Newsletters20091117

Transition Cambridge Hi everyone,

Things are getting busy again for Transition Cambridge! This Saturday the TC storytellers are back with more Transition Tales, and next week there's another chance to see The Power of Community, which tells how Cuba survived when it lost its supply of oil. Then there are lots more events in December, including our Christmas Party on Monday 21st - we hope you can come!

CONTENTS Transition News and Events

  • Wed 18th Nov: Food Group
  • Sat 21st Nov: Transition Tales and Visions
  • Tues 24th Nov: Shared meal and The Power of Community film showing
  • Wed 25th Nov: Knitting Circle
  • TRANSITION CAMBRIDGE CHRISTMAS PARTY! (Monday 21st December)
  • A local currency for Cambridge? (talk and discussion, 21st Jan)
  • Can you help at Mill Road Winter Fair?

Special Well-being Section

  • Thursday 19th November: Well-Being "Bring and Share"
  • Friday 4th December: Social Meal followed by Biodanza
  • Sunday 6th December: Copenhagen Climate Vigil

Related News and Events

  • Friday 20th November: Building a Mini Wind Turbine (Introductory Talk)
  • Saturday 30th November: Tunes for Trees
  • Sunday 5th December: Join The Wave!
  • Are your meals costing the earth?
  • New book: Saving the Earth by Akuppa
  • Getting your Message Across - How to be heard when it matters

Transition News and Events

  • Wednesday18th: Food Group

7:30pm at the Geldart pub on Ainsworth Street http://the-geldart.co.uk.

  • Saturday 21st November: Transition Tales and Visions

As part of the Cambridge Steiner School's Advent Fair, there'll be a chance to hear some transition stories from the Transition Tales and Visions group. Their session will start at 12:30, and the fair is on from 11am to 4pm. There'll be lots of other attractions too - more info here (address: Hinton Road, Fulbourn, CB21 5DZ)

  • Tuesday 24th November: Shared meal and The Power of Community film showing

If you haven't seen this inspiring film yet, this is your chance! Join us for a simple meal with a Cuban flavour served from 6.00pm (free - donations welcome), followed by the film at 7.15pm (lasts about an hour). Afterwards for those who want to stay on, there'll be a discussion about Transition in Cambridge. Everyone is welcome! Venue: the United Reformed Church on Cherry Hinton Road (on the corner with Hartington Grove - map). This event is being run in association with Emmanuel United Reformed Church, who are planning a series of evenings on themes related to sustainability and eco issues.

  • Wed 25th November: Knitting Circle

The Knitting Circle is meeting fortnightly throughout November and December, and everyone is welcome: knitters, crocheters, beginner/re-beginners/intermediates/advanced. From 7-30pm - 9-30pm, at Lulu's house, near the station, in Brackyn Road. Contact Lulu for more information. 50p contribution for refreshments.

  • TRANSITION CAMBRIDGE CHRISTMAS PARTY! (Monday 21st December)

From 8pm till late in CB2 Cafe on Norfolk Street. More details to follow. We hope you can come!

  • A local currency for Cambridge? (talk and discussion on 21st January)

8pm, the Café Project, 22a Jesus Lane (details to be confirmed) Recently there's been some talk about setting up a local currency for Cambridge, to support local businesses, encourage relocalisation and strengthen our local economy. Several other transition towns have done this, including Totnes , Lewes and most recently Brixton and Stroud. To get us started, Justin Morgan has offered to give a brief introduction to how local currencies work and what they offer to local communities, followed by a general discussion that we hope will be the start of a local currency project group.

  • Transition Stall at Mill Road Winter Fair (Sat 5th December)

We need some help at our Mill Road Winter Fair stall - please let us know if you're around that day! Thanks!

Special well-being section

  • Thursday 19th November: Well-Being "Bring and Share"

These Well-Being meetings provide a space for those of us who want to share thoughts and feelings that come up for us around Transition. We gather at 6.30pm for informal getting to know each other and catching up, and then the structured section of the meeting starts at 7.00pm. We begin this with a short centering practice (which anyone is welcome to lead) so please ensure you arrive in time for this. After the sharing circle, we enjoy a bring-and-share meal together, so come with something tasty! Newcomers are most welcome; if you have any questions, email Corrina. This week we meet in Shelford from 6.30 - 9.00pm; please contact Maggie for directions and to let her know you plan to be there and do ask if you want to lift-share.

  • Friday 4th December: Social Meal followed by Biodanza

Local Biodanza teacher, Gwen Marie Martin, has offered to lead a session of Biodanza, a simple form of guided self-expressive dancing from South America. It rejuvenates and revitalises, and helps people to reconnect more authentically with themselves and with others. More info here 6:30pm Social meal: please bring something vegetarian/vegan to share, followed by Biodanza from 8-9:30pm. Open to everyone whether you've been to the well-being group before or not! Come to either or both parts of the evening. Suggested contribution for Biodanza is £10 (a proportion of this will go to Children in Need). Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane.

