Vegan November

Okay so it's 2 1/2 years since I posted here but let's gloss over that for now ...

I'm back. Why, you ask? Well I'm taking on Animal Aid's vegan November one month challenge, and I thought I'd document the challenges, the fun and the unexpected issues that crop up as a result of this. 

I'm a long term dedicated vegetarian and the hubby's even been veggie for half a decade now, so why choose now to try vegan? Well lots of reasons, really. Veganism is certainly more ethically consistent than vegetarianism.  For hubby, well he keeps reading about vegan ultra runners on the internet (not that he's an ultra runner yet, he's doing his first marathon in April) and I think 1) he thinks it will improve his performance; and 2) he fancies wearing one those vegan runner vests! For me, well I've lost about 4 stone this year so far but recently that's stalled big time. It's mostly about having gone back to work and in trying to balance the competing demands of my son, a home and working full time, I seem to have decided that eating vast quantities of galaxy is the way to go. It's not, of course it's not but I'm hoping a diet that puts milk chocolate, cheese and cream cakes firmly off the menu will help me get back into eating something approaching healthily. Of course minimising cruelty and slaughter is the real reason (if you aren't aware of the level of slaughter involved in dairy & egg production, do a bit of research, just be prepared for it to be distressing). 

Save Our Allotments!

I was horrified today to find a link on twitter to this article in today's Indy. The government (in the delightful form of Eric Pickles) wants to "free councils from the bureaucracy" of providing this statutory right. This right has already been eroded, by councils giving out smaller and smaller plots. The size 10 rods (253 Sq m) is not arbitrary but was chosen as it is the size needed to sustainably feed a family of four. Most councils now only give out half (such as my local council) or even quarter plots, making self sufficiency less and less likely. Worse is that this hits the news after the consultation has closed. I am a plot holder and I had no clue about this, and I'm guessing many others, and the 1000s on the waiting list didn't either. Both Landshare and the NSALG are campaging against this but why have we only found out when its too late? Why are these consultations not publicised more widely?

I guess I'll put in some late comments, but as the consultation is closed I'll write to my MP a) to object to this and b) to object to the way it seems to have been kept quiet. I hope some of you will do the same, after all they work for you.

As I read about this I was listening to the latest BMJ Podcast (easy to listen to for non-medics, honest!) all about the problems with the rising cost of food. The rising cost of food is hitting us in the UK too and I think the recent growth in the grow your own movement is partly a reaction to this - its a hobby that saves you money!

I feel odd talking about this, not least because we have decided to get rid of our allotment in the autumn. This was a tough decision, but when we got the allotment we were in a flat, now we have a garden, perhaps a quarter of the size of the allotment, but its handy location makes maintenance easier and through polyplanting I hope to be reasonably productive. I am worried about how I will grow my beloved curcubits, onions and potatoes which all take up a lot of space. I think allotments are one of the ways we will survive into the future, we need to keep fruit & veg gardening available to all in our society, and while I'll miss the allotment, I know I'll make two waiting list dwellers happy.

 I was intrigued by the time stealing device that is twitter into a debate about feminism. I was struck by the views outlined on half the world is watching and on It's Mothers work. I'm guessing i fall mid-way in age range between these two women and it gives me a different perspective. For a start I don't think I've ever met a man who openly self-defines as feminist, even if on discussion that's how their views pan out. If challenged about feminism most men I know might mumble "yeah I belive in equality and stuff like that " and then wander off. So i was struck by Soph's experience of men calling (or indeed believing) themselves to be feminists, as essentially, a pulling tactic. My experience is of calling oneself a feminist a great way to get rid of unwanted admirers (they still assume feminist means man hater, sigh).

 I can honestly say, if any of my friends of any gender call themselves a feminist I don't know about it. Too many people I know believe the fight for equality is over and done and that there is no point in being a feminist in the 21st century. I bloody wish. Facts are the pay gap is going nowhere fast,  the Cabinet has more men who went to Magdalen college, Oxford than women, and basically its still a patriarchy, yeah.

 Soph's blog post also talks about feminism being used to sell sexism back to us as empowerment. This is such a thorny issue. Basically I think it stinks, but I know plenty of people who reckon pole-fit classes are 'fun and empowering' rather than glamorising and sanitising an often repressive sex industry. I certainly haven't made my mind up on these (or indeed many other issues), but I'm glad to see people (of all genders) talking about these issues. 

