Nigel Rumsey

this looks good: Lucian Freud - Portraits

2012-01-30T12:25:00.000Z

Kodak Brownie Reflex 20

2012-01-30T08:30:00.000Z

Last Sunday I went to the South London Camera Fair (well worth a visit if you're in the area), it was one of those days when I didn't want to come away empty handed. Then my eyes alighted on this little beauty. Five pounds for a great little camera.

It takes 620 film, which is basically 120 on a different spool, if you Google it you'll find several videos showing you how to re-spool 120. I've just finished the first film so I'll post a few shots shortly.

If this doesn't inspire you...

2012-01-29T10:31:00.000Z

Jeff Harris: 4,748 Self-Portraits and Counting from We Know Music on Vimeo.

... then nothing will.

not just a gratuitous Miranda Sawyer post

2012-01-22T14:49:00.000Z

It would be easy to think this is just a feeble excuse to post a rather poor quality video of Miranda Sawyer and that, my friends, is where you would be entirely correct. I thought about trying to pull the wool over your eyes with a dissertation about the benefits of encouraging public participation in art, but you'd see right through me.

My Coronet Victor camera

2012-01-21T18:51:00.000Z

For as long as I can remember I've owned this Coronet Victor camera. It used to belong to my grandfather, or should I say I'm fairly sure it used to belong to my grandfather. The fact that it belonged to him is one of those small fragments of information you've carried from childhood, or could it be just I've carried from childhood, but don't want to fact check just-in-case it isn't correct.

I once remembered that my mum had won a bunch of flowers in a competition held by our milkman. I vividly remember going to the dairy at the end of our road where we walked between two rows of battery-powered milk floats lined up in a bizarre, ceremonial, guard of honour. My mum collected her bunch of flowers, which she was very pleased with. I remember she was wearing a lovely 60's style patterned 'A' line dress, although being six I didn't know what an 'A' line dress was. We both walked out as pleased as punch. As an adult I said to her, "Do you remember when we went to the dairy to pick up that bunch of flowers you won from the milkman?". There was a silent pause and I was met with a blank look that I can remember to this very day. My mum then explained to me, as though I was still six and I had just woken from a nightmare, that I must have dreamt the whole thing. She smiled at me indulgently, I can't tell you how disappointed I was. Not for the loss of the flowers, they would have been long gone, but for the loss of the memory.

So you can see my nervousness on the issue of grandfather's camera, in this area I have form, previous you might say, my cherished memories are not to be trusted. Granted, unlike the flowers, the camera does actually exist. It is sitting in pride of place on the bookshelf, in our sitting room, the only of my many cameras to have such a privilege. So to find out that this memory is in fact, like the milkman episode, not quite as I remembered and that my parents had, say, picked it up at a jumble sale, some time in the 70's, would be more than a little disappointing.

During the war my grandfather served as a fireman in London and was a keen photographer, going out photographing fires when he wasn't working. When my grandfather died, from leukaemia, my grandmother being a no-nonsense Londoner, and not giving too much creed to sentiment, threw away the majority of his negatives, many of them glass plates. A fact that, whenever I think about it, fills me with enormous sadness. I know that she wouldn't have done it with any sort of malice, she just wouldn't have seen the point of keeping them. My Coronet Victor is the only thing of 'his' I own and so is very precious to me.

Until recently I'd never shot with my Coronet Victor. When I was young it was just an interesting old camera, but it never occurred to me I'd ever use it for taking pictures. As I got older digital cameras came along and it was relegated as 'just an old film camera'. The sometime in 2008 I bought myself a Holga and got back into film photography, my Coronet Victor was then reconsidered and became the camera that had last been used by my grandfather some fifty plus years before. It takes 127 film which is now only made by Efke in Croatia, I'd bought a roll but somehow I quite liked the idea that my grandfather had been the last person to push that button with any purpose.

On Friday 23 December 2011, the time seemed right, I headed out and over 50 years since it was last used my Coronet Victor began making images again. The shutter's a bit sticky, something I'm not quite sure what to do about, but eight of the twelve shots came out OK. I don't see me using it a lot, but I'm certainly not going to leave it another 50 years.

(Unfortunately, from the shape, not taken with a Coronet Victor)

Seasons Greetings

2011-02-06T11:11:00.001Z

Last night we went to see Seasons Greetings at the National Theatre written by Alan Ayckbourn. I'm not a great theatre aficionado so i wasn't sure what to expect of an Ayckbourn play. However I have to admit I wasn't expecting farce which is what much of the play descended to.

On the whole the cast were fantastic. For me Nicola Walker and Katherine Parkinson shone for the understated nature of their performances, but that is probably just my personal preference. Mr Wildberry loved it, and it's received great reviews, so if you get the chance, it's worth seeing.

Online backup

2011-02-05T12:51:00.000Z

I've previously flirted with online backup, I like the idea of it, not having to worry about the safety of those all important photographs but it just never seemed as easy as it should have been. I ran Mosy on my Mac for a while but it took ages to upload files and seemed to slow the machine down while it was doing so.

I also have a slightly irrational aversion to anything with an ongoing charge. I'm never one to go for the 6 months interest free credit option and yes I know what you're going to say "you could have that money earning you interest" (even though that's not quite so attractive these days), never-the-less it's not for me.

Having said all that my lost pictures paranoia resurfaced again last week and I downloaded the Carbonite free 14 day trial. We use Carbonite on our server at work and it seems to run without any problems.

My Macbook has about 140GB on the hard disk so to get the 'important' stuff uploaded as quickly as possible I deselected quite a lot in the Carbonite preference pane, which still left 80GB to upload. As I write my Mac has been running continuously for a week and it's not even reached half way. This is the point I usually get irritated by the whole thing and bailout; but I'm holding firm this time. I'll report back when it's finally done.

How are you by the way? It's been a long time.

there's going to be a carnival!

2010-08-20T12:02:00.002+01:00

There's a Carnival happening. Yes, we all know about that big noisy thing going off in West London next weekend. I don't mean that one. The Carnival I'm talking about is cooler, a little bit niche, select, shall we say. It's happening at the Viewfinder gallery in Greenwich on Friday 3 September. Yes, it's south of the river, but handily the tube station is right across the road.

There's going to be live music, a DJ, art (should I say fantastic art), a very cool photo booth, great wine and even greater company. If you want a ticket you could email me nigel.rumsey@gmail.com or you could just go to the web site.

As well as all those really good reasons to go, you'll also be supporting a great little gallery. Who can say fairer! See you there.

in his mouth!

2010-08-15T11:13:00.006+01:00

Now here's the thing I have a bit of an irrational dislike of restaurants in shopping malls. Not the food court type, they're fine, they are what they are. It's never going to be fine dining, but well, you are in a mall. It's the sort of restaurant that tries to persuade you you're eating in sophisticated environs in London, Paris or New York, when you're plainly eating with buggies going past your shoulder.

Irrational maybe but taking it to a whole new level, this guy is, i kid you not, having his teeth whitened, in-a-mall!

He hasn't gone to his friendly dentist he's probably know for years, with a certificate on the wall, a dental nurse and the quietly playing music. He's sat down in the middle of the mall, visible to the world (and any joker with a camera) and someone he's never met before is sticking chemicals (strong enough to bleach his tooth enamel remember) in his mouth! I'm betting it won't be long before we see pop-in vasectomies behind the checkout in Tesco.

olympus xa2, kodak tri-x, rodinal 1+50

Did you know the fabulous Viewfinder Photography Gallery in Greenwich is holding a fundraising party on 3 September? Buy your tickets here.

new bike

2010-05-26T20:46:00.001+01:00

I've ordered a new bike and I'm more excited than a small puppy, about to go out for a walk the day before Christmas! Well I was, until they told me it isn't coming until JULY! But that's ages. They did say early July. I'm just going to have to be patient, something I'm not terribly good at.

I've gone all old school, do you like it? It's made by Velorbis - they're from Denmark. More info here.

Can I Please Have My Mobile Phone Back, Officer?

2010-05-10T17:38:00.000+01:00

A quite astonishing tale of the treatment of a photographer in the City of London. On the NUJ site.

fingers crossed

2010-05-05T09:05:00.002+01:00

in fact I've got everything crossed. It's not that I even really want Labour to get in (not this Labour anyway). But I just know in our constituency it's going to be a straight Labour / Tory fight, so what's a bloke to do? We just can't go back to the Tory years of hate, the years of looking after the wealthy and good luck to the rest of you.

As I write this I have the heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach because I think it's too late. Gordon's last minute rallying speeches, are too last minute. The earnest words from Alan Johnson on the radio this morning are falling on deaf ears. In five years time we'll look back on this moment and say to ourselves 'why did we let it happen, did we not learn from the last time?'. The answer is 'no we didn't'.

For all our sakes don't do it!

2010-04-29T20:14:00.000+01:00

From a great series.

Climategate - well they would wouldn't they

2010-04-14T19:39:00.001+01:00

This has rather been overshadowed by the election, but do you remember the recent fuss about leaked emails at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. The 'we don't believe in climate change' lobby said that this was undoubted proof that all the science was nonsense and 'we should all forget about climate change and carry on producing carbon as quickly as we could', thank you very much.

The authorities at the University commissioned Lord Oxbrugh to head an independent panel to investigate. They have reported saying that there was no scientific malpractice. They stated: "We found absolutely no evidence of any impropriety whatsoever. That doesn't mean that we agreed with all of their conclusions, but these people were doing their jobs honestly."

Cut back to the Global Warming Policy Foundation (the previously mentioned 'it's all nonsense' lobby) who now say that the report is nonsense, in fact everything is nonsense - so lets go off and make a load more carbon just for the hell of it! Well they would wouldn't they!

on being a photographer

2010-04-12T20:22:00.000+01:00

I've heard many recommendations for 'on being a photographer' over the years but I've never read it. The book written by David Hurn and Bill Jay is basically a conversation on that subject. I've looked for it on Amazon a number of times but there are only second-hand copies which sell for about £25 upwards, which for what is a slim paperback edition, seemed a little expensive.

I assumed it must be out of print, well it isn't. Recently a link for something or other took me to the Lenswork site, who are the publishers. Lenswork are selling nice new copies for the cover price of $12.95 + shipping, which to the UK was $12.50. Still a lot better than £25.00.

It only arrived today so I haven't had a chance to read it, but I've a long train journey on Wednesday so I'll report back.

5 x 4 pinhole camera

2010-04-09T13:43:00.001+01:00

Inspired by the guys over at Feeling Negative and all the recent talk on Filmwasters about large format photography I've decided to have a go at making a 5 x 4 pinhole camera.

I've got loads of lovely 6mm plywood left from my photobooth project so the only thing I need to buy is a 4" x 5" film holder. It amazes me that although film photography was supposed to have died at sometime around the millennium, and 5" x 4" was hardly at the common end of film photography, all the equipment on 'the bay' still gets snapped up. There are obviously a lot of people out there still shooting film and quite a number shooting large format.

I'm going to base my design loosely around that of the Leonardo pinhole cameras you can see above. I'll let you know how I get on. (if you want to buy yourself a Leonardo pinhole they're available from Pinhole Resource)

the election: a clarification

2010-04-07T19:53:00.000+01:00

I'm not quite sure why but I feel I need to clarify the previous post. In that most mythical of things an ideal world I wouldn't be voting Labour, or not this Labour anyway. I'd probably voting for some mix of the Green Party and a proper socialist Labour party that had a mission to right wrongs.

