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Community Shop and Repair Cafes

You’ll have heard about the idea of a community shop in Wilmslow: there seems to be lots of interest and enthusiasm which is fantastic! Details of the first meeting are on the Wilmslow Hub Facebook page and on our diary page.

There has also been talk in the press of “Right to Repair” ….hopefully a move away from built in obsolescence to the idea that when something breaks we try to fix it (when did we ever decide that wasn’t a good idea?).  Repair Cafes have been around for a few years (and are a not uncommon feature in Transition Towns) so we wondered how feasible it would be to set one up in Wilmslow. A group of us went to visit the Chorlton Repair Cafe this week to see how it works. It’s based in StitchedUp, a not for profit organisation that mostly runs sewing workshops and teaches ways of reusing material that would otherwise go to landfill. The monthly Repair Cafe  brings together volunteer experts with people who need things repairing…and the idea is to show you how to repair things (more like a skill-share than a place where you just expect someone to fix something for you). There are clear house rules that cover aspects like safety, insurance etc, and they have helpfully provided a guide to setting up your own, which you can see online:  https://stitchedup.coop/projects-repair-cafe-roadshow/

There are also repair cafes in Levenshulme and Salford, and plans for one in Stockport. We will put the contact details on our Community Connections page, and if you’d be interested in getting involved with a Repair Cafe in Wilmslow we’d love to hear from you!

 

 

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Lindow Moss: Planning Decision December 2018

It was with great reluctance that Transition Wilmslow supported the building of homes on the Green Belt. However, it was considered that the special circumstances of preventing the Moss being filled with inert waste and turned over agriculture, realising the end to peat extraction and the successful restoration of the Moss were more important. John Handley spoke with passion and conviction in support of the applications (Lindow Moss Statement 150016MLindow Moss Statement 150064M. Following a 5-year restoration programme there will be a 20-year aftercare period.     Transition Wilmslow’s request for a Restoration Committee to oversee the restoration and aftercare was not successful. However, a Liaison Panel is to be established to monitor the restoration work. Details have yet to agreed.  Transition Wilmslow will be supporting strong agency and local community involvement on this committee to ensure oversight of both the restoration process and delivery of the associated benefits of restoration to support the important ecological, archaeological and recreation benefits at local, regional and national scales. The committee also discussed the provision of a financial bond to secure the work and the possibility of restoration work commencing before the development of the new homes.  We still await final confirmation of this being included in the associated conditions to the approvals. As the application for the demolition of existing buildings and provision of 14 new dwellings at the peat processing site (15/0016M ) is considered an inappropriate form of development in the Green Belt it  will need to referred to the Secretary of State for approval. (Jean Hill).

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2018 Transition Wilmslow Lecture

We had a full house at The Wilmslow Guild for Professor Sarah Bridle’s lecture on food and it’s impact on climate change, and plenty of people brave enough to try freeze dried  meal worms and crickets! Sarah is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, and told us about her work  using big data analysis techniques to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions and nutrition of our food choices. Beef, lamb and dairy products contribute most to climate change, and changing our diets can really make a difference. There were some horrifying statistics about the impact of food waste too! Sarah’s slides are on her project website http://www.ggdot.org (scroll down to the bottom) and you are invited to put your details on the “join us” section to receive project updates so eventually you will be able to accurately track the impact of your daily food choices on the climate!

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Successes at Transition Wilmslow!

Success at the RHS “In Your Neighbourhood” awards.

Our Community Garden received a certificate for “Outstanding” – the highest level. Many thanks to all who have given their time throughout the year to help keep the vegetable garden in good shape. We weren’t on our own as other Wilmslow groups also were considered outstanding. This included Friends of the Carrs, Lindow Common Advisory Group, Chapel Lane Business Group, Dean Row Rotary and Incredible Edible. In their first year the URC garden was considered “Thriving”, the second highest award. Congratulations to all!

Another successful Mushroom Forage Day

A great time was had with James Wood, finding many fascinating fungi all around the edge of Lindow Common in the wooded area. James cooks with mushrooms and he entertained us all with anecdotes about which fungi are safe to eat and which are toxic. A surprising number of fungi we found are edible or useful in some way.

The common names are intriguing –  we found brown roll rims, milk caps, pestle puff balls, turkey tails, earth balls and the hallucinogenic fly agaric, to name but a few! The most beautiful fungus with the most beautiful name was the ‘amethyst deceiver’, a small, exquisite, mauve fungus that James uses to decorate rice dishes!

Towards the end of the foray James provided a huge pot of his freshly made wild mushroom pate, delicious on a biscuit, which was devoured with enthusiasm!

Participants were interested in fungi as wild food and also in how to conserve the environment and to enhance the reproduction of these essential recyclers. An excellent fungal foray was had by all who went!  Thanks to James Wood https://totallywilduk.co.uk/

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Coming up soon!

SOME DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Plastic Free Wilmslow

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Next meeting of Plastic Free Wilmslow is Thursday 1 November 2018 at 7:30pm

United Reformed Church, Alderley Road, Wilmslow, SK9 1PR

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Mushroom Foraging Day

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Another opportunity to join the renowned James Wood for a day learning about fungii – and which ones we can eat!

Saturday, 3rd November 2018.  Meet at Lindow Common car park near Boddington Arms

Tickets, £25 from Eventbrite here  Children free.  Includes a mushroom lunch

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The 3rd Transition Wilmslow Annual Lecture

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Booking is open on-line fromThe Wilmslow Guild here

 

 

 

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Dawn Walk in memory of Rick Turner

P1020145-minTransition Wilmslow’s Dawn Walk this year, on 22nd September will have certain poignancy as the group remembers Rick Turner, the archaeologist who recovered Lindow Man – the best preserved bog body in Britain.   Rick died earlier this year and the walk will be an appropriate time to reflect on his work.

He gave the keynote presentation at a Transition Wilmslow Day School about Lindow Moss in 2015 and had been supportive of the group’s Lindow Moss planning applications.

 Rick took part in the Dawn Walk organised by Transition Wilmslow in 2016 and gave a memorable account of what he imagined might have been Lindow Man’s last journal entries before his death.  He also underlined the importance of the cultural landscape of the Moss extending back thousands of years.   It is still in a condition where it can be recreated as a lowland raised mire.

Join Transition Wilmslow on this special Autumn Equinox walk on Saturday 22nd September 2018, starting from Lindow Common at 6:30am.  More information on our diary page.  The event is free, but please book via Eventbrite