Happy New Year! How to start the year with Wellbeing

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade!

This is the decade for climate action. The year ahead is gearing up for it with greater collaboration and connection between organisations working towards a regenerative future.

And it all starts NOW! This Saturday, 4th January, TTT will be hosting 2 talks at "Come Together" - a well being day for the community at Tooting Methodist Church on the corner of Longmead Road and Totterdown Street.

The event has been put together by Katies Pilates and has a mixture of free and paid activities focusing on personal wellbeing, practical tips for a more sustainable life (how do you make a wormery?), nutrition and how we make change happen at the community scale. There's loads of people and organisations involved, including A Greener Tooting, BYO, Tooting Healthy Streets, Get Juiced and Be Marvellous, should be really good. Here's the line up:

We're doing 2 sessions:

• At 11.30am, a participative talk exploring Wellbeing in all of our Community, using NEF's Five Ways to Wellbeing as a framework and...
• at 1pm, we'll be launching Vegetanuary! for 2020, our annual month sharing vegetarian and vegan recipes, articles and thoughts ending in a social dinner at the end of the month. 

Do come along! Should be a fantastic day!

Richard

Number 8 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number eight:
No.8 tips for Xmas: Take a few moments to think back on the year for 3 things you have been grateful for & 1 thing you're looking forward to

Plus a bonus comment for the blog: 

BOOST YOUR POSITIVE EMOTIONS 
Sustainability on a personal note….
Experiencing, savouring and building on the positive emotions you have when you are happy can support your wellbeing and help buffer against the negative things that might happen. These tips could help support sustained happiness and help build resilience to the challenges of climate change.

Tooting Community Garden Open Day 15th June - What We Enjoyed.

On Sunday 15th June the Tooting Community Garden took part in the Open Garden Squares Weekend.

Usually open on Sundays between 11 and 1 when anyone is welcome to come along, on the Open Day we were open all day long with a whole host of events including storytelling, human snail races, cycle for a song, broad bean harvesting and 'guess the seed'.

It was a fabulous day with visitors spending time in the garden.

Here some of those involved with the Tooting Community Garden share their thoughts on putting on the open day event. We asked them two questions:

How did it make you feel?

What did you take away from the event?

Here are a few of their comments, in the box below - click on the plus sign to zoom in, or see all the 'bubbles' by opening this link: Link to Garden Open Day Feedback
 

Feedback from participants was collected on the day and we will be sharing that soon.

Wildlife Gardening Forum: conference 21 Oct 13

TTT joined this bi-annual conference yesterday at the University Hospital, Coventry. The Wildflife Garden Forum is a voluntary UK-wide group including local and national projects and charities, researchers and academics, local authorities and government agencies. The Forum's intention is to share evidence and practice about the value of wildlife to gardening (and people) - and vice versa.

Yesterday's conference topic was 'Human Health and Wildlife Gardening' - please see the agenda here. An excellent range of speakers covered up-to-date research and personal experience of the links between our own health, wellbeing and happiness, and the health and biodiversity of wildlife.

It's a topic that's one of the keys to sustainability in Tooting.

A very exciting feature of the day was the focus on wildlife and nature's role across the NHS itself: including softer benefits such as the value of amenity and beauty, and harder evidence including faster recovery times. The University Hospital's Sustainable Development Manager gave us a tour of some of the easy-to-see elements of working with nature: the Hospital has created a wild space of reeds and young trees, next to a small river newly-populated by otters.

We have some good new contacts and ideas for taking forward these possibilities in Tooting - in a very different setting from a new-build hospital, but still with plenty of potential.

‘Carbon Conversations’: our 7th series is completed

We have finished our latest series of local Carbon Conversations – exploring personal choices for carbon reduction in travel, home energy, food and in general consumption, all in a friendly and non-judgemental way. There were even some laughs, in a subject where gloom and self-denial seem to be the norm. But gloom and denial are hardly good motivators for change…!
Many thanks to Graveney and Meadow at 40 Mitcham Road, Tooting Broadway, for the free use of their space on the Monday evenings: much appreciated by all. Catch a glimpse of the cosy atmosphere (and the wild wallpaper) in this picture from the 'Food' meeting:

In this past week’s meeting on Consumption, we briefly looked at the relationships between carbon reduction and wellbeing. For anyone who wants to spend more time on some of the background, here are some of the books, videos and websites we referred to:
Tim Kasser, The High Price of Materialism, MIT Press, Cambridge, USA, 2002
Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff, Constable, 2010
The Story of Stuff video, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8
Mike Berners-Lee, How Bad Are Bananas?: The carbon footprint of everything, Profile Books, 2010
Voluntary Simplicity: one site is http://www.context.org/iclib/ic33/luhrs/

