Souvenirs of London

Last week Mr A gave me one of his looks. He was in the middle of planning for his Open University seminar on Saturday, while I was planning a treat for me and the kids.

He lifted his eyes from his computer, glanced in my direction with that look, the one that comes with semi-disapproval mixed with disbelief.

"Are you mad?" he said.

Followed by.

"I can't believe...

you're taking the boys...

.... single-handedly to London!"

Yes LONDON

I suppose, the fact I struggle to cope with taking the children anywhere single-handedly added to the element of surprise.

"Why on earth London?" He asked, trying to get to the bottom of it all. After all, the journey isn't the most straightforward, involving two train rides with a very prompt changeover in Cambridge.

I'm not quite sure whether I reassured him.

"I'm off to see the Baglady," I said.

"So, you're going to take the kids to London to see a baglady". By now he was getting a tad concerned.

I can't blame him really. I have been demonstrating bouts of odd behaviour of late. He's still bemused that two weeks ago I navigated through Essex despite the fact my car has hardly experienced life outside of Bury St Edmunds.

Anyway he needn't worry.

I'm perfectly sane.

And it wasn't any old baglady I was off to see, it was THE Baglady, my friend Shirley, from Northern Ireland, who was in London, making her West End debut.

And here she is, the fabulous Baglady herself, parading her gorgeous outfit in Trafalgar Square.



After a couple of months of phone-chat and emails, it was a true delight to meet her properly and after a quick interview for her TV channel GLO TV, I stood back and watched her interact with passers-by. With a background in journalism, she's a true natural and it was a real pleasure witnessing how people came up to her to chat about rubbish, offering their commitment to support measures for ending world waste.

Regrettably we had to part company after a very brief meeting. While Baglady wandered off to Buckingham Palace, the boys and I followed our noses in the direction of a kids' art workshop.




And on a very hot day in the middle of Trafalgar Square ... we sat and made a couple of cardboard buses, which were duly placed on a newspaper map of the capital city itself.




Of course the boys insisted we brought the buses home. So after getting the 91 bus back to Kings Cross, the train to Cambridge and the second train back to Bury St Edmunds, to Mr A's relief, we arrived safely ...

...with our very unusual souvenirs completely intact.



So a grand day was had by all, the last fling of Summer before going Back to School.

Yes the first week of September is a biggie. Not only are the kids going back go school, but it's the start of the Big Tidy Up to Keep Britain Tidy.

And what fantastic timing eh! Couldn't be better. Not only is Baglady talking about Ending World Waste this Monday at Stanfords in Covent Garden, but Mrs Green is embarking on her inaugural Zero Waste Week at MyZeroWaste.com.

So whatever you're doing and wherever you are, please find a few minutes to pick up some litter, recycle it if possible, drop into Stanfords and pop over to support Mrs Green.

With so much to do, there's only one thing left to remember...

I mustn't forget to pick the kids up from school!

SIGH - no wonder Mr A was anxious about London. Who could blame him eh?

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Brilliant Bloggers

Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats for a roll-call of brilliant bloggers.

Along with Mrs Green at MyZeroWaste, I am thrilled to have accepted the award from the amazing Emma - aka Muppet or even Fluffius Muppetus - who can normally be found in The Alternative Kitchen Garden over at Coopette.com. She said some kind words in her award speech, saying our blogs were very inspirational.

Thank you Emma, it was a lovely surprise and I am now pleased to pass it on to some other fabulous bloggers, who I think are great, but are so diverse. Of course Mrs G would be right up there in the line-up but she's already polishing her own award.

So bloggers, please stand up and be ready to accept your awards,


@ Just Gai - The lovely Gareth Rae, who offers many words of wisdom as well as joy over the world we live in and how things should be. Don't miss what Just Gai has to say on the latest contender over at BIN 101.

@ Strawberry Jam Anne - A newcomer on the scene, with Anne who writes an uplifting blog about family and friendship, with moments that touch close to your heart.

