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| Have car; will travel (says defiant Doris in 2030) |
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| Keywords: clarkson, hamster, peak oil, totnes, transition, wondermental
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| Categories: Blogs
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| Published on: Jan 18, 2009 |
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| Last updated on: Jan 18, 2009 |
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I'm worn out. But in that good way: spent, but fulfilled. And all because I went along to the Transition Tales Workshop and Wondermentalist/Transition Cabaret yesterday.
Thing is, I went along thinking I was part of the support team, enabling a bit of podcasting for traydio, yet ended up taking part - inspiration, perspiration - the lot! What's more, I found myself later in the day under the spotlight, reading my work to a full Barrel House; an amazing day and evening.
The day began - under the guidance of '100%
renewable, highly biodiverse and inherently local' wondermentalists Matt Harvey, Liv Torc
and Beryl the Feral as well as the supportive hand of Transition grand fromage Rob Hopkins - with a brainstorm of our hopes and fears regarding 2030, when we were warned oil consumption will be down to a ninth of its current levels. Sobering stuff of course, but - as Rob wisely and regularly points out, "this can be the making of us", and clearly a great opportunity for creativity, community and innovation - as my day more than adequately proved.
Armed wth Matt's 'high pressure, low expections' formula, we moved on to a fine set of creative visioning exercises including nostalgia for 2009 looking back from 2030, small ad-style wanted and offered ads 21 years hence (e.g. Wanted: Anything American, in any condition) and today's Totnes Times headlines transposed to the post-peak-oil age.
I heartily urge you to take part in any future workshops of this kind or at least take a look at 2030 for yourself when the peak of oil production may well be behind us. Please make your inevitable way through denial, despair and into creativity, where the transition movement is superbly poised.
For my headline, I chose 'Have car; will travel' from this week's paper. Here's what I thought it might read like in 2030...
Have car; will travel
Doris Johnson will drive up Totnes High Street later this week despite the anticipated fury of local officials and residents alike.
Against a backdrop of now scarce and precious fossil fuels and Totnes' ban of private motor vehicles back in 2022, Doris intends to take to the driver's seat of her 2006 Vauxhall Corsa for a trip down memory lane.
The now classic Corsa vehicle, which apparently lay hidden in the Johnson family barn for the last eight oil-starved years, is alleged to be roadworthy and "good to go".
"I wouldn't be dictated to back then, and I won't be dictated to now," said a defiant Doris. "If I want to drive, I will drive, whatever those transmission people say. It's a matter of principle!"
"I've even had people ringing me up offering to fill the other 4 seats of my car when I drive to the market on Saturday. I do not think 'petrolhead' is a term of abuse and I'm old enough to remember the days when Jeremy Clarkson and that lovely little Richard hamster man used to get very exited about the latest and fastest cars," she added.
Mrs Johnson, whose covert car capers have now solved the recent mystery of bright, flashing lights and a distant hum on the outskirts of town, will drive from her home at 10am on Saturday flying in the face of warnings of transport officials and locals alike.
"If we still had rotten fruit, I'd through it at the car-crazy old cow," said one angry Totnesian.
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