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…

It’s for our Ballymena ASAP event – at the Braid, on Monday January 30, 11-4pm. It will be shown on the day, and up on Youtube and our website, ASAP…

thanks to everybody that’s helping, talking AND doing – we must be in the millions now – keep Living ASAP and watch the world get better… [I wish I could promise that bit…]

we need GET WELL cartoons for Mother Earth…. anyone drawing one? send it to us!… prizes?

best beams,

Baglady

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

Least, that’s how Catherine Weller [where are you Catherine??] sees me, on Facebook.

Yes, it’s that simple. That’s what thousands, millions , hundreds of millions of us are all doing.

Only trouble is, we’re HUMAN. Which usually means, we keep getting it wrong…

But luckily, the time’s now come for us to step beyond these former limitations, and dare to be brilliant. Because we have no choice. Forget Ebay. Google respect, listening, brilliance.

Be there with us at Ballymena ASAP on January 30. Baglady will be there virtually [TASAP]. Other speakers are fantastic. See programme

“Fantastic! Winning the world over through humour and determination.” Yes, that’s me, Baglady. It can be YOU TOO

I heard Jonathan Porritt on BBC World, saying world solar energy is only 3-4 years away. Just around the corner he said. Everybody wake up and join the great EVOLUTION!!

Best beams as always from me Baglady

So I rang and predicted a LOT of enviro events. I had my minute and 2 other speakers added their bit. It was good. Because that day, tho few knew, was the Secret Unofficial Launch of Round 2 of Pledge ASAP, and that was where we ended up getting the support of over half the NI Assembly, over half the NI MPs, etc etc….

EVERYONE I speak to, ever, says the BBC and now in Australia the ABC, is not doing enough on environment. People need to know WHAT to do, HOW, and WHERE.. and of course it’s good to know why and who else is doing it.

I’m totally inspired by my return to the stunning Blue Mountains. Also I see many signs that alarm me, of course.,..

So I’ve already made contact with lovely KELLY from Blue Mountains City Council and all set to work through them with local and national schools, councils, politicians, media… same old ASAP recipe…. Mayor Daniel Myles, look out, Baglady’s coming…

Come on NI and OZ, we’ve started something wonderful, let’s help spread it around the world…. Happy New Year and hope this makes sense, I’m on wifi in a café, pending full internet connection.

Love and thanks for being there… S the B

and thanks to all of you who travelled ASAP with Baglady
I had loads of kind messages and to be honest, I hardly suffered at all; even on the train I found myself travelling with freelance radio and news journo Tom Gilmore from Galway, who’s already taken the first Baglady piks in Oz, giving me an excuse to parade up and down the train preaching my usual anti-waste pro-planet messages

found out why my Hamburg Süd container ship was cancelled: the kiwi fruit they were to pick up in New Zealand was attacked by a pest or a virus called PSA.

it’s lovely to be back in my 2nd earthly home, the economic chaos has not quite hit here yet but [almost] everyone I meet is talking about impending change and thank goodness there’s a lot of good thinking around about the changes we all need to make ASAP!!!

by the way let’s put the Christ back in Christmas, or have the guts to call it something else….

2012 is the year we get Australia sucked in!! it’s now or never…

best beams, Baglady…

Baglady experiences pyramids

But everyone I speak to who went on the Cairo + Pyramids/CruiseontheNilewithbellydance tour yesterday [Mon] was shocked by the scenes taking place at that better known tourist spot, the Pyramids, complete with Sphinx….. mfl [more later]……

Suddenly all we old and elderly etc people are coming out with all this stuff about the state of the world, and what we NEED to DO about it. Mostly women but lots of men: list includes: Sharon, Robin, Ruth, David, 3XWendy, Sylvia’s the latest oh yes and Don. And Thomas. Fred Thomas. Plus Tomislav, Nick, Omar, JimX2…. it’s endless. Phyllis. Lynn and husband…

They’re from all over Australia. And loads are of Irish/Irish descent. Fred’s great great grandfather was deported in 1815 for stealing a roll of fabric…

Somewhere in the middle of all this story is Northern Ireland. Ably represented by Baglady. Who in turns represents NI’s contribution to European Week of Waste Reduction, Owen Lyttle, Jane Cassidy, Steve Aston, Alison Curtis, Sue, Declan, James, Judy [Do it Loud], Bo and Bairbre and the bell… EWWR\’s a big story and Baglady’s pledged to support it, report it and then in January we’re doing yes, a big follow-up event in Ballymena. ASAP Day. Or Shop ASAP Day. Whatever our girls on the ground decide to call it.

How’s it going Rachael? with the John Toal Show – coollest show in the country folks, the Saturday Magazine show, on Radio Ulster, 10-12 every Saturday. And what are you brothers doing to celebrate the end of EWWR??? Rachael’s giving you all a call, to find out.

Meanwhile Baglady’s been having fun, eating forbidden foods, filming rubbish, and beauty, everywhere she goes and she’s dying to share it with you, as are the 500-odd crew, staff and passengers of this wee cruise ship from the big country: the Athena, Goddess of Wisdom! from the land recently known as Australia. Which is about to be taken over, ASAP….

and guess what! we’re 3 hours ahead of you already brothers…. only 8 more to go and we’ll be in Australia. ifya know what I mean…

best beams, BL

The sound of KIDS voices: schools from across NI and all Ireland – shouting YEA!!! [with ECO-UNESCO, Eco-Schools etc]] will echo across the land…

green lights from papers in Armagh, Ballymena, Omagh, Strabane, Newry, Ballycastle, Limavady and many others. Not one paper has said NO, yet; and some want Weekly blogs from Baglady aboard ship.

Coleraine, Ballymoney editors are wanting a strong local link, of course, and that’s what with all of us working together we can provide!! ie schools, councils, MPs MEPs MLAs, shops businesses, community groups… and the GOOD celebs… all sharing the skills and energy we’re all going to need around the world to get us out of the big mess we’ve somehow got into. need churches to support now, too

What this means is, if you or your friends/family read say the Strabane Weekly News [talking to Anna Maguire today] you can find out what Strabane’s doing ASAP; then you can add your bit… and inspire others around the country, around the world…

>>>>>>>

On the Oxford Tube luxury, supercheap coach to London, passing near to High Wycombe, Bucks where Baglady [1959-63] had a scholarship to a posh English boarding school called Wycombe Abbey. Sister school to Princess Anne’s school, Benenden. It killed me Ballymena accent but it didn’t kill my spirit and I learned a lot about what keeps the class system in place. Time to move on. Next: Nick Clegg and Baglady…