Transition Snippets...

Here's a round up of things happening and events coming up locally...

Lewisham green drinks


A monthly event for those interested in engaging in topics such as environmental issues, climate, politics, local news and of course the transition town movement whilst indulging in a beverage or two! First Monday of every month with the next one happening on Monday 5th September. Come along from 7:30pm to Mr Lawrence Wine Bar on Brockley Rd just past Crofton Park Rail Station.


Brockley Common Community Garden

The garden at Brockley Station has been producing lots of delicious food throughout the summer. Garden co-ordinator Caroline writes:

In case you have a moment to go and pick some home grown food at the Transition Town Brockley garden, please see below what's up for grabs!

- tomatoes, will be ready a week from now

- spinach, doing well, and responds well to regular picking

- squash, still ripening

- runner beans, still producing 

Please feel free to pop to the plot and pick anything that looks ready!

We will be preparing the plot for winter on Saturday 15th October, 2-4pm. Do drop me a line if you have any suggestions, or indeed green contributions! 

Brockley Cross Action Group AGM - Saturday 24th Sept 11-12:30pm @ John Stainer School, Mantle Rd, Brockley

Transition Brockley will have a stall at our neighbours' annual AGM where we'll hopefully have some information on the projects we've been working on throughout the year so far and beyond. Come along and engage with your local community!

Hilly Fields Orchard

The orchard has produced some apples this year however it's best to pick them early to encourage them to produce better and more substantial fruit in the coming years. The mini meadow has been very successful and we hope this could lead to a bigger meadow around the orchard in the future.

Fruit Harvesting

Once again we have been out and about harvesting fallen fruit and fruit from trees which the owners have no need for. We're looking at another harvesting event within the next couple of weeks. More details soon. In the meantime if you wish to be kept up to date with the latest news on harvesting then please contact brockleyharvest@yahoo.co.uk 

We're also looking ahead to October when Ian from the One Tree Hill allotments will hold his annual apple pressing day at the allotments on One Tree Hill from 1-6pm. We're hoping to be able to contribute some fruit from our harvesting and it promises to be a fun day for all the family whether you want to exercise your muscles or just enjoy the fruit juices being made!

Draughtbusting

We've been talking about organsing a draught-busting session locally for some time now and we've  finally got someone to help us out by using one of members' houses as an example for the day on how we help cut down on energy use and save some money!

We're looking at Saturday 29th October, possibly in the morning to run a session. Numbers will be limited on a first come, first served basis but if the event is heavily over-subscribed then we'll look to organise more. The demonstration property will be the Hilly Fields area of Brockley. If you're interested then please email us at
transitionbrockley@hotmail.co.uk and we'll let you know further details.

TT New Cross - Food Group

Our friends from New Cross have recently launched a food group and are looking at lots of different aspects of local food from production to distribution to landsharing schemes and more. The next meeting will take place on September 8th from 7:30 - 9:30pm at the Hill Station Cafe in Kitto Road, Telegraph Hill. There are two presentations taking place at the meeting including one from Transition Brockley member, Fran who will talk about Brockley Gardenshare which aims to match up landowners with people who have no land and want to grow food. There will also be a presentation from Amina who is the new manager of local cafe 'Come the Revolution' which has just opened in New Cross and seeks to use locally produced food.

Open Garden - Sunday 22nd May 1-5pm

A quick plug for friend of Transition Brockley and regular Lewisham green drinks participant, Jon, who is hosting an open garden in aid of a good cause with the promise of many delights both floral and sugary. Jon writes:

Scrumptious home made cakes, fair trade tea and coffee all for a small donation of £1 in aid of the Able Child Africa Charity. 

Jon also has this disclaimer for any potential visitors:

Please take care! narrow side alley, uneven paths, steps,overhanging branches, high calorie cakes!

The address of the event is: 9 Brockley View SE23 1SN - white house on hill, entrance via side alley

Lewisham Green Drinks: Richard Reynolds

Lewisham green drinks - Monday 4th April 7:30pm onwards. Talk to start around 8:15pm.

Speaker: Richard Reynolds

"[Reynolds] is quickly becoming both a subculture celebrity and a public intellectual, challenging ideas about what it means to live in a city." New York Times, 8 June 20

April's Lewisham green drinks event sees internationally-renowned guerrilla gardener, Richard Reynolds speaking about his adventures in London and abroad.

Richard is the founder of guerrillagardening.org, author of the influential book 'On Guerrilla Gardening-A handbook for gardening without boundaries' and a member of the 2010 assembly of London Leaders. Guerrilla Gardening currently features very prominently at London department store, Selfridges' shop window displays. He has spoken widely about his and others' exploits of illicit gardening around the world. 

A bit about Richard from the London Leaders website:

Richard began guerrilla gardening in 2004 - that is he started cultivating the neglected public flowerbeds and roadside verges in his South London neighbourhood. His focus is on enriching neglected public land with more uplifting and bio-diverse habits and encouraging more people to do the same near where they live in a way that is environmentally and socially positive. Richard is now one of thousands of guerrilla gardeners around the world and as a face within a loose movement he has done a lot to inspire through his website GuerrillaGardening.org. Richard has a gardening qualification from the Royal Horticultural Society and geography degree from Oxford University. He has gardened since his childhood in Devon, was Head Gardener at Exeter Cathedral School and his first paid job was weeding an organic strawberry farm.

"Reynolds has done more to inspire planting in public spaces
than anybody since the sixteenth-century Diggers"
John-Paul Flintoff Sew Your Own June 2010

Lewisham Green Drinks

Lewisham Green Drinks is a social event that takes place every first Monday of the month at Mr Lawrence Wine Bar in Crofton Park. Everyone is welcome and it's a great opportunity to meet people from all walks of life - local allotment holders, real ale afficianados, Lewisham Cyclists, trade justice campaigners, Lewisham Council officers, Friends of the Earth, Christian Aid, World Development Movement, Lewisham & Greenwich CND, Sydenham Society, Forest Hill Society, the occasional politician and of course fellow transitioners!

The monthly event has been running for around 3 years and has a healthy turn out each month supplemented by the fine food and drink that Mr Lawrence has on offer.

If you've never been before then give it a go! It's a great way to meet interesting new people and share your thoughts on the world.

The next event is on Monday 1st November from 7:30pm. Drop in any time from then on. The night usually sees people coming and going at various different times so if you find yourself feeling lonely don't panic people will come!

If you would like to subscribe to the email list to receive updates on the events please visit this website and join up! You can also join the Facebook group and see who's coming and who's not.

On a separate but related note if anyone would like to talk about a particular topic at any of the forthcoming Green Drinks events then please send an email to this address and we will get back to you with some details.

Venue Details:
Mr Lawrence Wine Bar
389 Brockley Road
Crofton Park
SE4 2PH