However just as not many not many turkeys would vote for Christmas not many Brits would vote for a Government that needs to raise taxes and cut their carbon emissions. So being a realist who lives in a tory constituency where the only other near contender is Labour, I shall probably vote Labour. Enough said.

step outside posh boy

2010-04-06T12:13:00.000+01:00

As the Guardian puts it. Fingers crossed!

i heart miranda sawyer

2010-04-03T15:17:00.000+01:00

An eloquent explanation of why 6music is important beyond the obvious 'because i like it' posting. If you want more on the campaign to save 6music check here.

Greenwich LIP Exhibition

2009-08-11T13:47:00.006+01:00

This is the picture I'm entering into the Second Greenwich Annuale. I'm a little nervous as this is only the second time I've ever exhibited one of my photographs publicly.

The Annuale is the exhibition of photographs taken by the Greenwich group members of London Independent Photography. The exhibition is going to be held at the fabulously bijou Viewfinder Gallery in Greenwich. It runs from 21st to 30th August. If you find yourself in Greenwich please pop in a have a look, I'm sure there will lots of excellent work on display from more than 60 London photographers.

Bicycle Trailer - post #6 (nearly there)

2009-08-07T17:39:00.009+01:00

First I must apologise I did say earlier in the week that I'd post some pictures of my, nearly, completed trailer the next day. Well, you know how it is even with the best intentions. Anyway here they are and I'm very happy with it.

I'm pleased with the way the wood looks now it's varnished, sometimes you just can't beat a bit of yacht varnish. As you can see I still have to complete the hitch. I've thought about this hitch for so long its become something of my trailer nemesis!

This is the underside, the wheel brackets, made from some old radiator brackets seem to have worked very well. Of course I haven't put any load on there yet but they seem fairly solid.

Carry Freedom in their design suggest the use of a tensioning device using four rods or cables to keep the trailer square and level. I've tried to show what this would look like above. The red lines would be the cables and the black cylinder just something solid enough to form a pyramid shape.

I think because I've had the luxury of using box section aluminium, and ply, which keeps it fairly rigid I don't think I'll need these. Of course my trailer will also be used on the comparatively flat roads of Southern England instead of in an off-road area, so that should help. I'll keep an eye on it, I can always add them later if required.

So now all I need to do is knuckle down and make the hitch. Hopefully the next pictures you see is of the completed thing.

a quick trailer update

2009-08-04T20:26:00.003+01:00

I have to admit I'm very excited, my bike trailer is near completion. I fitted the top this evening, all nicely varnished - there is something very satisfying about a bit of varnish. The wheels are on and I've fitted some brackets to the ceiling of my workshop, so it can be stored out-of-the-way. It was a bit too dark to take some pictures when I'd finished, but I'll post some tomorrow night.

All I need to do is make the hitch - which I've now thought about so long it's now become my trailer nemesis - and we're good to go.

Enjoying the summer? Wildberry

simple is best

2009-07-24T13:55:00.004+01:00

How often do you see something that makes you say 'why didn't I think of that'? It's so true that the best ideas are often the simplest. One such idea are the very stylish belts made from old bicycle tyres by Velo-re. Cycling and re-cycling.

They have your standard black tyres or one-off belts made from coloured road tyres like the one above.

Thanks to Lauren on the Big Blog for pointing them out.

Bicycle Trailer - post #5

2009-07-19T18:06:00.004+01:00

Things have been a bit slow developing on the bike trailer of late, with sitting around watching the Tour de France, among other things, taking a disproportionate amount of my time. But I have made some progress this weekend.

I'd already finished the brackets to hold the wheels, if you've read previous posts you might have seen I've made them out of some old radiator brackets, which was fine but they were galvanised and I stupidly had forgotten how difficult it is to paint over. They're fitted now and they don't look too bad (as long as you don't get too close).

I've made the deck from some 12mm ply. The two holes on the far edge are so I can hang it from the roof of my workshop, keeping it out of the way when not in use.

The next job is to varnish the ply to make it weatherproof. That then just leaves fitting the wheels and making the hitch (Mmm still not resolved).

I want to get a large plastic box with a clip-on lid that I can use to hold smaller items like groceries. It did occur to me, rather belatedly, that maybe I should have found the right size box and then made the trailer to suit! - something maybe worth bearing mind if you make one. I'd really like some easy method to clip the box into place. I'm thinking about that, any suggestions appreciated.

There are a few more pictures on my Flickr. Thanks as always to Carry Freedom who's bamboo trailer design this is based on.

The Importance of Fun

2009-07-17T20:41:00.003+01:00

There are times when life not only doesn't seem fun but it can seem a bit of a downright chore. In this instance you're basically faced with two choices.

You can go for the 'get-away-from-it-all' option that you often read about where daring young things, or daring old things for that matter, up sticks and dash-off to canoe around the world or whatever the fancy takes them. Now this is all very well (and where I show myself as a bit too sensible and you realise I'm never going to canoe around the world), but most of us have some responsibility that makes that impractical or maybe just unappealing.

The second alternative is we look around for a moment and realise that actually where we are now is where other people somewhere else are dreaming of running off to, and that actually it's quite a good place to be.

This article by Dan Germain for Howies made me realise that this week.

Boil life right down to its constituent parts and what are you left with? Birth, death and that’s about it. They’re the certainties.

Of course, in between those two there’s a whole world of possibilities. Love. Swimming. Sex. Broken legs. A holiday in Corfu. Pretty much anything you can think of. It’s a blank canvas. You choose. Not your parents. Not your partner. You choose. It’s your birth and it’s your death, so you should get to choose the pieces in between.

Now then, this is all leading somewhere. And it’s leading to something called Fun. Fun is what should be happening in between. Pure, thrilling fun. Some days it might feel a bit more like got-to-get-up-and-catch-the-bus fun. But it should still be fun. Because you can decide what is and can be fun.

Bus rides? Massive f**king fun. Really. I mean, there you are, riding around at great speed in a big metal box. That is fun. Love. That’s fun. Swimming. That’s insane fun. Broken legs. Well, you get crutches and people writing dumb stuff on your cast. Fun.

The point is, the only person who can make things fun is you. Not your teachers. Not your friends. Not your boss. You.

You have a duty to make it fun. Even when times are hard and the light gets dark. If you don’t, you’ll just get born and then you’ll die.

And that is no fun.

Thanks Dan. Go have some fun this weekend. Wildberry

The Mayor of London's Skyride

2009-07-15T08:44:00.003+01:00

What was known as the London Freewheel, the event where the roads of Central London are reserved for cyclists has been rebranded as 'The Mayor of London's Skyride. Yes, Rupert Murdock has got involved, but don't let that put you off.

This year the ride takes place on Sunday 20th September, but the very good news is there are a number of Skyrides planned in different cities. The dates differ so do look at their web site.

Trailer hitch suggestions

2009-07-07T14:21:00.006+01:00

Following my latest bike trailer post I received an email from Tom detailing his experience in fitting a hitch to his modified trailer.

He wrote: "In your bike trailer thread you mention your next problem may be a Hitch?

For months on end I scoured the net for a Ball type hitch as used on the back of cars. I ended up having to settle for a Universal Joint for my hitch.

This was up until a couple of weeks ago when I bought a Ball Joint Type Hitch - GREAT.

Here's how the Ball Hitch looks.

How it attaches to my trailer...

There are various types of hitches employed by trailer builders. I think its all down to preference!

My preferred method is the trailer from directly behind the back wheel. I don't like the side pull arm not the under the seatpost arm. When have you ever seen a car towing a trailer/caravan with a long pole attached to the side of the back wheel? - or a pole through the

back window attached to the seat?

I bought this hitch for £12:50p from a bike forums friend - its worked out well for me."

Tom also sent some other pictures of this trailer and a single wheel trailer similar to the Bob Yak. I'm going to create a photo-page for these pictures, and others, that should be up in the next few days. Thanks Tom for all the suggestions.

Making things is great!

2009-07-03T13:31:00.007+01:00

As someone who spends much of their working week sitting behind a computer it's easy to forget how great getting my hands dirty and actually making something is.

On Tuesday evening I got home from a long day in the office, it was hot and humid, but I'm really keen to get my bike trailer finished before the summer is over so I forced myself to get out and do something. It was way too hot in the shed, but the garden was lovely and fresh.

The brackets above are one of two pairs needed to fix the wheels to my trailer. If you read my earlier post you'll know I've made these out of a couple of old radiator brackets. Now they may not be as fancy as if they'd been professionally machined, they're certainly not as millimetre accurate as they would have been, but it really doesn't matter. They didn't cost me anything more than an hour or so of my time. Which was spent in my garden on a lovely June evening, and when they become part of the trailer I'll have the pleasure of knowing I made them.

'Great', you say, 'but so what?' Well the 'what' is that as we send more of our manufacturing overseas we gradually end up with fewer people who can make things. Now I'm sure just about anyone could make my brackets, but there are a great many things we use that we're increasingly loosing the skills to do ourselves. Now practically that may not be a big problem, but for a country with such a great engineering tradition it certainly is a shame.

Summer's made for cycling

2009-07-03T08:57:00.008+01:00

We're having a great summer here in the UK, with lots of bike riding, and for some reason that always makes me think of this clip.

Ahh, Katharine Ross on your crossbar, does summer get any better? Make sure you enjoy it. Wildberry

Save FM

2009-07-02T13:14:00.002+01:00

The UK Government recently announced the prospect of a digital radio switchover in the UK to start in 2015, which will lead to the eventual loss of FM radio (Guardian article). Apart from the current problems with DAB reception in large areas of the UK, this will also result in millions of much loved radios becoming electronic waste overnight.

A campaign 'Save Fm', has been launched, it's only early days but you can sign-up here.

There's also a petition on the Downing Street web site.

Bicycle Trailer - post #4

2009-06-28T18:51:00.004+01:00

I've been getting a little frustrated by the lack of progress on my bike trailer so I've put in a bit of a concerted effort today. As you can see the basic frame is complete and I have the wheels and the tyres, they're just balanced there at the moment. The next job is to make some brackets to secure the wheels.

I was having some trouble finding some suitable steel for the job and then my eyes alighted on a couple of old radiator brackets in the shed that I'd kept just-in-case they came in handy and it looks like they're going to.

The next thing, and probably the trickiest, is the hitch for the connection to the bike. In the latest edition of Velovision I see that Carry Freedom have come out with a very clever looking rubber hitch. I did wonder if I could make something based on that, but it's probably going to be easier to stick to the original design based on the one detailed in the bamboo trailer plans.

a small service announcement

2009-06-26T18:15:00.004+01:00

Apologies if things at the web site look a bit all-over-the-place. As it's Glastonbury this weekend, and I won't leave the house in case I miss any of it, it seemed a good idea to do a small update on the web site.

Actually that's not entirely true. Ever since Apple launched Safari 4 everything's been looking a bit wonky and nothing bugs me more than a wonky web site. All should all be back to usual by Monday.

