…a forgotten, radical period of British history – a period when people thought they could change the world.

The end of a tagline for a book, as if it is no longer possible for us people to change the world, or anything. Well, I believe we can. And not by doing big things but by doing little things. In the community where I live we look after each other in a small way. Some of us shop locally. Some of us buy clothes from charity shops. We give away things we no longer need to others through a community group. Some of us grow our own vegetables. I walk or cycle or use the train as much as possible. Three of us in our household share one car. We recycle quite diligently.

These are all quite small things, but they are what we can do and they will make a difference.

Many people reading this won’t be able to do these things, or only be able to one or two. But whatever you can do is worth doing. I think my reason for writing this is to raise awareness of the value of small things and to show what sort of thing is possible. But not to preach – I hope I’m not preaching. What I want is for people to trust their own judgement, to ask yourself questions and find your own answers and then talk about it.