Back to work ?

It's the start of September which, in England, means it's the end of the long summer vacation and time to get back to work. It also means that it's getting close to the time when it might be worthwhile to start popping e-mails into people's in boxes; once they've cleared the backlog that's accumulated in August and before they lose the mild enthusiasm of a fresh start. It's also the time when I feel like writing up the posts that so far only exist as titles on a piece of paper.

Regular readers, of which there are a few (more than one but not a lot), will know that, apart from the odd bit of whimsical philosophy, my main interests centre on sustainable development (living within our ecological means), public health (with a particular emphasis on everyday physical activity) and a mild obsession about the role that improving public space can play in both.

So, the titles that I've got scribbled down beside me include

"Who's that in the park?" - a look at which sort of people that currently make use of parks and public spaces and, perhaps more crucially, who don't and why.

"Feeding an addiction" - musings on the global dominance of car culture and the psychological, social, political and economic barriers that get in the way of those of us who, perhaps Canute* like, are attempting to reverse the tide.

"And what do you do ?" - how on Earth can a vaguely employed visionary answer that question without it turning into a sanctimonious list. Oh what joy I imagine it might be to say "I'm a neuro-surgeon" or whatever and just have done with it.

"A lost opportunity" - why didn't our previous Labour Government take walking and cycling seriously and leave behind a legacy of improved health and sociability.

But, even though part of the reason for writing a post is to flush thoughts out of my head and onto the page - so that others might take their place - I've nearly always got a wider political purpose in mind. This means not only writing for people who might be inclined to agree but also for those who probably aren't. To put it simply, I must keep things brief, but to the point (and know what that point is) and attempt to achieve what I now know is nearly impossible: Get people to see their own behaviour as just part of a wider social phenomenon rather than as something for which they, personally, are getting the blame.

There, that's the intention announced. Now I can make a cup of tea, take the dog for a walk and get on with the rest of whatever it is I've got to do today.

* Canute, King of what was once a North Sea Empire, who famously demonstrated the limits of his powers to his over zealous supporters, who thought he could do anything, by failing to turn back the tide while pretending that was what he was trying to do.