Inspiration from the South Downs Green Fair

Another year, another Green Fair. And what a spectacular one it was! The Fair has become bigger, brighter and better each year that I have been involved with the Sustainability Centre and I think we all felt a surge of pride as the constant stream of visitors poured through the gates. The words 'exceptional', 'excellent' and 'well worth it' were amongst the feedback we received. As one mum commented 'it was nice to pay the fee at the gate and then not be fleeced once we were inside'. The free crafts, kids activities and kids parade were ever popular and Juggling Jake's circus skills tent was packed with kids, teens and adults all day. Add to that the wonderful food, local bands, real ales, plants, seed swap and independent green traders.....well, I certainly enjoyed myself.

The Woodland Classroom came into its own as the venue for the Permaculture Question Time with keynote speech by writer and journalist John-Paul Flintoff. John-Paul gave a warm, witty and engaging talk about his journey of discovery making his own clothes. He is author of Sew Your Own, first published by Permanent Publications under the title of Through the Eye of a Needle. Reviews tend to focus on the nettle pants experiment but I was just very impressed with the quality of his needlework, and I was standing close enough to him to really look at the collar detail on that shirt and the neat seams on his jeans! The phrase that springs to mind is 'they don't look like he made them himself'. It is something of a shame that our first thought is often, 'it looks like a real one' or 'one he got from a shop' as our making skills have been so eroded in only one or two generations. A woman, perhaps in her 70s, came up to me after the talk to say that all this knowledge still exists, you just have to ask 'us oldies'.



John-Paul with a fancy dress costume made out of old babygros.
He also made the shirt and the jeans - impressive!



My current craft obsession is crochet, a skill with distict old lady overtones, but one that is becoming increasingly fashionable. At least that's what I tell myself when I am crocheting in front of the telly (Madmen DVD boxed set, amazing tailoring!) on a Friday night. I am secretly delighted that MP Damian Hinds agreed to wear my silly spider hat for the Flowers and Bugs parade at the Fair. I love making things but I am very aware that my skills are nothing like that of my mother or my grandmother, despite their best efforts to teach me as a child. My grandmother made unbelievably delicate lace crochet in the finest cottons and my mum made many of my clothes when I was little.

Janet, Me, Damian Hinds and the hat

It was heartening to see so many beautiful hand made items at the Green Fair, from vintage fabric bags to baskets to stacks of home baked bread. There is a genuine desire amongst many to become more skilled in making all manner of things and it would seem that many get real pleasure from doing it. We are more resiliant, more empowered and have a deeper appreciation for the nature of stuff by having a go at making things ourselves. I feel like I understand a bit more how much work goes into making a good shoe because I have an idea about how to knit a hat. The sad reality is that hand made things are always more expensive than those on the mass market; it costs considerably more to buy the yarn to knit a jumper than it does to buy one on the high street. The 'price' in monetary terms is not always the point, a hand made beautiful thing carries much more worth than its mass-produced counterpart, especially if you have made it for yourself.

On reviewing Sew Your Own Emmanuelle Smith, Financial Times comments:

“Compelling… For Flintoff, enlightenment comes neither through religion nor political affiliation – but in making clothes. He is most engaged, and engaging, when he is knitting doll outfits for his daughter, darning socks, or customising a T-shirt on his new eBay-sourced treadle sewing machine… an inspiring eulogy to DIY”

I feel that I can extend this sentiment to the Green Fair itself. Henry, Polly and the team made something beautiful this year that was educational, fun, vibrant and sustainable. It was hand made with pride, committment and a love for what we do. And it made people smile. That is what it is all about.


Images by Penny Rose