Well its been a couple of months since i last posted on here. I don't know why...i guess I've just not felt compelled to actually write anything down worthwhile!
First of all, on the subject of this blog...eco things...well no news really, not really done much, the cutting back on meat thing is still on going, it has tailed out slightly, i do cut back on it on weekends, i normally eat 75% of meals on on weekends without meat, which is quite good for me.
Hopefully, when in the future i get my own house to live in, this will further be increased, as i can grow my own veg, cook my own meals, have a herb garden, chickens and survive a bit more self sufficiently than i am currently doing.
Found something very new and exciting on the weekend though! Where my girlfriend lives, there is this canal, which i sort of knew about, well it appears there were a load of house boats there!!!!! So...we headed down there with the pooches for a walk on a cold autumn evening...and WOW!!!!! Its amazing! There is a canal, which widens out near a pub. There are about 15 narrow boats there, together with this massive Dutch barge with sails and everything!!! Just off the footpaths, are little gardens, where people grow veg, there was even a large poly tunnel which i am going to spy into next time I'm there. There was even a herd of chickens there!!!! About 10 of them, 9 hens and one cockerel...wandering about the place, clucking away and generally being chicken-like! It was LUSH!!!! I don't know if i could live in a house boat all year around, i imagine the winter nights would be quite harsh what with being on the water, don't get me wrong, i love the place they have there, its secure, you cant drive there unless you have a key for the gate, but i don't know, it just seemed a bit unforgiving should the weather turn.
I'm thinking i could survive easily and happily from Spring to Autumn, I'm imagining having a little veg plot next to the boat, some plants on the roof of the boat, a few hens, and i would be quite happy. Only problem is, I'm a rubbish swimmer so would have to brush up a little i reckon, in case i fell in the drink!!!
Work is annoying the hell out of me! I just don't have much passion left for it...i just plod along and don't seem to be getting anywhere. I'm wondering whether next year, i change stuff...big time!!! Maybe a career break and do some volunteer work. Maybe a couple of months abroad, China, or Africa or South America, do some volunteer work, then come back to the UK and do some volunteer work here, near where i or Vickie lives and do some menial work to pay the bills. I don't know, it just seems i don't have the passion anymore for my job, and what with not having a house and no real financial ties, i reckon it could be now or never if I'm going to get anywhere with my life. One thing's for sure....i don't want to be in an office for much longer!!!
Lots of thinking, mind changing, more thinking, procrastinating, thinking, changing of minds and worrying will follow before i know what to do. I'm excited in a way, i love animals, i love the environment, i love the outdoors...so why the hell have i spend 10 years working in an office? Maybe next year, is the year things change, it's something i have thought about now for a good few years, but have not been in the financial position to do anything about it. The only tie i have now is my car, which i would sell an that would be it, id have my phone bill to pay and my charity donations to pay and that would be it for my outgoings. Hmmmm...ill have to do some sums me thinks!
Well that's it for me, keep in touch here, hopefully ill actually update it a bit more now!
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Friday, 24 August 2007
Sweet summer days
First up, yet another apology! I've been neglecting my poor blog, I'm sorry oh little Eco things for not posting on you, i know you have missed me deeply, but now on this lush day, when i only have another 2 hours left in work, i thought id update this with some recent going's on.
Now prior to anything, congratulations to my brother, Andy and Suzanne, who had a cute little person on Sunday at around 9pm. He is called Ewan, which is an ace Celtic name. Its quite exciting now being an uncle, but kind of scary at the same time, i feel old!
First of all. Shower gel! Now i have been a Lynx man for the past few years, no I've not been seduced by the recent advertising campaign, which as far as ad campaigns go, has been highly successful, even me talking about it proves it, evil corporate rubbish!!! Well anyways, Lynx, I've been doing some research and even though they say they keep animal testing down to a minimum, they still do it, so its the end of Lynx (Unilever) products for me. Whilst i appreciate the transparency of them saying about animal testing, no way do i want to be part of it, there are plenty of alternatives to it, and in this day in age, its simply not acceptable.
So the search is on for new shower gels and general smelly related products! The first one I'm going to try is Original Source they are registered by the Vegan Society and do not test any of their stuff on animals. That in itself is reason to change. As well as that, their tea tree and mint shower gel is meant to be amazing. The only downside to it, is the fact that it comes in a plastic bottle, which hopefully, will be recyclable. I will let you know how i get on with it!
The veggie thing, isn't going all that well to be honest...its so hard in the week not to eat meat, my parents cook the most scrumptious food and both love meat, so its pretty much impossible to get away without eating it. Hopefully this will change as soon as i move out which will be hopefully next year sometime! Weekends, i do try hard, and most weekends, as long as we go out and buy food, i can get through the whole weekend without eating meat, which makes me feel good inside, plus more importantly, has a small impact on how many animals are killed.
Aside from the that, plastic bags, it still amazes me how much packaging goes on stuff these days in shops. Next time i head to an evil supermarket, I'm thinking of removing all excess packaging at the till and just leaving it on the conveyor belt, i know its not the cashiers fault, and I'd never have a go at them, but maybe if supermarkets get it into their heads that people don't want a million bits of packaging for items, which don't need so much packaging, then maybe they will cut down what they use.
Plans for the weekend, none so far really, probably take Lola the puppy out lots and hopefully will be able to get out and enjoy this fine weather.
Also, on the blog itself, hopefully in coming weeks i will be redesigning it to give it my own feel, i have designed a logo, which looks quite nifty and have a colour scheme and layout in mind so that should be up and running in the next few months.
Hope everyone who reads this is having fun and is enjoying life, please leave a comment, i love hearing what people think. All you UK folk, have a nice bank holiday weekend, make the most of the weather! And to those not in the UK, have a happy, hippy weekend and have fun! :)
Now prior to anything, congratulations to my brother, Andy and Suzanne, who had a cute little person on Sunday at around 9pm. He is called Ewan, which is an ace Celtic name. Its quite exciting now being an uncle, but kind of scary at the same time, i feel old!
