Transition Tea Tent @ The Waveney Greenpeace Fair - 4 September

The Waveney Greenpeace Fair is on! It will be taking place in its new location alongside the lime trees at Henham Park, Suffolk on Sunday 4th September from 11am to 11pm (find us on map here).

The Fair features three music stages: the big top with a range of amplified music, the acoustic stage, and a lively human dynamo stage where the sound system is powered by members of the audience riding an exercise bike! The music encompasses jazz, folk, blues, reggae, samba and much, much more.

Stalls are back, plus great kids’ activities and entertainment including the Woodcraft Folk and the Foolhardy Folk.

Some new things include Swingboats, ‘History of the Albion Fairs’ tent, a healing area, more campaign stalls and of course The Transition Tea Tent, organised by Sustainable Bungay and featuring sustainable bicycle-powered smoothies by TN's own Jo Balfe. There will also be a Transition East stall inside for all initiatives in the Eastern region to contribute posters and info, so do come along! It's a great place to meet up.

Admission is £10 per adult, £8 concessions, £5 children under 12, under 5s free. Please car share or come by bike, there's no extra charge for parking this year.

For further details including about volunteering contact Eloise Wilkinson eloise.wilkinson@gmail.com. For full line up www.waveneygreenpeace.org.uk

Transition Tea Tent and Stall from Greenpeace Fair 2010 by Mark Watson; Jo and bicycle-powered smoothies at the Harlequin Fayre.

Grapes Hill Community Garden Update - 25 September

The Grand Opening Day at Grapes Hill Community Garden on 7th August was a great success and was attended by a wide range of people. Will Giles officially opened the garden, then we enjoyed a day of food, drink, music, plant sales, face painting and information about the garden. We recruited lots of new members.

August has seen the garden at its most productive, with plentiful crops of courgettes, French and runner beans, spring onions, parsley, nasturtiums, Alpine Strawberries, Japanese Wineberries and more unusual vegetables such as Tree Spinach and Achocha.

Some of the hardy Geraniums have been flowering for months and have now been joined by Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Soapwort, annual Mallows and Michaelmas Daisies.

It is always great to meet new members of the public and show them around the garden and this is why the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group now meets on alternate Sunday afternoons (2 - 4pm: 11th and 25th September 2011). Do come and see us!

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page - we now have over 140 followers!

Grapes Hill Community Garden is open every day (admission free). Summer opening hours are 9am - 6pm. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Grand Opening Day - 7th August 2011. Photo copyright Jo Rice / Grapes Hill Community Garden Group.

Kitchen Conversation 2 - Low Carbon Cookbook - 16 September

Last month we had our first Kitchen Conversation at the Nectar Cafe and discussed Eating Local Food for Real. Our delicious supper of shared dishes, which included some of the new cafe's raw delights - gaspacho, blackberry and apple crumble, and courgetti, a spiralling bowl of small marrows as you have not yet known them, doused in peppery nasturtium and dandelion leaf pesto (a hit!), Mark's Feel the Beet Medicine Salad and Sophie's grapes from her native France.

Afterwards we discussed the varying engagements with local food from allotments, how you can get out (or not) from the supermarket system, the beneficial and low carbon advantages of eating raw food, veg boxes and how eating in season ties you in with the earth and the people and plants of the neighbourhood. Meanwhile the cafe's next door neighbour dropped in with a picture of a hummingbird he had taken in Northern Peru.

We'll be holding our second Low Carbon Kitchen Conversation at Norwich FoodCycle Cafe on 16 September at 7pm. These free community meals are cooked up each week at the Friends Meeting House kitchens from food that would otherwise be thrown away, all donated by local shops, restaurants and market stalls (including surplus veg from Norwich FarmShare). Our topic for discussion will be (you guessed it!) Food Waste, both the big global picture and the small ways we can rethink how we buy and pay attention to the food that keeps our bodies and souls together. All welcome! Charlotte Du Cann

For further info on The Low Carbon Coobook contact Charlotte at rootsshootsandseeds@hotmail.co.uk

Jo welcomes the crew to the Nectar; our shared late summer meal

Book swap @ Nectar - 24 September

If you love your books, set them free. Based on this motto of bookcrossing, there will be a book swap on Saturday 24 September 3pm at Nectar Cafe, 16 Onley Street, NR2 2EB. Whether transition related, written by the enemy, or a novel that is collecting dust on your bookshelf, do bring it along. We'll also start an Official Bookcrossing Zone, so from then on you can come and take and bring books there. For free, there aren't even penalties for returning your books late. Erik Buitenhuis

