Soul of the World
So my unexpected Tuesday night outing to the wilds of Haggerston was for the Permaculture Picturehouse's monthly talk & movie.
I found out about the group thanks to my lunchtime Googlefoo, and unspontaneous creature though I am, decided to go because they were showing Anima Mundi, an ecology film about "Permaculture, Peak Oil, Climate Change and the Soul of the World" that I quite wanted to see. I'd looked at buying it, but as the cheapest copy I could find in the UK was £17 (ouch! ecology, not economy) that fell by the wayside.
Getting there was the first time I'd used the overground tube (despite it's 2-year old existence), which impressed me with how much cleaner, quieter and faster it was than the underground. The Passing Clouds venue was interesting; rather like walking into an artist's collective from the 70's. It's all Far Eastern and Middle Eastern decor with wall paintings, 'vintage' (read rather distressed) paper, wood and brass decorations, splashes of colourful textiles, faded plump-cushioned chairs and scarred old tables, with a bar at one end and a repaired rolldown movie screen at the other. It was comfortable and welcoming though, reminding me of a couple of my hangouts during my uni years.
Talks of the evening were by the Ministry of Freedom, about the law and how little citizens know about it or utilise it (some very salient points, if I was staying in the UK I'd definitely research that more); Andy McGeeny about 'Ecotherapy and Deep Ecology' (the basic being people who can see trees and nature recover from illnesses faster, are healthier, less stressed, and more mentally stable); and James Piers Taylor on 'Pattern & Permaculture' (interesting, both topic-wise & visually, and obviously he merely touched the tip of the iceberg). Also after the film viewing, we had a recitation by a poet/rapper (whose name escapes me sadly) which were very clever, and well put together.
Anima Mundi was actually more serious than I was expecting it to be, but was absolutely brilliant nonetheless. Beautifully and cleverly presented, at times frightening and horrifying, but also witty, funny, thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful. If you have the opportunity to watch the film, I highly recommend it.
On the bonus side, I got to see a film I really wanted to view (for the bargain price of £2), met some nice people, heard loads of interesting stuff, and scored a fat bunch of fresh parsley from a vegetable shop on the way back to Haggerston station. Definitely worth going to the next monthly meeting.
On the minus side, when I got up that morning I thought I'd be home at the usual time, so had put the slow cooker on 'High'. I got home at 12:40am. Hmm. I didn't realise you could burn casserole in a slow cooker...
Sculpture by Bruno Torf. Photo by Peter Charles Downey.
I found out about the group thanks to my lunchtime Googlefoo, and unspontaneous creature though I am, decided to go because they were showing Anima Mundi, an ecology film about "Permaculture, Peak Oil, Climate Change and the Soul of the World" that I quite wanted to see. I'd looked at buying it, but as the cheapest copy I could find in the UK was £17 (ouch! ecology, not economy) that fell by the wayside.
Getting there was the first time I'd used the overground tube (despite it's 2-year old existence), which impressed me with how much cleaner, quieter and faster it was than the underground. The Passing Clouds venue was interesting; rather like walking into an artist's collective from the 70's. It's all Far Eastern and Middle Eastern decor with wall paintings, 'vintage' (read rather distressed) paper, wood and brass decorations, splashes of colourful textiles, faded plump-cushioned chairs and scarred old tables, with a bar at one end and a repaired rolldown movie screen at the other. It was comfortable and welcoming though, reminding me of a couple of my hangouts during my uni years.
Talks of the evening were by the Ministry of Freedom, about the law and how little citizens know about it or utilise it (some very salient points, if I was staying in the UK I'd definitely research that more); Andy McGeeny about 'Ecotherapy and Deep Ecology' (the basic being people who can see trees and nature recover from illnesses faster, are healthier, less stressed, and more mentally stable); and James Piers Taylor on 'Pattern & Permaculture' (interesting, both topic-wise & visually, and obviously he merely touched the tip of the iceberg). Also after the film viewing, we had a recitation by a poet/rapper (whose name escapes me sadly) which were very clever, and well put together.
Anima Mundi was actually more serious than I was expecting it to be, but was absolutely brilliant nonetheless. Beautifully and cleverly presented, at times frightening and horrifying, but also witty, funny, thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful. If you have the opportunity to watch the film, I highly recommend it.
On the bonus side, I got to see a film I really wanted to view (for the bargain price of £2), met some nice people, heard loads of interesting stuff, and scored a fat bunch of fresh parsley from a vegetable shop on the way back to Haggerston station. Definitely worth going to the next monthly meeting.
On the minus side, when I got up that morning I thought I'd be home at the usual time, so had put the slow cooker on 'High'. I got home at 12:40am. Hmm. I didn't realise you could burn casserole in a slow cooker...
Sculpture by Bruno Torf. Photo by Peter Charles Downey.