First of all. Shower gel! Now i have been a Lynx man for the past few years, no I've not been seduced by the recent advertising campaign, which as far as ad campaigns go, has been highly successful, even me talking about it proves it, evil corporate rubbish!!! Well anyways, Lynx, I've been doing some research and even though they say they keep animal testing down to a minimum, they still do it, so its the end of Lynx (Unilever) products for me. Whilst i appreciate the transparency of them saying about animal testing, no way do i want to be part of it, there are plenty of alternatives to it, and in this day in age, its simply not acceptable.
So the search is on for new shower gels and general smelly related products! The first one I'm going to try is Original Source they are registered by the Vegan Society and do not test any of their stuff on animals. That in itself is reason to change. As well as that, their tea tree and mint shower gel is meant to be amazing. The only downside to it, is the fact that it comes in a plastic bottle, which hopefully, will be recyclable. I will let you know how i get on with it!
The veggie thing, isn't going all that well to be honest...its so hard in the week not to eat meat, my parents cook the most scrumptious food and both love meat, so its pretty much impossible to get away without eating it. Hopefully this will change as soon as i move out which will be hopefully next year sometime! Weekends, i do try hard, and most weekends, as long as we go out and buy food, i can get through the whole weekend without eating meat, which makes me feel good inside, plus more importantly, has a small impact on how many animals are killed.
Aside from the that, plastic bags, it still amazes me how much packaging goes on stuff these days in shops. Next time i head to an evil supermarket, I'm thinking of removing all excess packaging at the till and just leaving it on the conveyor belt, i know its not the cashiers fault, and I'd never have a go at them, but maybe if supermarkets get it into their heads that people don't want a million bits of packaging for items, which don't need so much packaging, then maybe they will cut down what they use.
Plans for the weekend, none so far really, probably take Lola the puppy out lots and hopefully will be able to get out and enjoy this fine weather.
Also, on the blog itself, hopefully in coming weeks i will be redesigning it to give it my own feel, i have designed a logo, which looks quite nifty and have a colour scheme and layout in mind so that should be up and running in the next few months.
Hope everyone who reads this is having fun and is enjoying life, please leave a comment, i love hearing what people think. All you UK folk, have a nice bank holiday weekend, make the most of the weather! And to those not in the UK, have a happy, hippy weekend and have fun! :)
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Updates etc
Well its been a while since i posted anything on here. Don't know why, i've just been busy i guess, and having had 4 days off work i felt spending some time outside would be a lot better than sitting here in front of my computer!
It was with that in mind that i headed down to my most favorite shop ever...BORDERS BOOKS...oh it does rock so much! Anyways, i was on the lookout for a couple of books dealing with eco living and stumbled upon "It's not easy being green" by Dock Strawbridge. Its a book which accompanies a BBC series, which i somehow missed by the same name.
It charts a families trip to living a fully self-sufficient life. Its a brilliant book, its quite simple, dont expect full in-depth explanations on keeping chickens and such like, but it really is inspiring. It deals with such things as rain water collection, composting, wood burning stoves and gardening. Its just great, like a diary in a way, but more informative.
Its really inspired me i must say. I have been thinking that when i do eventually buy my own place, it must have a garden of a decent size, as i want to cultivate my own veg, keep battery rescued chickens for eggs and compost my waste. Basically, i just want to be as self sufficient as possible, not just for the environment, which is obvioulsy a big reason, but because its the sort of thing i have wanted to do for a long long time, especially keeping chickens, i LOVE them.
So yeah, im definatly changing what i look for in a house now, no minging city centre flats for me anymore (famous last words!!!) i want something where i can have some peace from the dirty, suit filled, manky, smoggy, polluted city, which i have the misfortune of having to work in 5 days a week. I shall keep you updated!
On other news, the veggie thing...well its gone down the pan in all honesty, the last few weeks have been a bit of a nightmare in all honesty, with regards habit, this weekend im back down in lovely Gower so have been going out quite a bit with my parents and generally not cooking any of my own food, and then last weekend was a bit up in the air as we were out and about continuously. Anyways, i know it's hard, and i have well and truely fallen off the wagon, but next weekend, im determined to get back onto it and get back onto the non meat eating. On a footnote, i still never ever eat anything with meat in it at lunch time in work, i have stopped that completely.
Other eco-related news...plastic bag thing, still going strong, i cant remember the last time i was given one, and big up to checkout staff in some shops who say "thanks" and smile when you say you dont need a bag, its nice to see and its encouraging that others out there HATE plastic bags!
Well, im going back to my book now, i have a bout 1/4 left and am looking forward to what the next few chapters hold :)
It was with that in mind that i headed down to my most favorite shop ever...BORDERS BOOKS...oh it does rock so much! Anyways, i was on the lookout for a couple of books dealing with eco living and stumbled upon "It's not easy being green" by Dock Strawbridge. Its a book which accompanies a BBC series, which i somehow missed by the same name.
It charts a families trip to living a fully self-sufficient life. Its a brilliant book, its quite simple, dont expect full in-depth explanations on keeping chickens and such like, but it really is inspiring. It deals with such things as rain water collection, composting, wood burning stoves and gardening. Its just great, like a diary in a way, but more informative.
Its really inspired me i must say. I have been thinking that when i do eventually buy my own place, it must have a garden of a decent size, as i want to cultivate my own veg, keep battery rescued chickens for eggs and compost my waste. Basically, i just want to be as self sufficient as possible, not just for the environment, which is obvioulsy a big reason, but because its the sort of thing i have wanted to do for a long long time, especially keeping chickens, i LOVE them.
So yeah, im definatly changing what i look for in a house now, no minging city centre flats for me anymore (famous last words!!!) i want something where i can have some peace from the dirty, suit filled, manky, smoggy, polluted city, which i have the misfortune of having to work in 5 days a week. I shall keep you updated!
On other news, the veggie thing...well its gone down the pan in all honesty, the last few weeks have been a bit of a nightmare in all honesty, with regards habit, this weekend im back down in lovely Gower so have been going out quite a bit with my parents and generally not cooking any of my own food, and then last weekend was a bit up in the air as we were out and about continuously. Anyways, i know it's hard, and i have well and truely fallen off the wagon, but next weekend, im determined to get back onto it and get back onto the non meat eating. On a footnote, i still never ever eat anything with meat in it at lunch time in work, i have stopped that completely.
