Enter the Dragon

Celeste, our very own Transition Dragon, has made her debut at the Lord Mayor’s procession on 11 July, driven in wizard style by Chris Hull and accompanied by her creator Bel and attendant Transitioners. Thousands of Norwich citizens turned out to welcome her. After a short rest, she is in residence at the Forum, in the Millennium Library from 27 July to 8 August. She plans to tour the county in the autumn.

Celeste is here to campaign for more sustainable use of the elements that she is made from (earth, wind, fire and water).

To find out more, visit http://groupspaces.com/e/click/rreq-vhmp-1xr8tylgbe?u=http://www.transitionnorwich.org.

The Power of Community

This powerful film tells the story of how Cuba responded to the peak oil situation that was imposed upon it by the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is perhaps one of the most inspiring films about transition and provides hope that we can make the lifestyle changes needed to survive in a post oil society. Instead of ice cream bring a loaf of bread or some chopped veg to add to a big pot of soup to share during the interval. This will be followed by a discussion about how we can use some of the ideas in the film here in Norwich. 7pm at Inner Space, Maude Gray Court, St Benedict's Street.

The Age of Stupid - 9 July

The Age of Stupid is being screened again at Cinema City on Sunday 9th August at 5.20pm, followed by a panel discussion. In this film Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the environmental wasteland of 2055, looking back at footage from 2008 and asking: why didn't we save ourselves when we had the chance? This is essential viewing for anyone interested in life on earth in the 21st century. The film sold out when it was screened here in April and has been doing so around the globe, so book early (0871 704 2053) or http://groupspaces.com/e/click/rreq-vhmp-1xr8tylgbe?u=http://www.picturehouses.co.uk.

REPORT: Transition Training 2009

Transition Norwich, Transition Dereham, Transition Harleston and Transition Unoki were represented at the Transition Training in Norwich last weekend. TT Network facilitators Mandy Dean and Mike Payne led participants through presentations on peak oil and climate change, pair and group work exercises on personal stories of transition, visualisations of a resilient future and Joanna Macy exercises on inner change. Participants also ran their own Open Space session on local issues. Although most participants were already involved in theme groups locally, another, Eric Maddison, is hoping to start a Transition initiative in the Unoki district of Tokyo in Japan - his trip overseas just happened to coincide with the training. Although surely clocking up the biggest carbon footprint for attendance at a TTN training weekend, he was forgiven! Details of Transition Training across the country are available fromhttp://groupspaces.com/e/click/rreq-vhmp-1xr8tylgbe?u=http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TrainingforTransition

EVENTS: St Benedict's Fair and Transition Party

The Summer Solstice weekend was a busy and challenging one for Transition Norwich with our first party on Mousehold Heath and a stall at the popular St Benedict's Street Fair. It poured with rain on Saturday but the resilient Transition party crew carried on having a good time. 40-50 people cycled or walked up the hill to the Ranger's House where we gathered happily under the willow and apple trees. Everyone brought a sustainable dish. Children made fabric sunflowers and flower-dotted paper and listened to Su the storyteller. We learned about making felt slippers and herbal highballs, drank home-made elderflower cup and ate home-grown strawberries. We swapped clothes and books at the “Old is the New New” stall. Tom sang with his cycle-powered dynamo. Later we had a jam session in the Triple Crunch tent and proved that a spot of stormy weather doesn’t need to get you down!

Meanwhile on Sunday The St Benedict’s Street Fair the weather was fairer, but we were competing for airspace. Co-ordinator Andy C writes: "A great team assembled at short notice, but it was hard to hard to engage with people, as we had an oppressively loud sound system blasting full pelt from a very short range". Nevertheless we were there and the post-it board was again very popular. People wrote their thoughts down about their visions for a resilient Norwich. Key themes were transport and allotments - better facilities for cyclists, independent shops and vegetable growing workshops for schools.