Have a good one. Wildberry

New Bike Podcast

2009-06-24T19:58:00.004+01:00

I fear that I'm in danger of sounding like a promoter for the Guardian but there are some things they do very well and one of those is podcasting. A new bike podcast is launched today with Chris Hoy talking about improving fitness.

I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet but the thing that appeals to me is they plan to focus on ordinary cyclists, not just the sport, and if there's one thing that sums me up is 'ordinary cyclist'. Now all we need is a podcast about bike trailers and I'll be a happy man. (I've got the tyres by the way.)

Take care out there. Wildberry

Bicycle Trailer - post #3

2009-06-21T17:39:00.004+01:00

My wheels have arrived, hoorah! Still waiting for the tyres, boo! Now I can really get on with the business of building the frame. I was a bit nervous of starting without the wheels, just-in-case there had been a miscalculation, fortunately all is well.

It would be great to have it up and running in time for the Kingsnorth Summer Fete - but I think that's pushing it!

More news shortly. Wildberry

Kingsnorth Summer Fete

2009-06-19T12:26:00.007+01:00

Are you coming to the Kingsnorth Summer Fete? Oh, go on you know you want to!

A number of campaigning organisations including Oxfam, Greenpeace, RSPB and Stop Climate Chaos are holding a summer fete near Kingsnorth power station, and the proposed site of a new coal-fired power station, on the North-Kent coast on Saturday 4 July.

There's going to be lots going on including forming a Mili-band (referring to Ed Miliband UK environment minister) around the site of the proposed new power station.

I'll see you there. Wildberry

Guardian Bike Blog

2009-06-15T13:42:00.002+01:00

The Guardian (newspaper in the UK) have launched a new bike blog. It's only the first post today, but it might be interesting. You can find it here.

Bicycle Trailer - post #2

2009-06-13T18:39:00.007+01:00

I've drawn out the arrangement for the frame of my trailer in Google Sketchup (a free 3-d drawing program that's great fun and totally exasperating in equal measure), but hopefully it shows you what the frame's going to look like. The wheel axles are on that black line that goes through the centre of the frame. I did try to add the wheels and that's where I lost my patience with Sketchup. The layout is based on the Carry-freedom bamboo trailer - see my earlier post for a picture which will hopefully make sense of the drawing.

So I've got the aluminium box section tube and I've cut the four cross pieces to length. But I don't want to cut the others until I have the wheels, just-in-case I've miscalculated. I'm waiting for the wheels to come in, I've had to order them from Decathlon. I really tried to get hold of some secondhand ones, I scoured freecycle and the local paper but no joy. Decathlon are the cheapest I could find selling 20" front wheels for £12.95 each, but they don't stock them for some strange reason - so here I wait.

I've added some other trailer related links to the cycling section of the directory.

Enjoying the weekend? Wildberry

Observer Ethical Awards 2009

2009-06-11T20:17:00.007+01:00

The fourth Observer Ethical Awards have recently been awarded. I'm particularly pleased to see Peter Tatchell get the award for Campaigner of the Year. He gets a lot of stick from the reactionary elements of the press, but he does a lot of really good work and is prepared to put his own neck on the line to get his point across.

Congratulations to all the winners. I'm certainly going to be checking out Naturepaint (I hope they don't mind me 'borrowing' their great graphic). There are videos and more details on the Observer web site.

Keep safe out there - Wildberry

The full list of winners

Lifetime achievement award: Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster and naturalist, has spent his life devoted to the natural environment.

Politician of the year: Caroline Lucas

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green party, has firmly established herself as progressive and decisive figure in the climate change campaign.

Campaigner of the year: Peter Tatchell

Peter Tatchell has campaigned for over 30 years for sexual freedom and human rights

Best local retailer: Warren Evans

Warren Evan creates unique, handmade beds and bedroom furniture.

Best online retail initiative: The Good Energy Shop

The Good Energy Shop is a website that selects suppliers for their energy saving credentials making it less confusing for buyers to make the right choice.

Ethical garden

Winner: Lower Shaw farm

Lower Shaw farm is based Swindon and is an environmentally friendly place where adults and children can enjoy a range of activities all year around.

Runner-up: RISC edible roof garden and alternative kitchen garden

Jupiter Big Idea

Winner: Naturepaint

Naturepaint is a totally natural paint product that comes in a powder form.

Runner-up: Shiply.com & More th>n Green Wheels

Ecover ethical kids award

Winner: Lomeshaye Marsh Local Nature Reserve and Stockbridge Junior Rangers

Lomeshaye Marsh local nature reserve is a small nature reserve in Lancashire that is looked after and developed by a local special needs school.

The Stockbridge Junior Rangers are a group of young people 8-14 years old from the Stockbridge Village estate in Knowlsey, Liverpool, that look after their local environment.

Runner-up: Queen Elizabeth II high school, Ronague, Isle of Man

Ethical business award sponsored by Triodos Bank

Winner: Riverford Organic Vegetables

Riverford Organic Vegetables mission is to bring organic, seasonal vegetables to your door.

Runner-up: Traidcraft & Pants to Poverty

Conservation award sponsored by National Grid

Winner: Fighting to Save West Thurrock Marshes

Fighting to Save West Thurrock Marshes is a charity devoted to the conservation of invertebrates.

Runner-up: Garden Africa & Make the Link with your Sink

Fashion and accessories sponsored by Marie Claire

Winner: People Tree

People Tree specialise in fair trade fashion in hope to alleviate poverty. It focuses on Bangladesh workers.

Runner-up: Nudie Jeans & Pachacuti

Bicycle Trailer

2009-06-06T19:37:00.008+01:00

We've got a new cycle path that passes about a mile from our house that goes past the garden centre, our local pick-your-own farm and the local Sainsburys. So a bicycle trailer would be really good way to cut down our local journeys by car. Although there are some great trailers available for sale I really fancy the idea of making one, and of course it should be quite a bit cheaper.

I've settled on basing it on the Bamboo trailer design from Carry Freedom (Carry Freedom sell some great trailers if you're interested in buying one). Although they call it the Bamboo Trailer you can really make it from anything that is reasonably rigid. I've settled on box-section aluminium, not as cheap as bamboo if bamboo happens to grow up the road from you. Located as I am in South-East England there isn't a lot of bamboo growing around here. I like this design because it doesn't involve any need for welding or brazing.

I thought it would be interesting to take some photos and document the build as I go along - I'll post the first pictures here shortly.

There are quite a few alternative designs on-line, here are some I've come across:

http://bikecart.pedalpeople.com/
http://drumbent.com/trailer.html
http://www.geneandsue.com/bike_trailer/bike_trailer.htm
http://www.ibike.org/economics/trailer.htm
http://www.biketrailers.20m.com/MAIN.htm
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/10/homemade_bike_t.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-cargo-trailer--200-lb-capacity%2c-%2430-for-pa/
http://www.appropedia.org/Backpack_frame_bike_trailer
http://re-cycle.org/trailer/instructions.html

If you know of any other links please send them to me, I'm going to add all the links to the cycling section of the Wildberry's directory.

I've been looking around for some second-hand 20" bicycle wheels but no joy so far (if you have some spare please get in touch 'nigel (at) wildberrys.org.uk').

Take care out there.
Wildberry

Change Your World!

2009-06-05T09:02:00.003+01:00

Sustrans have launched their Change your World campaign for this year. Do your own small bit to reduce carbon emissions and make yourself a bit healthier in the process by committing to swap one of your car journeys for a journey by bike.

The Change your World campaign runs from 29 June - 4 July. Sign-up here.

Updated Animal Welfare organisations

2009-06-02T20:41:00.003+01:00

I've been contacted by Anna Rackett from Animal Defenders International who has asked me to add the following groups to the Animal Welfare section of the directory, which I'm doing now.

Long time since I've said hello - I hope you're well?

Wildberry x

Animal Defenders International (ADI)

With offices in London, San Francisco and Bogota, Animal Defenders International (ADI) is a major international campaigning group, lobbying to protect animals in entertainment, replacement of animals in experiments; worldwide traffic in endangered species; education, vegetarianism; factory farming; pollution and conservation. ADI also rescues and relocates animals in distress worldwide. ADI has become a major force for animal protection, and through undercover investigations has secured legal protection and advanced legislative action all over the world to protect animals.

website: www.ad-international.org
------------------------------------

National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)

Founded in 1875, the National Anti Vivisection Society (NAVS) is the world’s first anti-vivisection group and continues to lead the worldwide campaign for animal experiments to be replaced with sophisticated, non-animal methods. The NAVS campaign for the abolition of cruel and futile experiments on animals and petitions against animal research on both a national and international level. Through its sister organisation, the Lord Dowding Fund, they promote non-animal research by awarding grants in excess of £2 million.

website: www.navs.org.uk
------------------------------------

Lord Dowding Fund (LDF)

Founded in 1974, The Lord Dowding Fund is the research wing of Animal Defenders International (ADI) and the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS). The LDF awards grants totalling £300,000 a year to fund humane research across a wide range of fields, including microsurgery, toxicology, breast and lung cancer, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, cot death, cataracts and brain damage. Named after WW1 Air Chief Marshal, Lord Dowding, a former President of the NAVS. The LDF also supports new and advanced methods of research such as cell culture, biotechnology, brain imaging and computer packages which replace the use of animals in the education of school and university level students.

website: www.ldf.org.uk

Flightless Incredible Journeys

2008-08-02T16:31:00.003+01:00

It seems that the non-flying holiday is really catching on, so much so that the champion of the long haul holiday Lonely Planet have published, or are soon to be publishing, their first book on the subject.

'Flightless Incredible Journeys without leaving the ground' - "the 26 real-life stories in this extraordinary collection explore the complexities, delights and insights of surface travel, from walking to pedal boating, from camels to cargo ships and anything from two to four wheels ? or no wheels at all. Ever wondered just how far a tuk-tuk can take you? Who do you call when the ice cracks as you?re walking across the Bering Straits? Do you know how long it takes to rollerblade across the US? Ever considered riding a pizza-delivery bike through South America?"

You can read the unedited story of one of the contributors who travelled from San Francisco to study in the UK car-free and flight-free.

Cardboard Bike

2008-07-04T20:43:00.002+01:00

Oh yes Blue Peter style DIY doesn't get any better than this, it really is the cardboard bike!

Blimey it's Open Tech 2008!

2008-07-02T17:43:00.006+01:00

This Saturday I'm off to Open Tech 2008 it's billed as "an informal, low cost one-day conference on technology, society and low-carbon living, featuring Open Source ways of working and technologies that anyone can have a go at." I've not been to any of the previous OpenTech events but the 'environment' series of talks sounds really good.

One of the techie things being discussed, is one of my favourites, OpenStreetMap, basically a WikiMap of the whole world (no small ambition here) with a great cycle map view. A far better way of looking at the National Cycle Network than the legendarily slow Sustrans online mapping (I love Sustrans - but would someone please sort out that website!)

If you see me I'll be the slightly confused looking one with the Wildberry's badge.

Book 'em Danno

2008-06-28T18:55:00.003+01:00

Inspired by Plasticfantastic's good works in showing 4 x 4 drivers the error of their ways, I've been and gotten myself over to website of SUV campaigning pioneers 'The Alliance Against Urban 4x4s' and bought some of their 'poor vehicle choice' spoof parking tickets.