Other eco-related news...plastic bag thing, still going strong, i cant remember the last time i was given one, and big up to checkout staff in some shops who say "thanks" and smile when you say you dont need a bag, its nice to see and its encouraging that others out there HATE plastic bags!
Well, im going back to my book now, i have a bout 1/4 left and am looking forward to what the next few chapters hold :)
Monday, 23 July 2007
Something a bit different...
Well no real news from the last post, still plodding along merrily with life.
Although this weather! What the hell is happening!!! Is this a symptom of climate change??? What-ever it is, its annoying, its July...and its just raining all the time! The weekend was kinda nice, yesterday was well lush, ended up in Glastonbury with Vic and the doggie! Was an amazing afternoon, i love that place so much, you can just do what you want, and no one thinks its strange, even had a free hug of some dude who was hugging everyone, which was brilliant...we really want to move there now, i can think of no town...anywhere...where i would rather live. :)
So yeah, no news on eco things, although i now have a rather groovy Tesco bag for life with ladybirds on it and everything, it rocks!
So i thought for a change, id post a photo up..this is me and Vic in Bath yesterday evening, thought you might want to see what i look like...im the dude in the photo..obviously! lol
Although this weather! What the hell is happening!!! Is this a symptom of climate change??? What-ever it is, its annoying, its July...and its just raining all the time! The weekend was kinda nice, yesterday was well lush, ended up in Glastonbury with Vic and the doggie! Was an amazing afternoon, i love that place so much, you can just do what you want, and no one thinks its strange, even had a free hug of some dude who was hugging everyone, which was brilliant...we really want to move there now, i can think of no town...anywhere...where i would rather live. :)
So yeah, no news on eco things, although i now have a rather groovy Tesco bag for life with ladybirds on it and everything, it rocks!
So i thought for a change, id post a photo up..this is me and Vic in Bath yesterday evening, thought you might want to see what i look like...im the dude in the photo..obviously! lol
Monday, 16 July 2007
I'm very sleepy...
But am going to just write this message!
Quick update on all fronts i think (pause while i put some decent Abba on itunes...Super Trouper...TUNE!) on the veggie front...
Its NOT going well :( Seriously, if i fell off the wagon last week...this week, I've fallen off the wagon and have been run over by the wagon that was travelling behind me! The weekend, well I'll be honest, Saturday, the evening consisted of an Indian take-away, then Sunday, consisted of an Italian meal out. :( I have my excuses, first up, Sunday, was such a rubbish day with the weather, you know those day's where you cant go out anywhere cos its raining that badly. Well all day was spent in the house, and was driving myself and Vic to despair! So we went out, and going out meant dropping in to get some food, which i can honestly say i did enjoy, but it wasn't veggie. Saturday was the same story.
I know, I know! Its bad...very bad! I guess this thing about cutting meat out isn't that easy after, 27 years of eating the stuff, its so hard to just stop eating it over night...must try harder though, maybe i need encouragement or something, i don't know, or maybe i need one of those kicks up the arse that people keep going on about!
On other fronts, the old plastic bag thing is going strong, still none consumed, must be a good couple of months now of non plastic bag use, i have a new bag for life...a CO-OP one, which has replaced my aging and rather decrepit Sainsbury on.
We have now found out about CO-OP, basically...they RULE! The shop's are really good, not skanking, good quality goods, at good honest prices! But...the main thing is that all of their own brand stuff, is fair trade and organic, plus its bloody nice. Their instant coffee, which is cheaper than Sescafe, is about 10 times better, plus its fair trade! Aside from that, its just generally cooler than the other market grabbing supermarkets, plus in a recent survey they were voted the most green supermarket, ahead of places like M&S and Sainsbury's. Even their insurance office in Manchester is taking the lead with mini wind turbines on the roof which generates around 10% of the building's energy at the moment. So huuuuuuuuurah for CO-OP, now get out there and shop at one!
Now I'm dreaming of owning a place near the coast, i guess growing up near the coast, and being dragged on millions of boat trips when i was a weee lad has worn off on me, and now, i would just love to live right next to the sea so i can see all its moods and eat breakfast on the beach. Off course, living in a log cabin in the woods is still my ultimate, ultimate dream, but everyone has to have a back-up plan don't they?
Thanks again for the comments, keep them coming, they do provide encouragement and its ace seeing what you all think :)
Quick update on all fronts i think (pause while i put some decent Abba on itunes...Super Trouper...TUNE!) on the veggie front...
Its NOT going well :( Seriously, if i fell off the wagon last week...this week, I've fallen off the wagon and have been run over by the wagon that was travelling behind me! The weekend, well I'll be honest, Saturday, the evening consisted of an Indian take-away, then Sunday, consisted of an Italian meal out. :( I have my excuses, first up, Sunday, was such a rubbish day with the weather, you know those day's where you cant go out anywhere cos its raining that badly. Well all day was spent in the house, and was driving myself and Vic to despair! So we went out, and going out meant dropping in to get some food, which i can honestly say i did enjoy, but it wasn't veggie. Saturday was the same story.
I know, I know! Its bad...very bad! I guess this thing about cutting meat out isn't that easy after, 27 years of eating the stuff, its so hard to just stop eating it over night...must try harder though, maybe i need encouragement or something, i don't know, or maybe i need one of those kicks up the arse that people keep going on about!
On other fronts, the old plastic bag thing is going strong, still none consumed, must be a good couple of months now of non plastic bag use, i have a new bag for life...a CO-OP one, which has replaced my aging and rather decrepit Sainsbury on.
We have now found out about CO-OP, basically...they RULE! The shop's are really good, not skanking, good quality goods, at good honest prices! But...the main thing is that all of their own brand stuff, is fair trade and organic, plus its bloody nice. Their instant coffee, which is cheaper than Sescafe, is about 10 times better, plus its fair trade! Aside from that, its just generally cooler than the other market grabbing supermarkets, plus in a recent survey they were voted the most green supermarket, ahead of places like M&S and Sainsbury's. Even their insurance office in Manchester is taking the lead with mini wind turbines on the roof which generates around 10% of the building's energy at the moment. So huuuuuuuuurah for CO-OP, now get out there and shop at one!