@ Bean sprouts - Melanie Rimmer offers a fabulous foundation for sustainable living, with fresh ideas at every turn. She provides inspiration to many, including me when I turned to her for advice at the very start of this blog. If you haven't done so already, check out Mel's guest article here.

@ Dandaworld - A true Italian friend who's pushing the boundaries over in Italy with inspirational thoughts on sustainability. Danda's words can now be read in English, which puts my non-existent Italian to shame.

@ Tracey Smith - An inspirational friend and mentor who set up International Downshifting Week and helped me justify giving up what is deemed proper work. She's even got her own book out, a fab read about...guess what...yes Rubbish. Grab a preview of the sample pages over at Bookofrubbishideas.co.uk.

@ Environmental Notes - by Fr Peter Doodes, with inspirational messages about the important things in life and the world. Thought provoking moments.

@ Good Living Tips - written by Russell, who provides a fabulous range of thoughts on sustainable and ethical living.

@ Jo Beaufoix - A thoroughly entertaining mother from Mansfield, who shares an insight into her life in a way that can make me laugh my socks off and cry with sadness, sometimes at the same time. I will be forever thankful to Jo for slimming her bin, and making a difference to Nottinghamshire landfill.

@ Mother at Large - A fabulous blog for older mothers, written by Helen, following the trials and tribulations of arriving at motherhood "fashionably late". Congratulations to Helen on the arrival of her second daughter who too was described as fashionably late.

@ Ruby - the blogger turned friend and the person who inspired me to blog. She's has been there by my side through the whole Rubbish Diet experience. She slimmed her bin, then scarpered off to York, where she's now settling in for a new set of adventures.

@ KatyBoo1 - a more recent acquaintance, a blogger who says it how it is, stamps on the hushed side of motherhood, and after the week she's had, is in need of cheering up.

@ Richard Madeley Appreciation Society - I know, a surprise entry. Written by Richard Madeley, as himself but not himself. He will know he's worthy of awards and above them at the same time. Confused? You will be, so pop along to see why.

and last but most certainly not least

@ Fake Plastic Fish - where Beth has made the most amazing inroads into living with so little plastic, she's worthy of a medal or two. An inspirational woman with such vigour and determination, I can only sit back and admire.

There are many more I could include. Each and every blog I visit and pause for a while, I do it because I enjoy your company and I enjoy your presence here too. I wish I could visit more often and if I haven't for a while, I will be back soon. But days pass with so little time for words to be read or even written.

So after I've come over and visited you all, please feel free to pass on the award to others. Whether you're rule-followers or rule-breakers (which I know some of your are), the rules are outlined below.

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

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Having fun in MySkip

Excuse me please...Can someone help me out?

Yes, you. uh-uh, you.

I know you're only passing by but if you could just stretch out your hand a bit...a little further. That's it.

Just lifting over my other leg now. Phew, that's grand, I'm out.

Thank you so much and please excuse me while I dust myself down.

You see, I've been there all afternoon, having a poke about in the skip at all the things that people are trying to get rid of. You should know by now what a nosey old bird I am. So when I saw this particular skip I couldn't help myself. I couldn't pass by such a great opportunity. Honestly, it's amazing what's in there. You ought to go and see.

As well as the ubiquitous mattress, which no self-respecting skip would be without, there are televisions, posters, office furniture, computer monitors and children's toys, all in great condition and ready for the picking.

But as you can probably guess from the HUGE logo at the top of the post, this is no ordinary skip that you simply have delivered to your house.

This is a skip with a difference. It's a big yellow virtual number, that sits in cyberspace, with no limits on how much you can throw away. You could say it's a bit like Freecycle but with more va-voom. In fact, the va-voom makes it more like eBay.

That's it. It's like a free eBay. Free to register, free to upload and free to go rummaging.

It's also easy to use and secure. If you see an item you like, you can easily reserve it. Members can add feedback and rate each other's reliability with stars. If you're busy and on the move, with no access to the computer, no problem. You can even upload items from your mobile phone.

So what more could you want, a fabulous new way to keep your unwanted stuff out of landfill and be in with the chance of a freebie at the same time.

