October 31, 2008 at 11:03 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: CPRE, Greenpeace, Kingsnorth Power Station
Sean on the Rainbow Warrior at Kingsnorth
Last friday I had the honour of being invited on board the Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace’s flagship. She was in the Medway to protest against the proposed new Kingsnorth coal power plant that is planned to replace the old station.
I arrived at Chatham Marina, next the Historic Dockyard where I met other local campaigners from RSPB, Friends of the North Kent Marshes, KCAM, World Development Movement and the Kent Green Party. It was good to catch up with the Kingsnorth crowd who are fast becoming old friends.
The Rainbow Warrior glided passed us, Upnor Castle behind, a silent defence that also failed to stop Dutch invaders in 1667. To get on board we got on an inflatable boat and raced to catch up. The skies were leaden and rain and spray lashed us. We caught up with the Warrior near Rochester Bridge.
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October 21, 2008 at 1:27 pm (Buy Nothing New, Garden Growing)
Tags: Firewood
Some guys were cutting back some trees at the bottom of the lane. I got chatting to them and they said “Do you want some logs?” I said “Great, yeah, just chuck them on our drive up there.”
I came home to find Tammy heaving some of this lot off next door’s drive and onto the even bigger pile on ours…. yikes.
- Sean
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October 7, 2008 at 10:56 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: blackberries, cooking, elderberries, Elderberry Rob, harvest, hedgerows, recipe, rosehips, syrup
On a lighter note….
Over the past two weeks Megan and I have been busy harvesting the bounty from the hedgerows. It started with a little innocent Blackberry picking and got a bit out of control. Problem is I started reading what-to-do-with-harvested-whatnots, then saw all the other things I could do.
First I learn’t to freeze the blackberries on trays (open freezing). After 12 hours, scoop the blackberries into bags, so that individual blackberries can be taken out of the freezer, rather than a huge clump. Sean’s apple and blackberry crumbles are fab, so looking forward to those over the winter.
Next came the elderberries. I found a recipe for Elderberry Rob, a great mixture for making hot toddies in the winter when a cold is starting (very concentrated form of vitamin C).
5lbs of Elderberries
1lb of sugar
Simmer until the consistency of honey. Strain the mixture and bottle!
(Hint: take the leftover pulp, add boiling water, soak for 3 hrs. Strain again. Put mixture in ice-cube tray and freeze. This can be used as favour for pies)
Two days ago, I noticed the fattest, juiciest Rose Hips just outside our front door. I picked them to make Rose Hip Syrup (good for favouring icecream, drinks and deserts). Who would have thought it would taste a bit like strawberries?
1lb Rosehips
4 Pints of water
1lb of sugar for every one pint of resulting liquid.
Take Rosehips and cut into halves (watch the knife-finger combo on the tough hips!) and add to simmering water (you will need a BIG pan). Simmer for 15 minutes.
Strain. Take pulp and stick in blender. Scoop out mush, put back in sieve and dunk into liquid to get all the good stuff into the mix.
Put resulting liquid back on heat and add 1lb of sugar to every 1 pint of liquid (yup, that is a LOT of sugar – please use Fairtrade sugar, its such an easy shopping decision, that makes such a difference). Simmer for 10 minutes and bottle. Yum!
- Tammy (turning quite domesticated – scary!)
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October 7, 2008 at 10:31 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: carbon, oil, recession, stern report
When we started this project and blog, we had no idea how fast the economy was going down the tubes (Northern Rock was just hick-up, rather than the smoke alarm warning us about the fire) and how public environmental perception was rising. Now that the so called “credit crunch” is here, and oil prices are soaring, more people are understanding the concepts of sustainability and self sufficiency more and more.
As Stern points out today in the Guardian, the combination of high oil and, what is now a recession (its official folks), could prove an opportunity, but at the same time, strides to move forward in cutting carbon emissions could be accused as stifling business (blah, blah..). It does feel that we are at a crossroads, one of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) of Malls, cheap clothes, long distance holidays, cars and glug-glug-glug-gosh-that-tides-rather-high OR Self sufficient, powered down world of reduced power, reduced carbon lifestyles that I believe will be healthier for us and the planet.
Build my daughter solar panels or a dingy? – I know which one I prefer.
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October 6, 2008 at 7:48 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: CPRE, foodplains, internet TV, kent tv
To see my bad hair day, watch me on KentTV
..
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October 3, 2008 at 5:10 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: baby, eBay, shopping, stairgate
So I did…. the story is this:
Meg fell down the stairs on Tuesday. I emotionally decided that I needed a stairgate NOW. I could have got one on eBay, but I decided it didn’t to be sorted NOW. So I went into Ashford. Slightly in my favour, I bought it from an independent baby shop, but I did buy it. And I felt a lot better. Sorry, true.
Never underestimate emotions and consumption. In fact I have been buying food as ‘treats’ rather than stuff – not great for diets. Ho hum. And I still go on eBay to get shopping ya-yas. So the question is: Have I slipped back into consumption patterns from before the project? I will write another post about plans for after Mid-Winter some other time. The point is, this is just the beginning, not a 6 month break from spending. I feel I have so far to go, that cannot be addressed in the time of this project.
- Tammy
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October 2, 2008 at 1:43 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: meat rationing
Meat must be rationed to four portions a week, says report on climate change
Study looks at food impact on greenhouse gases
Return to old-fashioned cooking habits urged
Juliette Jowit
The Guardian,
Tuesday September 30 2008
People will have to be rationed to four modest portions of meat and one litre of milk a week if the world is to avoid run-away climate change, a major new report warns.
The report, by the Food Climate Research Network, based at the University of Surrey, also says total food consumption should be reduced, especially “low nutritional value” treats such as alcohol, sweets and chocolates.
It urges people to return to habits their mothers or grandmothers would have been familiar with: buying locally in-season products, cooking in bulk and in pots with lids or pressure cookers, avoiding waste and walking to the shops – alongside more modern tips such as using the microwave and internet shopping.
The report goes much further than any previous advice after mounting concern about the impact of the livestock industry on greenhouse gases and rising food prices. It follows a four-year study of the impact of food on climate change and is thought to be the most thorough study of its kind.
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October 2, 2008 at 10:27 am (Buy Nothing New)
So last week I bought a pair of new shoes (boo hiss). Really boring, sensible, Clarks mens shoes ( yawn). Made in Cambodia (yikes!). Ooh, I’m going to burn in hell for this one.
But! I would like to point out that the pair of shoes it replaces were bought in circa 1995. So if the build quality is as good, and as long as I keep polishing, then hopefully they will last me into my forties. Oh good grief. It’s getting worse.
Well, while I’m in this anti-fashion hole, I might as well keep digging:
After the sudden but unspectacular knee failure of my best pair of chinos (bought in Canterbury Gap, in 2006), I went onto ebay and bought a fine pair of trousers that fit and only cost £5.50 (incl. postage). Bargain. The bad news is that even after a tumble in the washing machine, there is still a lingering smell of old man.
I think I should stop typing now before I incriminate myself further.
- Sean
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