So boys, what should you do when you get cold?

Over the next few weeks I will be working with British Gas as one of their Smart Mums ambassadors, thinking about the significance of energy conservation this winter.

This project comes hot on the heels of the energyshare campaign, where I saw the hard work of communities who are trying to create energy from renewable sources.  With all the complexities of such a project, it's a far cry from the simplicity of flicking a switch in our homes to immediately emblazen rooms in light or to turn up the heat.

With the festive season being one of the coldest times of the year and now the boys are off school, it's been a good time to have a chat with them about how we can save energy over the holidays.

I caught them by surprise, this Sunday, just as my youngest came home from swimming and my eldest was about to embark on a Pokemon Fest at the computer, wearing just a short sleeved top  - his choice - brrrrr.  The house was not particularly warm that day.

"What should you do if you get cold?" I asked.

A simple question.

"Turn up the radiators!" shouted one.

"Dive under a blanket!" called the other.

The first was just being a frivolous tease.  He knows we have a permanent choice of blankets in our living room, which are always put to good use whenever we're sat around watching television, or using the laptop.  Aside from the technology, it takes us right back to an era when central heating wasn't available. I'm snuggling under one, whilst writing this post.

Of course, being just seven and ten, when the boys are not sat around, they're tearing around the house, using their own energy to keep warm.

It's just a shame I can't harness that and divert it back into the National Grid.

Or the sound of their laughter too, just like in Monsters Inc.

We're actually pretty good at managing the heating and putting on extra layers.  However, our particular downfall is leaving the lights on, especially in the children's rooms, when they are rushing around to get to school.  It's always the bedside lights that are a pain to remember to turn off.

So he who laughed about turning up the radiators has now got his nose to the grindstone, designing mini-posters to remind him and his brother to turn off the lights!

And if that doesn't work, as a back-up plan I'm busy gathering together a load of pennies as a financial incentive, so that each time they remember to turn them off, they will physically be able to visualise the saving too.

The problem with that last strategy is that I can see them turning on the lights especially to turn them off again.

Best not tell them about that one yet then!


________________________________________

This is a sponsored post for the British Gas, Smart Mums project. More posts  are also available at the BritMums Smart Mums Blog.

"No More Socks for Christmas" says Suffolk Circle

Members of Southwark Circle in London.  Suffolk Circle members will be marching with similar banners, 11.30am, Wednesday 14th December, The arc, Bury St Edmunds.

As a little girl, I used to love helping my mother wrap the Christmas presents.  It was one of my favourite things to do... until I got bored.  And I would get bored.  There were always too many presents and they were always the same, with the long monotony of socks, ties, handkerchiefs or bubble bath.  Sometimes there would be bath salts, just to break the routine.

As I carefully wrapped the presents, which would then be dutifully distributed to all the older members of our family in time for Christmas day, I couldn't help but think how awful Christmas Day must be for old people if every year they opened a pile of socks.  It would be like The Day of The Triffids, except with socks. Surely they already had enough socks or if they didn't they were old enough and sensible enough to buy their own.

Some of those 'old' people were only in their forties.

I'm now 43. a ripe old age to be caught in the firing line for chance gifts that belong to the older generation.

"The joy is in the giving, not the receiving" we hear all across the land at Christmas time.

Indeed it is and as a society we get hooked into the joy of giving presents as tokens of our love and kindness, our appreciation and our warmth towards others.  Yet, very often giving is purely duty-bound and an automatic process that ends up with a national pile of unwanted gifts.

"I really don't know what to get Uncle Jim," I heard a lady say last week, as I walked past her and her friend in Bury St Edmunds.  "He never likes what I get but I've got to get him something because it's bloody Christmas!"

It sounded like Uncle Jim's joy would definitely not be in 'the receiving'.  And as for the lady concerned, there was certainly no joy in the act of 'giving' either.  It sounded more like she was desperate for some pain relief!

So thank goodness the world is coming to its senses, at least in Bury St Edmunds, where under the auspices of social enterprise Suffolk Circle, a Flashmob & protest march is taking place this Wednesday to encourage people to think twice about what they buy for older friends and relatives this Christmas.  

Suffolk Circle members will gather in the Arc shopping centre at 11.30am, bringing unwanted gifts from last year.  They will march with banners to Suffolk Circle HQ, where the gifts will be donated to the Gatehouse, a West Suffolk charity dedicated to helping those in material and emotional need.