TN Bloggers preparing to release The Transition Timeline into the wild in Chapelfield Gardens

News from Norwich FarmShare - Workday - 25 September

We're fully in the middle of the most productive time on the farm: all the fruiting plants are heavy with produce- squashes, tomatoes and beans. The flowering plants are coming in: broccoli and cauliflowers and the cooler weather brassicas are starting to bulk up. This means that our veg shares are enormous, groaning with veg. Members stare wide eyed at each other over their mounds of fennel, custard squashes, tomatoes and more. We learn how to store veg and how to preserve it. Or we invite friends and family round for big meals based on what we have. And we store up memories of these bumper crops to last us when all we've got is root veg and cabbage. It's a surprising new-old thing to have to learn in these days of round-the-clock, round-the-calendar, round-the-world shopping.

The other new-old thing we're learning is that many hands really do make light work. We're growing without sprays, which means the weeds can only be kept down by sheer hard work. If we were to pay people to pull out the weeds, we would have to charge much more for our veg- so we ask all our members (and anyone else who would like to support us or who fancies a day in the fresh air) to contribute to work days at least three times a year.

The next work day will be on Sunday 25th September 11am to 3pm. Our last one was great fun, a really satisfying day. We hope you'll join us for this one too.

See our website for directions to the farm. We'll be working on the Postwick site. Elena Judd

The Shock Doctrine - Little g film night - 16 September

Billed as "a busy activists' alternative to a book group", Little g is a new film and discussion night for everyone involved in regional activism, Transition culture and all things progressive. September's film will be Shock Doctrine. Based on Naomi Klein's bestselling book, The Shock Doctrine argues that America's 'free market' policies have come to dominate the world through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries. Both the film and the book argue that governments all over the world exploit natural disasters, economic crises and wars to push through radical free market policies. Klein calls this 'disaster capitalism' and in her view, disaster capitalism is as effective as psychiatric shock therapy at wiping our collective memory.

The film concludes that the result is often catastrophic for ordinary people and hugely beneficial to big corporations. The documentary also adds to Klein's thesis - which was written before the recent market turmoil - and includes an analysis of how the financial world got into its current troubled state.The book highlights the need for resilient communities in interesting times.

September is the first, if people like the idea and turn up, it will be a regular. The idea is to relax over a film and food (bring something shareable if you can), and have time to talk about it. Lesley Grahame

Little g film night: Friday 16 September at 6pm, Friends' Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane.

Reskilling - Scything Courses

My name is Beth Tilston and I am a scything tutor. I am writing to gauge your interest in joining forces to run a one or two day scything course in your area either before the end of October this year or from May onwards next year (due to grass growth). Scything, as I am sure you know, is a way of cutting grass and weeds using a blade and human power rather than power tools such as strimmers and lawnmowers. A scythe is useful for lawns, allotments, community orchards - all the way to meadows and mountainsides.

I am looking for appropriate areas in which to run courses. An appropriate area would be somewhere which had access to a reasonable amount of grass which isn't regularly mown short, plus somewhere with nettles, docks, thistles etc to provide variety. I teach groups of up to six and can work with another tutor for larger groups. I provide all the equipment (including safety equipment) necessary and am fully insured. I am also available to do demonstrations.

Scything is a skill that takes time to learn but a skillful scyther can work as fast as a strimmer. Here’s a video of Peter Vido, a scyther in America, showing the versatility of a scythe. Scythes are also:

• Zero carbon
• Quiet - better for residential areas and for the hearing of the person cutting the grass - and for general peace and quiet!
• Safe - Though it does involve using sharp blades, there are fewer health and safety risks in the long term than mechanical devices. For example, there is no risk of whitefinger or any other vibration related ailments.
• Fuel free - and therefore cheaper in the long term
• Easy (and interesting) to maintain
• Requires skill to use and therefore makes the job interesting

Please email me at bethtilston@googlemail.com or phone me on 07818474712 to discuss options.
Beth Tilston with scythe at the Uncivilisation Festival; in action.

FILM: Just Do It! at Cinema City - 16 August

Just Do It - a tale of modern-day outlaws - a film by Emily James is showing this Tuesday at Cinema City at 8.30pm. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Lauren Simpson and exec producer Christo Hird.