Hmm I thought I'd blogged before about detergents but seems I've just talked about various laundry balls i wanted to talk about the boring topic of laundry, mostly because my long held traditions have changed. In the post about balls i talked about the magnoball and laundry balls as well as dryer balls. Well dryer balls are the only ones I'm still using.

I didn't get on with laundry balls because I'm a bit dyspraxic so my clothes do get mucky and need real detergent. I'd been using ecover laundry products and washing up liquid for years, bought on-line, in bulk from wiggly wigglers. I've also tried faith in nature and BioD and found them all much of a muchness. I also tried the Method laundry detergent which is fab but prohibitively expensive. Towards the end of last year I'd ran out of laundry liquid and in the shop noticed that the ecover product was nearly 3x the cost of the supermarket own brand. I bought own brand and have ever since, I'm not sure I'd say it was better, but it sure as hell is cheaper, and I can't see me switching back anytime soon.

Then between Christmas and new years we had a crisis of washing up liquid (No dishwasher here :( ). I sent husband round the shop and he returned with a bottle a fairy liquid. Well it was a 650ml bottle and we are only just over halfway through it, we would have used a litre of my usual brands by now. Is it better to use a smaller amount of less biodegradable detergent, or more of a more biodegradable detergent? There is a stream near where I live with hideously foamy water and I'd hate be contributing to that. But I need clean, clothes and plates and so on without breaking the bank. What's a girl to do?

On a cheerier note, I would still heartily recommend dryer balls. Noisy buggers but they make things softer and dry in less time, and believe me I have done a lot of tumble drying this winter.

Does anyone have stong feelings about laundry they want to share?

An Invite from Ed Milliband?!

Was very surprised this week to get a letter from Ed Milliband (s press machine). I've been invited to meet Andy Burnham at a top secret location on Friday as part of the fresh-ideas.org.uk campaign. Not really sure what to think about this, I mean how do they know who I am? Why pick me? Exactly what have I been invited to? I'm guessing this sort of 'engagement event' is about mining for ideas to reshape Labour policy.

As fortune has it I'm off on Friday, so I'm gonna schelpp along and see what its really about. I'm a little concerned my head might explode. The ConDems are making great haste in wrecking this country, and the opposition Labour are providing is pathetic. There are so many things that make me crazy (in no particular order):
The Health Bill
Changes to disability living allowance
Library Closures
Threats to bookstart
Replacing nurse - led NHS direct with NHS111 with 1 nurse per call-centre
Forest Sell-Off
The 'Universal Credit'
Cuts to all areas of local authorities particularly, children's (and adults) social services
Decimation of Sure Start
Removal of public transport subsidies

There are probably a ton more, that's just off the top of my head. It upsets me when people's main response to this is "well what would you cut?". These cuts are not an economic necessity, they are an ideological assault on all of us. This brilliant video from the blog at False Economy, explains it well. Its said you should judge a society by the way it treats its most vulnerable members. Many of these cuts target the most vulnerable whether that's children, people with disabilities, older people, the long term unemployed etc etc.

So what do I say? Where do I start? Do I bring my list of vitriol with me? The opposition Labour provide has to step up a gear, or we are all lost. Sadly I just don't see it happening. Many of the ConDems ideas are building on the 'work' of New Labour.

I will report back on what happens, I hope I will come home happy and convinced Labour speak for people like me. But I seriously doubt it.

My Vegetarian Preganancy (no not mine!)

I am feeling just a little smug as last night I found out my letter was published in latest edition of Vegetarian Living magazine. I wrote in about an article in the January edition called "My Vegetarian Pregnancy". I was one woman's experience, and, undoubtedly she did have a bad experience with her health visitor, who told her she had to eat meat. Because it was one woman's story there was no explanation of why we weigh babies and worry if their not gaining as much we would expect (clue: it's because there's something wrong!).
Reading the article, it struck me that if I wasn't a student Health Visitor, this article would totally have put me off seeking advice from my HV (er, if I had a baby, which I don't); hence the writing in. Very happy to see my letter published in an issue which also gives some very sensible vegetarian and vegan weaning advice; a teensy bit disappointed to have lost out on letter of the month to a finalist of Miss Teen GB (really? they want to endorse beauty pageants?).

Its been nearly a year since I posted here. The reasons are many, some will become clear. I think this blog is goin to have a change of direction though