Receiving my certificate from Brian Harper, one of three Gasketeers who travelled to the Tagore Festival...
On Saturday I did a talk at the Tagore Festival which I hope to get a film of up soon. Instead of using powerpoint, I told the story of Transition using different objects which different initiatives had sent me. It went really well, and was a really enjoyable way of doing it. One of the most substantial ‘props’ was a fully functioning Victorian gas lamp which the Malvern Gasketeers had brought all the way from Malvern that morning. My thinking had been that the crescendo of my talk would be to invite them onstage and that they would light the lamp for all to see. However, while setting up we were told that in order to light it we would have needed a licence from the local Council, so it remained unlit, albeit rather beautiful nonetheless.
Nelson Mandela Bay Transition Network's ‘introduction to food gardening workshop’
It’s time to share news of all those wonderful Transition activities that you busy Transitioners have been up to this past month… The first alert – in case you haven’t already heard – is to tell you that the Transition Network is now on Facebook…have a look! Starting the rounds down in Australia, Transition Town Triangle Plus and Clean Energy for Eternity recently held a meeting to set out a ground breaking plan developed by Beyond Zero Emissions to move Australia’s energy systems on to renewable technologies in just 10 years… you can do it!
FC United is a supporter-owned football club in Manchester, formed by Manchester United fans opposed to the Glazers buyout of the club. They play in the Northern Premier League and aim to raise £1.5 million for a new ground, and have already raised £700,000, in part through a very well supported share launch. Might a similar model also enable the rapid acceleration of Transition at the community level?
Here is a last minute addition to the ingredients for the forthcoming ‘Transition Companion’. It is especially timely as OVESCO in Lewes’s share option has managed to raise £286, 600 is only £20,000 short of its target … if you live in an around Lewes, get your shares before 27th May!!
Money isn’t a neutral thing. The decisions we make with our investment choices either prop up and reinforce an economic model rooted in a past of cheap energy prices and climate irresponsibility, or they can help to bring forth a new, revitalised and more appropriate way of doing things.
Just to update you… the winner of the Tagore festival tickets is Nathan Burlton (see left), who correctly identified that the following two statements about Rabindranath Tagore are not true.
2. When Tagore was at Dartington with the Elmhirsts in the 1930s, he set a local record for ‘welly wanging’ (hurling a Wellington boot over long distances) which stood until 1984. Superstitious locals attributed his success to Eastern mystical powers…
5. Tagore once had a trial with Leyton Orient FC, but wasn’t signed up, much to his disappointment. His sense of rejection was captured in his poem “A Lonely Lament from Between the Posts” (Tagore was a goalkeeper).
Shame really, would have been great if at least one of those had been the case…
Here is a short film of the launch of OVESCO’s (Ouse Valley Energy Services Company) community power station share launch. If you live in and around Lewes, you have until 27th May to get your shares. They have raised £287,000 so far, and still need to raise another £20,000. A very exciting model, which will be put in a wider context tomorrow.
How might our response to peak oil and climate change look more like a party than a protest march? This site explores the emerging transition model in its many manifestations
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