All welcome to join when we offer another series of Tooting Carbon Conversations! For info, email us at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com

Report on our 'Energy we can all afford?' meeting

Our ‘Energy we can all afford?’ meeting in St Alban‘s Church, Furzedown was a very lively session (see the flyer and speakers here). Discussion was much more heated than the bitterly cold evening outside.
We touched on a set of significant and interrelated topics: wellbeing, poverty, and our own capability to keep our homes warm; UK energy policy and supply; energy costs and affordability – and what we can do to take action in response.
I won’t try to systematically summarise 7 diverse speakers, or the questions: here are some cross-cutting points from all, plus a few quotes, to consider as individuals and communities.

Some social and physical facts to do with energy, cold, and poverty

·         Though our weather isn’t the coldest, UK homes are among the coldest in Europe

·         30-50% of winter deaths are caused by cold

·         37% of Wandsworth Borough’s homes were built pre-1919 (with solid walls, so cavity  wall insulation is not possible). The national average is 23%

·         Where can home heat be wasted? Have a look at this drawing

·        10,500 households in Wandsworth are in ‘fuel poverty’ (that is, the household spends  more than 10% of income on fuel) because of varying combinations of 3 factors:  poor heating and/or insulation, low income, the high cost of fuel

·         It’s estimated that by 2016, 1 in 3 households in London could be in fuel poverty

This evening: Energy we can all afford?

Tonight we are co-hosting a free public meeting that will explore the energy challenges and opportunities that face us now - as a country, a community, and as households - and suggest practical ways forward. This event is timed to coincide with the new Energy Bill currently going through Parliament.

The meeting will be held at St Alban's Church Hall, Pretoria Road, Furzedown SW16 1RR, from 7pm to 9pm. We have a diverse and exciting group of invited speakers: please have a look at the flyer by clicking here.
Many thanks to our partners and supporters - and all welcome!

Making Tooting Happy - in the Library, Sat 23rd Feb

Drop in and join Belinda at the Happiness Project session in the beautiful Tooting Library on Saturday 23rd February from 10:00am to 1pm.
 

Doing good does you good: so here is your chance to share your stories about kindness and reflect them back to your community. Evidence suggests that being kind boosts both your personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of the person to whom you are kind
Intrigued?

It’s free, friendly and fun - and no need to prepare or to book. Just drop by.

All welcome!
Tooting Library, 75 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PD
Info at 020 8871 7175  

We Have A Shop

which sells nothing but offers much. Photos below and read Lucy's Shop Diary to find out more.  Better still come down and discover for yourself at 68 Upper Tooting Rd, 10am-6pm till Sunday only! This link has full details of all the events.

Pictures and video of the Treasuring Tooting wellbeing walk

Video of the day

3 dozen photos from the Treasuring Tooting walk in slideshow format - enjoy!

The Treasuring Tooting walk was a success - and now the Transition Shop is open for another week

On Saturday the 12th May we led our local wellbeing walk through Tooting and found a huge range of Treasure - the people we met (walkers who did some or all of the route, and the hosts at the venues), the surprising places we went, the conversations we shared, the stories we heard, the food and drink we were offered. The bee flew in the sun...

We finished the walk at the Tooting Transition Shop, which is now open all day and every day through until Sunday 20th May (at 68 Upper Tooting Road, between The King's Head and Tooting Bec tube station). At the celebration we did smash the bee piñata as promised - led by the Mayor of Wandsworth, Jane Cooper. Sadiq Khan MP had a bash too...then a group of children, and the artists who made the bee....until all the honeycomb treasure inside was found.

Much more to share about the Walk and about everyone's experiences in the Shop - on Monday a primary school class visited....maybe when you come and explore, you may have it to yourself, or maybe you will meet some new Tooting friends....

The Walk & The Shop

There is such a lot of Transition in Tooting over the next 10 days!

On Saturday (12th May) we hope as many as possible will be "Treasuring Tooting" by joining our wellbeing walk which will visit 12 different places in Tooting.  There will be a wide variety of activities and experiences across locations as diverse as the Bingo Hall, the Islamic Centre and the Community Garden.  Click here for the full plan for the day to see how you can join in!  And here for the Map.

The final destination for the Walk will be the very exciting Tooting Transition Shop at 68 Upper Tooting Rd (formerly Xclusive Tiles & Bathrooms).  The Shop will be open every day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Saturday until Sunday 20th May as part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival.

Come and find out why this Shop has nothing for sale.  Come not to buy but to meet people, exchange stories, ideas, skills and food.

