This is not my... Week 32 07
16/08/07 - I'm sure it would work
14/08/07 - Does the secret lie
13/08/07 - It was only a matter of time
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Moi...? |
Ah yes - practicing my French because it is..... holiday time!
Woo hoo.
Feeling a little bit like a child.
Haven't been on a relaxing holiday for ages.
Well - relaxing and.... undertaking the amazing list of activities we have plotted!
It's incredible the things that you can do if you utilise the skills of those around you?
Ian can climb, Ollie can snow board and Meena is teaching us bhangra (oh my). Sophie can actually speak French (thus assisting the rest of us when we get lost looking for the swimming pool in La Rochelle) and Emma is an amazing cook.
I - on the other hand - have no such skills to impart but can make a mean mojito.
After a couple of those they'll never notice!
Anyhow - it's a road trip over to the Alps in order to save a few pounds and a bit of carbon and it's going to be amazing.
Thus I shall leave the thisisnotmy daily meanderings in the capable hands of Lara and Ollie.
Hope you have a lovely few days though and see you later x
16/08/07 - I'm sure it would work
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though there may be a few safety issues... |
Was driving along the other day getting annoyed by the speed limit.
I don't drive often but it appears that when I do, I'd like to be traveling at about 85 mph.
I was mulling over this (as I tried valiantly to keep the dial legal) and how - theoretically - this shouldn't be a problem for me as I should be pleased that slower driving uses less fuel.
And then I had a thought.
What if - the more fuel efficient your car is - the faster you can go?
Imagine - the electrics speeding off into the distance as the Hummers battle the caravans in the slow lane.
Brilliant!
I mean there may be a few safety issues but...
Anyhow - I was reminded of this while looking through the Friends of the Earth site and their brilliant pdf of tips for a greener lifestyle. (The first of which refer to driving.)
Definitely worth a read if you get chance.
Best be off - but have a brilliant day.
x
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I can't hear you... |
Don't you just hate demanding the truth only to find that it isn't what you wanted to hear?
You know, the "Does my bum look big in this?" "Oh, I have a huge ar*e..."; "Just tell me why you are breaking up with me!" "Because I smell faintly of musty cheese..."
Regardless, though, sometimes it is what we need to know. (So we can start the 'I love my big bottom and if you disagree I'll sit on you' group, engage in more frequent ablutions etc.)
Got a great article through from Ollie. It suggested that we should drive everywhere as food is so energy intensive to make it is better than burning calories by walking.
Counter arguments pointed out that this would only be if you ate a solid beef diet. But it did get me thinking.
So I went for a wander on the Edge site to revel in complicated issues.
The Edge was set up to:
"promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society."
Or, in short, to ask lots of difficult questions.
Anyhow - just thought I would mention it as it is worth a look if you like that sort of thing. (Interesting article on climate change actually which points out that some might gain from it. In particular, whoever ends up owning the minerals and gases under the diminishing ice caps.)
Right - best be off to mull the vagaries of life.
(And, of course, congratulate myself that my 'all toast' diet is in fact saving the planet!)
Susie x
14/08/07 - Does the secret lie
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in the illuminous yellow jacket... |
My friend Kim has become a cyclist.
I know this - as - not only do we now have a bike in the hall (tell tale sign) but because she can be seen at a range of 500 metres.
Ah yes.
Sensibly she has purchased a high viability jacket.
Something I lacked in my heady days (ok - day) of cycling back in the summer of 2003.
It had been a warm summer. The tubes were unbearable and the buses left you intriguingly clammy after even the shortest of journeys.
Time then - to brave the roads alone.
Bleary eyed I donned my egg dome helmet (my brothers from 15 years previously) and boyfriends boxers and wrestled the bike from the back shed.
I careered out onto the streets and headed straight for the City.
Which is probably where my problem lay.
I had not investigated cycle routes, deciding instead just to go for the roads I knew. Those being - to a large extent - main roads!
Ah the hell that ensued will be forever seared across my polystyrene encased brain.
Cycling in London is certainly not quite as straight forward as it was to the post office down the farm track.
But - I think it is all about confidence.
