#ChallengeMS 2015 - Wig Out!

Every Monday throughout September I'll be wearing my fabulous orange wig to support the MS Society and the #ChallengeMS campaign. It is all about raising awareness about MS, and more importantly raising money for MS research (there is a link to my JustGiving page at the end of this post).

This is Monday morning; the commute to work, answering the phone, compiling submissions

In the car on the way to work

Answering the phone at work

Taking a breath of air

Going up!

London Poppy Day

Yesterday was London Poppy Day. I only found this out because I had the unfortunate necessity of having to take myself to a meeting and back on the Underground.

At Green Park and at Holborn (and many others besides, I'm sure) there were soldiers with trays of poppies collecting for the Royal British Legion.

"London Poppy Day, wear your Poppy with Pride".



As a child I used to go out with my Grandmother where she lived collecting for the Poppy Appeal. I remember back then you used to get one or two poppies a tray with leaves on - now they all have the leaves. 

When I got back to Green Park I met these two extremely well dressed soldiers who kindly let me take their photos for the article.

As I pointed out, I was a bit late with the whole London Poppy Day bit. "Don't worry," one of them told me, "we'll be here all week".

Green Park is well situated near to Horseguards and the Household Cavalry barracks to get a good lot of soldiers (I counted four on my way back from the meeting).

The new lift at Green Park

In other news, the lifts have finally opened at Green Park. This station is now accessible from platform to street level. Here's my list of reasons why that isn't true (I was on my crutches yesterday not in my wheelchair). I was headed to the Piccadilly line. The lift from the ticket hall takes you to the intermediate level. From there it is a lengthy walk to another lift down to the platform, where you step up onto the train. I was exhausted by the time I got onto the train. If I'd been in a wheel chair I'd have had to clamber out to get the chair up the few inches onto the train.

TfL and accessibility are two words that don't go together.

Black Cats

Before I met the Better-half I'd never had many cats in my life. There'd been a tabby Thomas a rather large (and not very friendly) cat who lived next door to me when I was a kid. I briefly lived next door to two Siamese; their speciality was sitting on their doorstep and shouting in that very special Siamese manner. Friends had cats... I knew a slightly mad tabby, two gorgeous little black cat girls... but all these were brief and fleeting acquaintances.
		Then I moved in with the Better-half where the house was shared with Gizzie (a white Persian who sadly decided to leave home and move in with a mad old neighbour) and Molly. Molly was a black cat... she was beautiful (and she knew it). She was around three or four when I first knew her, and I watched her grown into the grand old lady she was before she passed away a few years ago. Molly was a cat who knew her own mind. Feline in her independence. She wasn't a lap cat and didn't have much time for cuddles... she didn't mind some human company though... as long as it was on her terms. She loved spending time in the  garden and had many shady spots to hide in. My great sadness was she was never much one for playing with toys, no matter how many I brought home and tried to persuade her what fun they were!
	Uploaded by nat_mach on July 31, 2011 © All rights reserved
A few years passed an it was decided that our household was empty without cats. Enter Casper and Tinker. Twelve weeks old, rescued by Cats Protection and adopted by us.
		I'd never known kittens before. All the untouched toys that had been accumulated for Molly finally had a purpose for these two bundles of black fur. If there was mischief to be found theyd find it; from climbing furniture (we want to be mountaineers), to playing with the taps (we want to be plumbers), to chewing houseplants (we want to be horticulturists), to opening packets of food and spreading it about and licking the washing up (we want to be chefs). At the end of the fun they'd curl up and go to sleep together, a habit that lasted well past kitten-hood. Sadly just over a month ago Tinker passed away, very suddenly, leaving Casper an only cat. He copes quite well although tells us often (and vocally) that we don't know how to play cat games properly.
	Uploaded by nat_mach on September 16, 2011 © All rights reserved
	Uploaded by nat_mach on September 03, 2011 © All rights reserved

This post is celebrating Black Cat Awareness Day an initiative by Cats Protection to raise awareness of the plight of black cats who find it harder to be re-homed than their lighter coloured furry friends. You can find out more at the links below

Here are a few of the beautiful black cats I know and have known:

Casper	Tinker
Minnie	Pacey
Molly
Uploaded by nat_mach © All rights reserved

Blog Action Day 2011 (#BAD11): Food

My pet peeve when it comes to food is wastage. Wastage comes in two forms; throwing away food that could still be eaten and the over packaging of food.