“Smart, funny, adrenalised portrait of 21st-century activism” Danny Leigh, The Guardian

Just Do It lifts the lid on climate activism and the daring troublemakers who have crossed the line to become modern day outlaws. Emily James spent over a year embedded in activist groups such as Climate Camp and Plane Stupid to document their clandestine activities. With unprecedented access, Just Do It introduces you to a powerful cast of mischievous and inspiring characters who put their bodies in the way; they blockade factories, attack coal power stations and glue themselves to the trading floors of international banks despite the very real threat of arrest.

Their adventures will entertain, illuminate and inspire.

Further info: In May This Low Carbon Life published an in-depth report about the relationship between activism and Transition, inspired by this grassroots documentary.

Watch the trailer here
Invite your friends to the facebook event here.
Tickets are available here.

Get in for free! If 5 of your friends book their tickets in advance, we'll give you a free ticket. All you need to do is send the names and email addresses of your friends who've booked to our Outreach Coordinator Molly at screenings@justdoitfilm.com

Just Do It is on tour around the UK with screenings from Aberystwyth to Aberdeen, still to go we have Bristol, Birmingham, Aberystwyth, Brighton, Southampton, Exeter, Bath, Lancaster & Torrington.

Welcome to Our August 2011 News!

Read all about what's happening in the city from our Transition Norwich news crew: the launch of Kitchen Conversations, Norwich FarmShare's summer harvest (and request for willing weeders), Transition Outreach's request for the Harlequin Fayre, Magdalen Street Celebration preparations for the Big Day, updates on our blog and more . . . .

SUN AND HOLIDAY READS: out this month Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth; Sunrise Festival; Sunflower from Deep Nature week on the blog; Rob Hopkin's at the Transition Conference with David Fleming's long-awaited Lean Logic.

Magdalen Street Celebration - 2 August

This October will see the 2nd annual Magdalen Street Celebration – a chance for visitors, residents, traders and the vast array of local talent to come together in recognition of this unique corner of Norwich.

Our celebration explores Magdalen Street’s rich past, it’s diverse and highly creative present and gently nudges the area into a sustainable future. If you love Magdalen Street as much as we do, whether you live nearby or further afield, work in or just enjoy visiting the area, if you have a tale or talent to share, we need your help in making this year’s celebration the wonderful event it deserves to be.

Creators of all kinds welcome: painters, sculptors, photographers, craftspeople, film makers, designers, performers, musicians, dancers, tailors, bakers, candlestick makers and more! Get in touch (details below) and join us every first Tuesday of the month at Aladdin’s Café on Magdalen Street, to help plan this vibrant community event. Rachel Lalchan

Next meeting: Tuesday 2nd August, 7pm Further Info: Stefi Barna - 07964 494836 or Karen - artoftheordinary@googlemail.com. Web: magdalenstreet.blogspot.com or join our Facebook page

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Grand Opening Day - 7 August

Since the Grapes Hill Community Garden opened its gates to the public on 2nd July it has proved a hit with people and wildlife alike.

We had a great evening in the garden on Sunday 10th July, after St. Benedict's Street Fair. On other days people come in to enjoy the garden's peace and tranquility. People appreciate the garden's wealth of vegetables, herbs and ornamentals, with the wildflower meadow being a particular favourite.

The garden is attracting birds and insects too. A pair of blackbirds nested in a courtyard backing onto our garden and the parents foraged for food here. Bumblebees, butterflies, moths, ladybirds and hoverflies are moving into the garden and we're keeping a note of what we see.

On Sunday 7th August we have our Grand Opening Day. This starts at 11am when Will Giles from Norwich's Exotic Garden officially opens the garden. There will be food, drink, music, ice cream, face painting, competitions, plant sales and information about the garden, until 3pm.
There will also be a one-off chance at this event to join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group for half price until the end of 2012 for £5 (waged) or £1.50 (unwaged).

Admission to the garden is free - please come along and see Norwich's newest green space. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Drinks and food in the garden - 10th July 2011. Photo copyright Grapes Hill Community Garden Group. Visit our website or our Facebook page for more information.

Becoming the Media - This Low Carbon Life – 27 August

It’s been full on this summer as the blog crew have tackled the hot topics of Deep Nature, Health in Transition, Gatherings, the Transition Conference and High Summer (well perhaps not so hot) as well as our monthly Transition Themes group reports.

In May we were delighted and dismayed when one of our top bloggers, Kerry left Norwich for a great Transition job in Glasgow. At the same time we welcomed aboard Simeon Jackson, mover and shaker behind TN’s new style Economics and Livelihoods and Outreach initiatives.