Now I'm dreaming of owning a place near the coast, i guess growing up near the coast, and being dragged on millions of boat trips when i was a weee lad has worn off on me, and now, i would just love to live right next to the sea so i can see all its moods and eat breakfast on the beach. Off course, living in a log cabin in the woods is still my ultimate, ultimate dream, but everyone has to have a back-up plan don't they?
Thanks again for the comments, keep them coming, they do provide encouragement and its ace seeing what you all think :)
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Fallen off...
Its official...I've fallen off the proverbial wagon! This weekend turned into a complete nightmare with the veggie thang! First of all Friday, that was OK, went well, had a lush cheese pizza from the dudes at Sainsbury's, was very nice and went down well with a glass of ice-cold cider. Saturday, well a strange day, breakfast was fine. Then at about lunch time, we headed for a large Volkswagen festival, which was amazing. Loads of cool old campers and beetles, as well as lots of cool hippie folk. Met up with my brother and my sis-in law and also a load of the usual suspects that keep going to these shows, all in all good. Again, the show didn't prove a problem as i consumed a large portion of strawberries for lunch, which kept me going. Its official, strawberries are now my fav fruit, they are bloody lush i tell you!
Sat night...this is where it starts to go downhill quickly....we all went out of some drinkie poos in Bristol, was most excellent, with lots of banter etc etc and much commenting on how girls can possibly wear such short skirts..slappers! lol Well anyway, we headed to a Noodle bar...where...i kind of ate chicken in Szechuan sauce...honestly, though, there really wasn't much on the menu in the way of non meat stuff, so had to give in.
That was bad...next day...Sunday...bad again! Ended up having a roast dinner with chicken!!!!!!! I will say it was organic,free ranger chicken, which makes things a tiny, tiny bit better, but still...not really proud of the weekend, but it did make me realise that cutting meat out, or at least down is not very easy, when you are so used to eating the stuff.
It has, however, made me more determined this weekend to get back to non meat consumption. Still gutted though, plus writing this, it makes it even worse! :(
On another note, the plastic bag thing, is still going well, none taken over the weekend, and my bag's for life were given a good airing with the shopping trips we went on. Just now wracking my brains to see what i can do this week that will help the planet. Well for starters, the car is again getting ditched, its almost needing a service, and i really, really, really don't want to spend any money on the thing, so its staying at home this week, instead the good old train will be used.
Again, not a problem, i don't really mind the train, its not as bad as people make out, and as long as you don't expect too much of it, then its fine. Don't expect them to be on time every day, don't expect them to be quiet, don't expect there not to be an element of stress involved in catching one, and don't expect there not to be some one standing next to you with a small child who is intent on playing with my numerous Greenpeace and pro-animal badges that adorn my "man bag". So, there, i don't expect anything, so most of the time, I'm not disappointed or surprised at what goes on in our great railway network. Plus what gets me is...if there were no trains at all, people would be up in arms, at least we have them and at least they are OK!
Thanks for the comments on previous posts guys, its lush to see them, feel free to give me a good old grilling over falling off the wagon this weekend, ill make up for it though! :)
Sat night...this is where it starts to go downhill quickly....we all went out of some drinkie poos in Bristol, was most excellent, with lots of banter etc etc and much commenting on how girls can possibly wear such short skirts..slappers! lol Well anyway, we headed to a Noodle bar...where...i kind of ate chicken in Szechuan sauce...honestly, though, there really wasn't much on the menu in the way of non meat stuff, so had to give in.
That was bad...next day...Sunday...bad again! Ended up having a roast dinner with chicken!!!!!!! I will say it was organic,free ranger chicken, which makes things a tiny, tiny bit better, but still...not really proud of the weekend, but it did make me realise that cutting meat out, or at least down is not very easy, when you are so used to eating the stuff.
It has, however, made me more determined this weekend to get back to non meat consumption. Still gutted though, plus writing this, it makes it even worse! :(
On another note, the plastic bag thing, is still going well, none taken over the weekend, and my bag's for life were given a good airing with the shopping trips we went on. Just now wracking my brains to see what i can do this week that will help the planet. Well for starters, the car is again getting ditched, its almost needing a service, and i really, really, really don't want to spend any money on the thing, so its staying at home this week, instead the good old train will be used.
Again, not a problem, i don't really mind the train, its not as bad as people make out, and as long as you don't expect too much of it, then its fine. Don't expect them to be on time every day, don't expect them to be quiet, don't expect there not to be an element of stress involved in catching one, and don't expect there not to be some one standing next to you with a small child who is intent on playing with my numerous Greenpeace and pro-animal badges that adorn my "man bag". So, there, i don't expect anything, so most of the time, I'm not disappointed or surprised at what goes on in our great railway network. Plus what gets me is...if there were no trains at all, people would be up in arms, at least we have them and at least they are OK!
Thanks for the comments on previous posts guys, its lush to see them, feel free to give me a good old grilling over falling off the wagon this weekend, ill make up for it though! :)
Thursday, 5 July 2007
Earth saving update
Well it's been a week since i last said anything about my little things that I've been doing to help out our planet. So...what have i done....well first up, my bedroom no longer has those evil incandescent light bulbs that you can still buy in the shops. Now i have nice shiny energy saving bulbs. I must say, I'm IMPRESSED! They cost around £4 each, which i didn't think was that bad, considering they last up to 10 times as long as a normal bulb and don't cost anywhere near 10 times as much, normal evil bulbs don't cost 4p do they???
Also, I'm impressed by their performance, they not the ones that take a day or so to actually switch on, as soon as you flip the switch, its on! It gives a really nice warm glow in the room, a lot more subtle than my previous bulbs. So not only are they a little step in stopping climate change, but they are generally better. Oh and in case your interested (which you should be reading this blog! :) ) i ordered my light bulbs from www.lightbulbs-direct.com I must say i was super impressed, good delivery time and good value as well. So if your reading this in room with those horrid bulbs that waste so much power, get yourselves onto that website and order some! And no, i don't work for them before you think i do, I'm just trying to spread the word.
