A post-carbon, more resilient, High Wycombe is coming. On a clear day I can see it in on the horizon. However last week's debacle at the petrol pumps still obscures this trend. Those petrol vapours make the horizon shimmer and distant - lost in people's minds as the queue frustration let the red mist fall instead. Despite a long quiet spell (4 months) on this Transition Town High Wycombe blog there has been a LOT to talk about. So let's get on with it.....
Like the swan in our logo we can seem pretty serene above the water whilst all the time there is furious paddling just out of sight. The Warm Home Heroes have been wandering the streets of HIgh Wycombe on cold Saturday evenings taking thermal images of people's homes. This generated a lot of interest and the FREE scheme was vastly over-subscribed. The warm snap in March pretty much knocked it on the head for this season but we'll pick it up again later this year for anyone disappointed this winter.
Meanwhile over in the Local Food Group there has been a lot of work going on with the Town Centre Partnership. They have joined forces to create "Wycombe Harvest 2012" - "A Celebration of Local Food" to be held on Bank Holiday Monday August 27th. Check out www.food-on-our-doorstep.org.uk for more details (click on the link to the Food Group). Also on the Local Food side of business we have welcomed in March a brand new business to the town: Local Roots at 33 Crendon Street. This is a crowd-funded enterprise that brings all the Local Food Producers from our Local Food Guide into once central retail location. You can go there to buy a sandwich, grab some local Apple Juice from Drovers Hill Farm (Saunderton) or a sausage roll from the rare breeds of Orchard View Farm. Check out www.localrootswycombe.co.uk for more details.
But it isn't all local food and thermal images. Last year saw the Town's SECOND Superhome open its doors at The Brackens on the south side of town. This home complements the existing Superhome 59 in Totteridge. Both homes have reduced their dependency on old fashioned fossil fuels by between 60 and 90%. Think of that as you queue for petrol next time. These homes are regularly open to the public so please feel free to check out www.superhome59.info and www.superhome113.info for the next opportunity. Totteridge is also becoming quite the solar hub isn't it? Throw a stone in any direction from St Wulstan's Church and you will be able to hit the solar panels on some NINE different homes clustered around Superhome 59. Well done them!
If you want to meet your HIgh Wycombe post-carbon champions then the Transition Town High Wycombe Food and Energy Groups will hopefully have stalls at the following upcoming events: - Pann Mill open day - Sunday 13th May 2012 - Hamilton School Fete - Saturday 16th June 2012 - Jubilee Community Event in Totteridge - Sunday 1st July - 1pm to 5pm on Totteridge Common (off Totteridge Lane, High Wycombe) - Pann Mill open day - Sunday 15th July 2012 - Pann Mill open day - Sunday 9th September 2012 ...and this doesn't count the Wycombe Harvest or our plans to attend the Clairabella Craft Market this year! Only yesterday I was talking to a couple of locally companies in the Solar Energy and Biomass industries looking to hook-up with Transition Town High Wycombe for the summer season shows. So watch this space - it is going to be a great year. Please come and see us at the shows. We would love to talk to our readership.
Also on July 6th you will be able to see my talk to the High Wycombe Society at the Guildhall in Town (at 7pm). Entitled "The History of High Wycombe 2000 to 2100" this will cover the post-carbon vision for our great town as well as give everyone a chance to learn about Transition Towns and the work of the High Wycombe team. More details of this talk will be up and coming from HWS as they launch their new season so we'll talk more about that when we learn more.
On a technical note our more eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that our shadow blog has vanished. Our web hosting company has scrapped their old blog system so we will be migrating to Wordpress. In the meantime we have been micro-blogging like crazy over at www.twitter.com/ttwycombe and you can find extended commentary on events at www.facebook.com/ttwycombe. From there you will be able to link over to the FOOD Group Facebook page at www.facebook.com/food.on.our.doorstep. Our web site has been given a recent makeover with Facebook and Twitter integration but we can only apologies to our friends who haven't seen an E-Newsletter from us since August 2011. We weren't happy with how it was looking and will be trying at Mail Chimp this year. And for all of you lovely trolls out there we will allow you to comment on THIS Blog and will leave this open until out own Blog is back.
So please tune-in and check out our new web site at www.transition-wycombe.org.uk and have a look at the new opportunities to become a Local Food Champion or a Local Energy Champion.
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