This is not my... Week 42
20/11/06 - Eating eating eating
17/11/06 - A problem
16/11/06 - If you don't ask
15/11/06 - The moment we've all been waiting for
This Section; Background; The point
21/11/2006 - Unscheduled R & R
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Man alive - I wish I'd been busy... |
Tried to head out last night but after an hour and a half stuck on tubes and still a long way from my destination decided to give in, eat some mousse (important in all emergency situations) and head home.
I figured it would be a great opportunity to idly catch up on a few loose ends and watch a bit of TV.
Jeez louise.
Monday evening TV is terrible.
And who are the celebrities on I'm a celebrity...?
I know who Toby Anstis is (accosted him in a pub once...) the bizarre looking David Guest and - of course - Jason Donavan (which twenty something English woman wouldn't?) but who are the others?
I'm totally bemused.
I want some proper celebrities.
Why not Brad and Angelina? Or Michael Jackson? Oooh oooh or the Queen?!
Now that would be one to watch.
Anyhow - since there was nothing with which I could get that distracted I decided to do the next best thing...
WRITE MY CHRISTMAS LIST!*
Father Christmas has already given me loads this year (moved house and the ageing old cutlery, chairs, mug racks etc from my parents attic moved too) so I might be pushing my luck to ask for anything else.
Still - if you don't ask....
Anyhow - it was fun to do and I will try to get Ol and some others to do theirs too.
There are such great green, ethical and organic things available now that it seems a shame not to ask for them, rather than the 'lavender soap and themed socks', this year.
Anyhow - the sun is shining and it is a beautiful morning.
Enjoy! x
*Admittedly at the same time as watching I'm a Celebrity... well I had to figure out who they were...!
20/11/2006 - Eating eating eating
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I love food.
But there is something I love even more... |
Eating with other people.
It's just so nice to take time out and slowly consume together!
My aunt was down this weekend and mentioned how nice it is that I can see my little cousins more as they have just moved to London.
She then mentioned that I could cook them a weekly Sunday lunch....
It was a pretty tongue in cheek comment (I am not renowned for my cooking ability) but it got me thinking.
We have been having some kitchen dramas over the last two months. I.e. not having a kitchen - then having a kitchen with no oven or hob and now having a kitchen with an oven but no hob.
This has in no way affected my, sandwich heavy, lifestyle.
But today it all gets fixed for good and the opportunity to cook will return.
I am contemplating taking it.
Cooking would be far healthier, cheaper and a great way of dragging everyone round to mine so I don't have to venture out on these cold winter evenings!
It can also be a pretty environmentally friendly thing to do.
Cooking for more people means that less fuel is used than if everyone cooked alone. Less individually packaged items need to be bought and - if done with local food - fewer air miles will be spent shipping the various elements about*.
Plus you can entertain each other with witty repartee rather than sticking the tellie on.
I reckon it's up there with sleeping and sex as a great way of saving the environment!
Fun.
Now it's just a question of figuring out which of my friends is brave enough to sample my culinary endeavors...
x
*Even imported organic food can have a tremendous impact. A single Briton's shopping basket of 26 imported organic products could have traveled 241,000km and released as much CO2 into the atmosphere as an average four bedroom household does through cooking meals over eight months.
17/11/2006 - A problem
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has become all too clear to me this morning.
But - thankfully - so has the answer... |
In the true 'well it's nearly Christmas' fashion I was out last night and felt that a glass of wine wouldn't be a bad thing... or another glass of wine... or another (you catch the drift).
And - despite consuming the contents of the fridge on my return home (not as exciting as it sounds since the fridge only contained an 8th of my house mates very small microwaveable lasagne) I am feeling a little precarious right now.
Which is always difficult.
From past experience my morals can slip somewhat when I am tired, hungry and hungover.
I might feel that I should boycott Nestle (the only company which I have seen receive a 0 rating on ethiscore) but decide that one kit kat wont hurt. Or a small bit of unnecessary driving. Or not getting off the sofa to turn the TV off stand by.
Nothing major.
I mean, hangovers don't make me feel an urge to run around mugging old ladies or anything (way too much energy required) but they do induce a certain element of laziness which can make ethical living tricky.
With the onslaught of Christmas parties round the corner this is a bit of a worry...
But - as luck would have it - the answer is at hand!
Yes, the fabulous people at the Idler have brought out 'How to save the world without even trying' which explains how doing nothing is what the planet needs.
I haven't actually got round to reading it (naturally) but I am assuming that it details the benefits of the less energetic lifestyle.
So - I may get the munchies and have a sandwich containing chicken of dubious origin but to balance it out I will sleep in saving an hour of electricity use.
I may not go for a jog at lunch time but I will use less energy and have less need for a further dodgy chicken sandwich to get me through the afternoon...
That sort of thing.
I like it.
One some levels it may seem a little tenuous as an argument (especially if I am hoping it can justify all festive over indulgence) but right now my head hurts and it's all I've got to cling on to!
Anyhow hope you are feeling tip top instead.
Have a lovely weekend xx
16/11/2006 - If you don't ask
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- you don't get... |
And Ask we did.
Well done, well done, well done - to all of the people at Friend's of the Earth and all of the people who wrote to their MP's as part of the Big Ask campaign.
Yesterday the Queen opened parliament and a climate change bill was introduced.
The Big Ask Campaign to get some legislation on the statute books succeeded.
Fabulous.
Love it when a plan comes together!
There is more to be done (of course) but it is a great start.
Fingers crossed that we see similar success in the Climate talks taking place in Nairobi. There are loads of details on the climatechangeactionblogspot if you fancy reading a bit more about them.
Back at home there was more great news too... I climbed up a wall!
Something which is perhaps not on the scale of break through's in UK and international politics - or indeed - exciting to anyone else but me. But a miracle none the same.
Have been attempting (falling, floundering and bruising my knee caps) to learn urban free running and have spent the last six months determined to master the wall run.
Now I wont say I have this completely down but I did - as gracefully as demented seal - clamber over a fairly high vertical structure.
Sometimes it's the little things in life!
Anyhow - after that mindblowingly sensational news - I had best be off.
So many more scintillating things to get up to!
Will tell you all about them tmrw.
x
15/11/2006 - Themoment we've all been waiting for
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the first part of our Christmas focus.. |
So more on the Christmas theme which is proving to be quite handy.
I have already picked up some great tips, such as, "No roasting chestnuts over an open halogen torchiere" (phew finally know how to stop climate change...) and "Give your family the extra gift of your time" (my brother is going to LOVE that one!)
But check out the Christmas Focus for more.
The idea is to add to this over the next couple of weeks and so any suggestions are most appreciated.
But before all that it is the opening of parliament (which I know you will be almost as excited about).
Sources say (well the BBC while I was eating some toast) that a climate change bill will be introduced but not one with annual targets.
It might not go as far as environmental groups might like but it's a start.
Which is good.
Anyhow - being very short and sweet today - but have I mentioned the This is not my... Christmas page...???!!?!
; )
Have a lovely day
Susie xx
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 debates, downloads, fun stuff and plenty more to lure you back to the site on a regular basis.
We’d love you to get involved with some curious antics to keep important issues in the public eye – and provide us with much entertainment and amusement at the same time.
So - take a look. Explore… investigate… probe away.
We hope you like it; we hope you use it.