Kim has - very wisely - given herself a few trial rides. Early morning, late at night, with a friend etc and slowly built up her confidence. She is now feeling totally at ease and absolutely loving the freedom of her own transport.
I'm beginning to get a bit jealous.
Maybe I should give it another go.
But a bit more sensibly this time.
Or at least wearing a shiny jacket!
Susie x
Oh p.s. what I actually planned to write about is the Hovis Freewheel on Sunday 23 September when they are closing the streets in central London to cars.
Cycling in London without the traffic. Now that I can definitely manage!
13/08/07 - It was only a matter of time
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Before I gave in... |
It was Sunday - the traditional day of being exceptionally lazy and I wasn't feeling all that great.
I turned my phone off, sat in the sunshine and read the last Harry Potter.
This in itself wasn't really a worry. (I wanted a copy to keep and it is printed on FSC approved paper.)
In fact, despite ignoring all of the things I should have been doing, I loved it.
What was distressing, though, was to find that - as I had been sitting and reading for 10 hours - my eyelashes had been shading the area below my eyes creating a weird white area.
Not the classic sunglass induced panda eyes. No. Just something that looks a bit like I have put eye shadow on upside down.
Nice.
Anyhow - it got me thinking about sun block!
Green People have got a good range of chemical free lotions, as have the Natural Skin Care company. Small organic shops as well as the Fresh and Wild / Whole Foods stores will stock some too.
Sadly, the 'being inside at work' sun block is what I will be going for today though.
Ah well - guess the weekend wouldn't be so nice if we got every day off.
Have a lovely start to the week!
Susie x
This section will be a daily, well - Monday to Friday daily, editorial. (Have to keep some time aside to keep up the ritual wine drinking / dancing as if being chased by bees.)
I promise to make it my mission to investigate something each day on exciting forays to find new stuff, fun stuff, ethical stuff and anything involving break dancing men with extremely toned physiques.
Let me know if you think of something I should go and visit or if you have any great ideas or information. (Any dodgy suggestions will be politely declined... or not so politely, depending entirely on what they are!)
For today, though, please just have a look below to find out how this whole thing came about. I hope that you are having a lovely morning.
See you tomorrow,
Susie x
Background to This is not my...
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What is this site all about?
Well, as all good ventures do, it started in the pub with the ominous words "I know, why don't we...?" |
What was different, though, was that it still seemed like a good plan in the morning (and somewhat less injurious than trying out extreme ironing, the other suggestion...)
Anyway - once again we had been supping beers and putting the world to rights when someone mentioned the unmentionable, despite our disaffection with the state of the world, none of us was actually doing anything positive to change it.
Whether this was complacency or apathy, who knows - but we were definitely leaving it to others to make decisions and take action for us on issues about which we felt strongly.
We live in a free society, but often things seem to happen as a fait accompli. The war in Iraq, ID cards, the fact that we will eventually succumb to watching some of Big Brother no matter how hard we try...
And we just go along with it. But that is ok, right? I mean, we aren't exactly encouraging the abuse of others - are we?
Ok - so maybe my new top might have been made under less-than-perfect conditions and I suppose that means I am supporting those conditions, but - I have to buy something to wear, so what other choice do I have?
And that was the problem. What - and where - are the choices?
So we decided to investigate. Surely in this free society we have other options; we just need to know how to find them.
So we went online. There are some great directories already for ethical and/or environmentally friendly products, but for us these didn't go far enough. We were on a bit of a roll and decided that these products deserved more active promotion.
We wanted to make as many people as possible aware of the practical things they can do to live life in a better way.
So on this site we will provide information about easy, positive and ethical consumer choices. These are choices that won’t necessarily cost you more, either.
In our directories you will find environmentally friendly and ethical companies and products across the following categories:
Clothes
Energy
Food and Drink
Health and Beauty
Home and Garden
Office
Recycling
Restaurants
You will also find plenty more to lure you back to the site on a regular basis. So come back to have a wee look.
Plus we will be working on video's, events and curious antics to keep important issues in the public eye – and provide us with much entertainment and amusement at the same time.
Give us a shout if you want to get involved!
Anyhow - take a look. Explore… investigate… probe away.
We hope you like it; we hope you use it.
