by Anna de Polo
It cannot be said that Londoners don’t have imagination, when it comes to create new trends. Even when these involve keeping fit in an alternative way, combining physical activity and respect of the environment. So why not taking inspiration from them, if we have some weight to work off after Christmas, but the gym is not for us? Here are a couple of suggestions.Last summer along the Tames the new trend of pop-up cycle-in cinemas has spread over.
And what is it? Nothing that complex, in fact. The pop-up cinemas aren’t a novelty: if you have ever heard about them it’s because until yesterday they used to be called outdoor cinemas. Actually sometimes they are indoor, but in any case they are temporary, nomad if you like. Drive-in cinemas are a remembrance of the Fifties: maybe you have never been in one of them, but for sure you have seen them in some movie. So, imagine a drive-in, just with bikes instead of cars. But this is not all, because once arrived to the place by your bike you stay on it and, after having hooked it to the rack and connected to a mini-generator, you keep on cycling, turning into a kind of human dynamo. The energy produced in this way is used to project the film.
Adam Walker, of Magnificent Revolution, the organization that set up the first cycle-in cinemas, said: “We wanted to create Fifties-style drive-in cinema, but powered by bikes. We've done it on a smaller scale, but it was a lot of work. With 20 bikes everyone should be able to pedal gently”.
For whom interested in building up his own pedal-powered generator, so then he can produce energy while cycling at home, the no-profit organization Low Impact Living Initiative (LILI) offers two days courses at its base, a co-op housed in a Victorian mansion outside Winslow, Buckinghamshire.
Another alternative to the usual gym, which combines outdoor activities and love for nature, are the Green Gyms. They are work sessions lasting around half a day, during which you are guided in many different activities, ranging from horticulture to gardening. In a relaxed atmosphere, which encourages socializing (much more than in a normal gym), you have the opportunity to improve you practical skills, keep health and fit and contribute to the conservation of the local surroundings.
Probably it’s not by chance that what is “green” often intersects stimulating and funny activities that imply imagination, creativity and the ability to think outside of the box. If we make an effort to overcome physical and mental laziness, which often anchor us to the everyday grey routine, we can easily improve the quality of our life, as well as the one of the environment.
And what is it? Nothing that complex, in fact. The pop-up cinemas aren’t a novelty: if you have ever heard about them it’s because until yesterday they used to be called outdoor cinemas. Actually sometimes they are indoor, but in any case they are temporary, nomad if you like. Drive-in cinemas are a remembrance of the Fifties: maybe you have never been in one of them, but for sure you have seen them in some movie. So, imagine a drive-in, just with bikes instead of cars. But this is not all, because once arrived to the place by your bike you stay on it and, after having hooked it to the rack and connected to a mini-generator, you keep on cycling, turning into a kind of human dynamo. The energy produced in this way is used to project the film.
Adam Walker, of Magnificent Revolution, the organization that set up the first cycle-in cinemas, said: “We wanted to create Fifties-style drive-in cinema, but powered by bikes. We've done it on a smaller scale, but it was a lot of work. With 20 bikes everyone should be able to pedal gently”.
For whom interested in building up his own pedal-powered generator, so then he can produce energy while cycling at home, the no-profit organization Low Impact Living Initiative (LILI) offers two days courses at its base, a co-op housed in a Victorian mansion outside Winslow, Buckinghamshire.
Another alternative to the usual gym, which combines outdoor activities and love for nature, are the Green Gyms. They are work sessions lasting around half a day, during which you are guided in many different activities, ranging from horticulture to gardening. In a relaxed atmosphere, which encourages socializing (much more than in a normal gym), you have the opportunity to improve you practical skills, keep health and fit and contribute to the conservation of the local surroundings.
Probably it’s not by chance that what is “green” often intersects stimulating and funny activities that imply imagination, creativity and the ability to think outside of the box. If we make an effort to overcome physical and mental laziness, which often anchor us to the everyday grey routine, we can easily improve the quality of our life, as well as the one of the environment.
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