Your Local Transition - discussion for everyone to join - Blogs http://welshtransition.org/blog.php This is a discussion forum powered by welsh transition en Sun, 20 May 2012 02:29:36 GMT vBulletin 60 http://welshtransition.org/images/misc/rss.jpg Your Local Transition - discussion for everyone to join - Blogs http://welshtransition.org/blog.php Challenge the Chair http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?14-Challenge-the-Chair Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:33:47 GMT Well wasn't the Unleashing a great night.

One of the issues with this type of event is that as time encroaches so when we have to be out of the building there is still so much to say at the end.

We at transition Narberth are not a group of people dictating policy; we did not want to be a committee making decisions for you. We decided to call ourselves a core group as we are the core group of people who meet. Core group meetings can be attended by anyone by arrangement (purely a numbers issue). We have a dozen people in our core group and approximately 40 people on our associates list. These two groups are very similar in nature as they contain committed people. If you would like to be on the associates’ list just send me an e-mail I can arrange that. The core group is an elected body which will be elected again at the AGM in June next year (more at the end).

We had two questions of interest from the questions and answers session of the unleashing. The first one that interested me, although I may have the order incorrect, was the comment that 85% of the room were converted. The second question that struck me was how do we convert other people, how we approach other people. I believe these two questions are interlinked, if we have a room full of converted individuals what could we do as a group to convert other people.

In most organisations, environmental or not, people tend to sit on the outside of the organisation and critically analyse what the organisation are doing for us. We in transition Narberth, and indeed in any transition initiative, do not constitute a committee dictating how funds are spent. Transition is about you and me and all of the community within which we live. Our goal is awareness raising which really covers these two questions in a nutshell. Transition Narberth have put on many events in the awareness raising fashion for a period of time.

Non-converted individuals tend not to believe the friend. Sitting in somebody's kitchen giving your point of view they cannot grasp the scale of the situation so they are polite and will tend to agree verbally but it is unlikely to change their belief.

When a paradigm shift occurs in people's perception goes through various stages.
These stages include (but are not limited to):
  • Ridicule; where people consider the concept absolutely ludicrous - recently I was told that because I was the chair of transition Narberth and must be a tree hugger. A large percentage of the population believe they know what climate change is. Therefore when presented with their perception of climate change in a different package they assume they understand it. In the example kitchen; this friend of theirs who has presented them with another organisation to look at is lightheartedly seen as a lobbyist, an activist or an extremist that we should humour.
  • Disbelief; as more and more of the population structure become interested in the subject matter people move into a stage of disbelief. It is at this stage that people gain the most from events like watching the “age of stupid” with a reasonable audience. Most converted people I have spoken to do not like the age of stupid because they believe it is too negative a film of doom and gloom. Those not converted may need a film of this nature to move them to the next stage.
  • Acceptance; when people move into the state of acceptance there is an emotional hurdle to cross. It is at this point where the positivity of the transition initiative can be so supportive. Individuals in this stage can become very downhearted or can grasp at any positive notion.
  • Action; when people resolve the emotional situation that action is necessary but that we can do something about it they may feel the need for action. Action on an individual basis is quite a daunting task. While we all need our own homes, lives and families to survive, part of that survival is the interdependence of community. Human beings go from complete dependence (babies) to complete independence (adulthood) and then on to interdependence (community) as part of their life cycle.
Tradition Narberth is about us creating a net to catch and support people who are in the acceptance or action stage and to provide awareness raising for those who are in ridicule or disbelief.

If 100 people brought a friend who was a sceptic to the next transition event a high percentage of them would be converted purely by the energy in the room from so many people from so many backgrounds and so many ages. That way your sceptic will actually meet a group of people who are perfectly normal just as they are. They will get to hear information from professionals about the realities of a situation and not from you whose beliefs they have already logged.

This is a most impressive way of sharing information – essentially, bring somebody who is a sceptic to one of the awareness raising events that transition Narberth produce. While at that event your sceptic will talk to other people and other people's sceptics will talk to you. That is why it is so important to support these events with your presence. I meet many people who tell me they support what we're doing with transition Narberth ……….. not always people who will come to events.

Personally I have never been involved in an environmental organisation. My experience with environmental organisations had in the past involved people stereotypical in their dress and attitude, transition Narberth is not about lobbying it is not about changing the world. Transition Narberth is about our community and what we can do to help each other prepare for a very real situation.

