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Jeff Cloves
Ever get that feeling that only youin the whole world cares for the
things that you care about; thatthe rapaciousness of global capitalism knows no bounds; that every HighStreet looks like every other High Street; that all governments are thesame government; that T esco has more pull than the UN?You do? W ell, at the risk of sounding like Samuel Smiles, let me tell you thatmutuality, self-help and a 25-quid invest ment in Common Ground will workwonders.
The beloved ordinary
Now, mutuality and self-help is some thing that I take for granted all PN read-ers understand, but Common Ground may have escaped the attention of some.Put simply, CG is a facilitator and catalyst committed to cultural diversity andto local distinctiveness. It was set up as an environmental charity by Sue Clifford,Angela King and Roger Deakin in 1982 and has been a fount of inspirational wis -dom and practical achievement ever since. For example, in May , CG published England In Particular (Hodder & Stoughton; £30 - currently available for #25) editedand lar gely written by Sue and Angela and illustrated by 62 artists.This beautifully written, elegantly illus trated and lovingly designed book claimsto be "a celebration of the commonplace, the local, the vernacular and the distinc -tive"; which is exactly what it is. In crude terms it is an encyclopaedia of the belovedordinary. That it has assembled its content with good humour , enthusiasm, rareinsight and without a trace of patriotism or nationalism, is characteristic of all Com-mon Ground's publications and initiatives. If you want to buy a present for somebodyyou love --and that includes yourself --look no further than this.
Affectionate and joyful
The book ranges (alphabetically) from Abbeys to Zigzag paths, via Cabmen' sShelters, Ferries, Gar goyles and Grotesques, Industrial Chimneys, PeleTowers, Racecourses, Sheep Folds, T in Tabernacles, Watercress Beds and Y anTan Tethera, etc, etc, and the depth of its affectionate research and scholarship isevident in the 25-page bibliography and
26-page index.
These are a joy in themselves, but thebook as a whole glad dens your heart,brings a smile of recognition to yourface, and puts some lead in your protest -ing pencil. How can you not warm to a book which has this tosay in its introduction?
Nature will endure whatever our actionsbring [nuclear holocaust?]. It is we who are in danger. We deprive ourselves of a rich life.We need to live better with the world, and it is our ordinary actions that will be our salvationor our downfall. T o ground ourselves, under stand our place, find meaning and take steps tocherish and enrich our own patch of land demands that we change our ways, share ourknowledge, get involved. W e have to know what is of real value to us, where we are, andfind new ways of belonging.
On commons
Thus, the entry for Commons in England In Particular is a radical manifesto initself and notes that, as John Clare put it, "Commons left free in the rude rags ofnature" may have been the poorest land but--as is the case of Rodborough Common, Stroud, where I live - that is what makes them ecologically rich. It also notes that in the early 1980s Greenham Common "became a focus forprotest against cruise missiles and nuclear war. Women created a peace camp, livedhere, penetrated the base, danced on mis sile silos and created a vortex of(dis)enchantment ... walking here with the smell of gorse, the sound of larks, thesight of a hare, the laughter of children and the pounding of jogging feet, anyonecan now be part of the process of reclaim ing this place, despite its ghosts fornature and people."
Unfortunately, the common groundbeneath Bur ghfield and Aldermaston is yet to be reclaimed and England In Particular quotes from Greenham Common Blues by pacifist poet/printer/publisher, Dennis Gould. For PN readers in particular, what better endorsement of this beautifullyvisionary book.
Who stole the goose off the Common?
Who stole the Common off the Goose?
Who stole the land for airfields?
Who turned the scientists loose?
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