Suffolk Circle believes that wasting money on unwanted presents is even madder in the present economic climate.  For me it's all about physical waste too, i.e. the embedded energy and water wastage just to get the thing from the factory, to the shop, to the Christmas tree, only for it to sit in a drawer for 12 months before ending up in a carboot sale, landfill or charity shop

It's not about ingratitude, because actually it really is simply "the thought" that counts and the awareness that an unwanted present puts unnecessary emotional pressure on the benefactor as well as the beneficiary and leaves a trail of material and economic wastage in the process, even if it is just one pair of socks!

Of course it goes without saying that no offence is intended, accidentally or otherwise, towards anyone who really adores getting socks or just simply always needs another pair, whether that be at Christmas or any other time of year. 

And I admit, it really is nice to get a snuggly pair sometimes.
 
Sometimes!

_____________________________________________________


If you live in Suffolk and would like to take part in the flashmob, please go along on Wednesday 14th December.  11.30am.  Meet opposite the Costa Café, arc shopping Centre, 14 Prospect Row, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3DG.

Suffolk Circle is a social enterprise whose members can get practical help with life’s little bits and pieces from local Helpers. They can also get out and about, meeting people with similar interests, reconnecting with their community, doing and learning new things. For family members and friends who live further away it’s a great to make sure their loved ones have neighbourly support, as well as a lot of fun, all year round.  Membership costs £15 for six months or £30 for a whole year.

For further details about the Suffolk Circle or Wednesday's march, please contact:
Finbarr Carter, Head of Membership. Tel: 01284 774880, or visit  www.suffolkcircle.org.uk.

energyshare, Hexham, social media, old friends and me

The last couple of weeks have have been some of the most extraordinary in my blogging life, having spent much of November helping to campaign for public votes to help Hexham River Hydro win energyshare funding of £100,000, WHICH THEY DID ON SATURDAY, so a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who voted.

With the campaigning over, I now want to take some time out to reflect on what has been a very exciting but overwhelming experience in many ways.

When energyshare first got in touch to ask if I'd like to work with them as a blogging champion for one of the shortlisted entries, it sounded like a very exciting prospect.  It was the first time I'd heard of energyshare, but the idea that it was supporting community based energy creation, based on inspiration by River Cottage & Landshare originator Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was a very interesting one indeed.

What I hadn't expected though was the community project that I would be allocated would be one that would involve a 5 hour train trip, up north to Hexham in Northumbria.

Nor had I expected the impact the community would have on me when I arrived there.

And I certainly hadn't prepared myself for the string of coincidences in my life that would surround Hexham either.

Energyshare recognised that they'd given me a community that was very far away from home and gave me the opportunity to support them remotely.  Having read the project details for the Hexham River Hydro scheme, I knew I could blog about them enthusiastically - I love the idea of harnessing power from water -  but I didn't think I could do it with the level of passion that was needed unless I saw it first hand.

The first phone calls I made with Tamsin, then Gillian and then the rest of the the Hexham River Hydro team revealed the first glimpses of their drive and enthusiasm that I was desperate to harness during my proposed visit there.  And I wasn't to be disappointed.

From the moment I stepped off the train and was welcomed by Malcolm, one of the project team members, I knew it was going to be a 24 hour whirlwind of a visit.  During the short walk to the town centre, I'd already gleaned some information about the town's initial commitment to renewable energy, with Malcolm pointing out the solar panels that had been installed on the roof of the sports centre.

Then came the opportunistic video in the stocks outside the town gaol (you'll need to see my video), followed by the very exciting introduction to the team, who were having a project meeting at their hub, at Scott's Cafe in the Forum cinema.

The Hexham River Hydro Project Team

Once calm had been restored, it was a real privilege to settle myself into the meeting and hear the ideas that the team was planning for campaigning to secure as many public votes as possible for their energyshare funding bid.   There were so many ideas that truly reflected the group's energy

That night after pizza, I was "unofficially inaugurated" into the community by taking part in the Hexham Community Choir.  For 50 minutes, the choir suffered my tone-deaf vocals, until Gillian announced why I was in town. Soon after it was off to the pub for some cider and more singing.  It was a real warm welcome to what was an unfamiliar town in an unfamiliar part of the country.

