Very good reports hurtling across the world to me about the Ballymena ASAP event last Monday Jan 30.

We got film of it all, the laughter was great, the facilitators and other speakers were great and LOADS of people were there.

And thanks to John Toal and his show for the great last minute blast of publicity. Plenty of local people heard us on Saturday Magazine.

Well done everybody, says Baglady who, as promised, has not deserted the scene, but is looking up from below/Down Under… to see how yez are all doing with ASAP

AND getting a cast of thousands ready to speak from the brilliant Blue Mountains, and other Aussie parts….

Do not adjust your screens, this is really happening, and not a moment too soon…. Best, S the B

Radio Ulster, voices of the people of Northern Ireland. 11.45 Irish time. 10.45 Eastern Standard time, Australia.

Travel ASAP with me as I zoom down right into the map, which in turn transforms magically into the faces, voices, the classrooms of Northern Ireland. The streets, the villages and towns of Northern Ireland. The children of Northern Ireland.

A lot of people here in Australia are saying: The one thing we all need is a change of heart. That’s do-able.

Only 2 sleeps till Ballymena ASAP, 11-4 Mon 30th. We’re all with you Ballymena! AND all the people who’re taking part, from all round the place. Portadown, Whitehead, Belfast, Comber, Strabane…….loads of other places…

Have you heard about Ballymena ASAP?

It’s happening on Monday January the 30th, 11am-4pm at the Braid Centre in Ballymena

To be honest, it sounds as if it’s going to be amazing. At least 80 people – but room for more if you book now [see website] and it’s FREE, thanks to the Mayor and Ballymena Borough Council and a lot of hard work by Baglady Productions, and many others in many fields.

If you can’t come, we understand at this late notice, but PLEASE pass on this beautiful piece of NI Good News to all your friends and family. Anywhere in the world. Let’s rock Mother Earth gently back onto her axis.

I will be there on the day! ASAP of course, which means virtual travel. But I’ll be there, on the film I made with Gary Caganoff yesterday. And Danny Joyce is filming the event so we’ll all be able to see what goes on in Ballymena on Youtube etc.

This workshop is to provide information, raise awareness, and demonstrate to the people of Ballymena that by working together, as one, they can succeed in Living ASAP [As Sustainably As Possible]

Presentations on Living ASAP will be given by DOEni, Ballymena BC and Patton.

Lunch will be prepared by Braid Centre in-house catering team who have accepted the ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ challenge and will prepare an ASAP meal.

After lunch smaller groups from business, community, council and schools will be facilitated by Jim Kitchen to decide how they will help each other to work collectively as a community, to Live ASAP and promote Ballymena as a Centre of Excellence. Jim is currently working for the Soil Association, previously the NI Director of the Sustainable Development Commission, he also established and developed the NI office of WWF.

There is no charge for this event.

PURPOSES:
To raise awareness of environmental issues amongst Ballymena communities principally waste reduction, and energy
To increase the amount of recycling in Ballymena area
To empower communities in transition to living As Sustainably As Possible
To facilitate networking and promote sharing of information and experience amongst Ballymena’s NGOs, clustered Community Groups and businesses
OUTCOME:
Develop partnerships to support local community in Living ASAP

Ballymena ASAP As Sustainably As Possible Workshop – Monday 30th January 11.00-16.00 BRAID CENTRE- Theatre
Baglady Productions email: iris@bagladyproductions.org Tel:07803020479
PROGRAMME
11.00 Registration, Fair Trade Coffee and Tea [saw music by Diane Wilson]
11.30 Introduction and Welcome – Mayor of Ballymena. Message from Baglady in Blue Mountains Australia.
11.45 Laughter warm up with Jacky Ingram!
12.00 Owen Lyttle, Environment Policy Department, Department for the Environment NI
12.15 Clive Kyle, Assistant Director, Development, Leisure & Culture Services. Property maintenance, Energy & Licensing Section, Ballymena Borough Council
12.30 Liam McEvoy, Environment and Waste Manager, Patton
12.45 Ian Garner WRAP – funding support from community
During lunch showing an information tables available
13.00 Lunch – ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ challenge to Braid in-house catering team [music by Willie Drennan]
13.45 Workshop – facilitated by Jim Kitchen of Transition Town Whitehead and Soil Association – ‘Developing partnerships, empowering communities in Sustainable actions’
14.45 Networking Fair Trade Tea and Coffee
15.15 Conclusion and summary from tables
15.45 Close

REGISTRATION FORM
email rachael@bagladyproductions.org to receive a form ready to complete and return!
     
‘Developing partnerships, empowering communities in Sustainable actions’ Workshop – 13.45-15.15 facilitating maximum 30 participants

Attendees are asked to submit a short description suggesting how the organisation they represent proposes working towards Living ASAP.
contact Rachael for further information or to discuss tel:02891878997; email rachael@bagladyproductions.org

FORMS RETURNED BY 23RD JANUARY 4PM WILL BE ENTERED INTO PRIZE DRAW TO RECEIVE A WORMERY COMPOST SYSTEM
Postal forms can be requested in writing from :
Iris Cody
Baglady Productions
29 Russell Manor, Ballyclare, BT39 9YR
Or email: rachael@bagladyproductions.org ; or Phone: 07803020479

There is no charge for this event.

Braid Event Invite - 30 January

I’m very busy with ASAP, SASAP, MASAP, TASAP and all the other SAPs and we need your help

soon you’ll be hearing the voices of the amazing excellent boys of Lurgan St Paul’s Junior High School. They’re among thousands of schoolpersons speaking out loud and clear now, on environment and sustainability issues. Well done those boys!!

