New Internationalist. The people, the ideas, the action in the fight for global justice.

In this part of the world Burnham is not a wood that moves, as in Shakespeare's Scottish Play, but Burham-on-Sea, a charming little resort on the coast nearby. Even so, Transition City Bristol reversed the usual flow last Saturday and brought trees to the city. If you looked very closely you could even see them moving.

In the ‘Editor’s Letter’ introducing the July NI magazine about permaculture, I said I had not come across anyone with a good word to say for slugs.

For a while now, when asked about the NI magazine topic I’ll be tackling next, I’ve had to say: ‘permaculture.’ Invariably asked what that is, I’ve had to say: ‘I have no idea.’ Extreme hairdressing? The lifestyle of Siberia? So how come I am starting to put together a magazine about permaculture? Here I enter Donald Rumsfeld territory. What induces anyone to learn anything new – before, of course, they know what it is? How to decide between one unknown and the next? Well, in my case the answer is relatively simple. The NI co-op voted for it last summer – quite why you’d have to ask them. When presented with the list of topics for editors to choose from, I knew least about permaculture, and curiosity got the better of me. I’ve now found permaculture popping up everywhere. In a series of what seem like coincidences, I’ve been bumping into it in places as disparate as the middle of London and the Brecon Beacons of Wales.

Though I’ve signed off from a regular blog from the barge, there are a few loose ends to tie up.