Hexham Community Choir

The real work started the next day.  Well, I say it was work, it was more of an insightful introduction into the team's enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment as well as their vision on how a hydro electricity generator could create funds for social projects around the town.

On location at the site of the river hydro scheme

And everything that I experienced that day was eye-opening, whether it was watching leaping salmon for the very first time in my life, making Christmas cards with the mums who use the community house No. 28, or meeting the teenagers at the Youth Initiative, who are so grateful for their facility and also realise how it's heavily dependent on fund generation.

The Community House, No 28.

And having the opportunity to meet, conservationists, councillors, the mayor, members of Transition Tynedale, students of the local Mencap college and local schools, really cemented how much Hexham Community Partnership worked hard to create a fantastic foundation for such a great community.

Members of the community, including The Mayor, Transition Tynesdale, Hexham Community Partnership and councillors

I really felt honoured to have met so many people during my visit, which is why when it was announced at the live countdown on Saturday that they had won the £100K energyshare funding, I found myself getting quite emotional over the result too and so pleased for the community that I'd championed.

Hexham River Hydro's Gillian Orrell at the energyshare finals. If she was this pleased about winning a vote rush prize, just imagine how it felt to win the £100k funding. It's just a pity my camera battery ran out, so I couldn't capture the scene.

I've now got a funny feeling, that this isn't the end of my relationship with Hexham. Not only because of the lovely welcome and my interest in following the development of the Hexham River Hydro project.

There are a few coincidences that have come about too.

Having uploaded my photos onto Facebook, it quickly emerged that not only does one of my social-media contacts originate for this beautiful town, but one of my favourite soap-makers lives only ten minutes away too, the fabulous Allyson, with whom I've had many a conversation during the last three years.  Even while I was there, I stumbled upon the gallery of the most amazing artist Matt Forster. We'd started following each other on Twitter well before I'd even heard of Hexham.  His work is truly superb and is really worth checking out.  Here's a peek at just one photo I took during my brief visit to his gallery.

By artist  Matt Forster

However the most amazing coincidence of all is the news that Gillian, had received a telephone call from a good friend of hers several days after my visit, to enquire whether it was true that a Karen Cannard had been in town.

It turns out that her friend is none other than a lovely former colleague of mine, who as a young lady used to work for me at a music digitisation company in London, back in the 1990s. After I'd left, she'd spent time travelling overseas. I moved house several times and then relocated to Suffolk. We lost touch, but I'd always wondered what had happened to her.

Now I know and it was an absolute delight to hear Gillian bring me up to speed a whole decade later.

So, I've now got plenty of reasons to visit a place, which until a few weeks ago, I'd actually never even heard of before.

Huge congratulations to Hexham River Hydro for winning the large category on Saturday and thank you for being such fabulous hosts.

I have no doubt we will meet again and I am looking forward to catching up with my old work friend too.

So thank you to energyshare for pairing me up with Hexham. My personal tale is a very unexpected result indeed.

My appeal video for Hexham River Hydro (@energyshare)

Last week I had the unique opportunity to visit Hexham and meet the community with whom I have partnered in the bid to win funding from energyshare.

I received the most amazing welcome from so many people in the community, including the project partners, volunteers, Transition Town members, the local Abbey, councillors and the Mayor.  However it was the visits I made to the potential beneficiaries of the funding that inspired me the most, including a local community centre in regeneration area and the fabulous kids who really need their local youth initiative.

Armed with just my very old smartphone, I managed to take some footage while I was there, to ask for your support in voting for a community project that will not just create renewable energy but will help provide some much-needed social projects too.  So please, take a look and then I urge you to join in the EnergyShare vote. The deadline is 5pm 3 December, so Hexham River Hydro needs your support urgently.

To vote, you will need to register your email address at www.energyshare.com, but it doesn't take long and you will be in with a chance of winning one of five River Cottage books that are being given away each day.  It will only take 5 minutes, and if you vote for Hexham River Hydro and their public vote is successful, you will be making a real difference to a community's heritage and social well-being as well as helping to create an amazing renewable energy project that will be a valuable resource for the rest of the UK.

___________________________________________________________

This is a sponsored opportunity on behalf of British Gas. However, all the author's views and research are her own.