I believe that we as transition Narberth are deep in awareness raising. The most productive thing that any converted individual can do to help is to bring other people to awareness raising events. There are a few hundred people on the mailing list. We had 17 people at the last awareness raising event where we showed 11th hour With Leonardo DiCaprio.

If you were a sceptic coming to an event and had been brought along by a friend - to have a cup of tea and support them friend meeting new people, you would be ultimately impressed with over 150 people of all professions ages and walks of life in the Queen's Hall. The impression upon you would be somewhat different if you arrived and there were only 17 people there.

If this is the case and questions remain how do we convert other people, how we let other people understand the peak oil situation then surely when we hold an event such as “In Transition” on 16 December we have at least 100 people who now will bring a friend or at least see the importance of turning up.

When it comes to the AGM in 2010 I would be monstrously happy if we had any individuals who had been involved enough to be voted to take all of our places on the core group. If someone proved they had the right skills to be chairperson and they would be better equipped for the job myself I would vote for them.

Currently transition Narberth events do not have many new people stepping forward. Most of the tasks throughout the year involve - “the usual suspects”. It is not a case of joining, you are a member already – you live here. Transition Narberth is yours, just change your status to “active”.

An example of events moving forward in creating new opportunities for the group as a whole was seen with the energy awareness event led by Mike Oliver. As a spin-off to this event an energy group was formed from people who are not part of the core group but who are interested in energy concerns. We need people to come forward like this who have more of an interest or more knowledge than we do.
Transition Narberth will not aim to control this group but will be aiding this group to produce information, knowledge and perhaps some group buying power that can be shared with the wider audience.

On December 16 we are showing one of the most positive films to do with this field that exists: “In Transition” details here. This film is not all long film and we will be using this event to find people motivated in various different group areas. We are looking for people who are interested in various subjects covering; food, the Queen's Hall, the old school site, community health, transport, connecting villages together, the psychology of change and of course building the energy group who have enthusiastic individuals already.

I as the chair of transition Narberth challenge you on two fronts:
  • If you have a skill or a knowledge set that would be useful to our community we will support you in your efforts to achieve sharing it.
  • Also the chair's challenge: I would like you reading this to challenge the chair. What I mean by that is that I would like to find my successor. Our constitution dictates that I cannot do the job forever I would like somebody to step up and challenge me for my position at the next AGM. If I believe you are the right person I will vote for you myself.


My name is Des and I am the chair of transition Narberth am not an expert in any of these fields, I need people like you to let us know that you can help. You have more knowledge and experience in these different areas than I do and in most cases than I ever will.

Become an active part of transition Narberth. Be a part of your community shaping all of our future. I'll See you Dec 16th ]]> Des http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?14-Challenge-the-Chair How effective is the awareness raising http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?11-How-effective-is-the-awareness-raising Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:23:22 GMT It has been a while I know and in the interim I have been made chair of Transition Narberth. This is a interesting job but as is the usual case takes... It has been a while I know and in the interim I have been made chair of Transition Narberth. This is a interesting job but as is the usual case takes a vast amount of time just to stay on top of what is occurring.

As I am sure in all positions paid or not the day to day workings move you through a roller coaster of emotions and stress. One of the recurring themes in the core group discussion is the attendance at the awareness raising events.

To my knowledge we have a couple of hundred people on our mailing list who get all our info. Yet there seems to be a small core of people who attend events and a smaller number of people dishing out posters and doing the preparation for events etc. If Peak Oil and Climate Change is as serious as we believe then how we all utilise our individual time is of note.

We all have 168 hours in a week. I do not have more or less than anyone else and neither do you. In this you work, rest, and play (as mars would say). Those who say they have no time are underestimating their human ability to make choices.

Personally I fit a large amount of stuff into my 168 hrs as mentioned in a previous blog.
  • Studying hard I am manging to complete various qualifications this year including an MSc.
  • I aim to be a participant in over 25 days of continuing personal and professional development this year
  • An ankle operation fitted in this summer
  • More time is being put aside for kids and their widely scoped education
  • A more than full time job including having to facilitate training away from home and developing IT systems for our admin staff and external affiliate trainers keeps those empty boring week days busy. Regularly well over 70+ hours per week
  • Helping my wife run a holiday cottage (she does most of the actual work though)
  • When I can fit in some work on the small holding I do that too.
  • I run a business extra to the holiday cottage
  • And I put far too many hours into Chair of TN and never feel I do enough
"If you want something done don't give it to someone who says they have time, if you really want it done give it to someone busy."
cant remember who said that..........