"Will this make any difference?" you say, "don't 4x4 drivers already know they're polluting the planet, it's just that they don't care?. You could be right, I'm sure most know and just don't give a monkeys. But I like to think that just one or two may stop and think a little - before they screw it up and throw it in the bin! It's worth a try.

Pinhole camera photos

2008-06-27T19:09:00.002+01:00

I've got the results of the first film from my homemade pinhole camera, generally I'm pleased with them. There was an incident when I forgot to wind on between pictures, but all-in-all I'm fairly happy. I've made a couple a couple of changes to the camera and I'll have another go. You can see the rest of the results on my Flickr.

Pinhole Camera

2008-06-22T17:12:00.005+01:00

As a consequence of my recent Holga camera obsession I discovered, or more properly re-discovered I'm sure I must have known this, that it's possible to make your own pinhole camera out of cardboard or such like. My camera above is based on the Populist, apparently it's obligatory to use at least a couple of elastic bands in any pinhole camera design.

My first film has been posted off and I wait with great expectation. In fact probably too great an expectation as most websites, on the subject, suggest that the results of your first film are usually somewhat disappointing. Never-the-less I'm optimistic. As soon as they come back, if I'm not thoroughly embarrassed, I'll post a couple here, and if they're all too dreadful I'll make-up some unbelievable story about at disaster at the lab!

updated: I should have said there are more pictures of making the camera here

Towards Car Free Cities Conference

2008-06-17T20:17:00.006+01:00

This week one of my favourite cities, Portland Oregon, is hosting the Towards Car Free Cities conference. Many of the proceedings are going to be streamed live on their website and San Francisco blogger Jon Winston is going to be reporting back on his excellent blog and podcast.

It's a Holga world

2008-06-14T19:22:00.007+01:00

I've bought myself a Holga camera and it's opened up this whole new world to me. I really can't even remember how the Holga came to my attention, one day I didn't know about it, the next day I did.

For those of you who don't know, the Holga is a plastic camera with a plastic lens that sells for about £20. I bought mine on ebay from a man in Hong Kong. They're made as you may have guessed in China, by whom I don't no, it gives no indication on the box or on for what passes as the instructions. The camera requires the application of quite a lot of gaffer tape to stop it 'leaking' light, but the effect this very low-tech plastic construction is an image that could have been taken some time during the early 1960's.

Discovering the Holga made me realise that there can be a huge group of people involved in a common experience or activity that the majority of us know nothing about. I had assumed the world was moving with me united into a digital future, where the only people still using film where eccentric, probably aged, amateurs and those that didn't know any better. But the Holga isn't alone in it's plasticy existence there are all sorts of cameras out there some cheap, some expensive, and a lot of people using them.

The very best thing about a camera that uses, comparatively expensive, 120 size film with only 12 exposures on a roll is it makes you stop, look, and think about the photo you're about to take. No umpteen gigabyte memory card here taking several hundred images that can be deleted later at the push of a button. Each one of these images takes up its own 6 x 6cm square of film, with no option to delete, and there's something quite comforting about that.

There are more of my Holga pictures here, don't expect any masterpieces though.

An email from Mike

2008-06-12T20:34:00.006+01:00

I got an email today from Mike a friend and ex-colleague, who's one of the few people I know who's actually been brave enough to do what he really wants to do. I think, although men and Englishmen in particular don't really talk about this sort of thing, he's happier for it.

So Mike was passing on a great Treehugger link for bicycle lawn mowing (oh, yes) and also asking 'what's happened to the blog?'. Which was really nice. I've always been a bit of a realist about blogging (or should I say my blog) I never have had any delusions that I was going to change the world. It was more a case that I was building up such an internal head of steam about some issues that they needed an escape and blogging seemed an interesting way of doing it. Having said all that it nice when someone (a) notices you've stopped doing it (b) puts finger to keyboard to ask why you've stopped.

To be honest I don't really know why, it's only been just over an month, just after the London mayoral election. Thinking about it now, I just needed some space from it to put it all in to context.

I was first able to vote in 1981 and Margaret Thatcher had already been in power for nearly two years. The UK then had a continuous Conservative government for a further sixteen of my politically formative years. In 1997 like many of my generation I thought the world was going to change, the first 'Labour' government I had properly known came to power. "Things could only get better" went the song.

Then in 2000 Ken Livingstone, who had been so cruelly removed from power as the leader of the Greater London Council by Margaret Thatcher was returned to his rightful place as the leader of our great city. It seemed that old wrongs were being put right.

I am the first to admit New Labour was far from what I'd hoped, but in London Ken went from strength to strength getting elected for a second term. A real socialist conviction politician in charge of our capital city, my city.

Then with the coronation of Gordon Brown things looked a little 'iffy' to say the least, could we really go back to the years of 'I'm all right Jack Tory politics'. An old Etonian leading the Conservatives, a Baronet as Shadow Chancellor, the UK was rapidly turning back to the old fashioned ruling classes. Then, where we came in, another ex-Eton boy Boris Johnson is elected as London mayor - please let this not be our future.

Hence maybe I needed a moment away to remember that London is still London, it's not going anywhere it'll still be there after Boris is gone, but summer is here, my bike is the shed and my woman is on my arm.

Thanks Mike.

The Films of Ted White

2008-05-25T18:27:00.004+01:00

I've come across two really inspiring films about cycling by the film maker Ted White. The Return of the Scorcher (1992) contrasts the differing attitudes to the bicycle in 90's San Francisco, The Netherlands and China. It also features the bicycle designer George Bliss who went on to design the pedicab amongst other bikes.

We Are Traffic (1999) chronicles the rise of the Critical Mass movement from it's roots in San Francisco and as it spread around the world.

The tradition of bicycle campaigning is continued in San Francisco by Jon Winston on his excellent Bikescape podcast and blog.

Shake yourself up man!

2008-05-07T20:19:00.004+01:00

Despite the gorgeous weather in the south-east this week I've still been suffering a bit of Boris induced lethargy. So in an attempt to shake myself out of it (my lunchtime bike ride helped a little) here's a bit of art. Well not art so much as proposed art, one could say virtual soon-to-be-tangible art.

These are the short-listed proposals for the 50m high sculpture, rather pompously called the 'Ebbsfleet Landmark', to be built just up the road from here near the Ebbsfleet Eurostar station. I suppose its status as a landmark is guaranteed by the scale.

The artists are (from the top) Daniel Buren, Mark Wallinger, Rachel Whiteread, Richard Deacon and Christopher Le Brun. I really quite like all of them but if I had to make a choice I'd pick Mark Wallinger's horse, just because you couldn't fail to smile at a 5om high white wooden horse. My second choice would be Richard Deacon's proposal - second from bottom. There I feel a lot better. The winner is due to be announced in the autumn.

The New Mayor of London

2008-05-03T18:07:00.004+01:00

I really wanted to write about this but it's all too depressing for a sunny bank holiday weekend.

So I'll leave it to Will Self from the article 'Be Afraid. Be very afraid' by Zoe Williams.

"If Johnson were elected? I'd feel that he had neither the acumen nor the gravitas to resist becoming the teddy bear of the 4x4-driving, Laura Ashley headscarf-wearing, inherently inegalitarian and snobbish denizens of Chelsea. I'd feel that we had a buffoon as mayor instead of a reptile, and whatever my disagreements with Livingstone - and they are legion - at least he understands what a swamp this city is."

I beseech, implore and entreat you - not Boris!

2008-04-28T09:27:00.002+01:00

I've spent the last few weeks biting my tongue trying not to talk about the upcoming mayoral elections in London. I am feeling like the verbal equivalent of a man who's drunk six pints of lager, sitting in the middle row of the theatre half way through the second act and someone on stage is pouring a trickle of water into a bucket - I can hold on no longer!

On one hand I think 'who am I to suggest how anyone should vote'? In fact who am I to be so vain as to think that anyone gives a toss what I think about how they should vote? Never mind that they may act upon it and dear reader I am not that man and I am not that vain. However although the likelihood is that my words will be as effective as if I had 'poured' them into that bucket, if I don't speak then and that of which I can barely mention does happen, then I will always hold myself, in some small way, to blame. The 'what if' scenario.

So here I go laying my cards on the table, although I consider myself a Londoner I don't now live in London. I was born in London but now live just outside. But if anyone asks where I come from I, always out of instinct, say with some pride I'm a Londoner. So as I'm sure you can imagine, this is doubly difficult, I see impending disaster and on my own I am powerless to do anything, not one thing, about it, I need your help.

We all know it's a two horse race, the polls in Sunday's newspapers are putting it too close to call. Yes I'd like Siân Berry (Green Party) to win, but it isn't going to happen, it's between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson and we cannot risk allowing Boris to get in by 'wasting' votes on other candidates. I'm sure that over the past eight years Ken has done things that you don't agree with, he certainly has his moments, but generally the positives seem to far out way the negatives, the congestion charge, the unprecedented increase in bus travel, the increase in cycling, more police on the streets. And what of the alternative, Boris Johnson! Of all people, no, no, no!

I don't know what else to say, it just cannot, it must not happen. I'm now on metaphorical bended knee and I beseech you, I implore and entreat you plesse don't let it happen!

London Congestion Charge - feedback & response

2008-04-27T14:50:00.006+01:00

Yesterday Mark Z. from Chicago left the following message on my post 'London Congestion Charge non-payers Top 10' (of which U.S. diplomats are number one).

"Sorry, but the Congestion Charge is a tax, plain and simple. To add, Livingstone is spreading disinformation in saying that British diplomats have to (and do) pay tolls in the US... The US State Department has ruled that all vehicles that have been issued State Department DIPLOMAT plates are exempt from all road/bridge tolls, regardless of whether that road/bridge is public or private. Look into the toll booths of many tollway authorities in the US and you'll see a piece of paper with a picture of a diplomatic plate and writing in big letters saying something like "people with these 'DIPLOMAT' plates are free". I personally confirmed this on the Indiana Toll Road recently..."

Mark thanks for your feedback, but I think you're missing the point. Whether the congestion charge is technically considered a tax or not doesn't really matter. It's in place to reduce congestion in a very busy city and has been very successful at doing so. Why should, I'm sure very well paid US diplomats, be exempt from a charge that applies to ordinary Londoners? Ideally I'd like to see those diplomats using public transport, but if they're not far-sighted enough to do so then they should pay the charge/tax like everyone else.

Secondly what the US State Department says on the subject is irrelevant, this isn't the US. If the State Department want to exempt diplomatic vehicles in their own country then go ahead, knock yourselves out (not doing so might encourage some of those drivers to look for alternative modes of transport - but that is your business). While they're in the UK however US and all the other diplomats should have the courtesy to abide by our laws.

A philosophical question about traffic or is it life?

2008-04-22T20:03:00.005+01:00

I was standing on this junction just off of Tottenham Court Road in London and as you can see there's one of those boxes at the traffic lights where us cyclists are supposed to congregate to be 'safe' from the traffic. (I've just looked them up on Wikipedia and they are called 'advanced stop lines'.) Is there a verb for the act of referencing Wikipedia as in 'to Google'? - just a thought.

I was standing there quite a while, as you can tell, and I noticed that every driver, and I mean every driver, overshot those lines to some degree.