Photos of the visit are now also publicly available on Facebook.

Teaming up with energyshare & Hexam River Hydro

It is very rare that something pulls me away from talking about rubbish, but when I was asked to team up with an exciting hydro energy project that's competing for energyshare funding, it was far too interesting to miss.


Energyshare has been created by River Cottage and British Gas, jointly managing a campaign whereby communities across the UK have applied to energyshare to have their project funded. These communities have been shortlisted into a small number of finalists, all looking to have their project funded up to the value of £100,000.

The competition has also been supported by Channel 4’s Three Hungry Boy’s who spent five weeks touring the South West over the summer, visiting communities just like those shortlisted for energyshare funding. Trevor, Thom and Tim were challenged by River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to live off the land and barter their way around the countryside, sourcing the energy for their electric vehicle from renewable technologies.

Today the finalists have been announced and campaigning has now begun in earnest to help generate public votes to choose the winning communities.


All the finalists are brilliant in their own way.  The community that I am supporting is Hexham River Hydro, a fabulous project which will create a100kW community hydro power generation scheme on the River Tyne in Northumberland.   It is a joint initiative by Hexham Community Partnership and Transition Tynedale and for anyone who, like me, has grown up or lived near such a similar powerful waterway, it is very easy to get excited about the possibilities of harnessing such energy.

However, this project is not just about generating renewable electricity, it is also about securing sustainable funding for social and economic regeneration and community activities in the market town of Hexham and its environs, as well as creating an education and awareness-raising tool for residents and visitors alike.

When I say, I'm very excited about this project, I really mean it and can't wait to get to meet the people and the community behind it. Having spoken to team member Gillian Orrell, this afternoon, I am now looking forward to a trip up north to find out more about their hopes and plans. This project may seem that it's about technology, but at the heart of it, it's really about people and harnessing the energy around us, without impacting on the environment itself.  It's amazing to think that it will generate approximately 700MWh of electricity per year – enough to satisfy the average electricity consumption of 150 households, whicle reducing Hexham’s carbon emissions by approximately 400 tonnes CO2 per year.

With such localised energy supply, it is also deemed a project of national significance that will be of interest to other similar communities around the UK.

I will be able to report on my discoveries next week, but in the meantime, if you are over 13-years-old and have just two minutes to spare, please get voting at the energyshare website.  More information about Hexam River Hydro can be found at www.energyshare.com/hrh. So, please pop over and if you like what you see, please do hurry and vote for them.

Voting is open until 5pm on 3rd December with the opportunity to win one of 5 books that River Cottage is giving away every day to voters. Furthermore, for the energyshare Group that gets the most supporters voting, there is the chance to scoop a £1,000 cash prize.

So please do get involved now and visit energyshare.com/voting.

____________________________________________________________________

This is a sponsored opportunity on behalf of British Gas. However, all the author's views are her own.

It's that time of year again with "Buy Nothing New November"

For the last few years I've welcomed in November with a personal challenge, to get through the month without buying anything new.  And after an expensive few months through the summer and early autumn, once more I'm welcoming the challenge with open arms for 2011.

It's not an anti-consumerism protest as such, although it does give me a great excuse to throw a huge boo-hiss at all the stores that promote the festive spirit months before December has arrived.

Yes, I admit the heavily commercial unseasonal 'seasonal promotions' regularly hack me off, what with Easter eggs on sale in January, back-to-school gear being promoted in June and the gradual appearance of Christmas paraphernalia showing its face as early as August!  Stuff that makes me go Grrrrrr!

However, regardless of what is going on outside my front door, the challenge is aimed at keeping my own levels of consumerism in check and building in a defence system against all those things that would have otherwise lured their way over the threshold.

I know some people thing I'm mad for attempting such a challenge during what many consider as the start of the Christmas Shopping period but it has proven to save me money and in turn, the less I buy, the less I waste.

Here are some examples of the benefits from previous years.