The bee piñata is taking shape

Preparing for her role in Saturday's Treasuring Tooting wellbeing walk, the bee piñata is....

stretching her legs

sharpening her sting

looking for pollen

On Saturday May 12th the bee will be fully decorated, and fly through Tooting - come and join the piñata at any of the twelve locations linked together in the Treasuring Tooting walk.

Explore and celebrate happiness and wellbeing in Tooting from the 12th-20th May

From the 12th to 20th May, Transition Town Tooting invites you to join with us to explore the keys to happiness and wellbeing, as part of our year-long celebration of what helps us lead happier and more satisfied lives. After all our preparation - we are nearly there!

Starting on Saturday 12th:

Treasuring Tooting / Treasure in Tooting

Saturday 12th May - all day from 7.30am

A day-long interactive celebration of local wellbeing in Tooting

From the open waters of Tooting Bec Lido at 730am, we will travel through twelve different destinations in Tooting - including the quiet hush of the Library; the grandeur of the Bingo Hall; craft making in the Tram and Social; a visit the Dawah Souk at Mushkil Aasaan; and sharing refreshments at the Sikh Khalsa Centre.

At each stop on the walk one of the 12 ‘keys’ to wellbeing will be experienced and celebrated.

Please see the lovely map for times and venues and do feel free to join the walk at any point on our journey! Here is a preview of the map (or see this link to read and download):

For more details of the Walk route timings, venues and meeting points, click here.

A giant bee piñata, made by local artists and residents, will be carried along the route. At the walk's final destination, from 415pm on, this will be smashed in the traditional manner of piñatas with who knows what goodies on offer.

The destination of Treasuring Tooting will be the

Tooting Transition Shop

68 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7PB (Xclusive Tiles & Bathrooms)

Opening 5pm Saturday 12th May and running 10am until 6pm until - and including - Sunday 20th May

Continuing on from the 12th May, for nine days only TTT takes over an empty shop on Upper Tooting Road to bring together all the energies of TTT into one place and invite people in Tooting to take part in re-imagining our world.  

As part of Wandsworth Arts Festival we've teamed up with renowned participatory artists Encounters to create The Tooting Transition Shop - a shop where nothing is for sale but all are welcome to exchange stories, ideas, skills and food.

Add your most memorable moments to the Tooting map, top up your fill of wellbeing, sow seeds of hope for the future, hand-make a souvenir of Tooting, and find out when the Tooting bees are coming...  

Over the 9 days, watch the shop shelves fill with the stories, creations and visions of people in Tooting.

Please see the Shop flyer below (or see this link to read and download):

We look forward to welcoming you to join in with Treasuring Tooting and the Tooting Transition Shop! 

Making Tooting Happy!

This First Tuesday event was about wellbeing.  Belinda and Hilary talked about events that are being offered locally this year, including The Treasuring Tooting walk and pop-up kindness activities being run throughout Tooting.

Conversations among the group identified that satisfying our basic needs such as safety and a home were essential; including having comfortable things that made us feel safe such as a warm blanket, a favourite old teddy. This was closely followed by having time to spend reflecting, relationships and connecting with others. A few risky sports were also cited as they brought joy and elation!

 
An interesting discussion ensued about money and wealth, with a reflection that yes, these things have been important to our own happiness at one time in our lives, and also that other interests - such as gardening, or creativity, or connection with nature  - had taken over the role of making us happy. We acknowledged the need to build in more social connections (and hugging!) to help us thrive in our lives.

On the subject of connecting, Jane very kindly shared the inspirational and touching journey she has made through her project recycling bottle tops project and her work at Age Concern, which encapsulated the idea of happiness via connection. See a fuller account of Jane's story, written to accompany TTT’s exhibition at the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park on April 22nd.

Finally, we played the ‘diy happiness game’ which led to offering a compliment, committing to speak to our neighbours and identifying things we appreciate in ourselves.

Belinda has written a further page with more detail about wellbeing: please click here.

Hive of activity

On a rainy afternoon in Tooting last Saturday, preparations continued for decorating the piñata bee which will be part of  the 'Treasuring Tooting' wellbeing walk on May 12th (scroll down in this blog for more on the piñata and on the walk...)

What's it going to be like? How big will it bee?
More images to come - keep a look out!

Well Beeing Project

Local artist team Jeni Walker and Leon Lawes have begun work to create a giant bee piñata that will process with Treasuring Tooting, the Transition Town Tooting wellbeing walk, on the 12th May. At a point on the walk the pinata will be smashed open in the traditional manner, what goodies will come forth is anybody’s guess.

