Recent Comments

1. Wear Your 'Make Poverty History' Band - 15 Aug 2005

   I went through a phase of thinking the band didn’t mean anything. That was after plugging bands with it on their website to come and play at Greenbelt and getting the snub. But I’ve come back to the idea again now. Visual signifiers do mean something. Even if wearing bands this is year has gone a little fashion crazy.

2. Put Eco Balls in your Washing Machine - 04 May 2006

   Kathryn, we have some and also live in Cheltenham. Would you like to borrow ours to test them? You’d be welcome!

3. Not Going Green Fast Enough - 13 May 2008

   A neighbour recently challenged me to join him in a one-off special charity bike ride. Great. But it points to an increasing trend to view cycling as a leisure-cum-novelty pursuit – the sort of special endeavour worthy of sponsorship. Not that there’s anything wrong in cycling to raise money for a just cause. Just that it would be nice to see more people on their bikes as part of their daily routine, covering off those journeys to work and school.

   And that brings us onto the lack of provision of cycle lanes … Walking through some north London streets last night I was struck by the network of clearly marked and well-maintained cycle paths. In provincial Cheltenham I am always frustrated by the lack of any such ‘joined-up’ network. So, if I’m taking the kids anywhere on the bike seat or trailer around town I inevitably end up cycling on pavements almost everywhere. Which isn’t great.

4. 'Asparagus Finally Giving Forth' - 17 May 2008

   It was our allotment barbeque today and there were all sorts there. We usually do our stints on the plot in the evenings, after all the kids are in bed, so we don’t often get to see many of our fellow diggers. But here we all were today, all sharing together, and not just the food. How to rid the plot of mare’s tail, bindweed and couch grass? We all have the same struggles. I love the way that tradition is gently and warmly handed on at allotments. It’s one of the few places left in our life where our elders get to pass their wisdom on to us novices. Kester’s is our experience too: allotments are generous places.

5. Why Weeds Are Good For Us - 18 Jun 2008

   We call it ‘Mare’s Tail’, but I guess it’s the same thing. We, too, get told stories from the old guys on the allotment about just how deep those roots go! Couch Grass is another ‘thorn in our side’. But the battle is good for the soul (as well as the soil, we hope) and we are pleased to have to work to win the produce. We just found out that we’ve been given the other half to our half allotment plot. No-one else wants it it’s in such a state of nature having crept back in! Much digging and sifting lies ahead. Thanks Kester. We’re with you.

6. Confession (My Ungenerous Hols) - 11 Sep 2008

   This rings so true for me (for us as a family). We’re exactly the same. Perhaps it’s because trying to live generously does require work and effort that we lapse so easily on holiday. After all, we holiday to leave work behind – among other things. Holidays are, in part, about ‘an easy life’ (not all holidays, but lots.) The sad thing is to realise how ‘easy’ it is to go with the flow, to take the path of least resistance and to find yourself betraying your generous principles. You realise how ‘the machine’ is geared up to make that less generous life the one that is so much more convenient to choose.

7. Quiet Revolution? - 20 Apr 2009

   Don’t feel guilty for not having seen the film until now Peter. But do make sure you tick it off as one of your generous actions here!