Oswestry21

There’ll be a fuller piece on how this went in the next day.  But briefly, Oswestry Transition Town’s Green Fair filled the Memorial Hall with colour, light, music, magic, information, people, children and was busy and alive for the full four hours. Footfall’s first short term lease of an empty shop, between Argos & O2 on Festival Square, made the shop bright and inhabited presenting an exhibition of environmentally themed Art by local school children and made one realise how such simple interventions improve the town and raise spirits.

The Question Time event in the evening bought an audience of 120, beyond expectations, and represented the wide range of opinion possible from even within a panel of people who are all involved with emvironmental and ecological concerns whether in  political, business, campaign or individual contexts. Many thanks indeed to Ian Lucas MP, Peter Harper, Felicity Norman, and Paul Mobbs, and to Jim Hawkins for chairing. And not least to everyone who attended and made the evening the success it was.  We will be looking to promote and host another before too long.

It says a lot for Oswestry that this day was the only 350 event in Shropshire, and that it became the full and rounded day that everyone enjoyed and hopefully took some thought and deeds home from. There’s a hell of a lot going on here for a town it’s size; action, thought, talk, music, writing, Art - the best of it bubbling under the surface fermenting nicely. People making the lives they wish to live in the place they wish to live them. Thanks to all who made the day possible - these things make life memorable and fun.

 Footfall Launches October 24^th

A group of us from OS21 have been very active in getting this project off the ground in partnership with other community groups and Shropshire Council. This partnership, now called Footfall, was only formed in early August yet we will launch using the first empty premises on the 24^th October.

 The Footfall umbrella has so far brought together otherwise disparate groups and we see this as very much part of our vision. We aim to be more than just a group who ‘tart up’ shops to look better for the moment.

We want to make Footfall a really sustainable, innovative, vibrant force within the town, utilising empty shops and other underused spaces for a variety of community projects, thus encouraging more footfall throughout the town.

It’s taken a lot of hard work and perseverance to get agents/landlords to allow their empty shops to be used, but we are very nearly there, with two shops on Festival Square and three more in the pipeline on Bailey Street and the Queen Anne Passageway. We have also secured the use of empty space at the Old Station Building, thanks to the Cambrian Railways.

Footfall will endeavour to link with events within the town, organised by other groups to maximise publicity for all concerned. Our launch event on the 24^th October links with the Green Fair organised by OsTT (Oswestry Transition Towns) and OS21. The organisation www.350.org has nominated the 24^th October as an international day of climate action to help raise awareness of how we all need to actively work towards lowering our carbon footprint. Oswestry’s Green Fair is the only 350.org event taking place in Shropshire!

Win this bike!!

Footfall has orgainised an art competition, for local primary school children, based on the theme, ‘Green Oswestry’. The children’s entries will be displayed in the two shops on Festival Square(fingers crossed Shropshire Council manage to get the leases finalised in time!) We shall link these shops with the Memorial Hall, where the Green Fair is taking place, with our logo of a footprint, by literally creating footprints on the pavement between the buildings; should be a fun activity on the day for young and old alike!

We hope to run the exhibition for about four weeks, open initially on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Judging will take place during the first week.

We need lots of people to help!!

• to be in the shops whilst they’re open in two hour shifts
• to help clean, clear the shops ready for occupation
• to organise foot painting on the day
• to help organise and display the children’s art work
• to film/photograph all our activities
• to help advertise and promote the event and Footfall
• to help set up and run our new website

We would welcome help from young and old alike, even if you can only spare the odd hour or so.

Contact Details:

Wendy Unwin 01691 680203 wendy@thegatesgifts.co.uk

Buz Thomas 01691 600605 buzthomas2002@yahoo.co.uk

Nicki Young 01939 237419 nicki.young@shropshire.gov.uk