I do not sleep less than others. Yet while I fail to achieve what I want most of the time, I do seem to be able to find time for TN.

I am making choices as to what to do with my 168 hours. I never say I do not have the time, but that I choose to spend my time elsewhere.

If each of the people on the mailing list brought one person to the next film we would have no room at the inn so to speak. Printing one poster (apologies for the printing - I hate to print) and finding a suitable place to put it or the right friend to give it too would give us much more coverage.

We are considering a change in the format of the awareness raising films and would appreciate some thoughts from yourselves on this subject.

There is a lot of conversation about these american films not being helpful. Part of the Transition focus is on awareness raising films of this nature are useful for those who have not got the point yet. If you are on this mailing list we can assume you have got the point and understand the need to educate others.

So if you can take responsibility to give an hour a week, it might be a few posters and bringing a friend to an event once a month, we would seriously increase TN's local profile.

What choices do you make with your 168 hours?

If you see this as important please get in touch as to how you could help.

Thank you to all those who help so much already please get in touch for the online system to log your volunteering hours.

Next film
http://transitionarberth.org/film/

In answer to the title - Awareness raising is only as effective as those aware sharing with those who are not.
Much rain wares the marble. - Repitition is the motor of learning
one event may not be enough. ]]> Des http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?11-How-effective-is-the-awareness-raising what to do with a glut of produce from your allotment http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?9-what-to-do-with-a-glut-of-produce-from-your-allotment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:27:07 GMT I have just found a website with hundreds of good recipes - allotment.org.uk Well worth a visit I have just found a website with hundreds of good recipes - allotment.org.uk
Well worth a visit ]]> geraldine http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?9-what-to-do-with-a-glut-of-produce-from-your-allotment Transiton Training Totnes http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?8-Transiton-Training-Totnes Tue, 19 May 2009 19:21:58 GMT Transition Training Totnes This is the weekend I have anticipated for a while. I am on the 2 day transition training in Totnes itself - if you... Transition Training Totnes

This is the weekend I have anticipated for a while.

I am on the 2 day transition training in Totnes itself - if you want to get the message go to the horse’s mouth.

I have just finished day one and will write up day 2 before I post this. So here it is:

Day 1
The day started with an early rise and me well on the road before 5am this was due to the generally 4 hour journey to Devon. I as is usual in my life was early and was standing outside a smart building from 8am. Just after 8.30am I was joined by a man with a very large bag on wheels. After introducing ourselves and exchanging pleasantries he asked was I going to stand there for a bit and left his bag to go somewhere or do something. Now generally for most people this would not be an area for concern but I grew up in Belfast and was more experienced from an early age about abandoned baggage. So the whole question over had I just been left "holding the bomb", so to speak, raced through my head. It is funny how these things never leave you, but after realising that this could not be a target at this time of the morning this far from the bank across the road I settled (a bit). A few likely looking people turned up after that from various countries and walks of life. Fast forward a bit and we found the room.
24 participants and 2 trainers cramped in a small room with small windows did not bode well for the pleasant atmosphere of a training course but as a trainer I notice these things and know that they make a difference so I am biased. But chairs in we got started...

I really enjoyed today's balance of manageable presentations and exercises, a balance most training gets wrong. I believe it was spot on. Exercises included mapping, awareness raising etc.

We had a fair amount of time to interact and mingle without detracting from the content. While this could not have been done any better, and I do not have a negative to write on this, I did feel it lacked something but I cannot put my finger on it. Without seeing the training again I certainly could not do better on this.

Day2
Day 2 saw a conversation on dreams lead to a harmonising song - something well achieved in such a short time.

The open space session was very useful and without trying to describe this I got a lot from it and am planning lots of use for this interesting concept in transition and other areas.

Meet the ancestors was a section that actually had an emotional effect on me which was great as I have been through a lot of the transition emotional roller-coaster before.

This course will be very valuable to those on the fence mulling or in the early stages of their group.

