Genius is one percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. or so somebody said. Well this morning I think I just cracked the one percent.
It came to me, like all good ideas, while - no, not taking a dump - but trimming back the living room parsley bush and simultaneously wishing there was more in the fridge than a carrot and half a tin of beans.
It occurred to me: imagine if there were some means of trading this excess parsley for something more useful such as a block of cheese perhaps or some home grown parsnips. Now I'm not daft enough to think it's parsnip season already (!?) but someone near here surely has some spare chillies in the greenhouse or some baby spinach that's come up early.
In this world of Facebooker's and ebay-auctions why not a closely-knit electronic community of 'veg-e-traders'. It'd be simple: I 'post' my spare parsley for auction and someone bids say 10 radishes - or preferably 10 rashers of smoky bacon - in exchange.
Bingo, an online farmers market is born. I choose the most appealing bid, we swap our produce and give ratings to our acquired produce. That way a person builds up a reliable profile and people start to know what standard of produce they're likely to get. Ten people might rate John's spring onions as 5-star quality while 15 people may say Lucy has great melons!
Sorry.
Like all my good ideas, I probably heard or read it subconsciously somewhere and there already exists a flourishing network that I'm a year behind.
But it does seem to work perfectly on all accounts - if you ignore small practicalities like postage and packaging of course. It's organic. It brings people together and fits with the current trend of consumer conscience.
It encourages people to grow their own and share both the pleasure and the produce. It also means I don't necessarily have to have parsley in all my meals.
But best of all, in my opinion, it taps into the current 'yoof's' seemingly insatiable appetite for all things with a quirky-yet-straightforward web format. What could be simpler, greener and at the same time appeal to a group of people who sit in front of computers all day at work and then again for fun when they get home.
So yeah. that's the one percent sorted.
Time someone got cracking with the other 99.
For now though, if anyone has a stack of organic sea fished salmon but can't get hold of the parsley to top it off - I'm your man!
Swamp Circus
Sarah PierceProviding Entertainment since 1986, Swamp is the longest running contemporary circus in England and is based right here in South Yorkshire. Even if you've not heard of them, you've probably seen their aerial team in between BBC programmes, floating among sheets of red silk.
As well as providing festivals and corporate events with world class entertainers, Swamp also runs workshops for people who want to pick up a few new party tricks – anything from juggling to uni-cycling to tightrope walking.
If you've always wanted a go at that kind of thing, Swamp Circus, in partnership with the Open Performance Centre, is offering some FREE taster sessions:
25th July - Broomhall Community Centre
6th August - Handsworth Grange School
7th August - Foxhill Forum
We're also running a FREE course from the 11th to the 19th August in The Centre in the Park. This aims to develop people's community leadership skills through circus and performance and on completion; you'll be awarded a qualification from the NOCN! The course is for over eighteens only but absolutely no prior experience is necessary.
If you're interested in signing up for one of our workshops or for the longer course (or both!), call me, Sarah, on 01709 828477.
