Just a quick word to let you know that I have finally got some photos organised and can now offer five STUNNING desktop backgrounds… free of charge, free of pesticides and fertilisers, free of GMOs, free of food-miles! Enjoy!
Archive for January, 2009
Nose to grindstone
I know I’ve been a bit quiet recently, but that’s just because I’ve been job hunting. I’ve finally drained the bank-manager of any good-will he may once have had, emptied out every piggy-bank and searched behind every sofa… and come to the sad conclusion that there is just no more money. And as it’s too cold to stand on the street-corner in a miniskirt I thought an office job might not be such a bad alternative to starvation.
People often think it’s “idyllic” to be living in rural France, watching chickens scratch around under the apple tree whilst sipping a large glass of wine; but of course that only happens for about 5 minutes per year and the rest of the time is spend struggling to survive. It’s not that I mind not having bought a single item of clothing for 3 years, not having been to the hairdresser for 5 years and not having had a holiday for 7 years – it’s just that the relentless brokeness gets very boring after a while and when the house has barely got itself above 12 degrees for the past 3 months even the hardiest of us can start to feel a little run down.
Luckily there’s absolutely nothing happening in the garden at this time of the year, even digging new beds is a no-no at the moment, so I hope to spend the rest of winter padding around in a warm office drinking endless cups of tea and ruining my already terrible sight with bright computer screens. I may even take to wearing shoes instead of wellies, and if things go really well I might even brush my hair and buy clothes that aren’t shapless sacks. I might even grow my nails!… no, no, sorry I got a little carried away there!
Let’s help global warming
When I took the children to school this morning it was –9 degrees. The whole place has been covered in a thin layer of frozen snow for a week, but the ground has been frozen solid for over a month. Nothing grows in the garden (I still haven’t got any greenhouse or cold frames organised). The only beings out there who don’t seem to care about the weather are the chickens, they cluck around in exactly the same way if it’s mid-winter or mid-summer.
I was not designed for weather like this. I sometimes wonder why I stopped when I got to northern France? Why didn’t I jump back in the car and shout to Ian, “Keep driving south! And don’t stop ‘til you hit the equator!!” Every year we go through months of feeling cold and glum; the cold makes us ratty and the dark makes us depressed. Thank god for Radio 4!
I know it’s not cold here compared with large parts of the world – it’s not exactly Siberia! But this cold snap was really unexpected and it’s not usually this bad; le Perche is normally a soft and gently place not given to extremes. It’s obvious that something’s gone wrong… this global warming thing’s clearly not working as it should be. So I want you all to pull your fingers out and make an extra big effort to help it on its way. Light some coal fires, go for long drives in your 4×4, turn on all the lights in your house, use up as many unrenewable energies as you can. Remember, just a few degrees of difference could make a Scarlet very happy!
Moan, moan, moan
I don’t normally have a rant on this blog, but I’ve noticed myself getting more irate with the world recently and feeling the need to vent my anger whilst sitting in front of the computer. It’s probably time for ‘Scarlet’s Big Rant.com’, but in the meantime…
You may have noticed that most of the world is going through a bit of a crisis at the moment. Thousands of people are loosing their jobs every day, are facing bankruptcy, are loosing their homes. Those who had money and had invested it have faced huge loses, those who had debts have suddenly found it impossible to service them and are facing huge loses. Businesses we all grew up with and which seemed the bedrock of our economies have crumpled to dust.
It seems that the world is in flux. So many systems and ideas seem to have failed, certainly capitalism doesn’t seem to be the universal joy-bringer that certain people would have had us believe. We’re at a point now where all the cards have been thrown up in the air, and if we just had a bit of vision maybe we could re-organise the way our societies and businesses work to make a more planet- and people-friendly world? Surely now is the time for politicians to have the big visions and the revolutionary ideas? No, apparently not! It’s just ‘Steady as she goes… down!’ What’s wrong with us?! Humans do seem to suffer from a collective stupidity, we haven’t woken up to reality yet and it seems we’re waiting for an even huger crisis to hit us in the face before we act.
All through the last 15 years that I’ve been an ‘adult’ (in the eyes of the law only!) I have witnessed a strong undercurrent of ‘alternative’ ideas and heard about the kind of people who live their lives a little differently; those who didn’t pay for a ‘lifestyle’ with a credit card, who didn’t treat their home like a cash cow, those who home-schooled or grew their own veg. Not that I’m trying to stereotype anyone, but I’m sure you understand what I mean. And since I first heard the words ‘permaculture’ and ‘sustainable development’ 15 years ago, I’ve seen its main spokespeople slowly gain a little media attention, a bit of exposure in the collective consciousness. The kind of ideas which then singled me out as a bit bonkers are now talked about seriously by people who might be able to make a difference. We’re now starting to hear about community garden groups, straw-bale houses, compost toilets, seasonal diets, wwoofing, even the word ‘eco-towns’ (don’t worry, people will soon stamp that one out!). In the UK recently there’s been a big increase in ‘grow your own’, and sales of veg seeds have rocketed… which can’t all be down to Saint Jamie Oliver! And of course the organic movement has really flourished; they may be too expensive for most people, but organic products can be found anywhere now, as can a variety of ethical and fairtrade goods from abroad. All this can’t be a bad thing.
But I still feel that attitudes in government remain unchanged. Politicians pay lip-service to green issues but nothing big ever happens. So my main hope for this year is that normal people start taking more responsibility for their actions. It’s not enough any more to pay your taxes and hope someone else will take care of ‘stuff’ on your behalf. The idea of changing most of your electrical goods every couple of years, of putting ‘food’ into your kids’ mouths whose ingredients you wouldn’t even know how to spell, of living beyond your means, of chucking something in the bin when it could be easily repaired, jumping on an airplane six times a year, buying a chicken that cost less than a cup of coffee… these are small things but I think we’d all be the better for it if we did what we could now. It’s clear that change isn’t coming from the top, so it’s up to every one of us to try and change things on a personal and local level.