1. Scrapping November from my Christmas shopping diary keeps me focused.  There are no temptations to buy all those 'extra' presents I would have once bought for the family. Don't get me wrong, they don't miss out, it simply helps to keep on top of the excess!
2. Less temptation means fewer presents and less wrapping paper.  No longer do I return home with armfuls of wrapping paper, which only end up in the recycling bin. Instead we get crafty with inexpensive parcel paper, magazines, newspapers and reusable gift bags or festive fabric.
3. Although food is obviously not on the 'banned list', the challenge gives me an opportunity to focus on using up what's already in the freezer and kitchen cupboards to make space for stocking up on the seasonal stuff to take us through the winter.  The Love Food Hate Waste site is always great for ideas.
4. Less time shopping also gives me more time to have a go at making gifts instead.  There are loads of ideas around the Internet and Violet Posy's Thrifty Christmas site is one of my favourites, along with some great creative projects that can be found at LellaLoves.
5. I won't be tempted to buy any spangly new outfits or accessories for the Christmas dinners or parties on my calendar.  Instead, I look forward to going through my wardrobe to plan what will work, without bowing to emergency feel-good purchases either in November or December.

So if you normally find yourself in the pre-Christmas rut, why not join me this year.  I admit, it can be daunting at first, but three years in and it's amazing how calm and in control a "Buy Nothing New November" can actually make you feel.  The best bit is, not only are you able to step back from the commercial rush, it makes December far more enjoyable too.

However, if a whole month seems too much of a challenge, there is some good news in that Saturday November 26th is officially Buy Nothing Day.  That's just one day, not a whole month. Much easier by comparison!  If you fancy a go at that, just click on the Keep Calm logo at the top of this post.

Washing with an Ecoegg

Having had a week of half-term fun, it's time to channel the domestic goddess spirit and get back to the chores.   Can you sense my lack of enthusiasm?  Well I suppose a girl can't be off enjoying herself all of the time and before the excitement of Halloween kicks off, today's task is catching up with a huge pile of laundry!

Anyone who's followed this blog for a while will know just how much I adore my relationship with the washing machine.  In fact this old post about washing with balls was as true then as it is now, except for the tiny detail about the balls.

Don't get me wrong.  The Eco Balls have done a fabulous job, despite one getting lost and another getting warped, leaving me with just one single ball to tackle the washday woes! They've also saved us loads of money that we would have otherwise spent on detergent.  However, with only one fully functioning ball after three years of usage, I was recently left wondering how effective it all was.

Then just as I was pondering a temporary return to washing powder until I sorted out an alternative solution, out of the blue, in the guise of a fairy godmother, I received an invitation to test out something new.

Of course if it had been the real Fairy Godmother, my pumpkin would have turned into a carriage, I'd have been adorned with glimmering satin and glittering diamonds and despatched to the nearest high society ball, with the local mice dressed as handsome footmen.

Instead, I was offered...... an Ecoegg!

I suppose that despite my dreams of running away from the domestic drudgery of the laundry, and having already won over my Prince Charming 19 years ago, this fairy godmother knew what I really needed and so the trial commenced.

Three months on, having tackled piles upon piles of laundry, I am pleased to say that the Ecoegg is still going strong. I haven't lost it!  It's still in one piece and all's good. 

I can't tell whether the Ecoegg is more effective than the Eco balls in terms of washing results.  They are both comparable, absolutely perfect for getting your average laundry pile as fresh as a daisy but in need of extra help when it comes to more grubby marks that the children sometimes get on their clothes.

However, having experienced the two products, I admit that I like the Ecoegg more.  I love the fact that it's a single item and from a design perspective, well it feels less clumsy.

If you've never considered the switch from laundry detergent before, I'd seriously recommend giving it a go.  I can't remember how much we used to spend on monthly top-ups now but I'd hazard a guess that since 2008 we've saved somewhere in the region of £350.

Admittedly the lack of "fresh laundry" scent takes getting used to at first, but it doesn't take long to realise that it's actually one of the advantages and soon becomes more preferable to the chemically induced detergent scent that previously filled our drawers.

Well I guess all this talk of laundry is not actually going to get it done.  I've already admitted how I let the side down for womanhood when it comes to multi-tasking.  So for now I'll bid you Adieu and go and salute the washing pile and then it's time to hunt down a pumpkin....Fairy Godmother, if you are looking in, I still fancy the idea of turning it into a carriage once Halloween is over and perhaps popping to the ball too.  

What's that..."In my dreams"?

Oh well - Washer Woman it is then - see you next week!

_______________________________________________________

More information about the Ecoegg and how it works can be found at www.ecoeggonline.com.  As a comparison, you can also find out more about the Eco Balls here.