Great weekend - well done

As an trainer feedback below for those who care

Generally it is easy to be critical and these comments are really minor compared to the overall great impact the training had.

I am writing this from my personal perspective and as such I believe you should know something about my background that gives me the experience to make some of the comments and training critique - as such:

I have taught over 10,000 people in the last 15 years face to face on short courses such as this and manage and assess a large number of trainers in the UK and abroad. Our trainers programme takes about 2 years to qualify and the standards are high. These courses focus on dealing with violence aggression and the physical and intense emotional difficulties in dealing with them. The emotions people experience can be more powerful than on the transition course as the people I teach will generally already have encountered the challenge before we meet. I do a fair amount of facilitating emotional trauma in group and individual situations as well as conflict management and planning workshops.

  • A much better room - group dynamics would be improved by this step and across the stairs lay what looked like just such a room - with the wodden floor it looked (though the window) bright and airy and was a better size and shaped room for the number.
  • Reduce the numbers - frankly due to the emotional content and with people at different stages in their exposure we did not have enough discussion time on some key points. I believe, and 2 others commented, there seemed to be a lack of time with 24 souls.
  • I saw 2 people’s reactions this weekend that meant I would have debriefed and supported differently had I been facilitating but I am fairly sure the trainers did not notice the signs (day1). I would like to see a section at the start of day 1 about how to support people and some better emotion reading and reaction to these emotions from the trainers. It was a presentation rather than a workshop imho.
]]> Des http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?8-Transiton-Training-Totnes Successful Compost Making http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?7-Successful-Compost-Making Thu, 14 May 2009 08:15:08 GMT Many people forget that there must be an equal amount of green and brown garden waste in your bin. Scrunched up newspaper is a good source if you are... Many people forget that there must be an equal amount of green and brown garden waste in your bin. Scrunched up newspaper is a good source if you are short of dead woody material
This will also trap air which is necessary. If it is raining- take any covers off if the contents are dry. Alternatively keep your bin firmly covered if it is too wet inside. An ant colony in your bin indicates that the contents are to dry. ]]> geraldine http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?7-Successful-Compost-Making Towns Talk to each other - heaven forbid !! http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?4-Towns-Talk-to-each-other-heaven-forbid-!! Sun, 03 May 2009 19:04:21 GMT I hope you are enjoying the May bank holiday sun. My last blog was Easter, I do hope to not just post on bank holidays..! I was watching the... I hope you are enjoying the May bank holiday sun. My last blog was Easter, I do hope to not just post on bank holidays..!

I was watching the interview on an american programme called peak moment with Jennifer Grey. (youtube link at top of page)

She co-founded the american transition group and previously has been active in a transition town in England.

As the conversation developed, they were talking about local hubs and transition initiatives conversing, sharing knowledge and communicating with other transition groups. This majorly re-invigorated my enthusiasm for starting this forum.

I started this because it was one of the things I could do for the initiative - but it is really about the towns and working sub groups communicating and not replicating work or replicating failure in their learning.
I believe in a place to share information so we can all learn from this beast that has been unleashed and increase it's speed in hopefully the direction that is desirable.

I have a goal to provide this facility to all who may gain benefit. I would suggest most towns do not want to manage a forum and generally one town has limited numbers active in sharing info on the web.

The working sub groups may well cover similar ground and issues independantly. Would it not be good to know the successes and failure of other groups so as to reduce replication. Especially those dealing with the same council.
Buying power as a region rather than a single initiative would lead to an increase in discounts.

So in starting this I experienced excitement of what could be achieved and in that enthusiasm I missed some vital points.

I need input on several fronts. We all have different strenghts, and I need some of yours.

Firstly
I had a discussion on the phone the other day with 2 people in the same day on imagery and look and feel feedback to do with this site. In short they did not like it. I am used to these conversations as a web host and developer and am not offended by viewpoints. Generally when you put 4 people in a room they will not agree on design at all, everyone's a critic, and this is a perfectly normal human state. Personally the fact it works is great and this gives me an enormous sence of satisfaction. However those of you who are slightly less of a geek (than me) do appreciate visuals. In my work there is a good amount of conversation on signing off a design early in the cycle, this is because the view of what people like changes much quicker than the designer and developer can keep up.

