Maker Faires are celebrations of the DIY ethic, an exhibition for amateur inventors and garden shed engineers. The first was held in 2006, organised by Make magazine, but the concept has spread. Maker fairs have been held in various parts of the world, and in 2009 an organisation came together to bring it to Africa. […]
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Why countries win Olympic medals
I don’t know what it’s like in other parts of the world, but in Britain there was really only one news story this weekend – the Olympics. On Saturday I reviewed the papers for local radio, so I browsed through all of the national papers. You had to get at least ten pages in before […]
London 2012 – whose games are they?
There’s a big billboard on the station platform at Luton. In big bold letters, it reads: “There would be no pounding hearts, tears of joy, seconds shaved, dreams made, or moments that last forever, without…” And then it lists all the corporate sponsors. Perhaps there’s one near you. Fair enough, plenty of companies have chipped […]
Rio +20: blinded by the god of economic growth
Here, in a single clause, is the reason why the Rio +20 statement is a useless document: We recognize that urgent action on unsustainable patterns of production and consumption where they occur remains fundamental in addressing environmental sustainability and promoting conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems, regeneration of natural resources and the promotion […]
Is Capitalism evil?
I haven’t written much for the blog this week, as the time I’d normally spend writing has been spent on preparing an RE lesson instead. My topic was ‘capitalism is evil’, and I was invited to be as provocative as I liked. That was this morning, and if you’re visiting from St George’s, welcome. Is […]
The Jubilee, the Olympics and the Commons
Britain is in the grip of two twin obsessions this spring, the Queen’s diamond jubilee, and the London Olympics. I’m not that excited about either of them myself, but I do find them interesting as cultural phenomena, especially the differences between them. One of the most marked differences between the two is that one is […]
The Festival of Transition
Today sees the start of the Festival of Transition, “an invitation to think positively about how our lives could change as we adapt to the end of cheap fossil fuels, address the threat of runaway climate change and fix our broken financial system.” The organisers share my belief that ‘there is no alternative’ is a […]
Real Bread Week, and why it matters
This week is real bread maker week, organised by the Real Bread Campaign. It’s a week to celebrate local bakers and traditional millers, and to encourage people to bake their own bread. There are workshops and open days, recipes, and all the things one comes to expect from an awareness week like this one. So […]
International Permaculture Day
Today is International Permaculture Day. It’s the first one, an extension of Australia’s national permaculture day which has been running for three years. Australia is the spiritual home of permaculture, developed as it was by two Australians, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Or at least they came up with the name. What they were essentially […]
Could you feed yourself on £1 a day?
Last year I mentioned Live Below the Line, a challenge to live on £1 a day for five days. It’s a way of raising awareness about poverty and development, and raising funds for charity. I was hoping to take part, but the week of the challenge was the same week that our son was born. […]
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