But guess what, there is more, lots more in fact!

You know I mentioned the va-voom...

...well...launched in April, MySkip.com already has the backing of an amazing set of people, ranging from the Dalai Lama and Prince Charles to the dizzy heights of media such as Max Clifford and Saatchi and Saatchi.

A whole host of celebrities have already donated items to the site, including Sir Cliff Richard, Sheryl Crow and Katie Melua. One of these items is added each week, but you won't know what it is, because as the site says "it's this action - not the item, that will help draw attention to the serious issues surrounding unnecessary waste".

As co-founder May Al-Karooni told me this afternoon, "It's all about making eco living a bit more fun".

The founders also recognise that keeping unwanted items out of landfill is only part of the much broader spectrum of environmental issues that need to be addressed and with this in mind they have set up a not-for-profit organisation called The MySkip Foundation Trust. Professor David Bellamy OBE is tasked with overseeing its work, which aims to find innovative solutions to poverty as well as reducing man's impact on the environment.

So, if you've got five minutes to spare and want to join in, please feel free and go over to myskip.com for a good old rummage. You may even find the item that I dropped in there during my visit this afternoon. It's waiting for a good home, so why not pop over and see what you can do.

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Emergency measures

The alarm rings loudly.

"There's an unexpected item in packing area!" the automated voice tells all.

The alarm rings again.

Woah...calm down!

The only thing that's sitting in the packing area of the self-service till is my bag-for-life. I suppose it's a Waitrose bag in a Tesco Express store, so for some it could have been deemed mildly unexpected. But come on, this is 2008. We're all in this together!

Red faced, I look for the assistant. I avoid eye-contact with the other customers just in case they think I'm shoplifting. Ah but perhaps that's a sign of guilt? Maybe I should look each and everyone of them in they eye, like a jury ready to announce their verdict.

Phew, the lady arrives. Presses the release button.

I must have a trustworthy face, because she doesn't peer too closely in the bags.

With the first bag packed, I put my second in place, this time a smart little number in bright green.

"There's an unexpected item in packing area!"

Not again! At least by now, my queuing audience has disappeared.

The assistant smiles or perhaps grits her teeth as she presses the button for a second time.

All done.

I swipe my clubcard.

Another bleep.

A question.

"Number of own bags?"

I type in 2.


"Assistance Needed." flusters the computer, accompanied by the now familiar alarm bells.

I want to shout "Don't you believe me?"

Another smile to accompany another press of the release button.

I swipe, I pay and with a sense of relief I leave, with my emergency bank holiday supplies.

My reputation might be in tatters but at least my bags are intact.

And I swear I will never use those machines again!

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Please Take Your Pledge...and take it today!

It's the kind of thing you might say to your cleaner if you caught her deliberately overdoing it with the furniture polish instead of your beloved beeswax!

But when I say "Please take your Pledge", it is not in the context of my cleaning lady. The chance would be a fine thing.

No, the pledge that's on my mind today is the one that you can take at myzerowaste.com, where the fabulous Mr & Mrs Green have got just one week to go before they embark on their very own Zero Waste Week.

To round up support, they've gathered some fine sponsors including ECOutlet, EcoCentric and NaturalStore, plus many many more, offering prizes that should whet your appetite, no matter what time of day.

The only thing you have to do to be in with a chance of winning, is make one teeny weeny commitment to do something to reduce household waste, whether it's signing up a milkman, recycling your tetra paks or just telling a neighbour about a new recycling facility. You can even make up your own pledge. Just make sure you do it and pop back and tell them what you've done and how it went!

So please...before you have your breakfast, lunch, dinner or even supper, pop over and have a nosey.

I've done it! You see, no matter how slim your bin, there's always room for eliminating one more thing...and I'm even in with a chance of winning a cleaner.

What was that Mrs G?

It's not that kind of cleaner! Oh well, I'll be happy enough with the household cleaning kit from Ecover.

Of course, I'm not going to tell you what my pledge is...until later this week. If you want to find out sooner, just click on the big button below and after you've made your own pledge, check out the Competition Feedback.