This got me thinking -
Would the design put off activity? The answer for any design is -yes! Just look and the likes of google, microsoft and yahoo. Therefore to create an ambiance for more members to feel able to contribute and discuss, user suggested changes may lead to improvements.

On this point I have asked for some input and would appreciate all feedback on the site; functioning, look and feel, categories etc. - what should we add? I am always considering removing some areas.

Please be aware however that I can change some colour for experimentally but will not change the operations lightly as the code does work and is one of the most used systems on the web.

I have run another forum with over 5000 members for a few years, so the software does work.

Secondly
Other suggestions
I had a vision of this being a place for info to store but we do have plenty of different places on the web for that.
So who will step up to make suggestions and help provide content on the site?


In conclusion

Over all I am acheiving a lot in this busy year
(although I hate saying I have no time - but that is another blog post alone) :-

  • We do have currently over 300 visitors a month to this site
  • We are an active bunch on the steering group for transition narberth
  • Studying hard I am manging to complete various qualifications this year
  • I aim to be a participant in over 25 days of continuing personal and professional development this year
  • Exercise in my life while once lost now is found
  • An ankle operation will fit in at some point
  • More time is being put aside for kids and their widely scoped education
  • A more than full time job including having to facilitate training away from home and developing IT systems for our admin staff and external affiliate trainers keeps those empty boring week days busy
  • Helping my wife run a holiday cottage (she does most of the actual work though)
  • When I can fit in some work on the small holding I do that too.
"If you want something done don't give it to someone who says they have time, if you really want it done give it to someone busy."
cant remember who said that..........


The aim here is to provide a facility for those transitioners to communicate beyond their steering group or sub group.

So if you can help the membership in some way please do, and if I can help you I will. Together we can develop the resource and tailor it to meet our needs.

All comments are greatfully received. Those who are content and cannot think what to suggest I would appreciate feedback that is positive too.


Please use suggestions forum under welcome or help center or private message - pm. Lets see if we can get these groups communicating......! ]]> Des http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?4-Towns-Talk-to-each-other-heaven-forbid-!! This is the Age of Stupid http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?3-This-is-the-Age-of-Stupid Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:22:01 GMT The Queens hall in Narberth is a versitile hall used by many community groups and clubs. I am usually there several times a week for different... The Queens hall in Narberth is a versitile hall used by many community groups and clubs. I am usually there several times a week for different reasons and to me it is in the heart of the community.
I have never been to the Sunday night Film club there - until now.

As a member of Transition Narberth I was aware of the event through the website and this forum and the Narberth Events Calender. In following the links I ended up at the age of stupid site

http://www.ageofstupid.net/

I was quite excited with the content being relevant to the group and made it a firm booking in my head

Over the last few months and years my discussions with my twelve year old son about the peak oil, climate change and recently economic recession have been met with the air of "thats just Dad waffling" (nearly 13 now). So I decided he was old enough and we would go together. I did not give him much warning about content just that we were going to see a film.

So we arrived early I think apart from organisers we were person 3 and 4 in the room. This is due to my thoughts the advertising and content might have brought a higher number than the film night got normally. I heard this was not the case and they have had busier nights.
We had a drink and very nice cake and settled down to watch the film with a (seemed to me) full audience.

This film takes footage from documentaries of the last few years (although I think the main focus was looking at 2008) and amalgamated them clearly with very common content into a historic archive of what we knew in 2008.

The narrator is looking back from a perspective of one in 2055. If this is what we knew in 2008 why did we not act to change it?

My 12 year old needed to swap seats as he was having difficulty reading some of the text that was giving some explanation. He was really engrossed in the content I was pleased to see. On leaving he got to the car where I asked what he thought and did he have questions and he became upset for 2 main reasons.

He was devastated that the adults who are meant to be creating a better future for their children are not doing enough
He was really angry that he was the only kid there and asked how we were to change the future if we do not educate the kids.

We talked about the other programmes we have watched and how this age is known now as the age of humans and has a word like "anthropsoy" that I will correct when I find it. How humans have impacted the planet so much that it is a recognised age.

This experience was a reasonable blow emotionally and while I understand people wanting to protect their kids when do they need to know? It is a age 12 film - I would not take my 7 yr old - I am not an idiot (usually). But while it was a shock he was very glad he went and came home to immediately look at the website so he could find where it was showing to take his mum and his friends.
And that is how viral marketing works..........

just say he bring 3 friends - etc.