Which brings me neatly onto my next thing. I signed up to Greenpeace's "7 step climate campaign" Its great, its basically a task every week for 7 weeks that you can do, to help combat climate change. I am in week 3. The task this week is to spread the word about banning incandescent light bulbs, and letting people know about the campaign. I guess this blog is part of that, as well as that, you can download funky signatures and posters for your website or to print off and put in your windows at home or at work. Please go here...http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change and sign up to the campaign, then you will get a task every week to complete, no kids, its not a difficult, exam-like task, before you start shouting at me. It's fun, I'm REALLY enjoying it, it really encourages me to think about changes and really provides good, solid goals to achieve.
So there you have it, since my last post, i have ditched the evil bulb, completed Week 2 of the Greepeace campaign as well as starting to complete the Week 3 step. Other than that, not much news, i ditched my car from Tuesday off last week until yesterday. Just relied on train to get from Swansea (nearest city to me) to Cardiff (where i work) and then from Cardiff to Bristol (where Vix lives) for the weekend. All in all, was good not to drive, in a twisted way, i do like trains, you see some bizarre people and its just fun, even when they are late, i don't see the point in slagging the trains off, cos at least we have trains, yeah OK, they are late at times, yeah they are crowded at times etc, but id still rather be in a train than driving on our congested and quite frankly, evil roads.
As well as the above, obviously my plastic bag thing is going well, still not had a plastic bag from a shop, must be getting on for over a month now since i have clapped eyes on the evil things. I still think shops should not offer plastic bags to you. I have seen so many people buying one thing who have almost been "convinced" by check-out staff to take a bag. WHY??? Wouldn't it be better for the shop to wait until a person asks for a bag? Rather than putting ideas in peoples heads that they really must have this non bio-degradable bag, which they will probably lob in the bin once they get home. Seriously, some major shops need educating, they are all there with their bags for life, but then still are too quick to offer people other bags. Not naming shops here, but the big food supermarkets, some of them need to look at their plastic bag policies.
Oh and hello to the "Adopt a grandma" girl from outside Cardiff Central Station, she was kinda cool, even if she was confused by my shemagh which i was wearing around my neck.
Hopefully now this weekend, i can continue my quest for eco-fying myself and helping our planet. Please go to the Greenpeace site and sign up to the climate change campaign, we can all make a difference, and it doesn't even take much effort.
Cheers guys :)
Also, I'm impressed by their performance, they not the ones that take a day or so to actually switch on, as soon as you flip the switch, its on! It gives a really nice warm glow in the room, a lot more subtle than my previous bulbs. So not only are they a little step in stopping climate change, but they are generally better. Oh and in case your interested (which you should be reading this blog! :) ) i ordered my light bulbs from www.lightbulbs-direct.com I must say i was super impressed, good delivery time and good value as well. So if your reading this in room with those horrid bulbs that waste so much power, get yourselves onto that website and order some! And no, i don't work for them before you think i do, I'm just trying to spread the word.
Which brings me neatly onto my next thing. I signed up to Greenpeace's "7 step climate campaign" Its great, its basically a task every week for 7 weeks that you can do, to help combat climate change. I am in week 3. The task this week is to spread the word about banning incandescent light bulbs, and letting people know about the campaign. I guess this blog is part of that, as well as that, you can download funky signatures and posters for your website or to print off and put in your windows at home or at work. Please go here...http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change and sign up to the campaign, then you will get a task every week to complete, no kids, its not a difficult, exam-like task, before you start shouting at me. It's fun, I'm REALLY enjoying it, it really encourages me to think about changes and really provides good, solid goals to achieve.
So there you have it, since my last post, i have ditched the evil bulb, completed Week 2 of the Greepeace campaign as well as starting to complete the Week 3 step. Other than that, not much news, i ditched my car from Tuesday off last week until yesterday. Just relied on train to get from Swansea (nearest city to me) to Cardiff (where i work) and then from Cardiff to Bristol (where Vix lives) for the weekend. All in all, was good not to drive, in a twisted way, i do like trains, you see some bizarre people and its just fun, even when they are late, i don't see the point in slagging the trains off, cos at least we have trains, yeah OK, they are late at times, yeah they are crowded at times etc, but id still rather be in a train than driving on our congested and quite frankly, evil roads.
As well as the above, obviously my plastic bag thing is going well, still not had a plastic bag from a shop, must be getting on for over a month now since i have clapped eyes on the evil things. I still think shops should not offer plastic bags to you. I have seen so many people buying one thing who have almost been "convinced" by check-out staff to take a bag. WHY??? Wouldn't it be better for the shop to wait until a person asks for a bag? Rather than putting ideas in peoples heads that they really must have this non bio-degradable bag, which they will probably lob in the bin once they get home. Seriously, some major shops need educating, they are all there with their bags for life, but then still are too quick to offer people other bags. Not naming shops here, but the big food supermarkets, some of them need to look at their plastic bag policies.
Oh and hello to the "Adopt a grandma" girl from outside Cardiff Central Station, she was kinda cool, even if she was confused by my shemagh which i was wearing around my neck.
Hopefully now this weekend, i can continue my quest for eco-fying myself and helping our planet. Please go to the Greenpeace site and sign up to the climate change campaign, we can all make a difference, and it doesn't even take much effort.
Cheers guys :)
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Veggie transformation - Results
Well first of all, sorry for not updating this yesterday, wasnt feeling too great so was off work and really couldnt face using a computer.
Now I'm feeling a bit better and am back at work, even though id so love to snuggle up in bed and go to sleep, i cant wait to go home! :)
Anyways, the weekend, i DID it! Well i slipped up once, but arguably that wasn't really my fault :)
Let me explain, Thursday, Fri, didn't eat any sort of meat on these days, completely meat free. Friday night we had a chili made out of Quorn. It was really, really nice. You really could not tell it wasn't meat in there, and was as good as any Chili i have had out in a restaurant, it also cost only about £2 as well! Which is a bargain!