What makes them do that? Is it some subconscious feeling that they're going to get away just a little quicker if they stop those five or six feet further forward? Do they think by overshooting they're rebelling in their little way against the petty rules that try to regiment our every moment?

So I resolved to wait until someone, just one driver, stopped on the line. But I have to admit I was beaten. They kept coming. Some just overshooting. Some like Mr Red-van-man there completely ignoring the line altogether, but none stopped on the line. Well not before I got bored and walked away.

As I say I don't expect an answer, for who knows, maybe there is no answer, but it does make you wonder.

The correction of a correction!

2008-04-21T08:26:00.004+01:00

This is a Wildberry's blog first - the correction of the correction. On Saturday I reported that BAA are advertising for a new Head of Corporate Responsibility and, in a wizard wheeze, that Plane Stupid are encouraging their supporters to apply for the job. All was well.

Then yesterday Mrs Wildberry told me I'd got it wrong, it was BA that were advertising not BAA - hence this correction (I know I should have checked - who'd take the word of someone who goes under the moniker of Mrs Wildberry). As you've guessed by now, or you probably know, the vacancy is with BAA! (I've checked the ad) I'm really hoping that this draws a veil over the whole sorry tale.

But this could prove I'm just the right man for the job - I'd fit in well at Terminal 5!

Correction: one 'A' too many

2008-04-20T16:28:00.003+01:00

The sharp eyed amongst you will have noticed (yesterday's blog post) it's BA that are advertising for a new Head of Corporate Responsibility not BAA.

Don't let that stop you applying!

Want a job?

2008-04-19T09:37:00.006+01:00

This really is inspired - Plane Stupid are encouraging their supporters to apply for the position of Head of Corporate Responsibility with BAA. The position suddenly became vacant this week after the roaring success of Terminal 5.

It pays well, £62 - £77,000, and if you don't get the job you could win a Plane Stupid t-shirt. To be honest I think I'd rather have the t-shirt.

All the details are on the Plane Stupid website, good luck, I'll see you at the interviews!

20.4.08 Correction it's BA advertising not BAA.
21.4.08 Correction to the above correction it is BAA. Is this looking like an edition of the Guardian's Corrections and Clarifications

Oxfam - Be Humankind animation

2008-04-18T17:58:00.003+01:00

Oxfam are trying to persuade people who don't normally get involved in their campaigns that they can change things and take action against poverty. They've launched this great animated ad which is going to be first shown this evening on television in the UK.

Let's hope it works.

Plane Stupid: Protesting in Scotland

2008-04-14T13:58:00.004+01:00

photo courtesy Plane Stupid

Show those guys from Plane Stupid a big building and they'll do two things, they'll climb up it and then hang a banner from it - no building is safe! Today the building is the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.

But let's be honest it's a great way of getting their point across and it's an important one. There are two consultations currently being held by the Scottish Parliament. The National Planning Framework and the Planning Scotland Act 2006, that combined will give the Government central control over planning.

The Scottish Parliament is proposing to expand both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, at the same time as having an 80% target to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 - the two just aren't compatible. Plane Stupid suggest that once the legislation is in place the Government will be able to use it to bypass planning legislation regardless of the public's wishes. Sound familiar?

Keep climbing guys!

In Praise of: Russell Davies

2008-04-12T18:27:00.005+01:00

Had the Guardian tried to palm us off with their guide to the great British breakfast (in today's edition) without referring to Russell Davies (for my money the authority on the subject) it would have been a travesty. Fortunately for all of us they did not.

I've been reading Russell's blog since I heard him speak at the Howies Little Big Voice lectures last year and a year's a long time in the blogosphere (oh, I wish I hadn't used that word). Earlier this week I read a review he wrote on another of his websites, eggbaconchipsandbeans, and the quality of the writing and the humour made me smile out loud.

If you want to know how to blog, write and make it interesting read this blog or maybe go to this.

Heathrow: Just Say No!

2008-04-10T20:03:00.003+01:00

I wrote recently about the upcoming anti-Heathrow expansion protest on the 31st May. The event organised by Greenpeace, the Campaign Against Climate Change and all the Heathrow groups is going to be a carnival which will make it's way from Hatton Cross tube station to Sipson, the village that'll be razed to the ground if the expansion goes ahead.

At the end of the march the organisers want a huge NO spelt out in human bodies making it the largest NO in the world. The Make-a-Noise website will be launching soon, but you can go there now and register for more information.

For details of all the anti-airport expansion groups at Heathrow and across the UK go to the Transport section of Wildberry's directory.

Ssh! It's project Coyopa

2008-04-08T13:19:00.005+01:00

picture courtesy BBC Radio Labs blog

I've always found the world of radio far more fascinating than television could ever be, so when I stumbled upon the the BBC Radio Labs blog my eyes were on sticks. There I imagined I was going to find the secret to the universe, of course after a very short time it dawned on me I didn't understand a word they're talking about.

Being a little bit geeky about these things I wonder where the servers are that feed the radio and video we voraciously consume online. The servers shown in the photo are half of (whisper) 'Project Coyopa' (the Mayan God of thunderous noises - they're clever old sticks aren't they!) the new servers for streaming BBC radio.

The servers are currently on test in a secret location - all I can tell you is the room is all grey! - from where they're going to be shipped off to Broadcasting House and as they technically refer to it "plumbed in". What a toy that would be.

Climate Change Bill: The Loopholes

2008-04-07T08:35:00.006+01:00

The Campaign Against Climate Change were protesting on Saturday against the loopholes in the proposed climate change bill. The bill as it stands omits our share of the emissions from aviation and shipping in and out of the UK.

A campaign lead by Friends of the Earth with their Big Ask is calling for three aspects of the bill to be changed.

1. The overall target of 50% reduction by 2050 needs to be increased to 80%, this is in line with the recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

2. The bill has to include aviation and shipping. It's pointless having a bill committing to reduce our emissions by a given percentage on one hand and then only counting part of the emissions on the other. This really goes to the fundamentals of whether the government actually wants to deal with the issues or just to be seen to be doing something.

3. The bill has to include annual targets. If you only assess on, for example, a five yearly basis making all of the savings in the last year isn't removing as much carbon as a steady decline over the five years - the maths just doesn't add up. The only way to access whether we're meeting the commitments laid down in the bill is to have annual targets.

There are two important dates coming up. On 22 April in London there is a Climate Change Bill public meeting being arranged by Friends of the Earth and Stop Climate Chaos. We really need a big turn out to show the strength of feeling. On Saturday 31 May a march against airport expansion has been arranged at Heathrow again it really is important that as many as possible turn up for this event.

I hope to see you at both these events - Wildberry

The Internet: I'm still not over it

2008-04-03T19:51:00.005+01:00

The internet isn't exactly new, of course it's not really old either. Not in the way the earth is old (about 4.54 billion years - despite what certain books might say) or even the pyramids are old. But although it's been around a while there are times when it, combined with a bit of human effort, still makes me think Wow!

This particular Wow! was caused by my considerable disappointment that I didn't get (and Mrs Wildberry didn't get - although it was supposed to be only one application per household) any tickets to the Radiohead gig at the BBC Radio Theatre on Tuesday. I'd listened to it on-line and was surfing around, typed Radiohead into YouTube, as you do, and bam there you go some enterprising chap had recorded Faust Arp from the gig and posted it on-line all in a few hours.

Back in the day a bootleg tape might have come out some months or years later, the sound would have been really crappy and there would certainly have been no images. Today the concert is webcast and videoed. Would the Radiohead guys been too bothered? I don't think so they seem pretty cool about that sort thing, they did allow the album to be downloaded for free after all. I say again the internet - Wow!

Terminal 5 Flash Mob on CNN

2008-04-02T15:04:00.003+01:00

A fantastic film from CNN showing the passion of the local residents objecting to any further expansion of Heathrow. Two minutes of these amazing women is worth more than a year's blogging from me. All power to them. It's a shame this wasn't covered on TV in the UK.

Flip a Hummer

2008-04-02T08:46:00.004+01:00

There are times when creativity and protest come together perfectly, think of John and Yoko's peace protests, Banksy's murals on the 'West Bank barrier' and now bringing it up-to-date with Hummerbird.

I haven't posted any pictures as I'm not sure of their copyright. Also have a look at the pictures by 'All about George'.

Airlines: now they pay you to fly!

2008-03-30T18:23:00.005+01:00

I'd fully intended to try to start the new week without criticising the airline industry, but to be honest they make it so easy.

It was discovered on Sunday that the budget airline Flybe, in danger of being fined for 'not flying enough passengers between Norwich and Dublin' which most of us might consider to be a good thing, have been advertising for actors to play the roll of passengers - I kid you not!

Norwich Airport who held the threat of a £280,000 fine over Flybe for 'not carrying enough passengers' then accused the airline of 'pointlessly damaging the environment'. Duh!

One passenger interviewed by the BBC at Dublin airport said she'd been paid to fly to Dublin and back. We've gone from expensive airlines, through low cost and now they pay you! Welcome to another week.

Worn Again, and again and again

2008-03-29T16:33:00.006Z

Things don't last forever. That's just one of those lessons you learn early in life and however much I love my old trainers the fact is, I think the kindest way to describe it, that they're 'on-their-way-home'.

To be honest I'm not that worried by the slightly frayed around the edges look, they've been that way for the last two or three years (which is slightly embarrassing now I admit it). But as of late I've had to get in the habit of checking the weather forecast before wearing them or risk that rather unpleasant experience of coming home with one wet sock.

Yesterday was a wet sock too far. I set off, with heavy heart, in search of replacement and my eyes alighted on the future, and in a strange way the past. Ladies and gentlemen I introduce to you the Worn Again bicycle shoe.

These trainers made by Worn Again, part of Terra Plana, are made from all reused materials. Apparently according to the little label inside, the upper is lorry tarpaulin, bicycle tyre (round the front) and bicycle inner tube. The lining is shirt and jeans, and the sole bicycle tire and car tyre. I really think this has to be the way to go.

Recycling is all very well but the energy expended to recycle something, that in most cases has been used only once, can be enormous. Where as if these materials can be reused the energy used has got to be a fraction of that.

There's a great section on the Worn Again site showing the designer Mike's workshop with some great photographs really inspiring stuff. Now if I can find a car tyre maybe my old trainers aren't dead yet!

Talking like a Dork: about Open Source Software

2008-03-28T08:36:00.007Z

If you read the Guardian on a Saturday you'll know Stephen Fry writes a weekly technology article titled Dork Talk. Stephen's broken his arm and has been off for a few weeks. Being a bit bored on a long train journey back from somewhere-or-other I thought I'd try writing a Dork Talk article myself.

The Guardian do say that they very rarely accept unsolicited articles, but what the heck how could they resist. Well this isn't the movies and no there isn't an against-all-the-odds ending, they resisted, but it might be worth reading.

I'm writing this article for you, dear reader, on word processing software that is supplied as part of a 'complete office suite' – does the phase 'complete office suite' make you think of a glass topped desk, swivel chair and a filling cabinet? - so that's just me then. But the suite in this instance, refers not to tasteless office furniture, but advises me that my word processing software is supplied complete with software to create spreadsheets, give what can only be described as a 'Powerpoint' presentation, draw er ... drawings and even catalogue your record collection on a database.

