Forget Glastonbury !
Polstead had everything the avid festival goer needed this weekend. Music, beer tent, food, grotty toilet and inevitably: rain.
Polstice 2007
Village Fetes
Oooh I love a good village fete ... a sunny day, cream teas, childrens races, plant stalls, books, bric a brac and more or less the whole village out and about mooching around being pleasant !
A couple of weeks ago a group of us descended upon Beyton Fayre and it was lovely, the weather was perfect and the day neverending. Beyton fayre did seem to have a few modern twists which I'm sure added to its fundraising ability.. they had an auction of promises, fruit kebabs, a local collection of old vehicles, and even a quiz about the local environment. Then, in the evening, a fairground tent with a band from Diss and fairy lights, straw bales and a bar on the green all added to the timeless feel. I enjoyed myself and no doubt everyone else did too.
Conservation in Suffolk
Tomorrow morning I am going to be really filthy, as I will probably be knee deep in a smelly pond. I will be helping BEG to clean up Oak Tree Pond in Beyton. All around Suffolk there are many small groups of volunteers who carry out conservation work on their local environmen ( if you know of one - email me and I'll blog you !). Its a great way to meet local people, connect with similiar minds and learn new skills. Over the years i have helped with coppicing, tree felling, rubbish collection all of which have made me look at the environment around me in great detail and with renewed interest. 10 to 20 people giving an hour or two of weekend time can have an amazing impact on a neglected area.
The Suffolk Wildlife Trust does conservation work all over Suffolk with a small army of volunteers and they have local area groups too. On a national basis Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is a realm of information and volunteering with a Suffolk based group the Suffolk Preservation Society(SPS) based in Lavenham. This isn't all about dirty work though - these volunteers tackle conservation by lobbying the planning offices to preserve the suffolk countryside and encourage sustainable planning.
Nettles !
Ok - my week wasn't too fantastic, I spent alot of it in West Suffolk Hospital with my son who is going to be fine .... thanks to the staff on Rainbow ward.
And there's no better way to take out a little frustration than to attack a patch of nettles, brambles, bindweed etc etc -very satisfying and even now I can feel the nettle stings and bramble scratches on my legs and arms.
After attacking the nettles I did wonder about cooking up a treat with them - just google "nettle recipes" for plenty of ideas ... will tell you how it goes - also found this website www.nettles.org.uk
It must be one of the first plants a child recognises, in order to learn to avoid, and is perfect for fighting with sticks . . . children in Suffolk have probably been destroying nettles for centuries.
And when you get a wee bit older you could do this for fun .... !? Yes - these are Suffolk nettles on youtube.
I would really miss nettles if they suddenly ceased to exist.
G8 and Suffolk: the Greenest County
Ok, I admit to feeling a little pessimistic about the G8 (and my own local Council) so I am very pleased that the biG8 have at least agreed that we need to reduce our carbon emissions. It is positive that Bush appears to have decided that the US will tackle CO2 emissions in coordination with the rest of the world (although he didn't turn up for work today, feeling a little ill - too many agreements and concessions clearly unsettle him !).
However no firm targets or binding agreements have been reached and probably won't be for quite some time. Unfortunately this means our chances of bringing Climate Change down to a not too disastrous level are disappearing faster than the ice in Greenland. Recent reports quite definitely state that Climate Change is happening much faster than anticipated which in turn will need much greater and faster action from everyone, everywhere.
Though we talk of reducing CO2 emisiions by 60% by 2050 (Climate Change Bill) it appears that a more realistic target should be 90% by 2050, as suggested by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change resesarch in a 2006 report, if we are to avoid the really nasty effects. Anyone who's anyone in the green political arena is pushing for the 90%... i.e Al Gore, Friends of the Earth etc etc but whether it is achieveable without global agreement and in fact "how" in general hasn't quite been resolved.
If International governments can't agree it is no wonder that increasingly all over the world communities are tackling these matters themselves. People are recognising the benefits of using natural resources in a sustainable and ethical manner and the need to stop environmental degradation at a local and global level.
