‘Grow Heathrow’ Eviction Threat! Our support needed

‘Grow Heathrow’ Eviction Threat! Our support needed

by | Aug 24, 2010 | All Posts, Climate Change, Peak Oil, Transition Movement

The beautifully tended squatted community garden in Sipson, Heathrow has been served a court summons for eviction. On the 1st of March this year the neglected plot on the planned site of the third runway was reclaimed, and for the last six months the Transition Heathrow team have worked with residents to rejuvenate, nay transform, the former market garden. They have shifted over 30 tonnes of rubbish from the site and set it to growing seasonal food, hosting workshops, teaching permaculture skills and even laying on a banquet for eighty people! This 'Grow Heathrow' project is part of a budding land movement in the UK linking communities who are taking back control of our food production, as well, of course, as supporting the successful No Third Runway campaign. Their work in building resilience into the community is a great example of developing alternatives to the dominant system which is hurling us all towards environmental (and economic) catastrophe. They are in negotiations with the landowners for long-term community ownership, but in the meantime they need our support. They ask for three things: 1. Sign their petition 2. Email them at info@transitionheathrow.com with a supportive testimony for the project 3. Attend their court date and show solidarity: 2nd of September in Uxbridge County Court at 11am Also email info@transitionheathrow.com if you have any skills, ideas or experience to contribute in resisting this threat. Spread the word. Light bulbs will not save us Edit - 27 Aug - Indymedia have posted an excellent article on the situation Edit - 2 Sept - Eviction adjourned as local MP and residents defend site, and Deputy District Judge rules that higher authority is needed to rule on the case. More details + video here. Edit - 23 Jan 2011 - Next court date set for November 2011 - the next ten months are assured! More information here.
Highlights of Transition Conference Day 2 – including me just after Stoneleigh’s talk

Highlights of Transition Conference Day 2 – including me just after Stoneleigh’s talk

by | Jun 16, 2010 | All Posts, Transition Movement

More video clips from the Conference can be found here, and audio here (including a quick interview with me on Energy Descent Planning for communities). Edit - Indymedia have posted the audio and slides from the three hour workshop Jacqi Hodgson (Totnes EDAP coordinator) and I gave on community Energy Descent Planning. This is in fact the workshop pictured below, in the video's freeze-frame.
Stoneleigh’s peak oil/finance talk at the Transition Conference

Stoneleigh’s peak oil/finance talk at the Transition Conference

by | Jun 15, 2010 | All Posts, Economics, Favourite posts, Peak Oil, Transition Movement

