Transition Bedford

What are you doing on Saturday May 15 2010? Nothing much?

Think again - you could be helping to reshape the future of your town.

Transition Bedford is hosting an event that will bring together different groups of people to create a vision for a sustainable Bedford in 2020.

If you belong to a group that's interested in what our town looks like in a decade's time, you need to be at this event - I'm not just talking about environmental groups, but also everyone from allotment societies to local history groups to walking groups and all points in between! We're looking for as many interested groups as possible to get involved, both before the event, on the day itself and on into the future (and the year 2020!) and we'd love to know who is interested in participating.

So far we've created a list of topics that we'd like to explore at the meeting. If you - either a group or an individual - is willing to participate in some way in one or more of these topics, please add a comment below, saying who you are and which topic(s) you're fired up about. "Participation" could mean helping with a demonstration, giving a talk, or simply sharing your ideas with others.

The topics are, in no particular order:

• Food
• Transport
• Energy
• Education
• Building and housing
• Local government
• Heart and soul
• Health and wellbeing
• Waste and recycling
• Community and culture
• Economy and business
• Media and communications

Once we've compiled a list of the people who want to take part in this inspiring event, we'll post that onto this blog so that you can tell us if we're missing out anyone crucial.

Still confused? If you're wondering what on earth this whole "transition" thing is about, check out Transitiontowns.org

To learn more about what we're doing to make Bedford a transition town, and watch a video about the transition movement, click here.

In this weeks Times & Citizen i wrote an article about communities and their response to climate change and peak oil. In the article the all important question was posed;

“what will the Borough of Bedford look like in 2020 as a low carbon, sustainable and vibrant town?"

During 2010 Transition Bedford will be holding several events (the first will be at the Bunyan Museum on the 15th of May - sign up to the mailing list for details) that aim to engage local people around creating a vision for the future of Bedford. Based around the Energy Descent Action Planning method used by Transition groups across the globe, we aim to create a vision and the backcast to the present and create an action plan of how we can deliver the vision.

(more...)

Hi
Amnesty International Bedford group will be having a stall in Bedford town centre next Saturday 16th from mid day. Please do come and see us! Ruth

Tony Juniper

I am most pleased to announce that on Wednesday 20 January, at 6pm UK/1pm EST, I will be hosting campaigner, writer, sustainability adviser and one of the UK's best known environmentalists, Tony Juniper, on the special 1st anniversary edition of my radio show, my radio show Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul

A dynamic and inspiring speaker, and often referred to as an “Eco Hero”, Tony has worked for the last 25 years for change toward a more sustainable society at local, national and international levels. Amongst his almost endless list of personal and professional experiences, he has served as Vice-Chair of Friends of the Earth International, and is currently Special Adviser to the Prince of Wales Rainforests Project, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic’s new Green Magazine supplement, and is the Green Party Parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, England.

On this very special anniversary edition, Tony and I will discuss his thesis of “Harmony” as taken from the upcoming book of the same name he is currently writing with Prince Charles and Ian Skelly, and is scheduled for publication by Harper Collins in autumn 2010. Tony will tell us about the present state of environmentalism, what we’ve achieved and not achieved, and what’s next for humanity at this time in history, and explain how the solutions to the ecological and economic problems we now face at a planetary level are not due so much to our political, technological or corporate systems, but rather to the fundamental fact that we as a culture have become disconnected from the Earth, and are illiterate as to how nature works and how we as humans fit into the natural order on a cosmological and spiritual level.

On the air, Tony will offer us some easy, joyful and practical ways to re-engage and reconnect with our planet and re-establish the true, holistic harmony that is meant to sing within every human soul.

You absolutely will NOT want to miss this most important and truly inspiring show.

Listeners can listen LIVE or "on demand" any time at http://ow.ly/UvBM

Another upcoming guest of interest to Transition Town followers and other "green" folks is Dr Leo Sharashkin, translator/editor of the "Ringing Cedars" (aka Anastasia)  book  series that is creating a wide-spread "return to the Earth" movement in Europe. That show is coming Wednesday 24 February.

To be sure you don't miss either of these broadcasts, subscribe to the show either via iTunes, or mark it as a favourite on Blog Talk Radio.

Just look for "Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul"
http://blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn

There is a growing wealth of great long and short films which cover a range of peak oil and climate change issues. Two recent cinema released films which maybe worth viewing by Transition Bedford members are "There will be Blood" an oil evolution film by Paul Thomas Anderson which has recently been described as the film of the noughties by the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw and "a tragic parable of man's dysfunctional dependence upon oil: the once glorious lubricant of commercial triumph and technological innovation, and now the dwindling lifeblood of our material prosperity, the unacknowledged driving force of our military conflicts, and even the cause of a coming ecological catastrophe" The second more hopeful film is "Fuel" . The Wikipedia page comments that "Most Americans know we’ve got a problem: an addiction to oil that taxes the environment, entangles us in costly foreign policies, and threatens the nation’s long-term stability. But few are informed or empowered enough to do much about it. Enter Josh Tickell, an expert young activist who, driven by his own emotionally charged motives, shuttles us on a revelatory, whirlwind journey to unravel this addiction—from its historical origins to political constructs that support it, to alternatives available now and the steps we can take to change things."