In a classic example of a bottoms up people power approach villages and towns in the UK are working to solve the issues of Climate Change and resource depletion (remember? the oil then the gas etc) in their own communities. See www.transitiontowns.org www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk and www.gozero.org.uk all over the country from Totnes, to Brixton to Chew Magna to Ashton Hayes ... people are doing something
This includes Suffolk County Council who for some time have been working towards the launch of a new initiative "Suffolk: Creating the Greenest County" and St. Edmundsbury Borough Council who have just signed a pledge to take local action to reduce CO2 emissions. I hope their commitment will encourage the public to support them.
Another smaller team working to green their own environment is the Green Village team over at Polstead, Stoke by Nayland and Leavenheath. Committed volunteers got together in 2005 and have had amazing results. They have had many events to raise awareness locally and have seen a definite shift in attitudes. Hopefully they have created a prototype which can be implemented elsewhere in the county / UK. I borrowed their Eco Balls - thanks, guys ! I have since bought some of my own but may not have done if I hadn't had the chance to test them (!)
It is fantastic news that people are making these decisions at local levels and this should futher encourage those at international level to hunker down, take some compromises and make some binding agreements - starting now.
World Environment Day
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
Apparently all around the world today people are thinking of their environment. Well I wish that were true but I saw no signs of it myself in deepest darkest Suffolk. There was no mention of it in any local paper; no celebrations in towns or villages and no activities at my childrens school. Maybe we are taking our lovely Suffolk environment for granted ?
Tomorrow heralds the start of the great G8 (plus 5 observers) Summit where apparently "the environment" will be topping the agenda - and the powerful will seek to find a path forward. Question is: will we see any consensus on how we tackle global climate change or use of the earths resources ??
Best pub in Suffolk ? Award winning Suffolk Pub
Well, it would be interesting to have a competition ...but I'd say Lynda of The White Hart in Otley would have a pretty good chance of winning. We popped into The White Hart last Sunday afternoon after a very wet afternoon at Helmingham Hall plant show ..(Thanks, Stephanie ..!) Needless to say for those in the know, but guests were still finishing their relaxing Sunday meals/drinks at 4.30 in the afternoon -very nice... and sensible.
Lynda used to be the landlady of my local but she shipped out and bought The White Hart in Otley days before it was due to be sold for Residential use - thus saving the village their pub. Not only this but Lynda has revamped the pub in a crisp traditional style and is a self confessed devotee of local food which results in a constantly changing seasonal menu. I also tasted a delicious new cold Adnams ale last Sunday afternoon - What was it called ? - eek - ask Lynda !
This is not a chain of pubs nor is it owned by the brewery or a "developer" profiting from creating a fancy restaurant out of a traditional village pub. This is a local person buying and running (totally hands on !) a successful pub with a trusted team (Hello Sarah and Sam and co..) which caters for the whole village. So successfully in fact that they have just won Alistair Sawdays Community Award in his recent book Pubs and Inns of England and Wales 2007 - Special Places... I had a flick through the book whilst at The White Hart - I have definitely visited more than 50% of the Pubs/Inns mentioned in Suffolk and Wales (oh yes, I was born in Wales !) all of which had that special something - for me, the food - reliably fantastic.
For those that don't live in Suffolk this is a place that would really sum up the direction I would like to see Suffolk move in. The White Hart is a modern, vibrant, inviting place to while a way a few hours tasting the gorgeous food and drink which can be produced locally. The ladies of village hold a knitting club in the Pub, teenagers are employed (and forced to learn new skills in the kitchen !) children are welcomed and special events held frequently.
Well done Lynda - I only wish I lived a little closer !
Veg Boxes - Abbots Hall Farm Shops and Growing Places @ The Museum of East Anglian Life
This sounds complex but it's not !
There is a new farm shop at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket called Abbotts Hall Farm Shop. They sell high quality, locally produced organic, seasonal fruit and vegetables and hanging baskets and garden plants in season. This is all done in partnership with a scheme called Growing Places, based in Claydon, which aims to provide the disadvantaged with new skills, training and finally employment. They are running a veggie box scheme which can be collected every Thursday.. I had the large box last week for the very reasonable sum of £8 and we are still eating the produce a week later. Personally I think this is the ultimate in veggie boxes, locally grown organic vegetables produced by an ethical social enterprise. Virtue has never been so cheap !
