 2000: (drugs, religions, madness, crime, communes, love, visions, festivals and lunar energy) : the rebirth of Albion Free State (known in the Dark Ages as England) : memoirs of a male midwife (1966-1976)" - an account of the early years of BIT with most names changed to protect the innocent.