Pedal Power Party - 25 September

The party following the Cycle Dynami Workshop will feature short live performances using a pedal-powered sound system and lighting, and a short film, using a pedal-powered computer and data projector. Bring soft drinks and finger food to share, tea and coffee will be provided. All ages welcome. Bikes optional. RSVP Lesley Grahame 01603 920801 lesley7railway@yahoo.co.uk NB Limited car parking at venue, preference given to disabled partygoers, tell Lesley if space needed.

Pedal Power Party at Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane Norwich NR2 1EW Saturday 25th September, 6 - 9 p.m.

Grapes Hill Community Garden

Grapes Hill Community Garden is near the bottom of Grapes Hill in Norwich. It was an area of tarmac until September 2010, when hard landscaping work began.

The garden has been planted up by volunteers during spring 2011 and is open to the general public every day (during daylight hours) from Saturday 2nd July 2011.

The garden contains a large number of edible plants - fruit trees and bushes, herbs, vegetables and edible flowers, such as French marigolds (Calendula) and day lilies (Hemerocallis).

We have planted a small apple orchard, fan-trained cherries, a fig, cordeon pear trees, four grape vines, a plum, an apricot, raspberries and blackberries. More unusual fruit include quince and medlar trees, honeyberries, Japanese wineberries and alpine strawberries.

There are four large ash trees and these provide shade in summer. In the shadier areas we have planted woodland wildflowers such as primroses, snowdrops, bluebells and Welsh poppies.

Underneath the apple trees is a small meadow area with wild flowers and grasses.

We are also growing ornamental shrubs and flowers to make the garden attractive to people and wildlife alike.

There are several seats and a lawn area where visitors can relax and enjoy the garden.

If you'd like to become involved in the garden, you can join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group. Visit our website, http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/, for more details.

Come and enjoy our urban oasis!

For further details contact Grapes Hill community Garden website.

Magdalen Street Celebration - 29 September

Creativity, Diversity, Sustainability - 2 October 2010
Join the street festival with a difference! Come to the hub of the Creative Quarter and experience the most diverse neighbourhood in the city, learn about the history of the street, sample the unique collection of shops, meet other residents and make lasting connections.

The day includes an array of activities including performances by neighbourhood musicians (Norwich Parkour and Taiko drummers have confirmed they'll appear), workshops with local artists and performers, and a fashion parade using vintage and second-hand clothes. There will also be a chance to start Christmas shopping with stalls of local crafts as well as all the brilliant quirky and practical shops along the street and in Anglia Square.

The event is spearheaded by members of Transition Norwich who wanted to find a fun way for community members to meet each other, celebrate the range of cultural backgrounds we represent, and enjoy the opportunity to live more sustainably by shopping locally, buying second-hand and making friends locally.

Find out more about the Celebration at www.magdalenstreet.blogspot.com
or join us at any of the planning meetings listed here on the right in the Transition Norwich event calendar. Click here for report in the Norwich Evening News.

Magdalen Street Celebration brought to you by Transition Norwich in association with The Festival of 5 - Five ways to wellbeing: connect • be active • take notice • keep learning • give www.neweconomics.org and Norfolk Black History Month www.norfolkblackhistorymonth.org.uk

Heart & Soul Meeting - 13 September

The next Heart and Soul group will be on Monday 13 September, 7.30pm upstairs at the Bicycle Shop, St Benedict’s Street.

This will be an open space as we re-gather after the summer, and prepare for the autumn: a chance to check in; explore where we are all at; look at anything that has come up for any of us over the past couple of months; talk about what we’ve all been up to.

We will also, if there’s time, be talking about the exciting prospect of finally getting a WELLBEING group off the ground (this relies on your input) - and unveiling some speakers who are coming up over the winter months in conjunction with the Mangreeen Trust.

As ever, the group is open to anyone - whether you’re interested in engaging with the inner and psychological aspect of the transition movement, or just feel the urge to find out a bit more about who we are. And as ever, there will be a tea/wine and cakes afterwards, in the cosy environment of the Bicycle Shop.

For more information contact Jo Guthrie on 07940 096201.

Click the following for more details of Heart and Soul happenings. You will also find some information here about a national Transition Network initiative for Inner Transition. The objectives include setting up a holding group for this work; looking at communications; researching what's been done so far; and developing resources to support local initiatives.

RELATED EVENTS: Harlequin Fayre and Last Summer Festivals - 5 September

The summer season of East Anglian festivals and fairs is drawing to a close with the Greenpeace Fair's Celebration Gig and the Burston Strike School rally this weekend. In August Transition Norwich and East shared a stall at the first Harlequin Fayre in North Norfolk. Lesley Grahame was there.

Ever been to a festival and not known who to talk to, or where to be? I recommend running a Transition stall, and lots of people come and talk to you.

Last month Gary, Lesley, Tom and Chris relaxed over a stall at Harlequin Fayre and met lots of lovely, active and interested people, some of them new to the idea of Transition. Our visitors included Transition Ipswich, Greentech from Cambridge, and Rossport Solidarity Campaign, who are fighting Shell’s efforts to run a pipeline through their bay, farms and village. They have been nicknamed the Bogoni by Nigerians fighting the same battle, against an even higher level of violence, corruption and company impunity. Three guesses where we might go for next year’s summer holiday.