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Ending World Waste: A conversation with three environmentalists

If you're concerned about world waste and are about in London on Monday 1st September at 7.30pm, then get yourself down to Stanfords in Covent Garden, where you can meet three inspirational people who will be looking at different ways to help the environment.

Author David Smith, who wrote the powerful book If the world were a village, will explain about how much we waste and what's in the waste. Environmental scientist and the founder of Planet Earth website, Lionel Smith will discuss how to reduce litter in the environment and my lovely friend Shirley Lewis (aka Baglady) will inject her fun perspective on living ASAP (as sustainably as possible). David will also be available to sign copies of his book, which will be available to buy on the night.

I would love to have joined in the natter, but it's the beginning of term so will have my feet firmly in Suffolk. However, if you can get into London, you will no doubt find this an interesting event.

You never know, Baglady may even be wearing her trademark dress.


If you can't make it, don't worry, please just spread the word and pop back soon when over the next few weeks I'll be featuring an interview with Baglady herself.

If you can get along, please remember to book tickets in advance. Details are below:

TICKETS: The event is held at Stanfords, 12-14 LongAcre, Covent Garden [nearest tube Covent Garden or Leicester Square]. There is a small charge of £3 to cover expenses, and tickets should be bought in advance in-store: by phone: 020 7836 1321, by email: sales@stanfords.co.uk.

Find out more about the speakers at their respective websites:

David Smith: www.mapping.com
Lionel Smith: www.24hoursonplanetearth.com
Shirley Lewis, the Baglady: www.bagladyproductions.org

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The Festive Opportunist: never too early to plan

Slap me round the face with a wet fish if this was just a bit too cheeky...

To me, it's careful planning. To others it might feel a tad premature. But on Monday this little old Festive Opportunist struck lucky...and the best bit is it's only August.

I feel like I've beaten the High Street at its own game just before the Christmas cards hit the shops in September. That's right...in just a couple of weeks time, you'll start to see stores everywhere being feng shui'd and rearranged to entice you to start early with gift packs, cards and wrapping.

But this year I've crept up behind them with a boo!

It'll be no surprise that I'm aiming for a minimal waste Christmas...and if I'm going to succeed I need to get cracking. I'm going to have to be as creative as a cuckoo in a magpie's nest.

I've got four months to minimise as many excessive accessories as I can, whilst showing our friends and family that we still love, cherish and appreciate them perhaps even more than ever. It's going to be a tough one since most of our close family live in Wales, Scotland, Bristol and Switzerland and our friends are dotted around far and wide too.

Oh gee, what have I let myself in for? ... hopefully loads of fun and more cash in the pocket if it all goes to plan.

And it's kicked off with the most fabulous start, with a friend from Bedfordshire popping over for a rare visit with her two kids.

Imagine the scene...rainy day, small house and four boys, aged 4-6.

...friend wants a tour of Bury St Edmunds.

...[sub-text...friend would like to browse the town's beautiful independent shops]...

We pile into town, decide to settle in a cafe that also does pottery painting....

We enjoy coffee...the kids paint pottery...

My friend thinks it's lovely...

I pose the killer question...

"Do you mind if I make this an early Christmas present?"

I pause and worry she'll think I'm crackers. My time-check tells me it's still August.

But what a relief!

She thinks it's a great idea...I'm glad there's no packaging...the kids are just happy to have had a fun time. I've even saved money on wrapping paper and postage.

They won't miss one less present at Christmas. What's more special is that we had a great experience we shared in the cafe, the memories of which that will remain.

It think I've hit on the trick there...spreading Christmas across the year through shared experiences, with time to give creative personal gifts instead of buying all that Crimbo clutter. My friends will now be shaking in their shoes at the thought of what I'll be doing with those jam jars.

With careful planning I hope to enjoy the festive period as simply as we can, with carefully chosen food, carols and trips to the seaside.

I know, I know...I talk about Christmas in August and visit the seaside in December.

I'm about as unseasonal as snow in May.

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