We already have the answers! we just don’t quite realise it. Watch these spaces and feel free to join in wherever you see a space for YOU. Our MLAs are doing it, our MPs, our Mayors, our councils, Limavady, Ballymoney the latest; + our businesses…. and our wonderful local papers – keep reading them, they keep our communities alive.

But you know, we’re all a bit rusty sometimes on what to do, and how, so we’ve all got to help each other.

Shop ASAP with Baglady around Northern Ireland [hey] starting at the Salad Bowl in Omagh. This is a project with EWWR – European Week of Waste Reduction [November 19-27] – get YOUR favourite shop in the picture. ASAP.

Travel ASAP i.e. virtually online with Baglady, sailing from Rome on November 15th. Listen to her/me on John Toal’s Saturday Magazine show, BBC Radio Ulster 10am October 29th. Get inspired. Quick!!

check our ASAP intro film here, NOW and let’s rock Mother earth back onto her axis

I can only agree, and hope we humans are capable of learning the lesson. We can’t afford any more war and destruction, and we know quite well how to do it otherwise.

Peace and War: 9/11 stories a book by photographer Geoff Bromilow and author Kathryn Pentecost, launches at the Melbourne City Library Gallery

Mural New York

Baglady’s film of Stormont ASAP: The Pledge on the Hill is now up on our website.

Get ready to do YOUR very own Pledge ASAP. If you’ve already done it – pass it on. See other people’s pledges on www.bagladyproductions.org/asap-world/pledge-results/

Round 2 ASAP starts very soon. We’ve also got our first French town signing up, and we’ve got people all over the world speaking with us.
PLUS:

*Baglady’s filming for UTV’s Ultimate Ulster at Belfast’s Hazelwood primary school on Friday 17th;

*The next Baglady film – Living ASAP: At Home with Baglady – is already in post-production. Cool, deadly.

Brian Wilson (Greens) and St John’s pupils

MLAs from all different parties, including Ministers Edwin Poots, Brian Wilson and Sammy Wilson, + Enda Kenny the head of Fine Gael and Gerry Adams, MP came to the Long Gallery, to meet the KIDS from:

Ballymacrickett Primary School, Glenavy, Co. Antrim

Buick Memorial Primary School, Cullybackey, Co. Antrim

Hazelwood Integrated Primary School, North Belfast

St. Colms High School, Draperstown, Co. Derry

St John’s Business and Enterprise College, Dromore, Co. Tyrone

St Theresa’s Primary School, Loughmacrory, Co.Tyrone

and to take the adults’ Pledge ASAP.

Bradley (Buick PS) Emily (Ballymacrickett PS) and Emma (St Colm’s PS) with Baglady in BBC Stormont studio talking to Talkback’s Wendy Austin about the pledge

Thomas Burns [SDLP South Antrim] was there for Ballymacrickett and sent out a press release about the day;
North Antrim’s Daithi McKay [SF] Rev Robert Coulter [UUP] and Mervyn Storey [DUP] for Buick;
Patsy McGlone [SDLP, mid Ulster, + former Environment Committee chair] was there for St Colm’s but I seem to remember he’s going to talk his pledges over with the family – a VERY good idea.
Pat Doherty[SF] West Tyrone supported St John’s and St Theresa’s

Other MLAs who pledged: Gerry McHugh; David Hilditch, Sammy Wilson, Gerry Adams, Fra McCann, Michelle McIlveen, Cathal Boylan and Mickey Brady.

Delegates from each school told of their personal ASAP pledges, and their environmental and sustainability work and how they connect up with me, Baglady. At all stages there were MLAs listening including Brian Wilson [Greens, and the first MLA to pledge ASAP in August 2009 Daithi McKay was the 2nd.

Sam Gardner was 3rd to pledge a few weeks ago, and Naomi Long's promised...! we know there'll be lots more from our 2nd round, later this summer...

The sun came out exactly on time and shone upon us. We all had a bit of lunch around the big tables, and talked. Except me, Emma [St Colm's] Emily [Ballymacrickett] and Bradley [Buick] who went to the BBC studio to be on Talkback with Wendy Austin. We have to get back to Wendy for her pledge when she’s had more time. It takes a bit of time and thought.

I’ve just been looking at the film done by Shane Martin, and it’s great! I think we were all equally amazed at how enjoyable and light-hearted it all was. Maybe it could be easy to make the changes we need to approach living ASAP. And maybe politics is getting more people friendly.

But the changes are urgent. Want proof? Please scroll down to see the 2 short films below; send your comments. In time, Jonny and I will prepare some questions to help us all think creatively together, and DO.

So keep taking up/talking up ASAP and tell us how you go! And as I said at Stormont, there’s no more time for tokenism when taking pledges. We must all mean what we say. So we’ll be checking on everyone’s progress in the nearish future.

pledge and pass on pledge and pass on pledge and pass on

best, S the B

You can see all the photos from the day here:

The schools with Baglady on Stormont steps

KIDS and top teachers from all over NI strode into Stormont to the Long Gallery to tell the MLAs how to live ASAP… well, the early stages of it.

It was a very cross-political party event, and loads of MLAs have Pledged ASAP: well DONE yous.

Just checking recent KIDS pledges: they’re thundering in from Harpers Hill, Coleraine; Dunclug College, PS and even Nursery school (Dunclug seems to have a lot of great tots, the youngest ever baglady – Aimée Brett, aged 3 – was there in 2004 and started her work at ONCE!!).

Daithi McKay and Gerry Adams with pupils of St John’s Business and Enterprise College

Keep spreading the story everyone! Who do you know on the far side of the world that would LOVE to join us in living ASAP…… ????