'appy New Year!

So as we enter the new year we have plenty to discuss and do for the forthcoming year. The first event coming up is our next meeting which will be on Thursday 19th January. Please note the venue is Mr Lawrence Wine Bar in Crofton Park. Meeting starts prompt at 7:30pm. This is a change from the previously advertised date of Wednesday 11th Jan.

As a reminder of some of the things we get up to one of our members kindly sent us some images of her granddaughters picking apples from last Autumn at one of our fruit harvesting events. With so many apples there was more than enough to be able to offer some free to passers by which brings us nicely onto something related which will be happening soon...wassailing! Following last years successful 'wassail' at the new orchard on Hilly Fields we are planning a repeat of the event sometime towards the end of January. More details soon.

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

9 Carrots help Mr Lawrence see the light

9 Carrots reports that Mr Lawrence Wine Bar in Crofton Park has managed to hit its target of changing its light bulbs from old style incandescent bulbs to energy efficient ones in just 3 months!

Mr Lawrence said: “We all want to do our bit to help the planet, of course, but this scheme is a great incentive to really look at how we can save energy. I'm delighted to be the first business to reach the target and make a green upgrade. We're proof that the scheme really works!”

Transition Brockley member, Fran Rogers who helped sign the wine bar up to the 9carrots scheme, said: “We're always hearing advice about how we should save energy as individuals, but we need to get businesses interested in sustainability too. Transition Brockley sees the 9carrots scheme as a great way to get businesses involved.”

Mr.Lawrence has asked 9carrots to advise him on how else he can save energy, and is now looking at installing solar panels. Hear about his new target and how other businesses are going green by signing up for updates.

Transition Brockley bumped into Annesley from 9 Carrots last week before the monthly Lewisham Green Drinks held at Mr Lawrence Wine Bar. Annesley had been trialling some of the new light bulbs with Mr Lawrence but unfortunately there are a few teething problems as the current dimmer switch system doesn't support the bulbs they were hoping to install however they are hoping to overcome these fairly soon.

To find out more about what 9 Carrots is and how they are working with local businesses see here. Other local businesses signed up to 9 Carrots include:

The Shop on the Hill
EXP Chinese Takeaway
Royal Tandoori Indian Takeaway
Cafe Crema (New Cross)
Marquis of Granby pub (New Cross)