The main culprit for the throwing away of edible food is the rise of the supermarket over local shops and the 'nanny' culture that we find ourselves living in.

When I was growing up we lived in a village. There was a butcher, a baker, (no candlestick maker) and a greengrocer. There was also a convenience store, but we didn't shop there as it was much more expensive than the other stores. Everything came home in unmarked wrapping. Fruit and vegetables in brown paper bags, meat and bread wrapped in white paper. No best before, no use by. If it smelt good and looked edible you ate it, if it was a funny colour or smelt bad you threw it away.

As we got older the local shops closed. Supermarket shopping became the norm. Foods had 'use by' and 'best before' dates. My father's constant observation to my teenage self was 'best before, not poisonous after'. So now I still try and keep to that principle. Meat and dairy I'm more careful with but fruit, veg and processed food - if it looks good and doesn't smell funny then it probably doesn't need to go in the green bin (yes, at least our council composts food waste).

I saw on a TV show (I cannot think what I can have been watching - I think it may have been Justin Lee Collins) a couple of blokes who practised 'Freeganism'. This is going round the food waste dumpsters of shops and restaurants and liberating the food that is still edible. It was amazing the stuff they were finding. Certainly enough for them to live on. Interesting concept, although given the pigeons and other vermin in London not one I'm sure I'd like to try myself! 

Certainly some chains (Pret a Manager springs to mind) do operate a similar type of scheme in as much as what they don't sell on any given day is distributed to charities at the end of the day. Perhaps more initiatives like this should be in place, and not just from sandwich chains.

Packaging is another irritation. Buying things in plastic trays, wrapped in more plastic; or in plastic cartons inside plastic bags inside cardboard boxes. Again my sole comfort is that where I live all of these things are recycled when I throw them away; but that doesn't happen everywhere and packaging could and should be reduced.

Food, just as much as everything else, is a limited resource; more so as the planet's population grow and typical crop cycles are effected by climate change. Food needs to be thought of in terms of sustainability just as much as all other resources like energy and water.

Earth Hour 2009

It's that time of year again... at 8:30pm (local time) turn of your lights and make a statement that you are taking a stand against climate change.

Blog Action Day - Climate Change

"Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." Brundtland-1987

This definition of sustainability from the 1983 United Nations Commission's report 'Our Common Future' is my favourite "sound-bite" for understanding Climate Change.  The planet around us is affected by our actions - great and small; everything we do has an impact on the resources that are available to us and to our children.

"An increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system... There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities." Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change- 2001

The common factor of the quotes mentioned so far in this article is that they are a) global and b) historical.  It has been many (many) years since the global community became aware of mankind's impact on the environment and the planet; but it has taken all of that time to make Climate Change a mainstream issue - and you will still find people who do not agree that there is an issue. I'm not sure what the benefit in arguing that there is no problem with the environment and no issue of climate change is... perhaps it is the human nature of not wishing to face catastrophe? The fact is that for every reasoned argument for you will find a reasoned (and often an unreasoned) argument against. If anyone is any doubt they should read the excellent paper from the Royal Society.

When I was growing up 'being green' was fringe politics. It was the domain of hippies and sandal wearers and the like (or so it seemed). Now we are all expected to do our bit. This is the important part. Often people will excuse lack of action on the basis that "I'm just one person" and "What difference will it make". If we all act as 'just one person' we will make a big difference.

Every drop of water that we save, every light that we turn off, every plastic bag that we don't use, every car journey we don't take and walk instead - if everyone of us takes these little actions they add up to something big. If everyone of us takes these little actions it shows that we are serious. It encourages business and government to contribute too.

What we need to encourage is real action. We need to encourage people to change the way they think as well as act. From me and you right up to global government. Less lip service, less carbon emissions trading and the like - more action. That is what today is all about - encouraging action.

Free Rice

Improve your knowledge and help fight world hunger.

Earth Hour

Time for Earth Hour again. I'd almost forgotten but was reminded by the advertising hoardings in Piccadilly Circus. It is a fantastic initiative and one that I whole-heartedly support... but one can but wonder if it would have been even more effective on a week day rather than a Saturday?

Earth Hour

World Environment Day

This Wednesday (6th June) is World Enivronment Day

Check out their website and see what you can do!