More rubbish

I got some flack last week, about my post at the end of the waste week, so I'd like to clarify a few points.

I think that we are hugely privileged to live at a time when so many materials are available to us and that it is unforgivable to squander these resources by burying them in holes or burning them in fires. Future generations will view our profligacy in much the same way that we look at the desecration of the monasteries by Henry VIII or the burning of ancient libraries by conquering armies. A regrettable act done by ignorant people. I see a future world in which people are issued with a lifetime ration of many metals, to be returned to the public stocks after their death.

A lot of people hate throwing serviceable items in the bin and the subject of plastic food containers is often discussed on the Freegle Cafe. I think that two things need to be done. In the short term we could learn from the Japanese and sort our rubbish into many more categories so that it does not all get thrown into a big heap than then has to be picked apart. Sorting rubbish is very labour intensive and this is what currently stops many plastics and metal foils from being recycled.

The long term answer is to use refillable containers and to design products that can be repaired and not to throw them away at all. As materials become more expensive then the balance will change. It is only a few hundred years since a time when common people handed down their every day cutlery in their wills because that was often their most valuable possession.

I'm planning to talk to Eco Treedweller about how TN can support the various waste initiatives that are happening around Norwich. Please comment on this post if you would like a meeting about this.

Photos - Recycling bins in Japan, Wikipedia - A place with 44 recycling bins, New York Times

I think my dad may be regretting encouraging me to train as an Occupational Therapist...

...he is recovering after an operation and we have written a 'to do list' and a 'fun things' list.
Every few hours we sit down and I get the pen out and tick things off. We have enjoyed ourselves and have done some bonding in the process. Although I would not want to live in Peterborough again I do regret moving away from home. It is now part of normal life for families to be separated by many miles and then to rely on institutions to do the caring.
I went to an Alzheimers Society coffee morning and was talking to Terry, an eccentric lady who used to be a dancer, she said 'everyone gets in their cars and drives off, no one knocks on the door like when I was young'. She was enjoying the buzz of the meeting and wishing she had people to talk to everyday.
Many government services are about gathering together people with similar problems whether in a support group or a day centre, when in fact if we hadnt created a society that is disconnected and looks down on people because they are mentally ill or old or disabled then we wouldnt have to herd them together for support.
In the old days (in the really olds days) you had the village idiot and although the job title left a lot to be desired the person was at least part of society, had a function and was surrounded by people.
In my village vision which I had two years ago I imagined the area of Norwich (NR3) where I live to be like a village where people would recognize each other and pass the time of day. They would shop locally and invite each other round for coffee. Part of this vision was to have the Magdalen Street Celebration. We are now working with Anna at Annas farm stores to make her shop be a focus for community gatherings.
In my vision I had imaginary friends (I know what you are thinking). They were people who I knew in the area who I wanted to be friends with. Two of them are now friends and also some others who I didnt know about.

Anyway I would love to stop and chat but I can see Dad has sat down so I better be going.....

Remember, remember the 5th of , oh what day is it again?

I am at my parents house.
Mum has dementia and is in care to give dad a rest while he has a pacemaker fitted.
It got me thinking about the way we administer health care in this country. The whole system is based on cheap oil. From the location of the hospitals to the medication to the disposable, well disposable everything.
I used to think that all illnesses could be solved by alternative medicine but soon realized that this was not the case. However I am interested in the way we can stay fit and healthy particularly mentally in a modern world.
One great method is the five ways to wellbeing which has taken all the research into keeping healthy and reduced it to five key actions,
they are as follows:

connect
give
learn
take notice
keep active

I have been living like this for a couple of years and it fits in well with the transition way of life. For instance if you walk to work instead of driving you will keep fit, and connect with other local people and notice the street (Magdalen Street) as you walk down.
If you decide to make jam from local blackberries you will learn a new skill, get active from picking blackberries, notice nature, maybe give a jar away, perhaps connect by collecting them with a friend (make sure they have shorter arms than you or they will get all the best berries)
So you begin to see how it works. It does highlight how much our modern life prevents us from connecting and keeping active and so on.

I hope to return to Norwich soon before the dementia starts to get catching and don't forget 'its bonfire night and fire is really hot'.

Its Halloween, my car has broken down in the woods

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and while waiting for help I have time to ponder some major issues.........

1.
Would it have been better to travel on the train? On the train at least I wouldn’t be left in the dark to be ravaged by the undead but on the upside I can take more luggage in the car. On the train I can write my blog as I am doing right now. I can also feel the warm glow which comes from being green even if it is forced on me by the garage not having my wheel in stock.

2.
Shall I try having no car for a while or even a car share? A friend has suggested it and I don’t use one most days. I have been walking and cycling everywhere just lately and getting quite fit. Also its so much easier to park when you haven’t got a car.

3.
What did they do before oil when faced with waiting? You probably wouldn’t send a messenger with a note to say ‘bit L8, CU when I get there’. How would you pass the time when you have no entertainment? Have we forgotten how to just sit and do nothing? There is a great saying that the Quakers have adopted ‘don’t just do something, sit there’. An event is coming up called just this day which is about spending some time on 24th November just doing nothing.

