Light and shade

People sometimes tell me my posts are a bit intense and dark. They say I should devote more time to the positive sides of the low carbon world I'm proposing. It's a good point. I truly believe that there is a lot of good news to tell about life after cheap oil. And some days I just can't stop smiling because there's already so much great stuff going on out there.

Take last Thursday for example. In the morning I visited the delightful Culpepper Community Garden in Islington, a fantastic model of how to combine food growing, flowers and a vibrant community spirit.

Then I visited Unpackaged - a wonderful grocery shop in Amwell Street where everything is sold unpackaged and you take your own containers. Sometimes the best solutions for the future come from the past!

That afternoon a friend wanted to show me his allotment, and particularly his new scythe, so we spent a happy hour cutting grass, planting radish seedlings, gathering apple windfalls and picking plums. Days later I'm still enjoying the resulting stewed fruits.

Finally I went to see a resident on the Fellows Road housing estate in my ward who wanted to talk to me about growing food. A few days previously I had sent a letter to all residents suggesting that we might plant apple trees and more on the estate. Lots of people got in touch but this man - Ernie - wanted to offer up his garden for food growing because he didn't have the time or the inclination to manage it. I was reminded of a cool concept called Landfit where people with gardens they can't manage are matched up with people who want allotments. So that's what we'll do. And launch it in Belsize Eco Week (22-27 Sep)

So many smiles in one day. Roll on life after oil!