Saturday then, we went to my brothers house, where unfortunately, i ate meat. I know, i know, but in all honesty there wasn't much i could do about it. It was this pork thing with roasted potato's, was nice. Seriously though, there wasn't anything i could do about it, as it was a spur of the moment decision to go my brothers and i felt it would have been rude to suddenly turn around and say i didn't want the food as it was meat.
Anyways, aside from that, i went the whole 4 days without meat, every meal that i had influence on, i didn't eat meat. I must say it was no where near as hard as i first thought, in fact, it was quite easy. Yeah, it required a bit of thought and it required a bit more thinking, but it was so worth it. It was so nice to know that the meals i ate, the produce didn't come from an animal being killed specifically for it.
So now its back to the Gower where i live with my parents until Thursday. I will try to keep the veg thing going, but not fancy my chances. This weekend coming though, i shall be doing exactly the same thing and not eating meat. Just a small step in the right direction so far :)
Now I'm feeling a bit better and am back at work, even though id so love to snuggle up in bed and go to sleep, i cant wait to go home! :)
Anyways, the weekend, i DID it! Well i slipped up once, but arguably that wasn't really my fault :)
Let me explain, Thursday, Fri, didn't eat any sort of meat on these days, completely meat free. Friday night we had a chili made out of Quorn. It was really, really nice. You really could not tell it wasn't meat in there, and was as good as any Chili i have had out in a restaurant, it also cost only about £2 as well! Which is a bargain!
Saturday then, we went to my brothers house, where unfortunately, i ate meat. I know, i know, but in all honesty there wasn't much i could do about it. It was this pork thing with roasted potato's, was nice. Seriously though, there wasn't anything i could do about it, as it was a spur of the moment decision to go my brothers and i felt it would have been rude to suddenly turn around and say i didn't want the food as it was meat.
Anyways, aside from that, i went the whole 4 days without meat, every meal that i had influence on, i didn't eat meat. I must say it was no where near as hard as i first thought, in fact, it was quite easy. Yeah, it required a bit of thought and it required a bit more thinking, but it was so worth it. It was so nice to know that the meals i ate, the produce didn't come from an animal being killed specifically for it.
So now its back to the Gower where i live with my parents until Thursday. I will try to keep the veg thing going, but not fancy my chances. This weekend coming though, i shall be doing exactly the same thing and not eating meat. Just a small step in the right direction so far :)
Friday, 29 June 2007
Veggie transformation - Day 1
Just a quick update on my little veggie experiment. Yesterday, Thursday, was Day 1 of my little experiment to see if i can survive on being a veggie and to see what its like not to eat meat. You know what...it feels great! I feel much less a hypocrite for sticking to my convictions and beliefs, i know its only one day, but its the first time in a long time I've gone through a day without eating meat at any point. Obviously i know it was only the first day of it, but it was lush, plus it worked out a lot cheaper doing the shopping for the weekend, only cos £9!!! And £1 of that was a rather lush and gloriously unhealthy Belgian bun! YUMO!
Yeah, so for breakfast, i had shreddies with raisins, which i always have, lunch in work consisted of strawberries,melon plus a nice foccaccia pizza thing with roasted veg on top, which was gorgeous! Then for tea, we had cheese and spinach ravioli with roasted veg (told you i loved roasted veg!) sauce complete with Quorn meatballs, which tasted rank in all honesty! Obviously they didn't contain the crap that meat meatballs contain, which is good, but they just didn't taste very nice, but I'm not giving up on them, i think with the right sauce and in the right thing, they could potentially be nice, time will tell though, its all so new to me so i guess I'm going to find stuff i don't really like along the way.
Today, well for tea, i think its a sort of pannini pizza thing with olives and peppers and onions, together with some garlic bread, plus i might even crack open a bottle of white vino as its a Friday!
So yeah, times are good. I'm still excited about ditching meat, and still think its something that i could do without, or certainly something that i can do with cutting back on severely.
Peace out
Yeah, so for breakfast, i had shreddies with raisins, which i always have, lunch in work consisted of strawberries,melon plus a nice foccaccia pizza thing with roasted veg on top, which was gorgeous! Then for tea, we had cheese and spinach ravioli with roasted veg (told you i loved roasted veg!) sauce complete with Quorn meatballs, which tasted rank in all honesty! Obviously they didn't contain the crap that meat meatballs contain, which is good, but they just didn't taste very nice, but I'm not giving up on them, i think with the right sauce and in the right thing, they could potentially be nice, time will tell though, its all so new to me so i guess I'm going to find stuff i don't really like along the way.
Today, well for tea, i think its a sort of pannini pizza thing with olives and peppers and onions, together with some garlic bread, plus i might even crack open a bottle of white vino as its a Friday!
So yeah, times are good. I'm still excited about ditching meat, and still think its something that i could do without, or certainly something that i can do with cutting back on severely.
Peace out
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Veggie-ness
OK I have decided...after 27 years of eating meat, I'm going to make a serious effort to seriously cut out and eventually end my consumption of meat.
The reason behind this is two-fold. Firstly, i am an animal lover, i love wildlife and love animals, id sooner trust most animals than a lot people i meet. They are amazing things, with feelings, emotions, everything we have, but yet we as a race treat them as some sort of inferior species, we have this arrogant attitude that we are somehow above them and that we can do what we like with them. I do NOT agree with this at all, we are all on the same level, we all are part of the giant circle of life, and i just don't think we should farm and kill animals just cos we like the taste of them, so how can i eat meat if i don't like seeing animals killed..exactly why I'm cutting it out.
Second, environmental issues, farming obviously affects the environment, raising cattle produces more Co2 than transportation! So I'd like to lessen the effect I'm having on this aspect of things. Livestock farming, the world over, is responsible for habitat loss and conflict with animals such as Tigers, Leopards, the list goes on, they live and hunt in areas where livestock is kept, maybe to be used my local people, but maybe used to satisfy the large demand of meat.
