Utopian Imagination postscript

How is this for a coincidence: In the Evening Standard Magazine (24 Aug 2012) - a magazine I just picked up from the seat next to me on the train, Richard Branson's response to the question "What would you do as Mayor (of London) for a day?" was written up as follows: "Grass over about two-thirds  of the city so the streets became places for kids to play and London was a collection of lots of little villages and not dominated by cars." Considering that this is what my post from 23 Aug 2012 was about, I wonder....

Utopian imagination

Imagine a city, town or village without petrol-guzzling, noisy vehicles (their heyday long gone). No cars, buses, coaches, trucks and vans...

Imagine the relative peace and quiet (you could probably hear people walking and shuffling about), the absence of exhaust fumes (smell the bread from the bakery around the corner), the serenity even (no more road rage, no accidents).

Imagine how this would affect the way we lead our lives...

Late summer impressions - from the heart and from a city

From the heart...

Back from a "Friends' Working Weekend" at Embercombe last night.

Feeling dreamy and strangely emotional today. It feels like Embercombe and the experiences surrounding it have stoked that fire in me again, and perhaps putting pen to paper (I am now copying this from handwritten notes - the keyboard feels strangely uncomfortable after the pen gliding across the paper) is making me admit it to myself. I feel shy and vulnerable in front of myself. Perhaps that is why I am prone to tears while writing and re-reading this.