26 Apr 2007
Lewes Now Officially Unleashed!
On Tuesday night Transition Town Lewes held their Official Unleashing at Lewes Town Hall. Only the third town to organise an Unleashing, Lewes put on a wonderful event, one which will have been very memorable for all those involved. Over 400 people packed into the Town Hall to hear **John Webber**, the chair of TTL welcome them and introduce the evening. I then spoke for 45 minutes about peak oil and energy descent, where the Transition Town process emerged from and how it is being applied in various places.
Then **Adrienne Campbell** from TTL spoke about what they had done so far, and the events that are coming up in their excellent new programme. She also spoke very movingly of how in 1900, all the businesses in Lewes were owned by local people, listing some of them and what happened to them. She invited everyone assembled to come to their first Open Space day, on food, which is coming up soon.
Then **Dr. Chris Johnstone** spoke about finding your power through engaging in energy descent work. He explained the Stages of Change model that emerges from the addictions field, and how it can be applied to Transition Towns work. He talked about ‘dreamblockers’, the voices in our heads that stop us from doing things, and how in driving forward the energy descent planning process we will face thes dreamblockers within our communities, those who tell us it can’t be done.
He finished his talk with a rousing salsa sing along (you had to be there!). Finally the Mayor of Lewes spoke, and offered the unanimous support of Lewes Town Council. There was a great sense of enthusiasm and passion for the project, and people began to sign up for leading some of the subgroups. In the hall outside were a number of stalls and stands from local groups and people stayed for a long time discussing the evening and the issues it raised, oiled by local wine and fruit juice.
Transition Town Lewes is a very dynamic group, the first Transition Town initiative in the UK to have its own T-shirts (a few were hand made for the occasion!) as well as its own office! Congratulations to everyone involved for such a successful evening, as well as for all that they have done so far. You can read TTL’s version of events here
One-Ten
29 Apr 7:03am
Inspiring evening. Great to hear specific, positive, realistic proposals. I first came across Peak Oil a couple of years ago, and having discussed it with a few people, I saw most of the symptoms you described, from glee to apocalyptic despair. To find an approach with such a sense of purpose, and one that has a chance of engaging a wider community, is encouraging. Thanks.
Little Storping-in-the-Swuff » A Call to Adventure!
29 Apr 7:33am
[…] highlight of the evening was a talk from Rob Hopkins, who gave an account of Peak Oil. I learned that global discovery peaked in 1965; apparently […]