However...there is a flaw in this great plan...i don't really like vegetables! Yes that's right, i really don't like them. Actually, that's not strictly true, i do like them, but only cooked in a particular way, I'm sooo awkward! I hate boiled veg, all of it, its all minging. Its all stodgy and slimy and doesn't really taste of much, its got a horrid consistency, and is just generally not nice. Now roasted veg, stir-fried veg, that i do like. I like a bit of crunch there and a bit of bite and flavour.
So my plan, at first, I'm not, not going to eat any meat, i don't want to just stop all of a sudden, as i don't think its a healthy way of doing it. Instead, I'm going to set myself some goals to reach and try and improve along the way. I am very excited by this prospect as I like a challenge and this will be one of those, and a challenge which is doing some good for my fellow animals in this world. I'm sure I'll fall off a few times on the veggie cart to veggieness so PLEASE encourage me lol
My first step is this weekend, i always spend the weekends with the Vixster (my girlfriend of Bristol fame!) we always go out and have food out, which costs a bomb. So this weekend, no going out for food, we are headed to the supermarket tonight and hopefully to the local farmers market on the weekend to buy some things. So. this weekend, no meat, none at all, nothing, not even a smidgen! I might even try some Quorn and see what that tastes of.
I'm thinking of some meals already, now i LOVE pasta and rarely have meat with that, so I'm thinking a couple of pasta meals with veg sauce, homemade veg sauce as well hopefully. I'm thinking a nice stir-fry with some nice veg and some rice together with a sauce. And now I'm stuck...I'm going to have to look for inspiration! I need to basically buy for 4 meals, tonight, Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night, snacks i can rely on fruit and cereal bars as always.
So the challenge is set, my first meat free weekend...ever...ever...im SO excited :)
Ill let you know how i do, if anyone is interested and if anyone is actually reading this lol
The reason behind this is two-fold. Firstly, i am an animal lover, i love wildlife and love animals, id sooner trust most animals than a lot people i meet. They are amazing things, with feelings, emotions, everything we have, but yet we as a race treat them as some sort of inferior species, we have this arrogant attitude that we are somehow above them and that we can do what we like with them. I do NOT agree with this at all, we are all on the same level, we all are part of the giant circle of life, and i just don't think we should farm and kill animals just cos we like the taste of them, so how can i eat meat if i don't like seeing animals killed..exactly why I'm cutting it out.
Second, environmental issues, farming obviously affects the environment, raising cattle produces more Co2 than transportation! So I'd like to lessen the effect I'm having on this aspect of things. Livestock farming, the world over, is responsible for habitat loss and conflict with animals such as Tigers, Leopards, the list goes on, they live and hunt in areas where livestock is kept, maybe to be used my local people, but maybe used to satisfy the large demand of meat.
However...there is a flaw in this great plan...i don't really like vegetables! Yes that's right, i really don't like them. Actually, that's not strictly true, i do like them, but only cooked in a particular way, I'm sooo awkward! I hate boiled veg, all of it, its all minging. Its all stodgy and slimy and doesn't really taste of much, its got a horrid consistency, and is just generally not nice. Now roasted veg, stir-fried veg, that i do like. I like a bit of crunch there and a bit of bite and flavour.
So my plan, at first, I'm not, not going to eat any meat, i don't want to just stop all of a sudden, as i don't think its a healthy way of doing it. Instead, I'm going to set myself some goals to reach and try and improve along the way. I am very excited by this prospect as I like a challenge and this will be one of those, and a challenge which is doing some good for my fellow animals in this world. I'm sure I'll fall off a few times on the veggie cart to veggieness so PLEASE encourage me lol
My first step is this weekend, i always spend the weekends with the Vixster (my girlfriend of Bristol fame!) we always go out and have food out, which costs a bomb. So this weekend, no going out for food, we are headed to the supermarket tonight and hopefully to the local farmers market on the weekend to buy some things. So. this weekend, no meat, none at all, nothing, not even a smidgen! I might even try some Quorn and see what that tastes of.
I'm thinking of some meals already, now i LOVE pasta and rarely have meat with that, so I'm thinking a couple of pasta meals with veg sauce, homemade veg sauce as well hopefully. I'm thinking a nice stir-fry with some nice veg and some rice together with a sauce. And now I'm stuck...I'm going to have to look for inspiration! I need to basically buy for 4 meals, tonight, Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night, snacks i can rely on fruit and cereal bars as always.
So the challenge is set, my first meat free weekend...ever...ever...im SO excited :)
Ill let you know how i do, if anyone is interested and if anyone is actually reading this lol
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Fox Hunting
OK well, something not strictly a green issue, although it is linked. It's a subject that, especially in the UK, is always bubbling on the surface of people's thoughts. Fox hunting.
Now, I'm strictly anti fox hunting, for obvious reasons to anyone with half an ounce of conscience and compassion for all things living.
Let me just say how i feel on the subject. It's a sport from way back when toffs ruled the land. They lauded about on their horses and tweed jackets thinking nothing of hunting an animal to death, letting their dogs chase and then savage an animal half their size to death all whilst sitting on their horses blowing their horns. Not one to one, man on animal, but instead, in a large group of horses together with a larger pack of dogs. So there you have it, 1 fox, against god knows how many foxes and hounds. Oh yeah, that's so "upper-class" isn't it.
2005 ended it, a ban was imposed in England and Wales, well sort of, hunts still go on, through loop-holes in the ban. You can still hunt foxes, as long as you don't let the dogs kill them, you can still hunt if you use a bird of prey, etc etc etc So it still goes on to this day, but now, many more people are aware of what goes on at these hunts, thanks to protests and thanks to organisations such as the RSPCA and the League against Cruel Sports, please support them!
Now there is a massive amount of information out there on fox hunting, which I'm not going to go into. But a few facts remain...
Fox hunting IS cruel
Fox hunting IS class-orientated-in other words its usually so called "upper-class" folk who indulge in it-oh yeah, as they are oh so above everything/everyone
Fox hunting belongs in the past and has no place in a modern society such as ours
Fox hunters are arrogant-no really-they are-going about the place with their "Fight the prejudice-fight ban" stickers
How people, still in this day in age can think they are "above" certain animals is beyond me. Its an arrogant attitude and is one of the big problems of today, this thing of humans being top and being able to do what they want with the Earth. We weren't here first, and we are not as advanced as you might think! Wow, we can make things like buildings etc, so what, we are not king of all animals at all.
