A NEVER-ending cupcake revolution continues to sweep the land, shabby chic shops bloom with 'Keep Calm and Carry On' tea-towels and distressed Union Flag prints, and Great British Bake-off is back with soaring viewing figures.

The fascination for all things retro continues, and it's all very charming, but I feel it's a shame that this harking back to ages past is only about the aesthetics.

Before the digital age, a sense of local community and making things by hand lay behind these nostalgic accoutrements, but times have changed. Life is busy, and so full of stuff that one-stop-shops, internet shopping and easily recognisable chains have become staples in our everyday lives.

Unfortunately, the down-side is that pretty much all local businesses are struggling and many are disappearing, which leads to a dwindling sense of community and local identity. In the future it would mean towns will eventually become virtual carbon-copies of each other.

So I was interested to learn that there is talk of Salisbury becoming a Transition City. The independent Transition movement started in Totnes, and encourages cities to be more self-reliant, supporting local producers and building local businesses, to help maintain each city's individuality, and also meaning a reduced reliance on fossil fuels.

I would welcome learning more about making our homes and businesses more energy-efficient, and any other steps I could take to be less wasteful in my everyday life, and more useful in our community. Plus relying more on local produce and services would keep money in the Salisbury economy.

A group of about 50 local people are already discussing what the next step could be for Salisbury, and the next meeting is going to be held on September 25 at St Thomas's House, St Thomas's Square. (For more details, email Michael Pope mrpopegreen@gmail.com.) I'm certainly looking forward to finding out more about something that would help strengthen our local community, but that also helps towards something positive on a global scale.