  • Sunday 6th December: Copenhagen Climate Vigil

7pm, venue to be confirmed (see events page for info) On the eve of the Copenhagen Climate Summit when the world's leaders will decide new targets for reducing carbon emissions, we will hold in our thoughts all those involved in the Copenhagen meeting, wishing them courage, wisdom, good communication, and the strength of will to create a fair and binding climate treaty for the sake of current and future inhabitants of our beautiful planet Earth. For some people this might be through prayer, meditation, a blessing or just a wish or intention that all may go well and a way forward may become clear and be put into action. Everyone will be very welcome! (Alternatively you could organise your own version of this in your neighbourhood, with friends or in your faith group.)

Related News and Events offered by other local groups

  • Friday 20th November: Building a Mini Wind Turbine (Introductory Talk)

1pm, Room LR4 Engineering Department, Trumpington Street The local Engineers Without Borders group hope to design and build a wind turbine. They're aiming to produce it as cheaply as possible, using salvaged parts, as this kind of solution may have widespread applicability in the developing world. This Friday, Professor Tim Flack is giving an introductory talk about the design of wind turbines, so if you're interested in being part of the project, or just have an interest in the design of wind turbines, come along! For more information please visit the EWB website.

  • Saturday 30th November: Tunes for Trees

Come along to CB1 cafe on Mill Road on 30 November (8-11pm) to a fundraising event to buy fruit trees to create a community orchard. There'll be music, poetry, seasonal food treats and mulled cider. If music be the food of love... Play on!

  • Sunday 5th December: Join The Wave!

On Saturday 5 December 2009, ahead of the crucial UN climate summit in Copenhagen, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life will flow in a blue wave through the streets of London to demonstrate their support for a safe climate future for all. The Wave will start at 12pm in Grosvenor Square and move towards Westminster until 3pm, when the marchers will encircle Parliament. We are calling on world leaders to take urgent action to secure a fair international deal to stop global warming exceeding the danger threshold of 2 degrees C. Join us and help make this the UK's biggest climate change march ever. Please wear blue! Get creative: look out for the giant wave, a blue welsh dragon, surfers, Tibetan smurfs, mermaids and a group of doctors in scrubs. Blue facepaint will be available (until it runs out). Learn to splash dance here. More information here. To book tickets on the coach from Cambridge to the Wave at £5 return, click here.

  • Are your meals costing the earth?

As part of its 65th anniversary celebrations, the UK Vegan Society is raising awareness this month about the environmental sustainability arguments for the vegan diet. Did you know that a vegan requires less than a third of the land needed to feed a meat-eater? Or that a day's food for a meat-eater requires over 5,000 litres of water, compared to just 1,900 litres for a vegan? Or that a recent UN report stated that the livestock sector is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is a higher share than global transport? Animal farming represents a massive misuse of natural resources and is a major contributor to environmental destruction. If we are serious about sustainability, the Society argues, then we need to adopt a diet which uses significantly less land, water and fuel, and which is far gentler on our planet. For more information and to try out some delicious recipes, go to http://www.vegansociety.com or contact the local vegan group.

  • New book: Saving the Earth by Akuppa

"The virtue of a path is that it starts right at your feet. Whatever mix of feelings you have at this moment about the state of the environment, that is where we begin." A practical guide filled with useful tips, links and insightful reflections, Saving the Earth provides tools for change while showing how the Buddhist philosophies of interconnectedness and compassion are of immense use in our efforts towards preserving the natural world. "What welcome wisdom comes our way in this book! If you want to stay sane, motivated, and productive while working for the healing of our world, read these pages of priceless and pleasurable advice. It is like having a heart-to-heart with a trusted and savvy friend." - Joanna Macy, author of 'World As Lover, World As Self' and founder of the 'Work that Reconnects' program. For more information or to read a short extract, please click here.

  • Getting your Message Across - How to be heard when it matters

An introduction to Non-Violent Communication. 17-18th April 2010, with Elizabeth English (Locana) and Annie Rankin (Vajrasara). This introduction to Nonviolent Communication is for anyone who wants what they say to be heard and understood by others more fully. We will focus on ways that are most likely to connect us with other people, and learn what may lead others to disengage from us. We explore the power of active listening and empathy to engage and connect us with others, and how when we acknowledge our interconnectedness, the links we make often carry greater weight and value. We also look at the issues we face when we feel passionate about our message. While this training is suitable for anyone from any background, we wish to offer it at especially low prices, in a not-for-profit spirit, to support people working in the low-carbon / transition / green movements. More info here

These bulletins seem to be getting longer and longer! Hope you've found something of interest, and please continue to send in items for the bulletin - thank you!

Anna

Our Mission

Transition Cambridge aims to help Cambridge make the transition to ways of life that are more resilient in the face of rising energy prices and a changing climate.

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