The core of permaculture is design. Design is a connection between things. It’s not water, or a chicken, or a tree. It is how the water, the chicken and the tree are connected.

Bill Mollison Introduction to Permaculture

Mollison points out that it is not the discrete objects themselves that have the greatest importance but the way they connect with other objects or elements that is of prime importance. Elements have characteristics that combine with other elements in such a way as to make the whole much greater than the sum of their parts. I suppose that this is what we may call a definition of ecology.

Often ecological principles are looked upon as pie in the sky idealism and it is certainly the case that there is an element of quasi mysticism which can indicate to some people that it is not to be taken too seriously. There is no whiff of patchouli about Mollison’s theories. They are based on many years of direct observation and a step by step analysis of what works. By using down to earth elements like a chicken, one can begin to see that ecology begins to be something that concerns us in a much more immediate way than the more global aspects.

The principles can be used in many aspects of life as they are about design and design is about the optimum placing of objects in space and time. Therein lies the beauty. Natural beauty is, I think, this complete “rightness”.

Things that cause stress and frustration do so as a result of  their inability to fit in because they are in the wrong place or they are badly designed, or they are deliberately made to avoid integration- often for commercial reasons, think of mobile phone adapters. In nature bad design and poor integration lead to extinction. This is a frightening conclusion for us humans since our existence is now dependent upon poorly integrated and badly designed systems. I refer of course to globalisation.

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Snowy Ambleside form Milesotnes

This is a live posting from Chunda Tours 2010. We have had two full days of low cloud and rain. During the night the rain changed to snow and now we have a winter wonderland scene.

Despite the weather, we have been walking every day. On Sunday Angus, Steamy and Haydn went to the Coniston Group and climbed the Old Man. The ascent was not without incident as Steamy slipped on ice and dislodged a snooker table sized slab of rock which threatened the existence of Haydn. Fortunately everyone lived to tell the tale. The only casualty was Steamy’s boxer shorts , which like the shroud in the temple were ripped from top to bottom. The have been offered to the Ambleside museum to augment their mountaineering memorabilia, We have not heard yet whether they need to be washed first.

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Grasmere and Dunmail Raise

Just to wet your appetite, here is a beautiful photo taken by Ian during the 2009 tour.

Chunda Tours hits the fleshpots of Ambleside on Saturday 13th February. Larger stocks of XP and pork pies are being marshalled ready for dispatch to the Golden Rule. Ian and Howard will be arriving at around 1pm and then, as this is the second week end of the Six Nations Rugby,  hurrying over to the Sportsman Bar to watch Wales v Scotland. So Pete, we need you there for your impartial match appraisal.

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I was struck when reading Wordsworth’s guide to the lake district, that he refers to Windermere as Winandermer. Where did this extra syllable come from and where did it go? Continue Reading »

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We often think of philosophy as a head in the clouds activity. As some one once said to me “It’s like f**rting ‘Annie Laurie’ backwards through a key hole- all very clever, but what’s the point!”.
Well you will see that I do think there is a point ( in fact more that one). So I will use these pages to put forward some reasons for bothering with the ideas of people in most cases long dead. Continue Reading »

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