This post was originally written by me as a guest post for Rob Hopkins' Transition Culture blog, but I have kindly given myself permission to reproduce it here ;) So here I am. I fully intended to be giving the England match my full attention right now, but I've been left distinctly restive by this afternoon's long session by Stoneleigh of The Automatic Earth, and feel the need to put some thoughts down. Including the extensive Q&A session her talk lasted virtually three hours and covered a lot of ground, starting from a good runthrough of the 'peak energy' situation, but quickly focusing in on finance, as she believes that this is the factor that will most dramatically shape our immediate future. Notably, the talk attracted almost half the attendees of the Transition Conference, despite the numerous other Open Space sessions taking place at the same time. For me her analysis helped to bridge the gap between comprehension and real understanding. I always feel that I don't have a genuine opinion on something until I can listen to someone argue one point of view, then listen to someone argue the opposite, and truly understand what the root of their disagreement is, so that I can make up my own mind. With finance I have always felt unable to get to the root of the disagreement between those who forecast a cataclysm in the coming years, and those who argue that the system is far more resilient than some give it credit for. That feeling has not been totally banished, but Stoneleigh (both today and in a bar-room chat until 2am last night) really helped me to close some big gaps. She has agreed to email me her slides, but essentially her position is that we are just slipping over the edge into the greatest financial Depression the world has ever seen, off the back of the biggest financial bubble the world has ever seen. This will, of course, bring significant personal consequences for individuals, families and communities. Consequently, her absolute #1 piece of advice to all and sundry is to get out of debt, as debts that may seem manageable now are unlikely to remain so as interest rates soar and property prices plummet (perhaps back to somewhere in the region of their 1970 values). Meanwhile, existing mortgage debts will stubbornly remain just as large, leaving many people in the ordeal of negative equity - their mortgage debt being bigger than the value of their house. She also explained the 'derivatives' market in a usefully clear way. Whereas many of the world's money-making schemes are based on cutting the proverbial cake into smaller and smaller slices, this system is based on giving more and more people rights over a single slice of cake. As this system unravels (as it surely must at some point, since not every claimant can have their cake to eat it), the bulk of the world's money will essentially disappear, creating huge deflation. There will be less money in circulation relative to the amount of stuff, so the value of the money that people do have will actually go up, while earnings drop. As she pointed out, the key issue to be concerned with is 'affordability' not inflation, deflation, wages or anything else. How much useful stuff can you buy with what you have? While not explicit about it as such, she seemed to be ranking the kinds of assets we might hold in terms of risk. In order, starting with the most desirable, that list was: Useful assets - e.g. tools, land, a home that you want to live in, and that can supply what you need etc... Cash - as deflation is likely to raise the value of cash, it's a good thing to have, but cash in bank accounts is quite liable to evaporate. In response to the inevitable question of where we should keep cash, her repeated answer was "be creative". Gilts - Given that holding massive amounts of cash is both impractical and likely to arouse suspicion, she suggested gilts as the next least-risky place to put money. Interestingly though, she believes that while useful productive assets are the most important thing (these are, after all, the source of our ability to support our communities and ourselves), she also pointed out that the price of such assets is likely to drop as the crisis tightens. Accordingly, she counselled that one possible course of action for those unable to afford the productive assets they need (land, say) without going into debt, could be to minimise their exposure to the crash, preserve any cash that they can, and then buy more cheaply further down the slope. Those who can afford to buy outright now though, would be well-advised to do so, as while their assets, land etc. may decrease in value, this is of less significance if they plan to hold on to these assets long-term anyway, and in return they are buying themselves time to learn to use these 'tools', before they are relying on them. As she spoke, the room was hushed and fiercely attentive, and you could see people absorbing the implications of what she said for their own financial plans, and those of their communities and families. One very interesting question was from a Transitioner who is considering setting up a community-owned renewables project, based on taking out a loan to install PV, and paying back the loan on the basis of the Government's feed-in tariffs. Stoneleigh argued that in the current situation, any Government guarantee to do anything over the next 20-25 years is barely worth the paper it's written on, and so she would advise that such projects should be undertaken either without going into debt or not at all. Above all, she stressed the urgency of the situation, and that we should not expect the financial situation to look at all like it does now in just a couple of years time. In my one-to-one chat with her on Friday night, I asked her about my Student Loan, which is currently about the most benign loan imaginable, with a rate of interest generally lower than that available on tax-free savings accounts. She argued that I should pay it off as soon as possible nonetheless, even if that takes all the money I have, as savings in the bank are at a significant risk of disappearing, whereas loans never die. Indeed, they tend to be sold on down the line until you find yourself in debt to someone rather unpleasant. We also talked about the best ways forward, given the difficult situation in which we find ourselves. We both believe that social ties are the most valuable asset we can possibly have, and that building these networks of trust is the most important work we can do. She spoke of the example of the Great Depression of the 1930s, in which despite an abundance of food, fuel, resources and manpower, the whole system ground to a halt due to the unavailability of money to connect buyers and sellers. It reached the point where farmers were pouring away perfectly good milk while people starved up the road. This put me in mind of Mark Boyle, the Moneyless Man, who I finally met for the first time at the Uncivilisation festival a couple of weeks ago. It strikes me that the simple idea of the gift economy - or Freeconomy - that he is practising, is exactly what was needed in that situation. If the farmers and the hungry had trusted each other, then without money, or indeed any other kind of transaction, a human can give another human food just for the love of it. And if the farmer needed help on his farm, then others might help for similar reasons. Perhaps if those needs coincide then barter might take place, but where they do not, the simple desire to help each other, and the trust that others will help out when you need something, could have got that society functioning again. Dilbert - And Thus Ended Capitalism But as Stoneleigh pointed out, the key is building that trust ahead of time. In difficult times, your bonds with those you trust naturally becomes even tighter, as you rely on each other more, but your mistrust for those outside your circle can also increase, as you worry that perhaps they are just after what little you have. Transition has always sought to widen and strengthen those circles, and that still looks like the most important work we can be doing, but Stoneleigh hopes to suggest a few tweaks to our tactics, as well as underscoring the sense of urgency. A number of other Transitioners have already spoken to me about being rather shaken by Stoneleigh's talk, but as she kept emphasising, we are doing the right work. Critical work. (Edit - 03/10/10 Stoneleigh's powerful talk is now available for purchase here.) ps And England drew 1-1, but somehow that doesn't seem like the most important thing I learnt today! Wrong priorities? Shaun is a co-founder of Transition Town Kingston and the author of The Transition Timeline. He writes at www.darkoptimism.org
TTK’s Great Unleashing / Big Launch Party