We also started an occassional cross-posting from local and Transition blogs: Adrienne Cambell from TTLewes on Swarmcatchers, Mark Crutchley of the OneWorldColumn on the state of the oceans, Rachel Lalchan of Ecomonkey on giving up supermarkets, Olivia Heal of La Bonne Bouffe on Lacto-Fermentation. Chrissie Godrey from TT Taunton and one of the Conference storytellers, related the End of the Tail.

Meanwhile our regular reporters have carried on contributing daily on all subjects under the sun bringing attention and giving value to all aspects of our downshfiting culture that’s rarely covered by mainstream media. Becoming the Media is one of the Ingredients in Rob Hopkin’s soon-to-be published, The Transition Companion. It’s been the key driver behind This Low Carbon Life and has provided the inspiration (and format) for the upcoming national Social Reporting pilot. We’re launching this Transition community blog on the Network site in September. Watch that space! Charlotte Du Cann

Making a bee-line to the community garden from The Spirit of the Beehive. Photo by Muhammad Amin. Sunflowers by Mark Watson.

STOP PRESS! Due to various factors, the date of the TN Blogger's Summer Meeting has changed. It will now be at The Greenhouse, Bethel Street on Saturday, 27 August at 11am. All present and future bloggers welcome!

Introducing Kitchen Conversations - Low Carbon Cookbook - 24 August

Last month we gathered at Christine’s and welcomed Sophie and Nick to our low-carbon table. We ate, as usual, a delicious supper of shared dishes (from rainbow summer slaws to foraged cherry plum pie) and afterwards discussed the Burning Issues embedded in the present industrialised food system. We looked at the scarcity of water, the destructiveness of supermarkets, peak phosphates, and how we can change the menu, both practically and philosophically, in our daily lives and neighbourhoods.

We also decided to open out these monthly discussions and invite everyone to take part in a conversation over supper on all aspects of food and carbon reduction.

Our first Kitchen Conversation will be on Eating Local for Real on Wednesday 24 August at 6.30pm at Jo Balfe's new cafe The Nectar at 16 Onley Street, just off the Unthank Road. Jo is a member of the TN Permaculture group and gives regular workshops on cooking and eating local and raw food. We'll bring our own local low carbon dishes to share and Jo will be offering drinks and pedal-powered desserts.

We'll be holding our second Low Carbon Kitchen Conversation at Norwich FoodCycle Cafe in September. These free community meals are cooked up each week at the Friends Meeting House kitchens from food that would otherwise be thrown away, donated by local shops, restaurants and market stalls (including surplus veg from Norwich FarmShare).

Everyone is welcome at both events. Details and times will be added soon to the calendar. Watch this space! Charlotte Du Cann

Bicycle blender outside The Nectar; Low Carbon Cookbook Crew; blight-free organic potatoes at The Spuds Don't Work anti-GM rally outside the Forum

Kitchen Conversation 1: Eating Local for Real at The Nectar Cafe, 16 Onley Street. KC 2: Food and Waste will be at FoodCycle, Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane in September. For more details contact Charlotte Du Cann rootshootsandseeds@hotmail.co.uk

Norwich FarmShare Workday - 20 August

As we head into August we are celebrating our first full month of delivering our fresh locally grown veg to our members. The veg we've supplied during our first month has been delicious and we've had a fantastic range. It's amazing to look back on how the site looked only a few months ago and reflect on how far we've come.

It's been really nice to start to get to know each other as we meet up to collect our veg. Lots of people stop for a cuppa and a chat- we often end up swapping recipes and tips on cooking the vegetables. I learnt that broad beans are much nicer if you take the skin off as well as podding them! I've never liked broad beans before, but I've really enjoyed them this summer, especially in the falafel that Tierney gave me the recipe for.

We've been grateful for lots of volunteer help over the month, some people come every week, others as and when they find the time. There are lots of jobs we need help with: harvesting every Thursday takes several pairs of hands to make sure all the veg is ready to take to our distribution point; but the job that's really getting away from us at the moment is weeding. Some of the weeds are taller than the crops! If you've got time on your hands and you fancy some healthy exercise in the fresh air, we'd love to see you on the farm.

We have work days every Thursday from 9.30 for harvesting. As for weeding, to make it as easy as possible you're welcome to visit the farm any time you'd like: then all you need to do is look for our 'weed me' sign and get stuck in. Our next Saturday workday will be on 20 August, 11am to 3pm.

Weekly updates, veg recipes and details of how to get to the farm are on our website

Looking forward to seeing you there! Elena Judd