On Sunday Gary and Lesley ran a workshop where 12 people talking to each other came up with some great ideas such as incentivise organic farming, taxing virgin raw materials (but not recycled stuff), closing Sizewell nuclear power station, opening wind farm and hemp and nettle clothing factory.

Reviewing 20 years backwards from 2030, for a our headlines included a bumper walnut crop spelling boost for Downham Market pound, a community vote for compost toilets, a bus service for every village, solar panels on all roofs combining with insulation to make heating unnecessary. We also had a cycle highway opening and motorway closing, an investigation into Parish council corruption and 'Massingham eco-flats completed for flood refugees'

Harlequin Fayre itself was exemplary low impact fun - a gathering centred on the green ethos, and a continuation of a long tradition of colourful events, such as the Albion Fayres. In East Anglia it seemed that the best way to attend the "dream event" was to create it - this was a long time coming. Harlequin Fayre will never be a large "music festival". Instead we have a small, magical and interesting weekend, with vibrant people and colour, safe for kids and still brilliant for the rest of us.

The tickets were priced to keep it as affordable as it's possible to be and to try and reach the very challenging 90% waste recycling rate through the involvement of Bright Green. The stalls were ethical, organic, and where possible, local. A lift share facility was made available.

This weekend there are two fairs: the Greenpeace Fair and Burston on 5th September, and a chance to network with Trade Unions and others. This is a great day out if you like live music, comedy and excellent speakers like Tony Benn.

Bus details for Burston: Departure from Yarmouth bus station 9.30am.Pick up at Norwich rail station 10.15am Pick up outside John Lewis 10.20am Arrival approx 11am Burston.Return 4.30 pm (same route).The cost has been footed initially by GYTUC but donations obviously welcome from any branches. Cheques payable to Great Yarmouth and District Trades Council via Secretary Alan Stewart at 22 Marsh Farm, Mill road, Cobholm, Great Yarmouth. To book a place, email Alan Stewart: norfolk@unitywebring.com

Photos: Transition East stalls at Harlequin Fayre and the Greenpeace Celebration Gig, 2010.

Transition Circle Earlham South -31 August

This summer Transition Circle West divided itself in two. In August Earlham South and North are both holding circles and discussing (and practicing) low carbon living. Diana Church and Erik Buitenhuis report on the groups' activities:

Transition Circle Earlham South met at the house of Teresa and Pete to take some joint action by weeding their vegetable patch, eat their redcurrants and admire their old hedge. We also had our usual shared meal and talked of everything from local art to the moral inheritance from grandmothers. Then we moved back into the garden to sit around a fire lit in an old washing machine drum. We found that the joint action was both practically useful and sociable – we all enjoyed chatting while we weeded - and talked of a program of skill building actions over the summer, and to invite people from outside the group to come and present a topic over the winter months.

Next time we will chop some wood in Hethersett and talk about permaculture (31 August 18:15). (Erik Buitenhuis/TCES)

Magdalen Street Annual Celebration - 8 September

The next organising meetings for the Magdalen Street Celebration (October 2nd) will be at Aladdin's (TBC) on September 8th at 6.30pm for a 7pm start (please come for 6.30pm if you're new to the group as we will get down to business at 7pm!)

We're looking for all kinds of contributors, from the traders on Magdalen Street itself to artists, performers, helpers and local groups from Magdalen Street and surrounding NR3 area to come and get involved with a range of activities, stalls and events.

To keep up with latest developments please go to http://www.magdalenstreet.blogspot.com or look up 'Magdalen Street' on Facebook.

Transition Earlham North - 23 August

This was an interesting evening based on Low Carbon Holidays. After our shared meal we propped open the laptop and looked at websites that we hoped were going to be useful and informative. There are plenty of sites out there offering eco holidays. These ranged from international couch surfing for a few pennies per night to really expensive eco units on sustainable sites.

But we quickly realised it wasn't low cost holidays we were looking for but low carbon. How easy to become distracted from the real subject.Whatever sites we looked at the question we consistently asked ourselves was.."and how do we get to this place without creating an enormous carbon footprint."So we looked for guidance on the CarbonCounted.co.uk site to understand the transport.Walking and cycling holidays in our own county in terms of low carbon travel from A to B, is obviously the best.

Going further afield however it seems that hitch hiking with a friend, or packing a car full of people, or taking bikes on a train or taking a slow ferry are the next lowest options. Interestingly the website explains that taking longhaul flights and then staying for a long time at the destination can be considered as quite 'low carbon'. Next we looked at low carbon places to stay.Renting a cottage and doing our own self catering means we can control the rate of water and fuel use. House exchanges were discussed especially where we visit a foreign country not a a tourist but with a purpose to work on a project there or help to teach English. We found this idea very appealing.EcoEscape, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers , Youth Hostelling and International Youth Hostelling. 'A Rocha' and 'Servas' were all considered. Many of these organisations actively nurture and promote peace through cooperation at grass roots level between people of different nationalities. (Diana Church/TCEN)

Transition North's next meeting is at Lucinda Smyth's house. Monday 23rd August. 6.30 pm. Bring food to share. The subject we agreed we would like to discuss is water conservation.