Now even if you've been living in a cupboard for the last twenty years the ubiquitous nature of the word Powerpoint would have lead you to have thought of Microsoft Office some time ago. But this package doesn't come from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe or any of the other big name software companies you care to name.

This suite is a version of OpenOffice, I'm actually using NeoOffice the variation for the Apple Mac, which will work with Windows, Linux and Apple operating systems and is probably the best known and most polished of the growing range of open source software. Available in 65 languages and now with in excess of 98 million downloads to its name, OpenOffice is developed by an international team of volunteers with large donations from Sun Microsystems.

Open source software can best be described as software where the code that forms the software is open and available for anyone to use and amend however they wish. Now the majority of us aren't going to be rewriting that code, but the other important aspect of open source is that it is free. This isn't the 'I know someone who has a copy of you can borrow' free or 'I have a copy I bought while backpacking around India' free. This is genuinely 100% here it is take it away, register if you want no charge, at all, free!

Open source has grown as the dominance of the major software companies has increased. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with the likes of Microsoft Office, it's certainly the benchmark against which others are measured, but not everyone in the world can afford £450.00 for the complete new installation. Yes, it really is that much. How many of us use half the vast plethora of features and add-ins available? OpenOffice does far more than you'll probably ever need, you can save your files in a variety of formats including Microsoft if you need to pass them to others.

It's often said that if an offer on the internet is too good to be true, then it probably is. Well open source is the exception the proves the rule. The recently much discussed one laptop per child project is based entirely on the use of open source, as is the Asus Eee PC laptop recently reviewed on these pages..

OpenOffice is by no means the only highly regarded open source software, Steven Fry has already talked about Firefox, the open source web-browser from the Mozilla Foundation. Who also offer the Thunderbird mail application preferred by many, including myself, to the applications built into Windows and Apple machines. The Gimp an alternative to Adobe Photoshop will meet the needs of all but the most advanced amateurs.

One of the downsides to open source is the lack of documentation that's is, or is not available. Developers, mostly funded by small donations, don't have the funds to produce glossy manuals or DVDs, but all have on-line forums keen to help new users. And by stumbling across a problem they've not seen before is the one of the ways developers improve the software for all.

Open source shows human nature at its best. It's a group of people working together, mostly for the nothing, for the benefit of them all. A Google search will give a host of sites offering reviews of open source but two worth checking are www.opensourcewindows.org and www.opensourcemac.org. If you do make use of open source software I'd encourage you to make a donation to the developers it's a lot less than you might give to Microsoft but it could make all the difference to them.

It's hard not to think Stephen's looking rather disapproving.

Heathrow Flash Mob update

2008-03-27T13:53:00.006Z

There seems to have been a great response to the Flash Mob at today's opening of Heathrow Airport.

It 's a really simple idea but very effective. There are more pictures on the Greenpeace Moblog.

Thanks to the Press Association and Greenpeace for the pictures.

Heathrow Opening Tomorrow

2008-03-26T15:04:00.003Z

Just a reminder that if you're free tomorrow you're invited to pop down to the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow and join the Flash Mob. It's a peaceful protest designed to show the strength of opposition to airport expansion in the UK.

Antarctic Ice Shelf Heads North

2008-03-26T08:40:00.004Z

This is part of a film made by the British Antarctic Survey showing a section of the Watkins Ice Shelf that is in the process of breaking away. The amazing thing about this huge chunk of ice, apart from its size, 41 x 2.5Km, is the precise angle of the walls and corners.

Professor David Vaughan of the BAS said "What we're actually seeing is a chunk of the ice shelf drop off in a way that suggests it is not just a normal part of iceberg formation."

"This is not a sea level rise issue, but is yet another indication of climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula and how it is affecting the environment."

BAS press release

Even more Innocent!

2008-03-25T20:22:00.002Z

I've rather belatedly noticed (they've been doing it since September last year) that Innocent smoothies are now supplied in 100% recycled plastic bottles. I always feel a little guilty when I buy drinks like smoothies as they are supplied in either PET plastic bottles or Tetra Paks. I've written here before about the availability of recycling facilities for Tetra-paks being fairly thin on the ground - to say the least.

So the good news is that the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, that's the little ones, are now made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. If you want to read all the details they're on their website and if you want to read all about the other packaging even down to the glue used on the labels it's here.

It's easy to say that it's better if you don't buy anything like this and then there wouldn't be any waste in first place. But let's be honest we all like a treat every so often and it seems Innocent are doing their best to reduce their impact as much as possible. Fair-play to them I say.

Heathrow: BAA and the Government bend the truth shocker!

2008-03-20T20:48:00.003Z

The was a fascinating article in The Sunday Times on the 9 March asserting that in an effort to push through a third runway at Heathrow the government and BAA have colluded to bend the facts to make the case.

It's a long article and you need to read it yourselves but findings have promoted Justine Greening the MP for Putney that she has said “These documents show it was quite clearly a fix, BAA’s involvement was completely inappropriate and should now be properly investigated.”

The following week Ms Greening wrote to Ann Abraham, the parliamentary ombudsman, calling for her to investigate the research used in the consultations.

Thom Yorke on Climate Change

2008-03-19T08:45:00.006Z

This Sunday the Observer Magazine is publishing a special climate change issue, edited by Radiohead front man Thom Yorke. Thom is guest editing the magazine as part of his work with the Friends of the Earth campaign The Big Ask, which campaigns for strong climate change legislation.

The edition includes an interview with Thom where he talks about climate change and why he's a climate optomist. Thom also meets Ken Livingstone (the only credible London mayoral candidate - my thoughts not his). Amongst others there's an article about how the motor industry is trying to come to terms with challenges of climate change.

It should be good, and you have got a long weekend to fill. Wildberry

Anti-Airport Expansion Groups

2008-03-18T19:27:00.009Z

Having posted a lot recently about the campaign to stop the building of the third runway at Heathrow and the proposed expansion at Stansted it thought it might be useful to create a comprehensive list of the hard working campaigning groups.

Local anti-airport expansion groups

Aberdeen
Aberdeen Campaign against Climate Change

Biggin Hill
Flight Path

Birmingham
Birmingham Airport anti-Noise Group (BANG)
Birmingham Friends of the Earth Aviation Campaign

Bristol
Stop Bristol Airport Expansion (SBAE)

Dublin
UPROAR - United Portmarnock Residents Opposing Another Runway

Eastleigh
AXE - Against eXpansion at Eastleigh

East Midlands
DEMAND East Midlands Airport is Now Designated

Gatwick
Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign

Heathrow
2 million voices
Stop Heathrow Expansion
HACAN Clear Skies
No Third Runway Action Group (NOTRAG)
Richmond Heathrow Campaign

Luton
LADACAN
Stop Luton Airport Plan (SLAP)

Lydd
Keep the Marsh Special Alliance
Lydd Airport Action Group

Newquay
Groundswell Cornwall

Shoreham
Communities Against Runway Expansion

Southampton
Southampton AXE
Southampton Friends of the Earth

Stansted
Stop Stansted Expansion
Ware Residents Against Stansted Expansion (WRASE)

Staverton
CASE - Concerned residents against Staverton expansion (Gloucestershire)

Swansea
Swansea Airport No Expansion (SANE)

Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton Airport Action Group

Other Airport Campaign Groups
Airport Watch
SSATAG (South Suffolk Aircraft Tracking Action Group)

Plane Stupid have a number of local groups around the country:

Birmingham: birmingham@planestupid.com
Bristol: bristol@planestupid.com
Brighton: brighton@planestupid.com
Edinburgh: edinburgh@planestupid.com
Gloucestershire: gloucestershire@planestupid.com
London: london@planestupid.com
Nottingham: nottingham@planestupid.com
Sheffield: sheffield@planestupid.com
York: york@planestupid.com
Yorkshire: yorkshire@planestupid.com

The great number of these groups must reflect in some way the strength of feeling about this very emotive issue. I'm going to add these to the Transport section of the website (hopefully tomorrow).

If you know of any groups not listed please send them to me (nigel@wildberrys.org.uk) and I'll get them listed.

Capel-le-Ferne Farmers' Market

2008-03-17T10:41:00.003Z

I've always thought that Capel-le-Ferne must be terribly exotic, it sounds rather like a small bit of France that got left behind when the Channel was formed sometime during the last ice age. (how the channel was formed - don't say this blog isn't educational) I've rather veered of the subject there, oh yes Capel-le-Ferne. Well to prove it's a nice place I had a very friendly email from Jenny Baraclough asking if I would include the Capel-le-Ferne Farmer's Market in the directory of the website - with pleasure.

Jenny advises the market is held - EVERY TUESDAY FROM 10 A.M. TO 12.30 P.M. IN THE VILLAGE HALL, LANCASTER AVENUE, CAPEL-LE-FERNE CT18 7LX

We have approximately 20 stalls every week, selling local produce from FISH, MEAT, EGGS, BREAD, CAKES, DELICATESSEN, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, PLANTS, ASIAN SPECIALITIES, ITALIAN DISHES, HAND MADE CHOCOLATE & FUDGE, PRESERVES & PICKLES, KENTISH CHEESE, PAINTED GLASSWARE, HAND MADE JEWELLERY, HAND MADE CARDS - new stalls coming soon too!

We offer Refreshments and a Friendly Atmosphere, so why not come along and visit us, parking is easy on the roads. Look out for our Special Events i.e. Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Anniversary etc. We will be celebrating our 5th Anniversary in April 2008!

You can visit our website for further information www.capelleferne.info or e mail
capelfarmersmarket@yahoo.co.uk or Telephone 07899 082356.

I've added Capel-le-Ferne to the Farmers' Market page in the directory, you can also find it on our Google map.

Protest Day

2008-03-16T18:05:00.006Z

It was something of a day of protest yesterday, one we were expecting and one we weren't. The one we were expecting was the march arranged by the Stop the War Coalition, the fifth anniversary of that monumental march of February 2003.

I feel I'm not well enough informed to know now whether pulling British and US troops out of Iraq is the best for the people there. I was against the invasion and was proud to take part in that march, in 2003, but I can't now help feeling that it's a mess we've created and it's our responsibility to sort it out. Conversely the presence of our troops could just be making matters worse. I really don't know and many greater minds than mine are in dispute over this one.

The protest we weren't expecting was the one taking place outside the Dianetics & Scientology 'Life Improvement Centre' on London's Tottenham Court Road. The protest, neatly hemmed in by the police, across the road from the centre was formed by a large group all wearing the same rather scary masks. The protest was very well organised, with participants well rehearsed in their chants and actions, and on the surface it seemed generally quite good humoured.

Mrs Wildberry was offered a free cake by one of the protesters, with the assurance that she "didn't need to sign-up to a brain washing cult to enjoy it!" The protest was part of a anonymous world-wide picket organised by the website xenu.net against the Church of Scientology.

According to the xenu website the Church of Scientology is "a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a religion. Its purpose is to make money. It practices a variety of mind-control techniques on people lured into its midst to gain control over their money and their lives. Its aim is to take from them every penny that they have and can ever borrow and to also enslave them to further its wicked ends."

According to the church themselves Scientology is "More than a system of belief, Scientology is an applied religion that plays a vital role in both the lives of its congregation and the community at large."

