The Big Green Adventure Begins...
I know it's not very green to travel cross-country to attend one green event, but when it's the Grand Opening of the BGI Bus, it's worth it.
Really? I hear you cry. Wrestling with the Friday evening mass rail exodus to the West...worth it??
Oh yes!!
I must admit, I was so excited I felt like a child at Christmas. We had heard about the Bus, seen the Bus in various stages of refurbishment but had never seen the Bus as a finished article. Come our arrival in Bradford-on-Avon (which is a stunningly beautiful quintessential English village by the way), my excitement was barely containable.
So what did I think?
Easy. The bus is beautiful. And this is not just a biased opinion (well, OK, maybe a little bit), but it is so stunningly beautiful, I want the whole world to see it. And learn from it. And be inspired by it...
I spent the first hour going ...'Oooh!',' Look!', Wow!!' and stroking bits of hand crafted wood lovingly. I'm not maternal but I felt like a proud parent.
Anyway to cut many an ‘Oooh' and ‘Ahh' short, this is what the bus is like:
Downstairs there is a rear seating area for small workshops and discussions. The surfboard fits so snugly into the understairs area, it could have been made just for that very purpose. And the fin with the Poole dolphin is still intact! Thank you Andy (our multi-talented project manager)! A large-screen computer displays a world of information for net surfers and BGI Ideas Sheets fill any remaining space with the lovely Ginny, BGI volunteer co-ordinator, on hand to answer any enquiries. 
Opposite, the windowed cupboards show off the bus's batteries and on the work surface are many electrical eco-gadgets. I must confess to going ‘Oooh' and ‘Aahh' again at the Green Parenting Baby area; such a shame my teenogres are past that stage. Up the multi-coloured marmoleum stairs is the area that will be the solar powered cinema. It was in constant use already though as talks were being given. And all were packed out! 
Brigit, James (Brigit's son), Andy and Mike the Sparky spoke about the story of the bus, Dave and Andy Hamilton (them of the Self-Sufficientish Bible fame - watch this newsletter for more on them next month) spoke too, Val gave a talk on ethical clothing (did you know organic cotton is not necessarily the answer?), Brigit gave a talk on skincare, Steve Pritchard from Ediblelandscape spoke about permaculture and Duncan (James's friend from Uni and keen eco-campaigner) and James did a hands-on (or hands-in) talk about composting and wormeries.
Outside Mike from Greenlink Organics, Andy, Anne-Christine (BGI volunteer) and Matt (her partner) braved the ‘bracing' weather (could have been worse, we kept telling ourselves) showing off our wind turbine, pedal powered smoothie maker, solar panels and games, and selling a variety of green books and eco- skincare products.
What I really liked was the fact that many children who had benefited from time on the bus on the Friday brought their parents back on the Saturday to show them what they had learnt. Which is really what we are all about.
When I managed to drag myself away from the Bus, I had a look round the rest of the Fair. Given the appalling weather (could have been worse!), there was a great turnout. There was a talk on keeping bantams, which to a prospective chicken keeper as myself, was very informative. There were also hands-on chicken sessions, which proved very popular with the children; as it's considered poor form to push small children out of the way to get to stroke the chickens, I restrained myself. Inside the school hall, to the sounds of the string quintet, was a bustling colourful array of stalls. Tea, coffee and homemade cakes offered much needed sustenance against the elements.
It was a wonderful event - the organiser, Cally Smart, should be very proud of herself. Holding it in a primary school was a stroke of genius - not only was there shelter and inside toilets (always a winner in my book) but a seemingly limitless supply of enthused children with their parents.
The BGI is one woman's dream. And this dream has inspired many others to learn about becoming green and helping the environment and encouraging others to do the same. It's not a contest as to who is greenest, it's all about how we can all become greener, just a little bit, to save money, get healthier and help save the planet for our children and grandchildren. It's not difficult, it's easy really, and that's what the Big Green Bus shows...we can all do our bit, whether it's changing to low energy lightbulbs, growing our own veg, building a wind turbine or just reusing our carrier bags.
And Brigit...well dear, sweet Brigit has put every last ounce of her love and energy into this wonderful project. She has overcome illness, lack of funding, technical setbacks, logistical nightmares, legal minefields and not least an engine fire en route to the Fair. And inspired an eclectic group of people to work together to help her get the BGI to where it is today.
All I can say is that it is a rip roaring success, and thanks to Brigit, we are all at the start of an exciting green journey...I can't wait to see where it takes us all!
The BGI is still a young and developing charity. If you feel you could help make a positive contribution to our work, please contact Ginny, our volunteer co-ordinator on .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) We would love to hear from you.
By Jo
Useful links
http://www.bradfordonavongreenfair.org.uk
14 Oct 08