Kerry @ Otesha - End to End tour 2010

As those of you who read the blog know (see 26-28 July), Otesha are writing a weekly newsletter as they cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats. If you want to keep track of how they, and Kerry in their midst, are doing, you can read the newsletter at the Otesha website, or you can sign up to get it by email.

BOOKS: The Empathic Civilisation by Jeremy Rifkin

It’s a hefty book weighing in at over 2 kilos. I might have passed it up, but my curiosity was piqued when Tom Harper at a Low Carbon Roadshow rehearsal spoke about how it documents a shift from psychological thinking to dramaturgical thinking – how we’re becoming actor-directors in a shared production, as opposed to analysts and controllers of a set of problems. Then Rupert Read wrote an excellent piece about our fear of mortality based on the book in the OneWorldColumn.

Why is The Empathic Civilisation relevant to Transition? Because its central debate is that empathy comes into play at the precise point when the energy that maintains a civilisation’s increasingly complex systems begins to run out. Rifkin brings this paradox to our attention because instead of total societal collapse, we could reach out to our fellows and do something different. We don’t have to go the way of Rome and entropy. Collaboration he argues always “bests” competition, as he charts the global movement towards mutual understanding between races and genders. The more advanced a civilisation becomes he argues the more co-operative and freethinking it becomes - intolerant hierarchical religions, for example, give way to egalitarian spirituality. Rifkin works methodically through Western philosophy to find our rarely-recorded “hidden history”. The book lacks the ease and economy of social reportage such as Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, but it’s well worth picking up with both hands, even if you only dip in occasionally. The passages on embodied empathy replacing a disembodied seeking of ideals and perfection (Chapter 5) is particularly good.

The Empathic Civilisation -The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis by Jeremy Rifkin (Polity Books) £17.99

Food and Farming projects

Food is likely to be one of the areas most affected by peak oil. And, since human life requires food, it might become the most pressing. Our planet currently produces far more food than at any time in history. We can do this because of an array of fossil “subsidies” that boost the amount of food we can get from each hectare of land, from fertilisers to pesticides, tractor fuel to refrigerated transport. These subsidies enable us not only to support our huge world population, they also enable those of us in the rich countries to eat higher up the food chain. As peak oil, and other resource constraints, start to bite we will need to develop more resilient food systems, and we will have to reduce our demand for food by eating lower down the food chain (ie eating less meat and dairy produce).

Working with East Anglia Food Link, Transition Norwich has secured £137k of funding, from the Lottery-funded Local Food Fund, for a series of exciting projects:

- a Community Supported Agriculture scheme growing organic vegetables on the edge of the city at Postwick. We’ll be recruiting members who will pay an annual membership fee in return for a regular supply of seasonal, organic, local produce with a very low carbon footprint. Members will also be encouraged to get involved in supporting the project.
- another market garden on the playing fields of the Hewett School, linking students and local people into vegetable production and selling through local community outlets including the school kitchen and ideas like weekly market stalls at local primary schools.
- a flour mill milling local organic wheat, and supplying local artisan bakers who will then be able to bake a “Local Loaf”; and
- brokering local staples such as oats and beans into wholefood shops in the city.

The Food Group also developed a detailed contribution to the Resilience Plan, setting out the kind of diet that Norwich could eat in a resource-constrained world, how much land would be required to grow that food, and where the gaps are in terms of storage, processing etc.

At present, the Food Group is not meeting as such, because so much activity is going on in other quarters:

Norwich FarmShare is the co-op we've set up to operate the community supported agriculture and school market garden schemes. Some 20 members of Transition Norwich have become the active members of that co-op and are putting great energy into ensuring the success of those projects.

Other food projects within Transition Norwich include the Low Carbon Cookbook and the Permaculture Group.

We also celebrate several excellent food initiatives run by other organisations in Norwich, especially the Grow Our Own project.

Contact: Tully Wakeman at tully@transitionnorwich.org

Click here to view / join the Food and Farming email discussion group (Google Group)

Dancing at Lughnasa - 1 August

Happy harvest
Happy gathering
Happy dancing
One and All!

Kerry, Charlotte and Elena dancing around the stone circle at Mangreen at Summer Solstice; walking the ley through the barleyfield; sunrise on the sunrise coast

Transition Cafe - 15 August

The Transition Cafe was started because the theme group meetings always have a full agenda, so that it's a challenge to stay on topic, and there's lots that doesn't get talked about. So here's a monthly meeting that is easy to remember: every 15th of the month, 19:30. No agenda, no pressure, no fixed end time. If you'd like to talk to other transitioners about any topic at all, do come. The Cafe will be held in The White Lion, 73 Oak Street, NR3 3AQ Norwich, until further notice (check the calendar if in doubt).

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.