Explain Yourself

I found myself trying to explain what I'm on about to a local gent this evening, and thought I might share it with you all too in lieu of witty banter. I'm off now for a glass of Hedgewizard's Old Peculiar (or should that be Old and Peculiar?) and a warm in front of the wood burner. Slainte.

"I'm not selling the Sustainable Communities Act as such - it may become a useful tool in time, and I'm keen that everyone makes the best use possible of it, but it's not the main focus of my attention.

"The Transition movement is more interesting. It presupposes that governments won't and can't respond (at least in time) to what's going on, and that therefore the only action that can make any difference is local action. That doesn't mean that groups can't support global issues, but it's really far more about growing more food, going off-grid, improving local facilities and so on. Improving local resilience to the knocks that are likely to come - say another petrol blockade that empties the shelves in Tesco - is what Transition is all about. I have young children; I can't hand them a saved planet, but perhaps I can make a corner of the world that won't go tits-up if the lights go off for twenty minutes, if you'll pardon the vernacular.

"I'm personally a grow-your-own man, and cook-your-own, pick-your-own, brew-your-own and whatever else you fancy. I happen to think this is what life should be all about, and hair shirts are not for me (although I have the decency to feel guilty about hating sandals). Like yourself I think the end of civilization is probably just a matter of time, but if there's any future for mankind as a species I think it lies in what the Transition people call 'managed descent' - actually moving towards a future where there's less oil and less energy as if it was somewhere we really wanted to go.

"Enough blather with no drink in hand - 'tis a big enough subject anyway. I take slight exception, by the way, to being considered a 'chap like' anyone. Oliver Letwin had me bracketed as a 'chap like' Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, which amused me no end. Ah, that I had a tenth of his money and half his hair.

"See you after the flood -
Andy"