This leads me to suggest that we should think about recording/filming Bedford's transition journey. Anyone?

Ban Ki Moon addressing the conference

This clip is essential viewing for anyone following Copenhagen

As Copenhagen fails do not despair!!! There will be an international treaty but it will be led by the people, it will probably be done in a couple of years and it will be much more ground breaking, deep routed, driven and worldshiftng than that being discussed at Copenhagen. I'll explain myself below.

I put a lot of faith and hope in Copenhagen but taking a step back and viewing this conference as part of wider set of activities the timing was quite clearly not right.  We often hear the Einstein quote;

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them"

Most world leaders are well and truly still using the same kind of thinking that caused the problem and given a mindset that is almost "mindset as usual" lets imagine that our leaders came up with what is from our current thinking an "ambitous, fair and legally binding treaty". Do not underestimate two consequences;
(more...)

On the 15th of November i wrote a blog article about Patrick Hall's (MP to Bedford and Kempston) decision to vote against the 10:10 bill. He kindly responded to the post and I promised to publish his response "in full" here below. In fact there's two response letters. The first is his response to the blog post and the second is his response to my earlier request that he vote in favor of 10:10. He and i will always disagree over his decision but i have the upper most respect over his attention to mine (and i imagine other constituents)  questions and requests. Truth is we now need much much more than attention if we are going to get ourselves out of this hole. Bold leadership is imperative.

It's also worth noting that this subject was discussed on TB google group were one of the TB Initiating Group members has put forward some really insightful comments that most certainly opened my eyes. I haven't named the individual because i haven't asked permission but you can read the discussion in full here.

My Ref PH/LJ

18 November 2009

Dear Mr Hughes

Thank you for your email sent 17 November 2009 regarding your recent blog post on the 10:10 campaign. After reading the content of your blog, I feel it necessary to formally respond as clearly my views have been misunderstood.

(more...)

Lynn Serafinn (right) receiving BBW Award

This month, I had the great honour of receiving the Bedfordshire Businesswomen (BBW) 2009 Award for “Working within a Community Organisation or Not-for-Profit Organisation”, for my work as Founder of the Global Wellness Circle, a holistic health and wellness community, as well as my more recent work as Chair of Transition Bedford.

The winners of the BBW awards were announced Wednesday 18 November 2009 at the Woburn Sculpture Park. There were 6 awards in various business categories, all sponsored by Barclays Bank. Transition Bedford was specifically cited during the ceremony as a key reason for their selecting me for this award.

If any of you are unfamiliar with BBW, it is a long-established and highly reputable not-for-profit networking organisation for women who live and/or have business interests in the Bedfordshire area. I have been a member now for 2 years, although the awards were not restricted to members only. The women in this organisation own and run some of the most successful and influential businesses in the county, if not the country.

To have Transition Bedford be recognised at this level is not only a personal honour for me, but it is also a clear indication that the need for and importance of the work we are doing together at Transition Bedford is starting to be duly recognised by local business owners.

After the awards, I spoke with Jenny Tomsett, President of BBW, about having Transition Bedford lead a presentation at one of their upcoming meetings in 2010. (more...)

I am not sure if this is entirely appropriate, but I would like to use this opportunity to praise some of the very fine businesses we have here in Bedford. In particular, I note that we have some very good restaurants. There is Casa Del Tequila and Saffron in Tavistock Street.  There is also The Orchid Bay and Indiya in The Broadway.

We have The Swan Hotel, The Embankment Hotel and Eat Fish on the Embankment near the town bridge and we have the fabulous Barns Hotel and The Kings Arms in nearby Cardington.

We even have a Lebanese Restaurant,  Reem in the High Street and, opposite it, we have our very own Casbah, which means that one can sit in the Casbah and watch the world go by, without even leaving Bedford!

Yesterday, I visited Harpurs for the first time. I was so impressed, I have written a very positive review of the place on my website. If you are interested, you can find it here:

www.richardgillard.webs.com/GeneralLinks.html#Harpurs

Finally, surely no review of Bedford Cafe Society could be complete without mention of our most excellent Real Ale Public House, The Wellington in Wellington Street.

Patrick Hall MP

Perhaps a more important focus of this post would be that Bedford Borough Council have signed up to 10:10 and have committed to reducing emissions by 10% across their built assets during 2010. Superb, Amazing, Wonderful, well done BBC!!! But that will be another post.

A few weeks back 226 MPs voted for Parliament to sign up to 10:10, 297 voted against. For those unaware of what 10:10 is take a look here, here and here. This tight majority was only made possible by a few votes against and Patrick Hall MP for Bedford and Kempston was one of those votes. In past conversations and communication with Patrick i have always considered him to be extremely knowledgeable about the issues, supportive of our community level efforts and quite honestly i feel that he is dedicated and committed to the changes needed on a personal and political level.

So if a vote of this importance failed because traditionally supportive MP's voted against, i have to question several things.

10:10 Parlimentary vote

A. Is Patrick Hall's level of commitment really up to "one of the greatest challenges facing humanity?

B. Was 10:10 a good and sound bill? is there a better way? or perhaps more importantly (for me) was it understood by the MP's voting?

C. Does our political systems have the ability to deal with the level of change needed? (more...)