TTK’s Great Unleashing / Big Launch Party

by | Apr 20, 2010 | All Posts, Favourite posts, Transition Movement

So the big day finally came and went, and glorious it was too. I'm still smiling from the wonderful energy of it all. Pause a moment to take in the brilliance of the TTK cake (TT Kake?) before clicking through to a peek at the many-splendoured event itself, including a chance to see the accomplished and inspired short movie of TTK's story to date that premièred on the night. The energy levels never dropped after the buzz of the children's hour that kicked the day off, with gleeful kids seeing a real bee hive, making puppets out of plastic bags, writing poetry, getting faces painted etc etc while the parents browsed the stalls of local green businesses and organisations... Face painting Next, local inspiration Robin Hutchinson entertainingly introduced talks from our local MPs (although this close to the election he had to describe them as "Parliamentary candidates who you may remember from their previous jobs"!), our mayor, the head of the Council, me and the ever-entertaining David Fleming, back by popular demand, who hesitated to despoil the cake by doing us the honour of cutting it. David Fleming at TTK Unleashing, with Robin Hutchinson We also received a congratulatory video message from Rob Hopkins before a planned Open Space session, in which we faced the real challenge of getting everyone to stop having passionate, deeply involved conversations long enough so that we could explain to them how wonderfully Open Space could facilitate such conversations. With Prisca Baron singing to a rapt audience of children and adults alike, DJ Matt providing the soundtrack late into the night and Toni Izard and family laying on an amazing spread of food and refreshments, it felt like a real triumph of community spirit, with smiles on the faces of old stalwarts and total newcomers alike. I didn't manage to get a handle on the numbers there (perhaps 250??), but it was great to see so many unfamiliar faces mingling happily, and contributing to the Kingston Timeline that we pinned to the wall (see some of the ideas it produced here). Even the venue itself felt like a new ally, as almost everyone attending had never set foot in Kingston Working Men's Club before, despite its location tucked away right in the heart of Kingston. A great many more people know it's there now, and hopefully a few lasting connections have been forged. For me personally, the two particular highlights in a night of delights were the deliciously brilliant (and brilliantly delicious!) cake - or actually three cakes - and the TTK movie. Credit for the first, and for the photos featured here, goes to our talented trio Libby, Jonny and Maria, AKA Caking Agent. The full TTKake The second was the work of Elise Toogood and Nick Barron of Tenth Egg, and you can see it in all its glory below. As both cake and film were only finished in the early hours of the morning of the event, both were genuine surprises even for those of us heavily involved in pulling the event together. Films at their best have a wonderful way of evoking a sense of overarching narrative, and for me personally it was a delight to feel this as I watched it. Despite knowing all of the projects featured - or perhaps because of that - it was deeply satisfying to see the different threads pulled together into this tapestry. Many thanks too to those who organised the surprise for the six of us on TTK's Temporary Steering Group, pulling us on stage to present each of us with our very own blueberry bush! It would be impossible to mention everyone who made the event possible, but hopefully they all enjoyed it as much as I did. I will add more photos below as they come in, including the happy crowds and impressive before and after pics from the decoration efforts on Friday evening. My apologies if this post is rather excitable - I can only confess that I'm still excited! Just as an Unleashing should, this has reminded me what a marvellous community I live in, and feels like a historic launchpad to a happier, more thrivacious Kingston!
[caption id="attachment_1933" align="alignnone" width="480"] picture courtesy of Simone Kay[/caption] TTKids Poetry workshop [caption id="attachment_1934" align="aligncenter" width="320"]Bags Bags created on the day, picture courtesy of Simone Kay[/caption] Making puppets from plastic bags Stalls and info from TTK groups, local businesses and organisations Me speaking about the origins of Transition and TTK Our local MPs, Ed Davey and Susan Kramer David Fleming speaking Cake - left segment Cake - central segment Cake - right segment Closeups of the magnificent cake David Fleming does the honours Rob Hopkins' video message Kingston's Mayor addresses the crowd Organising the Open Space, raffle etc. The fantastic spread put on by Toni Izard and family Prisca Baron singing Visitors from other Transition initiatives TTK give a gift to the Steering Group - thanks all! Libby and Maria - two of the cake conjurers! Dancing late into the night Photos from TTK's history to date, mixed with relevant and inspiring quotes The Kingston timeline, created by Big Launch attendees