The Age of Stupid deals with a number of issues and is a must see - 5 stars from me and that is hard to come by.

I am taking my wife (who could not go) to see it in June
details and comments can be placed on this thread
http://westwalestransition.org/showthread.php?t=151

lets see if we can fill the cinema again. ]]> Des http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?3-This-is-the-Age-of-Stupid The knowledge age http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?2-The-knowledge-age Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:53:46 GMT Happy Easter Hi all I am Des and I do quite a lot of the day to day stuff on this forum. I have never done a Blog before but as this site is... Happy Easter

Hi all I am Des and I do quite a lot of the day to day stuff on this forum.

I have never done a Blog before but as this site is expanding rapidly I thought it might be good to keep some record of how we are progressing.

I work full time with computers and as a trainer for the healthcare industry (not computers) and have various pastimes that mean I do not understand the concept of being "bored" (a phrase my children attempt to use in my presence). Therefore some of the blog may be ramblings of my own interests as there are a few.

I got involved with this forum as I see that conversation on local issues is beyond one town but is relevant across all transition initiatives.

As a member of the Narberth Steering Group I realised that the on-line discussions of each town may be duplicated and hard to hunt the towns for info who have more experience than ours.

Generally on-line a large number of people read the posts of the few I therefore thought the few could be from several towns and the info would help a huge number of people. In short - this is something I can actually do for transition.

I am unlikely to lobby government etc but providing a place for us to discuss and help each other is achievable.

So each town can have
  • a forum in the system (they can link to)
  • an events calender (they can link to)
  • a banner 400x92 (that can link back to their site)
  • and a group membership so each post can show which town you are from
  • site hosting + domain purchase

There is no hidden purpose here and I hope each group can find someone to be a moderator so we are all involved.

I feel this is a positive start and welcome any feedback or suggestions.

The pilot has been carried out over the last few months in West Wales where some of the towns link to the site as their forum and events calender.

http://www.transitionhaverfordwest.co.uk/
http://www.transitionfrenni.org.uk/
http://transitionnarberth.org/

Some screencasts have been done to help the less technical understand the system and these will be added to as we think of more to do or you suggest more we should do.

please put suggestions in the suggestion & feedback part of the forum under the Welcome tab / category ]]> Des http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?2-The-knowledge-age My family and other animals http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?1-My-family-and-other-animals Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:43:12 GMT Hi, This is my first ever blog - hope you like it, and any others that follow. I am Linda and I live on a 4 acre small holding near Llanfallteg in... Hi,
This is my first ever blog - hope you like it, and any others that follow.
I am Linda and I live on a 4 acre small holding near Llanfallteg in Pembrokeshire. I am live with my husband, Des my son, Noah and my mother, and father-in-law.
We are just starting out really in the small holding game. We have a few chickens, grow most of our own veg, have the beginnings of an orchard and keep pigs in the spring / summer.
Noah is home educated, enjoys swimming, and talks non-stop given the opportunity.
So...
A busy week ahead, as usual. Rushed home from Noah's gymnastics this evening to finish making apple and sage jelly with some of our windfall apples. Tomorrow, I will be baking all day for the Country Market in Narberth (Thursday mornings - Queens Hall). The market is great - I sell cakes and preserves, but there is also craft and plants - it's a fantastic way to get to know everyone and buy local produce (less food miles!). Noah wants to do a project on the weather, so that will be a fun thing to do between cakes. Maybe he can discover why it's been raining so much!
Our big project at the moment is refurbishing the chicken run into a fox-proof des-res. Des has put in some massive posts, with more to follow next weekend (see the pictures of our step-by-step progress). The chicken wire will, hopefully, be delivered by then, and will need digging in to keep the cheeky fox out. Two chickens are missing now., without trace, but fortunately no more since my father-in-law raised their gate. This has stopped them wondering around the fields - but for how long?
Other outside jobs this week include - planting out some garlic and digging over a couple of now vacant beds. The celeriac looks good for sampling this week too.

More ramblings soon ....Finding an easier way with compost. There must be a way to stop the turning of the big heap!

I will edit with the photo links soon ]]> Linda http://welshtransition.org/entry.php?1-My-family-and-other-animals