To order your box now please contact Katie Gooding by email or call 01449 612229
When we collected our box Katie was there, watering the hanging baskets, she kindly showed us their poly tunnel in the Museum area and explained how the scheme ran. Keep up the great work Katie - look forward to seeing you next week when we collect our 2nd veggie box. (There's also some irresistible childrens chocolates in the farm shop ..)
"I'm NOT a plastic bag"
I feel that Sainsburys attempt at getting us into using re-useable shopping bags has somewhat backfired ... The Anya Hindmarch bag looked nice - I saw one today. I would have bought one if they were on sale in Sainsburys when I happened to go there. However - being slightly busy I wasn't able to be there at 6.30am this morning only. 90 bags were on sale at my local Sainsburys: they were sold out minutes after opening. Staff were not allowed to purchase one unless they were not in uniform. Customers were limited to one purchase. Most popped their new bag into a PLASTIC BAG ....oh dear. Did anyone anywhere actually put any shopping inside their new bag ? Probably not. All 1067 and counting "i'm not a plastic bag" bags are on Ebay where some more-odd-than-me people are bidding over £200 ????? Have a look for yourself THE BAG . Celebrities and the media have managed to overexcite everyone, Ebayers are taking huge profits destined for charity - and I am very cynical about this social phenomenon. What do you think ? And I would not walk around using one, even if I could, as I don't have a smug enough expression to match. Mad.
The Last Oil Shock + Climate Change = ?
Ok - more good news.
If you knew nothing about this - you soon will.
This Saturday in Boxford I heard the admirable David Strahan speak about his new book "The Last Oil Shock" which explains the issues and consequences of Peak Oil. David was described as a "local boy done good". He is a renowned journalist and holds awards for his documentary making - one of which focussed on the concept of Peak Oil and inspired him to concentrate full time on writing this book to tell the whole story in as much detail as he could find out about. Through much research and interviews David told us about Hubberts theory and where he feels we currently stand as far as global stocks of oil; which countries have already passed their peak production and why in such an oil dependent world we need to worry about this situation. Clearly, given the vested interests, there is a certain amount of contention on this subject but given Davids credentials I am sure he has sourced the credible truth.
See a short clip of David introducing the evening :
http://www.etribes.com/node/99510 
Unfortunately, whilst many people feel the decline in oil production is perhaps fortuitous vis a vis Climate Change, David had a strong argument why this is not the case. Unless we prepare for a transfer of energy production whilst we have the means to do so with the power of oil it seems likely that any attempts post oil consumption will have a dramatic accelerating affect on Climate Change. This is primarily because we rely so heavily currently on fossil fuel for our energy that unless we either build wind turbines and solar panels or Nuclear Power stations, OR both, now whilst we have the oil, we are unlikely to achieve this afterwards as the world will decline into a series of conflicts over resources and concurrently consume more of other fossil fuels - e.g coal (which emits twice the CO2 than oil) and gas (which eventually will also reach a peak), and burn the forests or clear them to plant biofuels. Thus increasing rather than diminishing our carbon emissions.
There is a chapter on solutions ... and comment on what will NOT provide solutions - in case you were relying on bio fuelled or hydrogen cars - anybody ?
It was an extremely interesting and informative talk (and I hope this will prove to David that I was listening - despite the fact he caught me yawning halfway through !) about a very compelling subject - which could potentially have more devasting effects on western lifestyles in our lifetimes than Climate Change.
If you want to catch David talking about his research he is speaking at a number of up and coming events see www.davidstrahan.com/public_speaking.html
Good Luck with your book David .. I haven't read it but I will, promise. Thanks for the food for thought.
More articles, excerpts, links to more Peak Oil websites can be found on www.davidstrahan.com
And if you want to buy the book - which you should - go here: Amazon
Or - don't buy it from Amazon - cycle to your nearest independent bookshop - pay a little extra for The Last Oil Shock and a friendly smile and check out the happy books.
One last word - I hear a signed copy is winging its way to George W Bush as we speak ....
