Rich Waring

Short biography? bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? You want my life story, but you want it short?

Well, I'm from Reading in Berkshire. Despite escaping away for many years, I moved back at the end of 2010 to be nearer my family for the birth of our son.

I've been more or less actively involved in Transition Town Reading since about May 2010, but have been doing much more over the last few months - most of it involving foraging and fruit-picking. At the time of writing this I'm spending an extraordinary percentage of my waking life trying to figure out how to get a community orchard behind the stadium in Palmer Park. When I'm not doing that, I'm probably trying to convert my garden to forest gardening. It's considering it.

Transition appeals to me on many levels - I feel very motivated by the challenge of peak oil, but I'm also very drawn by the appeal of building local community. I've always felt the pull to work on behalf of some kind of tribe or family group - to work in service of something larger than myself, whie being quite suspicious of organised religion. For as long as I can remember, I've felt that our typical, western way of life is basically out of kilter with our needs and instincts so the chance to re-make Reading in a more inclusive, interconnected, social, communal way (god knows it needs it ;o) ) is an exciting one.

I've lived in Australia and Mexico (before I realised that flying wasn't cool after all), and my wife Cecilia is a Mexican medical doctor. I've hitchhiked thousands of miles around both countries. I speak fluent Spanish and pidgin Australian.

I'm a songwriter and guitarist (e.g. http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/3391391 ), but I'll happily play pretty much any musical instrument that you let me get my hands on (what kind of noise I make is another matter). I've snorkelled with dolphins and sealions, and dived with 8 species of shark.

I have a professional SCUBA-diving qualification, a degree in Philosophy and a fork-lift truck licence.

Like everyone else in Reading, I work in IT.

You know, it's funny - you probably wouldn't think it from this short biog, but I don't normally talk about myself. I had no idea I was so interesting.

OK, now for the long version: "I was born in the spring of 1978. It was a beautiful sunny, day - the daffodils were bobbing lazily in the breeze and all of the Reading was calm and peaceful..."