I don't blog no more and I dont read the blogs I used to read religiously anymore but it's good to see that two old favourites Town Mouse and Stonehead are still at it, almost daily, and still finding new ways of not always saying things they've said already.
But I'm inspired to blog by Stoney and his Smoothies. A wild variety of recipes here: http://stoneheadcroft.com/2012/06/24/stonehead-smoothies/
Summer is our smoothie season too. Jussi makes the key ingredients - stewed rhubarb, goats yoghurt - and I add anything else I can find but nearly always a banana, at least one apple and orange juice, and abandoned jam if there is any. But hey! It's summer so chuck in peaches, nectarines and any other fruit you can find on offer and whizz in a blender for a not entirely smooth but utterly delicious drink that makes you feel healthy just by looking at it.
Yums
And The Girl has taken to contributing by making Cinnamon Swirls which, when taken with a smoothie, makes for a complete meal (and a much needed change from goat burgers).
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Firstly, there is nothing more important than me and my family. The most precious thing I can give them (including me) is time. In my job, with all it's pressures, I singularly failed to do this. So we run for the hills and try to redress the balance.
Secondly, climate change is happening. It's a cataclysm, the scope of which is beyond our comprehension. This is why we are doing so little to stop it - we just cant imagine the scale of the upheavals to come, and we can't imagine how we, as individuals, can stop it.
Everything is stacked against effective action. Our economy is driven by consumerism and it is consumerism that is driving climate change. Our political leaders are paralysed - to curb consumerism would cripple the economic engine. We increasingly define ourselves by our economic position and the things we buy. We are what we buy. What politician dare restrict our ability to buy, our ability to define ourselves? It would attack our very self and would be political suicide.
And anyway, the real power lies with money - and the people with money want us to consume and they spend millions every second of the day persuading us to consume more. What hope do we have against such power? And everything we buy pumps a little more CO2 into the atmosphere.
Thirdly, I am no saint. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to change my life for the benefit of myself, and, I hope, the planet. Ultimately my reasons for doing this are selfish, and although I'll do what I can to keep my carbon footprint low, I'll make many choices that are not so good for the planet. Like anyone, I can only voluntarily make changes to my life at the speed I can. I don't intend to beat myself up over this - I do intend to change faster than most.
Fourthly, there is hope. Our lust to consume is a very recent phenomena. Not so long ago we principally defined ourselves by our relationships with friends and family and place and we defined ourselves by our usefulness to society. I believe that climate change will force us out of consumerism, and in its place we will find those core values, and rediscover a sense of wellbeing that is so missing from our current fractured existence.
There are lots of examples where this is starting to happen. The transition town movement is one - people getting together and learning to appreciate the things and people around them. I played a small part in helping Sustaining Dunbar get off the ground. (http://edubuzz.org/blogs/sustainingdunbar/about-us) What I found there were people striving to build a positive and resilient future and there are transition towns popping up all over the place - a really positive movement. (find out more about transition towns)
Fifthly, At the end of the day it's all bollocks. So let's all go off and have some fun - it's the most important thing we can do - but let's just try to do it without killing the planet in the process.
If you think there's something wrong, change what you can to make it better. I'm trying to lower my carbon footprint, step out from the 9-5 grind, rise from the weight of leadership and responsibility and have some fun again.
Comment is free!
We love your comments! But if you really want to keep it private you can email Simon
simon dot lee dot contact @ gmail dot com
simon dot lee dot contact @ gmail dot com
Contributors
Where I"m coming from - !CAUTION! a bit of a polemic
Secondly, climate change is happening. It's a cataclysm, the scope of which is beyond our comprehension. This is why we are doing so little to stop it - we just cant imagine the scale of the upheavals to come, and we can't imagine how we, as individuals, can stop it.
Everything is stacked against effective action. Our economy is driven by consumerism and it is consumerism that is driving climate change. Our political leaders are paralysed - to curb consumerism would cripple the economic engine. We increasingly define ourselves by our economic position and the things we buy. We are what we buy. What politician dare restrict our ability to buy, our ability to define ourselves? It would attack our very self and would be political suicide.
And anyway, the real power lies with money - and the people with money want us to consume and they spend millions every second of the day persuading us to consume more. What hope do we have against such power? And everything we buy pumps a little more CO2 into the atmosphere.
Thirdly, I am no saint. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to change my life for the benefit of myself, and, I hope, the planet. Ultimately my reasons for doing this are selfish, and although I'll do what I can to keep my carbon footprint low, I'll make many choices that are not so good for the planet. Like anyone, I can only voluntarily make changes to my life at the speed I can. I don't intend to beat myself up over this - I do intend to change faster than most.
Fourthly, there is hope. Our lust to consume is a very recent phenomena. Not so long ago we principally defined ourselves by our relationships with friends and family and place and we defined ourselves by our usefulness to society. I believe that climate change will force us out of consumerism, and in its place we will find those core values, and rediscover a sense of wellbeing that is so missing from our current fractured existence.
There are lots of examples where this is starting to happen. The transition town movement is one - people getting together and learning to appreciate the things and people around them. I played a small part in helping Sustaining Dunbar get off the ground. (http://edubuzz.org/blogs/sustainingdunbar/about-us) What I found there were people striving to build a positive and resilient future and there are transition towns popping up all over the place - a really positive movement. (find out more about transition towns)
Fifthly, At the end of the day it's all bollocks. So let's all go off and have some fun - it's the most important thing we can do - but let's just try to do it without killing the planet in the process.
Things I"m going to miss
- Jour Fixe - especially Tagd and CDs from Sean
- Lennie's coffee, bacon rolls and flapjacks, always served with such...erm...charm
- Liz's happy hello in the morning
- Unpacking the Crunchy veg box (people of Dunbar - use them! - http://www.crunchycarrot.co.uk/crunchy_carrot_4/services.html)
- Our wood burning stove - we had a hybrid - http://www.dowlingstoves.com/stoves.htm
- Oh and that pumped up sense of self importance you get from being the big cheese
- Financial security
My quick links
Cheapskate jazz collections
3 comments:
'still finding ways of not always saying things they've said already'
After careful textual analysis I believe that means I don't *continually* repeat myself which is on balance a good thing. So thanks. I think
in other news, we have your rain. Along with our rain, and I think most of America's rain. I'm coming northish and westish in August with my friend. This is the friend who, last time we did a big train tour together, broke the drought that had been devastating America in 1988. It rained where ever we went, so stand by, although I don't think we'll be getting quite as far north as you chaps are so you might escape.
Yes it was a positive comment - when I was blogging I started to feel like I was repeating myself - roughly on an annual basis, one of the many reasons I gave up.
North and West by train? Well you'll get nowhere near us so I reckon we're safe. On the other hand - if you do pass by do drop in - I reckon you'd find us easily enough. Coffee and cinnamon swirls with goat burgers if you're lucky...
Well, we all miss the ramblings, repetitive or otherwise. But, you have to write for yourself, not everyone else and, if you're boring yourself to tears...
Sheilagh is due in three weeks - this is getting quite exciting.
We are now the proud owners of a battered old caravan. This means we might be able to bring the toothsome morsel up to see the top of Scotland, and you guys are part of that landscape. I'll keep you posted.
Post a Comment