Events for Sustainable Food book

The Sustainable Food book will be promoted by In Conversation Events where I’ll be talking with gardeners, farmers and folk who are passionate about food and who are growing, buying and supporting local farmers.  I’d love to see you there, hear your story or answer your questions about how we can sustain our food in our cities and the country.  The list below doesn’t include media events.  I’m looking forward to the media conversations, from the first... Read More

Costa, gardeners and I talking about sustainable food

This week Costa, Transition Bondi, gardeners and I discussed Sustainable Food, gardening and how we love our Earth back to health.  It’s a twelve minute vid and shows us talking with each other. A longer one, one hour, is here. Great to share the space and ideas, M  Read More

Homer, the Iliad and a French woman’s view of his poem and ‘force’

A brief note here about force and poetry and what role we give to force in our human lives. In 1939 Simone Veil wrote an essay while living in Paris about Homer’s poem, the Iliad.  She wrote it just before the Nazi army took the city and she had to flee to London.  The essay had to be printed elsewhere, later.  It’s called, L’Iliade ou le Poeme de la Force’ and her understanding of the Iliad is quoted in the Introduction to The Iliad by Bernard Knox in the... Read More

Join the conversation about food at Booksplus, Bathurst

Lots of energy and action for local food and gardening at Bathurst, NSW, where one of the organisers for a conversation about food and sustaining our culture, Jenny, from the bookshop, BooksPlus, has sent me this note:   “Things are prett much organised, except for a lot more promotion, which I will get stuck into. We will be sending out our mailout next  week, and Rahamim will then circulate the invitation to  their email networks as well, so we are getting the... Read More

Reflections on Lombok

14 October 2012   Some observations made during my six weeks in Lombok, Indonesia, a tropical island – my first stay there.  I arrived at the end of August 2012 and left in the middle of October: Lombok has about 4 m people on an area about the size of the Sydney wider metropolitan area “villa’ is perhaps the most abused word in Lombok and Bali, especially when used in ads, the Web and promotion – don’t be confident of something out of Italy... Read More

Come to launch of Sustainable Food by Senator Carr

Invite – Canberra launch of Sustainable Food If you’re around Canberra and would like to join us for the launch of the book, Sustainable Food, and a lunch afterwards of local food and the launch of the Cool Streets Campaign – it would be terrific to see you there,   M  Read More

UNESCO recognises Bali’s subak rice farming system

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has recognised Bali’s subak rice farming system. UNESCO registered the farming system on its World Heritage List during its annual meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 29. As the Jakarta Post put it:   “UNESCO recognized subak as a Balinese cultural landscape of rice terraces and their water temples that cover 19,500 hectares. Subak reflects the philosophical concept of Tri Hita Karana,... Read More

Join conversation with gardeners, Costa and I about Sustainable Food book

For those near Bondi, Sydney:  a conversation at Bondi with local gardeners, Costa and I about my new book, Sustainable Food, and all the issues we face with food, water, soil, health and community – 17 October. There’ll be local food on the table and we’ll acknowledge the champs who grew it and hear from them, too, of course. And thank you, Transition Bondi, for arranging this – you’re leading the change we want to be. Bookings and info here: www.transitionsydney.org…   See... Read More

Do successful politicians have more erect ears?

We come now to ears.   In the first chapter of his book, The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin notices that domesticated animals tend to have drooping ears because  they’ve grown to have less need to hear or listen for predators to protect themselves. *   On reading this I wondered if successful human politicians may be characterised by more erect ears than their competitors, such ears giving them a greater capacity to hear what their opponents may say, and... Read More

A reminder of Italy in Lombok

Sunset from Cafe Alberto If escaping, perhaps finding yourself, or running from the law, exercising your curiosity or a whim . . . if any of these is yours – whatever the impetus may be that brings you to Lombok, come you to Café Alberto. Lombok Straight from Cafe Alberto This dash of Italy is on the southern headland of Senggigi.  On the web it categorises itself a “B and B”.*  It’s more than that, it’s an oasis. And have some thin slices of cold fish, ‘cooked’... Read More