Transition Sydenham now an official Transition Town

[chrelcombe]

Transition Sydenham has just been approved as an official Transition Town.

To find out more about our hopes, aims and activities, and ways to get in touch, visit www.transitionsydenham.eu or visit www.transitiontowns.org to find out more about the transition movement.

[leenewham]

This is great news. How did you make it happen. Who is behind it?

[GLOBAL THINKER]

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Any chance of showing this film again? unfortunately I wasn't able to make the 1st viewing.

[mummycat]

Well done, all of you. I know you're only a small group but I have been following you with interest.... I am familiar with the groups in Totnes, Exmouth and Lewes (near where I'm originally from).

The www.localskillswap.com you advertise on your website is a great idea.

[shell1]

Wow - this is impressive - I'm a fan already. I will PM you about your ideas and the film. Thank you for developing this amazing initiative in Sydenham.

[chrelcombe]

This is great news. How did you make it happen. Who is behind it?

The idea behind Transition is that it's entirely self-generating, and based on bottom-up rather than top-down organisation and ideas-generation. I.e. someone talks to someone else, a few people get interested and form an initial steering group (with the ultimate aim of disbanding once there is enough momentum and activity in the community), discussions take place and it snowballs (hopefully) from there. A small group of us first met in December and we've been trying to build interest and get some activities going to get people thinking.

We're always open to new ideas for events, activities etc, and welcome new members. You can register interest via the contact details on the website, or join our Facebook group (Transition Sydenham) and/or Project Dirt page (projectdirt.com/group/transitionsydenham) - if you're not familiar with Project Dirt already, it's a great source of info on hundreds of environment/related projects going on in South London.

[Tim Lund]

Quotes from the Transition Town Sydenham website and blog:

The Grow-Grow Gardening Partnership twins those with a garden, who cannot maintain it for whatever reason, with active people who want to grow vegetables or plants.

Here's a local example I like - it's a grape in blossom in a neighbour's garden I look after:

Growing your own fruit and veg, for instance, can be satisfying and healthy

Indeed - some excitement today from my allotment - cauliflowers aren't easy!

[Tim Lund]

Look carefully and you see the dessert gooseberries ripening, trained against the front of some neighbours' house

[Tim Lund]

[A second photo in this series - showing who was actually picking these nice ripe cherries this morning - awaits approval from the forager concerned ...]

[Tim Lund]

And the phantom forager is ....

[The Commander]

What fantastic cherries - it's been a good year. What variety are they? And, congratulations btw on achieving Transition Town status. Hope CP can link up with you soon.

[Tim Lund]

Don't know what variety. I thought they might be morellos, because they are small and a bit acid, but on second thoughts I don't think they can be, because they're quite sweet enough to eat straight, and morellos seem always to be bright red.

[Tim Lund]

Ribes production line ...

Red currants not quite ready to pick ...


Black currants picked and strung


and gooseberries (and some other stuff) nestling in the freezer

[Tim Lund]

Pumpkins - or squashes? - growing on the Hazel Grove Estate



Congratulations, Jean!

[Iris]

Wow Tim!
Maybe share a bit (e) on the Big lunch Sunday?
I can see a few blackcurrant tarts coming this way!!

[mummycat]

..

[Tim Lund]

Blackberry time in SE26 ...



and there's plenty left

[Tim Lund]

Well, not only blackberries now but also ...

• elderberries - bottom left - collected from a tree overhanging Silverdale. I've just tried googling for recipes for what to do with them - one thing I will not be doing is trying to make wine with them. Apparently uncooked they are toxic. I suspect making a jelly with them will be best. This recipe looks promising - http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Elderberry_Jelly.aspx
• mulberries - bottom right. From my garden, but there will be loads in the Golden Lion car park now. Fantastic, and definitely ready to eat from the tree. But wear old clothes - the juice will get all over your hands, and run down your arms.
• plums - hard to see in the plastic flower pot top right, but these are from an enormous old tree in my garden, which is much too high to pick. There are a few other trees like this around, over hanging roads. I suspect they were once rootstocks for some cultivated varieties of plum. The fruit themselves are about half the size of the plums you buy in shops, but taste better.

(and in the margarine tub are blackberries)

[The Commander]

Aren't they damsons Tim?

[Tim Lund]

No - they're not damsons. Not dark enough, and too sweet for damsons.