So the other day, in the Lake District, i clapped eyes on a car with a pro fox hunting sticker...so i got out and told them what i thought of them and took a photo which you can see above! Boy i would have LOVED to see their reaction :)
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
First steps
Well here it is...the first post on what promises to be a blog charting my quest to leave as little as footprint on the Earth as possible.
Firstly, some background knowledge, just a little about me, myself and what I am and what I do. Yeah, I know, your thinking, god damn it, I came here to read about all things eco, and all things little...well...patience my friends...patience...that will come.
Now, I'm presuming you have all read my profile...what??? You have'nt???? Well, do so now, as I'm not typing that lot out again, and no, i cant just copy and paste it, you cheeky lot!
OK, I live in Gowerton, a little village of 4000 people, about 5 miles outside Swansea and right on the edge of the Gower Peninsula, the UK's first area of outstanding natural beauty. I work as a graphic designer and wannabee wildlife photographer in Cardiff, which is around 50 miles away from where I live.
What made me start this blog was something that happened to me about 6 months ago. I was happily sitting in work after travelling the best part of 500 miles in my car during the week, when all of a sudden...an email arrived...it was an Earth Footprint test http://www.myfootprint.org/ go check it out! I did the test...it came out with 6.4...YES...6.4...so in other words, my Earth Footprint was 6.4 so if everyone lived like me, we would need 6.4 Earth's to survive. That shocked me, it was by far the highest in my office, and for someone such as myself who loves wildlife and who loves the outdoors it was a horrible realisation about what i was doing to our Earth, i stared into my coffee cup and knew i HAD to change.
It was time to make some cuts. There was no way I could go on like that, i was doing roughly 700 miles a week in my car, 90% of that was on my own in the car, i was blindly buying ready meals for lunch, wasting paper, getting plastic bags with everything, using normal light bulbs and just generally not thinking about stuff. It's easy to do, its easy to go out at lunch from work, walk into a supermarket, pick up a ready meal, pay for it, put it into an oh so convenient plastic carrier bag and wander back to work, completely unaware of what you have done.
I never thought about the packaging on ready meals, a cardboard sleeve, a plastic tray, with a plastic cover. Food that comes from god knows where, no where near organic, and no where near fair trade, a plastic bag that you use once, or maybe you keep them, stuffed in a cupboard, because its a "shame" to throw them out.
I never thought about driving my car to work everyday, never thought about flipping a switch in my bedroom that turns all my electric appliances off so they aren't on standby, nothing about swapping my bulb in my room for an energy efficient one, never thought about using my bag, which i carry everyday, instead of a plastic bag, never looked at the fresh food that's sold in the market in Cardiff. I didn't not think of it on purpose, it just never entered my head.
Well now it has...and now I AM doing something about it!
So far, during the last 1 month,
Please stay tuned to my blog, and please comment, i want your views on things. I want my blog to influence people, as well as that i want "Little Eco Things" to spread the word about helping the environment and about how to live in a more Eco way.
Firstly, some background knowledge, just a little about me, myself and what I am and what I do. Yeah, I know, your thinking, god damn it, I came here to read about all things eco, and all things little...well...patience my friends...patience...that will come.
Now, I'm presuming you have all read my profile...what??? You have'nt???? Well, do so now, as I'm not typing that lot out again, and no, i cant just copy and paste it, you cheeky lot!
OK, I live in Gowerton, a little village of 4000 people, about 5 miles outside Swansea and right on the edge of the Gower Peninsula, the UK's first area of outstanding natural beauty. I work as a graphic designer and wannabee wildlife photographer in Cardiff, which is around 50 miles away from where I live.
What made me start this blog was something that happened to me about 6 months ago. I was happily sitting in work after travelling the best part of 500 miles in my car during the week, when all of a sudden...an email arrived...it was an Earth Footprint test http://www.myfootprint.org/ go check it out! I did the test...it came out with 6.4...YES...6.4...so in other words, my Earth Footprint was 6.4 so if everyone lived like me, we would need 6.4 Earth's to survive. That shocked me, it was by far the highest in my office, and for someone such as myself who loves wildlife and who loves the outdoors it was a horrible realisation about what i was doing to our Earth, i stared into my coffee cup and knew i HAD to change.
It was time to make some cuts. There was no way I could go on like that, i was doing roughly 700 miles a week in my car, 90% of that was on my own in the car, i was blindly buying ready meals for lunch, wasting paper, getting plastic bags with everything, using normal light bulbs and just generally not thinking about stuff. It's easy to do, its easy to go out at lunch from work, walk into a supermarket, pick up a ready meal, pay for it, put it into an oh so convenient plastic carrier bag and wander back to work, completely unaware of what you have done.
I never thought about the packaging on ready meals, a cardboard sleeve, a plastic tray, with a plastic cover. Food that comes from god knows where, no where near organic, and no where near fair trade, a plastic bag that you use once, or maybe you keep them, stuffed in a cupboard, because its a "shame" to throw them out.
I never thought about driving my car to work everyday, never thought about flipping a switch in my bedroom that turns all my electric appliances off so they aren't on standby, nothing about swapping my bulb in my room for an energy efficient one, never thought about using my bag, which i carry everyday, instead of a plastic bag, never looked at the fresh food that's sold in the market in Cardiff. I didn't not think of it on purpose, it just never entered my head.
Well now it has...and now I AM doing something about it!
So far, during the last 1 month,
- I have taken 1 plastic bag from a shop, and that was only because a shop assistant wrapped a shirt in one, before i had a chance to protest
- I cant remember the last ready meal i ate
- I have replaced my energy wasting bulb in my room for a an energy saving bulb
- I have cut my weekly mileage down to 200, I get the train 3 times a week now
- I switch off all my electrical items in my room so nothing is on standby
- I always unplug my phone charger when its not in use
Please stay tuned to my blog, and please comment, i want your views on things. I want my blog to influence people, as well as that i want "Little Eco Things" to spread the word about helping the environment and about how to live in a more Eco way.