Why a Bee?
The decline in honey bee numbers has been big news recently and the importance of our role in helping the numbers to grow has never been clearer. Treasuring Tooting is a celebration of the things in our local area that make us happy, and this giant bee symbolises the arrival of bees at Streatham Cemetery this May which makes us very happy indeed.
See details of our sister project at the Cemetery at: http://www.friendsofstreathamcemetery.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111&Itemid=201 

Why smash it up?
The idea to create a piñata as our walk mascot was was initially met with mixed reactions. A lot of work went into the first two celebration creations and this would be no exception.

Our thoughts turned to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of creating complex circular pictures called Mandalas from coloured sand, only to destroy them soon after their completion. The practice is a reminder of the transient nature of material life, and so destroying a beautiful piñata will be an apt expression of the idea that true happiness does not come from the material and the transient.

See the flyer for Treasuring Tooting if you scroll down in this blog.
& more info to come as we make the bee - here and at http://thedaisybugco.com/well-beeing-project/

Four events between 21+22 April and 12 May

We are very pleased to be able to share details of 4 events that are coming up between the weekend of 21+22 April and the 12th of May
Help shape the Tooting Pound

Design workshops: Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd April, both 11am-1pm

Sprout, 74 Moyser Road, Furzedown, London SW16 6SQ

The Tooting Pound is coming!
Help design your local currency at these workshops:

• who should be on the notes?

• what local landmarks should be on them?

• what colours should they be?

All welcome - families, individuals, all ages.

Tickets for this event are FREE but booking is recommended. Space in Sprout is limited so please make sure you can attend before booking: www.tooting_pound_workshop.eventbrite.co.uk

More information about the Tooting Pound can be found here: www.tootingpound.org

Growing Successfully in the City

Sunday 22nd April from 11am-4pm

Pump House Gallery, Battersea Park

We are proud to be co-hosting the Pump House Gallery's April 'Monthly Do' in Battersea Park.  All welcome to an interesting and entertaining afternoon in a beautiful location.

It's going to be National Gardening Week, so we decided to get thoughtful about Growing.
Join us to explore ideas of Urban Growing of all kinds including gardening, low-carbon living, growing food and wellbeing.
Make your own planter from recycled material to take home with you, 'play with food' on a giant scale, try some games about personal wellbeing and happiness, and meet members of TTT to find out more about transition's varied approach to community growth.
At 3.30pm Charles, TTT Co-Chair, will talk about the transition movement and different kinds of urban growing. Click on the link below for more information and to reserve a place for the talk: http://pumphousegallery.org.uk/events/april-monthly-do

London Assembly Election Hustings

Tuesday 24th April from 7:30pm

St Mark's Church, St Mark's Place (behind Wimbledon Library), Wimbledon, SW19

In partnership with a group of community organisations,TTT is helping to host a hustings with candidates from the main parties on April 24th.

Wandsworth and Merton Boroughs are represented together by one London Assembly member, and elections to the Assembly are on May 3rd. Assembly members oversee London policy on transport, planning, the environment and policing.
Come and meet candidates from the main parties, and ask them your questions.
Hustings are 8:00-9:30, followed by informal discussion. All welcome!
Venue: http://www.stmarkswimbledon.org.uk/
Partners include the Wimbledon Civic Forum, Transition Town Wimbledon, St Mark's Church, and Transition Town Tooting.
Enquiries: ttwimbledon@yahoo.co.uk

Treasuring Tooting - Treasure in Tooting

Saturday 12^thMay

A day-long interactive walk around Tooting to celebrate wellbeing

'Happiness and fulfillment come less from material wealth and more from relationships; less from focusing on ourselves and more from helping others; less from external factors outside our control and more from the way in which we choose to react to what happens to us.’ (Action for Happiness: 2012)

On May 12^th we’ll take a free dawn to dusk walk through Tooting celebrating the many places and things that contribute to our happiness.
Following on from the Tooting Earth Talk Walk in 2009, the walk will visit favourite places from the Lido to the Library, Brickbox to the Bingo Hall, at each of which an aspect of our happiness and wellbeing will be experienced and celebrated.
A map will guide us down the road and give timings for each location so people can join at any point. All ages welcome!
Put the date in your diary and look out for more information soon....

‘Seasonal Food and Seasonal Wellbeing’

Our monthly ‘First Tuesday’ meeting on 7^th June met at Mushkil Aasaan - with many thanks for the use of the hall.

Belinda, Tim & Charles used games and discussion to explore some of the interrelated features of the food we buy and grow – its nutritional value, its availability locally-grown, its ‘carbon footprint’, its degree of government subsidy or supermarket ‘shelf shout’, and food’s relationship with our own wellbeing.

We shared some favourite seasonal recipes, local picnic locations, and ideas for outdoor cooking and eating. We looked at packaging and waste – and linked this to composting, and to the satisfaction of growing our own food.

 Some of our discussions in more detail: