This weekend we stopped by Rochester Square garden and had a long chat with one of the guys who's been there from the beginning. Once home to a nursery that grew plants for the entertainment industry, the site had since been neglected for over a decade; the garden and buildings that were beginning to fall apart and degrade the surrounding neighbourhood have now been returned to…
Today we visited the nomadic community gardens project, set up by 1 love community on a disused piece of land near Brick Lane. 1 love took over use of the derelict wasteland and converted it to a community garden for local residents, with various activities geared towards bringing people together. We had a chat with one of the community members and learned that the landowners gave permission for it to…
Last weekend I took a trip to Grow Heathrow, an autonomous community space and settlement, on the grounds of an abandoned market garden site near Heathrow airport. I visited to take part in a fermentation workshop run by Fareshares food co-op, and ended up staying for the day. Transition Heathrow is a grassroots action group with four main aims: To further the Heathrow villages as an iconic…
Wishing everyone a fantastic year ahead! I spent mine at Allendale's tar barl. What did you get up to? Reported to have started in 1858, when it was too windy for a band to read their music, the suggestion of lighting a tar barrel has over the years transformed into a New Year's spectacle with a pagan influence of lighting the New Year's fire. Guisers dressed…
This weekend we visited Runnymead for a festival... and ended up staying some extra time. This place was amazing, just the kind of community I would love to be a part of. Edit: Sadly, this place is no more
A small man-made shore nicknamed ‘dirty beach’ is the location for a monthly fire spin that I’ve been going to on and off since about 2010. Mainly manned by those who attend spinning@, a weekly gathering for learning and practicing all kinds of spinning. It's a great night to watch too, just stay out of the way of spinners.
As someone with an ongoing interest in Paganism, I thought it would be interesting to attend a pagan pride. It started with a march from Nottingham town center to the park, where we spent the afternoon wandering the stalls, listening to talks and bands, and lazing around in the sun. An interesting, fun, and relaxing day.
Folleterre aims to provide a place of safety, homecoming, and inspiration, where queers can expand their gifts and nature, and explore the relationship between sexuality and spirit. It really is a magical place: beautiful, calm, quiet, and sometimes filled with faeries! I went there for a retreat and met some truly wonderful people. I won’t be posting pictures of the event in order to respect the…
Schwarzer Kanal was my first experience of a wagenplatz. What a wonderful place, this is what kicked off my longing for living in a community in the woods.
While travelling in Europe, I went to Copenhagen Queer festival, a fabulous gathering that opened my eyes to what was wrong with my life. I ended up spending quite a bit of time wandering around the area too, including Christiana, a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood where government law doesn’t apply. I can't include many photos for privacy reasons, but here are a few I managed to take…
A constantly changing tunnel of graffiti in Lambeth, where graffiti is legal and promoted despite the fact that it is against UK law on public property.