Wednesday 23rd February
February Newsletter
"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finate world is either a madman or an economist”.
Kenneth Boulding, economist from The Great Transition(New Economic Foundation)
Taunton Transition Drop-In - 26th February
Come along to watch a 43 minutes 44 seconds "edge of the seat" thriller - no, not the latest movie blockbuster, but Chris Martenson's "Crash Course: essential knowledge for uncertain times." This abbreviated version of the popular and influential Crash Course video lecture gives us the eye-opening and groundbreaking research into the true predicament presented to us by our reliance on economic growth within the limited environmental and energy resources of our planet.
No, not a laugh a minute we grant you, but an unflinching and also uplifting look at the issues that define our moment in history, and a glimpse at the opportunities we have to reshape our world based on a new vision of prosperity.
The DVD will be shown at 11am and we hope people will stick around afterwards to talk about their responses, and what this might mean for our endeavours to create a "resilient" town.
Saturday 26th February
Venue: Friends' Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton.
Time: 10.30am-12.30pm
Plus all the usual catch up on all things Transition.... come along to the Friends'Meeting House, Bath Place, just off the High Street in Taunton.
Get, Set, Grow - starts 2nd March
Another Get,Set, Grow session starts in March - a series of 5 FREE sessions about how to grow food. Share what you know, learn something new and enjoy the spring!
Get Set Grow - Wednesday afternoons 1.00 - 3.15 in Priorswood, Taunton with Jane Sweetman
March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th at St Peter's Church Community Centre, Eastwick Road, Taunton, TA2 7HD.
With practical activities indoors and out, you'll get ready to grow your own food, and learn how to get the best from whatever space you have including
- All-the-year-round fresh produce
- Healthy soil for healthy plants
- Seeds and seedlings
- Crops in containers.
If you are more interested in cooking than growing then Get Set Cook is also running on March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th at St Peter's Church Community Centre, Eastwick Road, Taunton, TA2 7HD from 10.00 am to 12.20pm. This course is open to everyon, covering the basics of cooking healthy meals to fit your household budget.
To book your free Get Set Grow or Get Set Cook place in advance drop-in at or phone Priorswood Community Centre 01823 353643. Or phone or email Jane Sweetman 07734 753788. - communityfood@tiscali.co.uk.
Get Set Grow and Get Set Cook is organised by Somerset Community Food.
Compassionate Communication - Sat/Sun 12/13th March
Taunton Transition Town is delighted to host
COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION:
Essential skills for challenging times
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 March 2011
10am-4pm
Bishops Hull Village Hall, Taunton
£45 full price (£15 concessions)
For people who are seeking to create meaningful change in their lives and the lives of their communities
Based on Marshall Rosenberg’s “Nonviolent Communication” framework (NVC), this practical workshop will teach the simple, yet profound skills we can all learn to stay in authentic connection with others when it matters most. It will explore:
how we can communicate with others and have compassion for ourselves
how we can really listen to what others are saying and hear what they need
what keeps us from being compassionate
how increased self awareness helps our own heartfelt expression of feelings and needs – and so inspires co-operation with others
how to make our group experiences irresistible!
Led by experienced NVC practitioners, the weekend will give participants practical strategies to support compassionate communication to take back into their different community groups and work teams.
To book:
Email Chrissie Godfrey - chrissie@visionjuice.com - or call her on 01823 321731.
The workshop leaders
In his career as Human Resources Director in the NHS, Steve Jupp noticed how often people were frustrated with their ability to communicate their experience in a way which led to them being fully heard. Since leaving the NHS, he has developed a deep appreciation of NVC by exploring its potential with others. He currently leads a flourishing NVC Practice Group associated with Transition Exeter.
Penny Spawforth has been living and teaching Marshall Rosenberg’s work of Nonviolent Communication for the last 4 years and runs a regular NVC fortnightly practice group. She has over 20 years experience in teaching the Alexander Technique which has many overlaps with NVC – supporting people to have choices rather than automatic reactions, and having presence in mind and body.