4.
Is it a good idea to meditate while parked on the side of the road? There is not much else to do when you are waiting and I know for a fact that Zombies can’t open car doors. So I decide that, yes, it can be done although the time passes more slowly.

Of course the moral to this tale is, um , dont start a blog without knowing how you are going write the last paragraph.


ps yes that is how I look, luckily I had just been to the hairdressers before my car broke down

Bugs

I read an article recently in which the author lamented the loss of insect populations in England.  He said that 30 years ago, if you took a Sunday drive in the countryside, you’d arrive home with your windscreen smeared and spattered from all the insects you’d hit while out driving.  Today, that would rarely be the case.

I pondered the truth of this assertion on a half-term trip with Genevieve to the lovely Fritton Lake, part of the Somerleyton estate near Lowestoft; when we arrived, sure enough, the windscreen was pretty much as clean as it was when we set out.

According to one of the noticeboards at Fritton, 60-70% of a typical native ancient woodland is dead, and this dead matter is essential for the survival of our native insect species.  Along with a steady supply of food in the form of nectar from wildflowers, dead wood provides the other key ingredient for survival – shelter .

The picture above is of a formidable log pile at Fritton; one of several dotted about the estate.  Rotting wood is left to provide homes for all manner of insects – wood lice, centipedes & millipedes, earwigs – as well as a host of fungi.


The insects and fungi attract birds and small mammals which in turn increase the biodiversity of the area and its overall health.

It was a gorgeous day and we were thrilled to discover these beautiful natural wonders that would otherwise go unnoticed.  And while nowhere near as spectacular, in my front garden, I have my own little pile of logs, slowly rotting down, and, hopefully, providing homes and shelter for Norwich’s insect population as autumn marches into winter.

(pics: Fritton Lake, by JC & Genevieve)

Time of the Signs

Maybe it’s a sign of the times we’re living in at the moment, but I’m noticing more and more “political” graffiti around Norwich than ever before, and some of it’s pretty good too!

I saw this one yesterday outside WH Smiths in the city and it reminded me of a story I read on the BBC news website last week about a call for the UK to appoint a Green Economics Minister.  The rationale is that

governments should draw up comprehensive sets of "natural capital accounts" that would place financial values on components of the natural world such as undeveloped land, woodland, rivers and marshes.
These valuations would take into account projections of long-term change, and assessments of what countries might need in future.

I like the idea – it gives us a fighting chance to protect what remains of our natural resources by putting a value on them that everyone can understand; it should prevent simply buying the ability to destroy the environment.

However, there’s a wider consideration; I’ve been (slowly) reading my way through Green Economics by Molly Scott Cato since the summer.  And I’ve learned that “green economics” is not just our normal economics with a green sheen.  It’s not about applying the normal systems of supply and demand, micro and macro, GDP, balance of payments etc etc to green issues.  It’s about creating a new paradigm to tackle the challenges that climate change, the environment and the clear need for a new kind of social justice present us.

“Green Economics” has really opened my eyes to what “value” really is – to me it’s become about economics as if people - and the natural world, and social justice - mattered (to extend E F Schumaker’s famous subtitle to his ground-breaking “Small is Beautiful”).

So, I’m hoping, that any future “green economics minister” will look at more than the credit and debit columns of a balance sheet.  And it’s up to us all to make sure that happens.

And, reflecting on the graffiti outside WH Smiths, it’s clear from Molly Scott Cato’s book that “value” is not just about our national (or personal) balance of payments; it’s about all those things of value that don’t appear – the social networks, the community halls and allotments, the Transition movement itself.  I’d say there’s plenty of value left, despite all the spending cuts and talk of recession.

(pic: JC - graffiti outside WH Smith on White Lion Street, Norwich)

A shocking state of affairs

I feel like I’m coming out of hibernation. The last few months have been crazy and I feel like I’ve had no time to think. Every single day was as hard as the one before. I felt disconnected.

One of the things that fell by the wayside while I tried to get things back under control was my involvement in this blog. I didn't have the time or energy to post, and wasn’t able to contribute to John’s excellent Make Do and Mend theme week, even though I had a piece all mapped out in my mind.

These recent months have taught me that I’m not as resilient as I thought I was. Pushed for time, and pulled in all directions, I’ve driven the car more, eaten more junk, taken less notice of things around me and the impact that my actions have had on the environment; I bought more stuff to compensate for how frazzled I felt in the rest of my life.

It’s not so much that things have calmed down, but I have perhaps got used to it. Luckily things in my immediate life haven’t changed that much while I’ve been out of the loop. "Luckily", because things could have – I was reading George Monbiot’s recent post “Britain’s Shock Doctrine” and yes, this is what happens when you take your eye off the ball. If you haven’t read Naomi Klein’s book “The Shock Doctrine” I cannot recommend it highly enough. Read it, read Monbiot’s post and then look back at events of recent weeks and months. It’s a sobering thought.

Which is why I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow night’s meeting of the Transition blogging community. It’s a chance for us all to catch up on what’s been happening in our lives, talk about ideas for the blog in its second year, and, for me, most importantly, to reconnect with just how important this work is; perhaps, now, more important than ever.

(pic: JC - graffiti on wall outside Revolutions on Pottergate, Norwich)