The Eye of the Beholder - Heart & Soul meeting - 9 August

Heart and Soul Meeting: Monday 9th August at Mangreen Hall, Nr Swardeston, NR14 8DD

A time of being together in the sacred beauty of Mangreen, sharing communion with the land, each other and with Gaia. Bring food to share starting from 6.30pm. William Duffield will lead us through a tree prayer dance, a meditation and contemplative time in the Light Centre. The theme will be exploring how our ability to perceive outer beauty is intimately connected with our inner wellbeing.

Contact: William 01508 570444.

Transition Circle Earlham North

Transition Circle Earlham North is open to anyone living in the west of Norwich to the north of Earlham Road (if you are south then check out the Earlham South group!) who is interested in actually living a low carbon life. The group meets monthly in each others houses. Meetings always involve a bring and share meal and then go onto the theme for the night, which can be anything from low carbon holidays to energy in the home, from growing your own to how we can help each other to reduce our impact. The idea is to form neighbourhood groups - as each group attracts new members and grows too large to fit in a living room - it will split into two - so the Transition ethos will spread like cell division. Transition Circle Earlham North is already a division on the Transition Circle West group that got too big for living rooms! Part of what the group does is share stories and experiences of how each of us lives, what is working, what is difficult, real lives making real changes. It is lovely to share food and stories once a month with others who are on the same path as you.

If you would like to join our friendly group then get in touch with Kerry Lane on kezereky_the_first@hotmail.com

BOOKS: Local Money by Peter North

Is it possible to have local money systems that would be credible to conventional business owners? That was my foremost question in reading Local Money. The answer is a very definite ‘yes’. This is an excellent book if you want to understand why local money is important for resilient communities and how it works in practice; it’s a must-read for anyone who wants to go ahead with innovative approaches to local money.

Part One of Local Money puts the case for local money and localised economies. Alternative money models are explained in Part Two. LETS (Local Exchange Trading Schemes), time banking, barter networks, regional and local currencies are assessed for their relative merits on a ‘scorecard’.

Part Three documents the experiences of introducing Transition currencies to date: Totnes, Lewes, Stroud and Brixton, which must be the most challenging of all in establishing local money in a global city. But it works! Lambeth, Brixton’s local council, accepts council tax and stallholders’ rents in Brixton Pounds – a national first. There’s also a useful step-by-step guide to starting and building a local currency.

Part Four: Towards Resilient Local Economies is a small section that’s big on inspiring ideas. Topics include local banks, with an example of Essex County Council teaming up with Santander to help small Essex businesses to prosper, and microfinance, including Norwich-based WEETU, which provides business support and loans to women setting up in business. The book concludes with some practical insights on how to make local money work locally. (Jane Chittenden/Core Group)

NR3 - Magdalen Street Celebration - 21 July

The Transition Norwich NR3 group decided they needed a focus for their group; we discovered we all had an interest in the arts and considered ourselves creative in one way or the other. It occurred to us that we should be using these skills to make a positive difference to the area; so over tea and biscuits the idea to organise a celebration of Magdalen Street and the surrounding area (Norwich's "Creative Quarter") was formed.

A first meeting was arranged and a really good turnout formed the committee of several motivated and enthusiastic individuals. The event has now been given the name “Magdalen Street Celebration” and the date is set for 2 October 2010. We have recently become part of the “Festival of Five” which is a Rethink initiative that runs from 25 September to 9 October. The “Festival of Five” is a celebration of the five ways to wellbeing: Connect – Be active – Keep Learning – Give – Take notice. These five ways complemented beautifully the general ethos we were hoping to generate through the event.

We want as much as possible to uncover local talent and skills and generally celebrate and promote the diversity of the area. If you would like to be involved, there are a wide range of opportunities to assist on the day, we are also looking for local artists/traders/craft people/ performers/musicians to come forward and take part (Karen Steadman).

For more information or to get involved either contact Karen on artoftheordinary@googlemail.com or come along to our next meeting: 7–9pm Wednesday 21 July, at 27 St. Augustin's Street. Follow http://www.magdalenstreet.blogspot.com/ for latest updates!


[click on poster illustration to see a bigger version]

Core Group Opens Up

The Core Group has been considering how its role can be played in the most open, non-hierarchical way possible. We’ve come to feel that the annual election of core group members doesn’t entirely achieve this. Instead, and drawing on the Heart and Soul group’s ideas about its “pulse group”, we want to propose that any active member of TN should be able to join the Core Group at any time. We suggest that the group should not exceed 8 members, so, as one person joins, an existing member will decide to leave.

Four people have already put themselves forward and are being invited to join the Core Group in August. Others are invited to join whenever they like, from September onwards. In all cases we suggest a “courtship” period of 3 (monthly) meetings: at the third meeting the new person would review whether s/he wants to stay, and if so, an existing member will agree to step down. We also want to stick to the principle that nobody should be on the Core Group for more than two years at a stretch.

We also agreed that Core Group minutes should always be public. From now on you can find these in the “files” section of the tn-announcements google group page.

One Planet Community Kitchen

The Low Carbon Cookbook group has been meeting since September 2010. Now in 2012 we are collating our material in a series of blogs on This Low Carbon Life and meeting more occasinally. You are welcome to get in touch however. Here is our first call out post with details about the project at the end:

"If you want to find a way into Transition choose food," Rob Hopkins once said. And judging by the number of blogs on this subject most TN authors agree. Writing, cooking and working as a cooperative crew are three essential Transition skills and this new working party aims to give us experience and enjoyment in all three. We’ll be working to create a Low Carbon Cookbook that will be a selection of bring-food-to-share recipes (with its ecological footprint), as well as a guide to downshift cuisine and local food activism - from TN's CSA and reskilling workshops. to hinterland appleshare and community bee projects and all the strands that make up the Low Carbon Food Pattern of Norwich.

On the way, we’ll be inviting Transitioners from the region to share their knowledge of community food projects and co-operative working structures and I'll be offering practial hands-on guidance on Writing and Cooking as a food writer and ex-magazine editor.

The Low Carbon Cookbook originated at TN's First Birthday party in October 2009 and has since been discussed in the Strangers’ Circle as we have looked at food as one of the main drivers of carbon reduction and resilience. A short precis of the book and links to the subjects we are covering can be found at This Low Carbon Life (see under working projects on the right hand column). (Charlotte Du Cann/Communications)

Kitchen work began in October 2010 and the Low Carbon cooking crew plan to cook and track the seasons during one growing year. If you are interested in taking part in the project do get in touch  All welcome. Our sessions are monthly and we meet in Central Norwich.

Photo: fruit brought to the Strangers' meeting on Resilience and Community by Mark Watson

Progress on new Company

The Core Group is still (slowly) making progress on creating a new not-for-profit organisation, tentatively called Transition Norwich Projects Ltd. We are meeting with The Guild, who are experts in creating such organisations, to agree on the most appropriate legal structure and constitution. If you would like to be involved in these discussions contact Tully (tully@transitionnorwich.org).

It’s important to emphasise again that the intention is NOT to turn Transition Norwich itself into a not-for-profit company. We greatly value TN’s creative informality and lack of hierarchy. The purpose of the company is to be able to bid for funding to deliver specific projects on TN’s behalf, as a more structured organisation is necessary to do this. If you have any thoughts, concerns or suggestions do discuss them with any member of the core group.

Photo: daverey at TrekEarth.com

REPORT - Transition Circle Hethersett

On Friday we had the first meeting of the Hethersett Circle. It was a beautiful evening and I biked first to Eileen and helped carry her amazing raspberry and chocolate fudge cake around the field to Erik’s house. We were joined by Gary and Rhoda who are both very aware of Peak Oil and Climate Change – in fact we all arrived by foot or bicycle. Gary has been active in the Hethersett Environmental Action Taskforce (HEAT) for some years and Rhoda is a keen cyclist and vegetable grower who has followed TN since the unleashing. Whilst it was good to have got a group of knowledgeable people together it was clear that our publicity had not attracted people who are new to Transition to come along and that we were not going to be following the original plan to have a series of meetings based on Carbon Conversations. So we talked about what our next move might be.

We all recognise that an import aspect of Transition is that it is a positive message – not all ‘Doom and Gloom’ as Eileen said. Eileen also compared the current economic system to the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes and how we need to expose the truth. However, several people made a point that I have heard before at TN meetings - that Transition is a difficult concept to pin down and to communicate to others.

Our next step will be to have a Carbon Conversations Corner at an environmental awareness day that HEAT is organizing. HEAT has access to good publicity in the village and it seems sensible to work together. Today was an Open Gardens day in Hethersett which I went to (and which is why this post is so late) – people are given a map and walk from one garden to another. We talked about doing a similar event based on energy saving devices and methods as people are much more likely to engage with something that they can see already working in their own village. An example could be Rhoda’s battery assisted bicycle which makes it much easier for her to commute to work without having to completely change clothes on arrival. She still provides the energy but the battery evens out the effort – it levels the hills in effect! Erik hopes to soon be generating electricity from a Photo Voltaic roof.

I was encouraged to see these vegetable patches being exhibited as part of the Open Gardens day – one is at the Junior School where the teachers are keen that the children should learn that food does not appear on supermarket shelves by magic. So a lot is already happening in Hethersett, our task is to build on those foundations (John Heaser)

If you would like to join the circle please contact Erik at http://lgmacweb.env.uea.ac.uk/green_ocean/positions/Buitenhuis/feedback.html or Eileen on 01603 811997.

Transition Circle Hethersett

Transition Circle Hethersett is one of a growing number of Transition Norwich local discussion and action circles, that aim towards halving the carbon/ecological footprint of participating households relative to the national average of 12 tonnes/6.1 hectares.

At the moment we're running our first set of topical meetings on Direct energy, Transport, Food , and Embodied energy/waste. We welcome people from Hethersett and the area to join us. For the latest information see "Transition Circles: Hethersett" under "This month's news..." above.

If you would like to join the circle please contact Erik at http://lgmacweb.env.uea.ac.uk/green_ocean/positions/Buitenhuis/feedback.html or Eileen on 01603 811997.

Permaculture Gardening Workshop - 10 July

Come and find out what Permaculture Gardening is all about. These informal workshops will cover the 12 Permaculture Design Principles, how to apply these in your own gardens to create edible, biodiverse and beautiful spaces, including using ponds, discovering Mulch (and why mulching matters!), companion planting, herb spirals, keyhole beds and composting. Also a session on Forest Gardening, layering and Perennial crops. and Permaculture gardeners question time!

The introductory workshop will be held at the Grow Your Own shed at Bluebell Allotments (South), from 10-4 on Saturday 10th July. Please bring something to share for lunch, hot drinks provided. £10 donation to cover costs. 10-12 participants. (Brenna Powys/Food & Farming)

To book a place please contact Mahesh Pant at sustainable@talktalk.net

tel:01603 455868 www.grow-our-own.co.uk

Transition Circle Earlham South

Transition Circle Earlham South meet monthly to encourage each other to transition to that elusive carbon neutral life. Recently we've concluded that verbal encouragement and shared meals are all very nice indeed, but that some joint action would be even better, so we'll be starting our summer sessions with outdoor activities (such as gardening and chopping wood), and are debating about inviting people to give a talk on a practical subject over winter (See the calendar for our next meeting.)

If you would like to join the circle please contact Erik at http://lgmacweb.env.uea.ac.uk/green_ocean/positions/Buitenhuis/feedback.html

Reskilling - Crocheting Rag Rugs

The second Rag Rug session organised by the Reskilling group was a sucessful as the first with Karen managing to teach 5 beginners to crochet first with wool and hooks and then with rags and fingers. So having made a rug by the weaving technique for my mum's birthday I now need another recipient for a crocheted version!

Keep your eyes peeled for more reskilling sessions in the autumn on the subject of food as well as a 'help' social session for all your textile related queries! (Kerry Lane/Core Group)

Helen and Kerry of the Reskilling Group getting down to some serious sewing

Circle Earlham North

We had a lively first meeting on the subject of the 7 deadly resistances as covered by the blog earlier this year (link). After some scrumptious food we read all of the blog posts and then had a very interesting discussion on them. A few of the points that we discussed are the importance of learning to ask for help and the need to be aware of how societal conditioning guides many of our thoughts and actions. We also added limited time to the list.

The next meeting is going to be at Jo's house on the subject of low carbon holidays (not confirmed). (Kerry Lane/Core Group)