You have to appreciate that I'm speaking as someone who was born with a natural distrust of organised religion of any colour. But even with their rather disconcerting masks the protesters above looked less sinister than the rather too calm observers from the church across the road.

Very smart though aren't they!

Keep safe out there - Wildberry

Terminal 5 opening and you're invited

2008-03-14T08:19:00.007Z

Today the Queen opens the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, but the terminal opens to the public on Thursday 27 March and you're invited. The group Stop Airport Expansion are holding what they call a FlashMob (described by Wikipedia as: 'A large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse’).

You need to be there before 11am. At 11am on the dot you reveal your brightly coloured 'Stop Airport Expansion' t-shirt. Although there are a great many things that are against the Heathrow bylaws wearing a t-shirt isn't one of them.

So you don't protest, you have a nice little wander around maybe get a cup of coffee, read the paper and then go home. Now the impact of this peaceful non-protest has to be in the numbers, without big numbers it just isn't going to work so bring your friends along!

You can get your free t-shirt from the Stop Airport Expansion website. If you're a blogger please blog about this, the more the merrier.

Heathrow Residents Speak Out

2008-03-12T20:27:00.005Z

Following the post earlier today I've been looking at the anti-Heathrow expansion protest sites. In the process I came across this great little film, where the ordinary residents from around Heathrow airport speak about their feelings of the airport expansion.

It's really powerful because these people aren't what you'd consider as the protest 'usual suspects', they're ordinary people who feel powerless in the face of such huge opposition. But I wouldn't underestimate them somehow I don't think they'll just roll over, they're made of sterner stuff than that.

HACAN Clear skies
Stop Heathrow Expansion

Stansted: the hell goes on

2008-03-12T08:48:00.004Z

For the people living around Stansted airport it really couldn't get much worse. They are still waiting the outcome of last years public enquiry into the proposed increase in passenger numbers using the existing runway, however yesterday BAA submitted an application to build a second runway on the site.

All through the public enquiry BAA have shown breathtaking arrogance and by submitting this application before the results of the first enquiry they are implying that the result of that enquiry is a foregone conclusion in their favour. If the second runway were to be built at Stansted it would have a capacity of 68 million passengers a year, three times the existing throughput. The airport would be larger that Heathrow is today, in terms of number of passengers, number of flights and the area of land used.

The Government is making noises about proposed green policies and suggesting green taxes will be launched in today's budget, yet it does nothing to stop proposals like this and the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

We as ordinary UK citizens need to draw a line in the sand and show the government that enough is enough. With these two new runways proposed for the south-east and the proposed new coal fired power station at Kingsnorth there are three projects pending that will significantly affect UK carbon emissions for decades to come.

The Stop Stansted Expansion Campaign in their press release described BAA's planning application for a second runway as "going beyond environmental vandalism and being tantamount to a declaration of war on the local community and global environment. The campaign has pledged to use every means at its disposal to defeat these plans."

I would ask everyone to support them in any way you can.

BBC news report
HACAN Clear Skies (Heathrow expansion protest group)

Backing for Ken against Porsche

2008-03-11T13:24:00.006Z

The Campaign for Better Transport (formally Transport 2000) have come out in support of mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, in his battle with Porsche over increases in the congestion charge.

Richard Bourn, the London Campaigner at Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Porsche is trying to justify the unjustifiable by acting for unrestrained use of gas guzzling cars in London. There is no reason why people should drive round city centres in vehicles that do about 15 miles per gallon and greatly increase climate change. It's quite right that the Mayor should say so and act accordingly. We support the use of incentives for people to drive more efficient and responsible cars."

link: Alliance Against Urban 4x4s

The Black Douglas - Deal, Kent

2008-03-10T08:20:00.007Z

The Black Douglas is the perfect example of something that used to be almost impossible to find in the UK; a great cafe on the seafront. Sitting on Beach Street, Deal, the Black Douglas is literally a stone's throw from the beach and yet is a great cafe. If you've been around long enough to have visited an English seaside town in the 70s and 80s you'll know what a rarity this used to be. But this isn't a greasy spoon type cafe, it's rather more of (and I hate to bring class into this, but it is) a middle class hang-out. There I've said it but please don't dismiss it for that.

Founded in 2006, it still manages to give the feeling that it's been on this site since Dr Johnson strode the earth. There is a bookshelf full of books (lots of cookery books), and newspapers, for browsing. There's no doubt that the coffee here is very good, they offer a range of cafetière - my favourite is the Ethiopian with a lovely deep strong flavour, but the real selling point here is the food.

All the food is home made, there are lots of cakes including several naturally gluten-free, great soups, sandwiches and a range of daily specials. If you have any doubt of the veracity of the home-made nature of the food you can walk through the dining room into the kitchen and there it is all going on in front of your eyes.

They say of their food "The Black Douglas Coffee House is founded on the principles of good simple food, sourcing locally or direct from the producer with an emphasis on traceable and sustainable produce.

"We take great care creating our menus and only serve the coffees, drinks and food that we love to eat and drink ourselves. Here is our current menu and you will always find a range of daily special menu items on offer." I certainly can't disagree. Highly recommended.

You can find The Black Douglas on my Google Map and other recommended places to eat in Wildberry's directory.

Cycling Summer

2008-03-09T17:36:00.004Z

BBC video of the Smithfield Nocturne 2007

It seems destined to be a cycling summer once again, and here are a couple of dates for your diary. Following the success of it's inaugural event last year the London Freewheel is set to take place on Sunday 21st September, let's hope the weather will be as good as it was last year.

One event I didn't get along to last year, and regretted it, was the Smithfield Nocturne. This year the evening of cycle racing around the old meat market site is scheduled for Saturday 7th June - I'm definitely going to be there!

Be careful out there - Wildberry

Climate Camp 2008 at Kingsnorth

2008-03-05T13:32:00.004Z

The venue for this year's Climate Camp is scheduled to be right on the doorstep of Wildberry Towers at Kingsnorth power station in Medway, north Kent. Kingsnorth was recently proposed as the site for a new coal fired power station which would be the first to be built in the UK for over twenty years.

The 2007 climate camp at Heathrow received a lot of media attention and I'm sure this year's will be the same. In the press release for the camp Natasha Edleman says: "Building a new coal-fired power station in the middle of a climate crisis is madness. The science shows that we only have a few years to avert catastrophic climate change. If we let this happen then there are seven more power stations coming. This must be stopped." And it's hard to argue with that.

The 2008 camp will start with a day of protest at Heathrow airport followed by a march across London towards the 2008 campsite at Kingsnorth. The camp is scheduled for 4-11th August.

You can get all the information about the camp from the Climate Camp website and I'll post it here as it comes through.

See the location on our Google Map.

London Congestion Charge non-payers top ten

2008-03-02T18:46:00.005Z

It's interesting the US Government, in the form of Robert Tuttle the head of their Embassy in London, has conveniently decided that Congestion Charge in London is illegal and so they don't need to pay. I say 'not going to pay' in fact they haven't been paying for the last two and a half years. In that time they have run up over £2 million pounds in unpaid charges and 'other traffic penalties'.

In reaction Mr Tuttle was labelled by the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, as 'chiselling little crook' which on the face of it is an accusation hard to deny. According to the US Government the congestion charge is an illegal tax under the Vienna Convention and has instructed staff to stop paying. The mayor is supported by the Foreign Office that confirms that British officials in Singapore and Hong Kong are not exempt from similar charges.

Isn't it inspiring that a country that lectures others, at such great length, about observing the rule of international law can just decide that it doesn't agree with this particular one and therefore decide not to pay.

I have to say though that the US are not alone in their refusal to pay the congestion charge, but they do top the league of International Congestion Charge Refuseniks. Here are the top ten:

USA £2,087,945
Japan £1,003,300
Nigeria £982,350
Russian Fed. £912,360
Germany £828,170
Sudan £712,900
Kenya £435,250
Tanzania £409,120
South Africa £362,500
Sierra Leone £20,120

In Faint Praise of the Cheese Sandwich

2008-02-27T18:36:00.003Z

Travelling across Europe by train has a lot to be said for it, especially if you prefer experiencing the sites and sounds of a country instead of flying over them at however many thousands of feet. The blot on this particular landscape however has to be Bruxelles Midi station, through where if your heading south or east in Europe you need to travel. In fact, no, it's not the station itself but the refreshment on offer that's the problem.

I've just arrived from Germany where the 'vegetarian option' is not quite so prevalent on the menu as it is in the UK. As I result I've spent the past few days surviving on a alternating menu of cheese and egg sandwiches, which means I've probably succeeded in loosing a little weight and doubling my cholesterol level at the same time. Under normal circumstances I'm quite partial to the cheese sandwich, especially with the addition of maybe a couple of slices of tomato and a bit of black pepper. But just now, I can quite honestly say, I couldn't face another even if it were made by Mrs Wildberry wearing a couture Christian Dior gown and singing the aria from Aida.

So back in Brussels, the food on offer is arranged around what has now come to be known in the UK as a 'food court' - as usually found in an out-of-town shopping centre somewhere close to a major motorway intersection. The selection consists almost exclusively of 'booths' selling remarkably similar looking pizza warming slowly under infra-red lights and a number of vendors selling 'freshly-made' baguettes. Although the very same baguettes were there when I arrived and were still there when I left some hour-and-a-half later - what is the expiry time on 'freshly made' do you think?

Now you're probably reading this just having had a satisfying home made meal and thinking that I'm being 'just a little fussy'? And on a quick inspection of the wares on offer I might have agreed, but I really did circumnavigate that food court several times searching for something to tempt my palette. I was in danger of the assembled group of muggers, taking five minutes out of their busy schedule, thinking I was moving in on their patch. But I assure you that pizza looks suspiciously like a health scare waiting to happen and if you think about it both that and the baguettes could be described as variations of the cheese sandwich!

Pro-life or Pro-death?

2008-02-27T08:22:00.004Z

"Who carries the greatest responsibility for the deaths of unborn children in this country? I accuse the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor. I charge that he is partly to blame for our abnormally high abortion rate."

Not my words, although I entirely agree with them, but those of George Monbiot in his latest article for The Guardian. I have, for a long time found it hard to balance the Catholic church's view on contraception with 'the Christian' moral code and I have posted here many times before about the inconsistencies in the moral positions of organised religions.

I was tempted to say that maybe Catholics should write to their bishop, or maybe even the Pope, to highlight their disquiet with this position. But to be honest what would be the point, the catholic church isn't known for it's democracy. I really don't think they'd give a damn what you think.

I'll leave the closing to the final paragraph in George Monbiot's article "When the Pope tells bishops in Kenya, the global epicentre of this crisis, that they should defend traditional family values “at all costs” against agencies offering safe abortions, or when he travels to Brazil to denounce the government’s contraceptive programme, he condemns women to death. When George Bush blocks US aid for family planning charities that promote safe abortions, he ensures, paradoxically, that contraceptives are replaced with backstreet foeticide. These people spread misery, disease and death. And they call themselves pro-life."

Wildberry

Kent Farmers' Market Association

2008-02-23T17:26:00.003Z

View Larger Map

I received an email from Bob Taylor telling me about the Kent Farmers' Market Association which is due to be launching in April (although their website is already online). They're aiming to increase the publicity for farmers' markets in Kent and to get the public to appreciate what a great resource is on their doorsteps - which has to be good.