The venue
Bishops Hull village is on the edge of Taunton, accessible by bus from the town centre. Taunton Transition Town will organise shared transport for people arriving by train. Directions will be provided with booking confirmations.
The Work that Reconnects - Saturday 9th April 2011
The Work that Reconnects - From Overwhelm to Vibrant Living
10am-5pm. Saturday 9th April 2011
Quaker Meeting House,
High Street, Wellington. TA21 8RA
Feeling overwhelmed and helpless in the face of environmental, economic and social challenges?
The Work That Reconnects is an experiential workshop process that supports individuals to:
· connect to themselves, each other and the natural world,
· express feelings of concern for planetary issues and
· find ways towards a sustainable future.
Developed by visionary ecologist elder Joanna Macy (www.joannamacy.net), it can transform worry and despair into creative, collaborative action with the aim of rekindling our joy and gratitude for life and our sense of purpose in the world.
Facilitated by Fran Hicks and Sally Lever.
Fran Hicks is a trained Art Therapist, Counsellor, Quaker and founder member of Transition Taunton. She has run groups in mental wellbeing, deep ecology and exploring spirituality.
Sally lever is an experienced personal and business coach, writer, speaker and workshop leader, specialising in living and working sustainably.
Both are trained Work That Reconnects facilitators.
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£12 per person booking fee + optional dana (donation) on the day.
Vegan soup and bread based lunch provided. Please bring a small vegetarian or vegan salad or dessert to share.
Chairs available or bring your own meditation cushion or stool.
Bookings and further information: Sally Lever, sally@sallylever.co.uk, 01749 674842.
Bee-Keeping Course
Description:
An introductory course over 6 weeks, starting 25th March, Friday evenings at West Somerset Community College, for anyone interested in learning practical beekeeping skills, with scope for taking on a hive in Alcombe/Dunster through the 'rent a hive' scheme at the end of the training.
Organised by the Exmoor Division of Somerset Beekeepers
Who is the course aimed at? Anyone in the West Somerset/Exmoor area who has an interest in learning to keep bees.
All equipment and protective bee suits provided for practical sessions, held on Saturdays between
7 May – 24th Sept at the Divisional Apiary from 2pm
Contact name: Gail Johnson
Contact email: gail.johnson2@virgin.net
Contact phone number: 01643 851622
Website: http://www.somersetbeekeepers.org.uk/Exmoor%20Division.htm
Website: http://www.somersetbeekeepers.org.uk/index.html
Local Skill Swap
We like to champion all things with a Transition edge and anything that can make your life easier is always a good thing.
Katrina from Crystal Palace Transition Town has pointed us in the direction of www.localskillswap.com which she founded. She is trying to expand the membership.....
It is almost effortless to start a group (it's free, all you do is register as a member then submit the names of 6 people who would be interested in joining the new group) and then you would have a resource at your fingertips which you could use to monitor and tap into skill swapping activities in your area.
She started www.localskillswap.com in 2009 and there are now over 400 members. She started the website as she couldn't find a (fast) way of finding people in my local area who I could join forces with to swap skills and get things done for free. She wanted to have a resource where she could flag her skills for others to see as well as search her local area for people she might want to swap with. So she built www.localskillswap.com and it now provides the following facility:
- you can reference the skills directory of members in your local area
- you look at individual member profiles
- you can approach members directly to see if they will swap skills with you or you can post "adverts" on the local home page
- you can ask and answer local knowledge questions
- you can use the website as a reference for like-minded trades people (i.e., those with an interest in the community)
- you can use the website to promote yourself and your skills
- you can swap skills and get things done for free without leaving your neighbourhood!
We need a critical mass of around 30 members for a group's members to start swapping, so a Taunton group would definitely need some local encouragement once started. If you are interested please contact me: Vicky Briggs shuunyanet@gmail.com.
Notes
I always need input, news and events to update this newletter. If you know of any events or have news about Transition please email me, Vicky Briggs on shuunyanet@gmail.com by the 19th of the month for publication on the 20th or there abouts.
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