A week of ups and downs

The most significant news in Transition Farnham this week is that transition member and good friend Mary Hay has been taken ill in Frimley Park hospital. Our thoughts and good wishes are with her and her family.

But while she is away we have been making good progress:

• Notes from Monday evening’s meetings have now been added to the website. (See posting below.)
• On Tuesday evening we met briefly with Transition Godalming.
  They are a good bunch, at about the same stage as us. They will be showing the End of Suburbia and the Power of Community at three separate screenings in November, December and January.
• On Wednesday afternoon the Centre for Sustainable Design gave a very interesting talk on ‘eco-design’ and eco-business at the UCA. It seems that electronics giant Philips now gets 10% of its revenues (and a much higher percentage of its profits) from ‘green’ products. As the ‘green’ wave approaches it seems the Centre could be a very valuable resource, not just to our Transition but also to Farnham as a whole.
• And on Wednesday night Waverley Borough Council‘s joint planning committee voted 33 to 1 (with 2 abstentions) to approve the East Street development. There is no way that the current plans are sustainable in the face of the changes that are coming. Thanks to Tom Lankester, Mike Causey and others for speaking up. We await developments with interest.

Finally, it seems the ups and downs of our little backwater have been reflected in the wider world. Turmoil has continued in the financial markets, and it is making even more sense for towns to have their own local currency. Local currencies aren’t affected by the decisions of far-off bankers in New York, London, or Brussels, and can’t leave the local economy to be reinvested or lost in some other part of the world. Perhaps, like Lewes and Totnes, we need to set up and trade our own local currency: “Farnham Florins” perhaps, or “Farnham Farthings” ??

We meet on Monday to discuss these and other possibilities.