The website has a map showing market locations and I've added them all to my Google Map.

There's also more information on farmers' markets in the The Directory.

Porsche Standing up for the Ordinary Man

2008-02-19T19:35:00.006Z

The good people at Porsche are so concerned about the ordinary people of London that they've decided intervene in the democratic process on their behalf. Oh yes - they know that the elected Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has no business taking decisions on behalf of the citizens of the capital when the obviously far more representative executives at Porsche can do so instead.

Apparently the Mayor of London, in bringing in the new higher rate of congestion charge, is discriminating against the ordinary hard pressed Porsche driver (do you think that might include the executives at the offices of Porsche Great Britain, based in Isleworth Middlesex, some six miles down the road from the western edge of the congestion charge zone? or am I being unnecessarily cynical?). So standing up for your rights Porsche have decided to ask for a judicial review of the price changes which are due to come into force in October.

Transport for London estimates that 33,000 vehicles, that would be charged the higher rate, currently come into the zone each day and that this will be cut by two-thirds once the new charges come into place.

Porsche (car maker to the common man) currently have 46 different models listed on the UK VCA car fuel data website of those only two come below the 225 grams of CO2 per km of the new upper band (and both of those are at 222grams - hardly environment friendly!). The Porsche Cayenne Turbo S tops the table at a massive 378 grams.

I'm sure the people at Porsche are far from dim, they must know that the tide is turning against the profligate waste of the world's resources epitomised by their cars. Their time would be far better spent working to help limited the damage to the environment created by vehicles of all kinds.

BBC report on the challenge

Bottled water: who needs it?

2008-02-18T08:06:00.006Z

This question is being asked by the BBC documentary series Panorama to be shown on BBC1 this evening at 8.30pm. If you're reading this after the event the programme will be available for a week to watch online on the BBC iplayer.

Whole Foods Market at last

2008-02-17T19:08:00.006Z

Yesterday we made a rather belated visit to the Whole Foods Market in Kensington High Street, London. I appreciate this picture doesn't really tell you a great deal, but there's a sign just inside the store saying that 'the taking of photographs is not permitted'. Now forgive me if I'm a bit critical, but don't you think that's just a little self regarding? OK you could say that the very fact that I was intending to take some pictures justifies their decision, but I really don't see what they have to hide.

Whole Foods got a foothold in the UK market by buying the small home-grown Fresh & Wild chain (mostly based in London if you haven't heard of it). The Kensington High Street store is the first to open under the Whole Foods Market name last June. It opened to a blaze of publicity in the press, this I think contributed to the reason I've not visited before. I can really only compare it to the reaction to a much hyped film, once it's released, it's difficult not to feel a sense of anticlimax. Most of the publicity seemed to concentrate on three things, the huge range of produce (and it is impressive), the high prices (they are high) and the fact that it's sited in a very middle class area of London (they've got to live somewhere).

The produce first, well it is as I say impressive. The store ranges over three floors with the ground floor and basement being chock full of groceries. They have a whole load of statistics posted up about the number of cheeses they stock and the 38 types of bread baked in-store, if you're after a hard-to-get specific ingredient then the odds are they'll have it. The first floor is dedicated to a small area of organic and fair-trade housewares with the obligatory in-store cafe.

The prices: this is a difficult one. Granted if you don't have a great deal of money then, no, you're not going to be doing your weekly shop here instead of Tesco, but then it isn't a monopoly. No one's forcing you to shop there and we don't complain about the prices at Asprey or Armani do we.

The subject I do take issue with is that all the advertising both in-store and out is focussed on their green credentials and local nature of their produce. Some of it no doubt is sourced from the UK, I could see that from the maps on the walls showing where it came from, but there is a hell of lot that comes from much further away. Some produce, particularly at this time of year, you can't source from the UK, but do we really need the aisle, after aisle, after aisle of groceries from the USA?

There is also an enormous amount of plastic packaging. The chiller cabinets are stocked high with little portions of chopped fruits all in plastic pots with plastic lids, there are nuts in plastic pots, grated cheese in plastic pots, in-fact just about anything you can think of is available in a plastic pot. It's as though they have shares in a plastic pot factory, the vast majority of which will no doubt end up in landfill.

I could go on and on. To summarise there is a lot good to say, for example plastic bags will phased out in April (an example our big retailers could follow), and there are quite a few not-so-good things. If you're looking for the best in environment friendly shopping then you're much better to seek out your local organic or fair-trade retailer or farmers' market. Have a look at the food and farmers' market sections of the directory for more of these. And before you ask, no, I didn't take any sneeky photos for use later!

Bottled water by numbers

2008-02-14T14:05:00.001Z

These figures are from an article by Lucy Siegle in The Observer this Sunday. Further highlighting the environmental disaster that is bottled water.

2.27bn Litres of bottled water drunk in the UK in 2006

1.68bn Retail value in pounds of bottled water sold in Britain that year

16 Percentage of the British soft drink market

9,000 Tonnes of CO2 produced each year taking Volvic the 1,000km from south east France to Britain. Evian travels 930km from Lake Geneva, producing 14,000 tonnes of CO2. British supplier Highland Spring produces 5,500 tonnes per year

81 Percentage of water sold in UK that comes in plastic bottles

27m Tonnes of plastic used to bottle water worldwide each year

26 Percentage of bottled water coming from overseas imports

18,000 Distance in kilometres that a bottle of Waiwera water (from New Zealand) travels to reach the UK

17m Barrels of oil used each year to make the bottles for water sold in the US, enough to fuel more than 1 million American cars for a year

5 Tax in American cents placed on bottled water in Chicago to try to encourage citizens to use tap water instead of bottled

40 Cost in dollars for a 750ml bottle of Bling H2O in shops in the US

2 Percentage of British people who consider bottled water in restaurants to be good value

500 Number of times tap water is cheaper than bottled

For previous posts on bottled-water see here.

Ken sometimes I could kiss you!

2008-02-13T08:30:00.007Z

There are times when I want to grab Ken Livingstone (The Mayor of London) by the cheeks and give him a big kiss square on the lips. He might not be the perfect politician and occasionally he does things that make me wince. But in a world where most politicians haven't got a backbone to share between them a conviction politician like Ken is like a breath of fresh air.

Yesterday Ken announced that vehicles in the emissions band G (over 225 grams of CO2 per km) will pay a new higher rate of £25 congestion charge. This should really make a difference in reducing the number of heavily polluting vehicles in our capital city. The lowest emission vehicles (bands A & B) will pay no charge, vehicles between the two will continue to pay the existing £8 rate.

We now need to persuade the Government to increase the road tax on the most polluting vehicles to ensure that it's not just in London we reduce the numbers. Eventually, of course, we need a scheme, as proposed by the EU, where new vehicles are limited to the level of their emissions, but this is a great first step.

For more information on the issues checkout the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s.

We've so much to learn

2008-02-10T15:25:00.000Z

On holiday in Holland last year I was impressed that all the trains we travelled on had energy rating labels displayed, such as you might find on your new washing machine in the UK. This train for example emits, on average, 41 grams of CO2 per passenger kilometre.

Now it's easy to be cynical and wonder exactly how that information might help you. After all you're not going to hang around for the next train to see if it has a lower CO2 rating. Of course you're not, but what you might do is compare it to the emissions of your car. Average EU car emissions (for 2004 - the last year I could find information) are 163 g/km, so even if there are four of you in your car, you're only going to just match the rating of the train and let's be honest most cars don't carry four people.

Bahn.de the German train information website takes this information to a whole new level, when you put in the details of your journey, Berlin to Munich for example, it calculates your emissions for the journey - 26.3 kg for the 585km journey. It also then compares that with the journey in an average diesel engine car (105.3 kg) and by plane (89.5 kg) - pretty impressive. But it doesn't stop there, they then give you a whole host of information including particulate matter emissions, Sulfur dioxide, Nitrogen oxides etc.

Again it's easy to say, most people aren't going to do anything with all this information, and they're probably not. But it does show the train companies are aware of their emissions, they've taken the time to calculate them and so probably they'll make the effort to reduce them. Doesn't it also highlight how we, in the UK, have so much to learn.

If you want to check the emissions of your car look at the excellent Car Fuel Data website.

Electrisave or the Owl

2008-02-03T18:02:00.000Z

I wrote some time ago about our experiences with our Electrisave power monitor, it seems there have been some problems between the manufacturers and the UK distributor. To cut a long story short the Electrisave is now available in the UK as the Owl.

The good news for any potential purchasers is the price has gone from £79.95 to £49.95 - not a bad thing. You can read my original review here.

the view from hell

2008-02-02T18:14:00.000Z

Of course I appreciate there are a lot worse places to be, but when I took this it really was my own small piece of hell.

The flight from Eindhoven to Stansted is mercifully short at about 55 minutes but for a good 35 of those minutes Ryanair now play an almost continuous loop of ads tempting you to by all sorts of crap from their in-flight shopping catalogue. The relentlessly chipper voice also advises if you don't have time to complete your lovely 'in-flight' purchases whilst actually 'in-flight' you can go to the Ryanair website shop (no I'm not giving you the link, you can go and find it yourselves) and continue shopping online - I would love to know how many people actually do that.

On the way out I saw Michael O'Leary the CEO of Ryanair at Stansted Airport. I'm not taken to violence but I did have a nearly irresistible urge to tell him exactly what I thought of him. I think the fact that he would have probably got some distorted pleasure from it was the only thing that stopped me.

Hopefully it's several more years before I need to go through that again. Wildberry.

today I fly away

2008-01-30T08:37:00.000Z

Today, unfortunately, I have to fly to Eindhoven for the day on business and I'm really not happy about it. If you've read this blog before you will know, I hate flying! This isn't an exaggerated dislike we're talking about, not some blown-up aversion to, this is full on hate. And not just because of the environmental impact, the noise, the pollution, but because it's such a generally unpleasant process.

I'm sure very rarely has an experience as unpleasant as flying managed to be sold as something so glamorous. So many of the TV ads we see show the pleasure of flying, the trend-setters being whisked through airports to settle in their 'nearly flat-bed'. It really is a master-stroke of the advertising art. Where as the reality is long queues, over crowded airports, pollution, surly staff, more queues, baggage check-ins, noise, luggage lockers, dry-air and drier sandwiches, more noise, more queues, a few hours/days break and then you repeat the whole thing again.

Unfortunately there is no way I could get out of this trip, as I have with so many before. I tried to sell it to my MD that we should go by Eurostar, "but boss the train is so more pleasant, we can have dinner, you can play with your laptop/blackberry" (he likes doing that - it looks so like working), "the time will fly -by" (no pun intended). But he wasn't having any of it. We're taking customers with us and they expect to fly - so flying it is.

It's been over four years since we've flown abroad on holiday. It's not something to crow about, we've have taken the choice to cut down on flying and to be honest we've had such great holidays in the UK and travelling abroad by train we don't feel as though we've missed out. We as a society need to break the psychological connection that says if you haven't flown for ten hours it's not a proper holiday.

So there it is. According to the carbon calculator I looked at it's a return trip of 718km with estimated emissions of 0.1 tonnes of CO2 (see what I think of carbon calculators and off-setting).

Wildberry