early risers

Getting up early is for me, like millions of others, a hard task. Especially if you're used to work at night, like me. I love being an early bird though, and when I do make the gruelling effort to get up early (when I mean early, it's usually 6am- anything before that is just cruel), I feel so good all day - well mostly. And here are 10 good reasons to make the switch from being a night owl to an early bird:

http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/

critical mass 25/05

an update...
Ok, so the police was there in force -as usual- camera crews were around, toggers all over and hundreds of cyclists - more than I've ever seen on a ctitical mass ride. hum, ok, I've only done two so far so perhaps not the best comparison. Still, rumors were that the BBC feature triggered heaps of interest, and keen bikers came out to support free cycling in London and just have a fun ride around. It was mostly harmless, free spirited and light, just as it should be. The slow journey took us from waterloo to trafalgar square, down to buckingham palace to salute the queen and stop a limo and a 4/4 on the way, and piss off quite a few black cabs. The best thing about the critical mass rides is the traffic chaos caused throughout central London. Shouldn't that just make people think, reflect on how ridiculous traffic has become? Why drive when you can cycle or walk around?
Well for me it's always a scene of visual amazement, amusement - a display of bikes of all sorts, from cool to just weird, and just a few hours of fun, laughter and freedom in central london. Oh and the ride somehow ended with an improvised game of cricket in the middle of charing cross road! Wacky and cool. Brilliant.

We are a mass

wo-hooo... on my bike again later for the critical mass bike ride... This one promises to be quite memorable - and there might even be a few wrangles with the police along the way. These bike rides happen every last friday of the month, and take cyclists on an improvised journey around london. Reclaiming the streets, making way for a swarm of bikers - some cool, some with perhaps a little too much hair and leaflets, but hey, they're all sharing the same free spirit and all want to take over the streets for a few hours. How harmful can this be?
BBC News has just reported some possible activity with the police later, so should be a fun one.... Lets see what happens....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6690513.stm

Too much

God I can't bear it, there's just too much going on online - I can't keep up! Between msn, skype, my 4 (main) emails, my flickr page, my blog, youtube and now facebook, it's crazy. So many sites, so little time, so much time to waste. Or is it? What exactly are they for? Entertainment? Education? Work? Friendship? I am confused. As much as I love spending time online and find the internet truly fascinating, useful and amusing, I'm finding myself more and more drawn into the whole thing and I'm a little scared. I'm spending far too much time online, updating my profile, pictures, emailing friends, chatting to family, writing, editing - and is it all worth it? Can I manage without it? Probably. And then I'd be missing out on a lot, and probably wouldn't be half as efficient. It's a love-hate relationship. Me and my macbook.... And now, my facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=581020232

What's happening to our trees???

Yikes - where are me trees?
The news is out and it's not nice - and definitely not green. We're losing our street trees. Following an upcoming enquiry by the GLA (greater london authority) the media has massively picked up on the fact we're losing a huge number of our street trees. Up to 2% a year in London I hear: it may not seem like much, but if you think about how long a mature tree takes to grow, it's quite scary. And 2007 was meant to be a green year, I've read everywhere that 'green is the new black' etc. So why are they dissapearing? One of the main causes is building subsidence issues for insurers, roots damaging water pipes, CCTV operators and mobile phone companies arguing that branches obstruct vision etc.
At the same time, Ken Livingston is going on about making London greener, reducing traffic, pollution and noise, but what's the point if we have no trees? Plant a new one in the right place perhaps? Is it all about 'correct' urban planning? This is definitely a long term solution, but then it takes years, decades, to grow a sapling into a beautifully mature tree - which defeats the point of cutting it down in the first place. Can we not work around them, rather than chop them down when causing the slightest disturbance? Unbelievably, some people really dislike trees - hate them with a passion when they happen to be in front of their house, their sole presence being problematic. Arguments against trees range from shade, falling leaves, branches or unruly roots. Because trees are living and thus can't really be controlled in the way some would like it. Still, I don't see it as an excuse to cut down a tree which may be older than your own mother, or even your house. Pure selfishness and ignorance. I'll opt for a green city, not a bleak concrete mass.

A slice of eco-heaven

Munch munch.... I've just been treated to a fabulously satisfying and ethically correct dinner - nowhere else than the hyped Konstam restaurant in King's Cross, made famous by the BBC series, Urban Chef. The place s modern, stylish and yet feels incredibly cosy - the jars of homemade jams and preserves stacked on the sheves give the place a homely touch. So what about the food? I'm not a restaurant critic or expert, but the dishes were delightfully presented, so seasonal, and very satisfying. A simple starter of leek, potato and dill soup was so creamy I could have easily slurped a second bowlful. Having spent ages to make my mind up, I then opted for seabass with cauliflower puree and greens. Seabass from the Thames perhaps? That's where I get confused... In theory -according to the TV series and PR blurb- all the food served in the restaurant should be sourced locally - and when you're based in Kings Cross, this means withing the M25. So I slyly interrogated our charming waiter on whether my seabass had been lingering near the Houses of Parliament for long: "well, not quite" he answered. "It comes from further east, close to the Thames estuary, and I can assure you it was caught last night". So not quite from London, but close enough. Besides, how would I know - it was delicious, melted in the mouth and was probably fresher than fish from Borough market.
The owner, Ollie Rowe's ethos is to source all (or at least a majority) of his produce locally. Sounds like a crazy idea, but it's definitely the way forward for ethical, seasonal and healthy food. Why bother eating anything out of season? Food will inevitably taste far better when it's fresh, seasonal and local (less food miles also means pollution and encourages more sustainable farming). The 'made in London' etiquette may seem to be a bit of a crazy idea -and a clever pr stunt- but it works well, fronts a real trend for good, seasonal produce, which just makes sense. Throw in some creative recipes, top chefs, cool interior design and you're got a winning combination. Yum, my stomach's rumbling again...
http://www.konstam.co.uk

A whole load of greenwash?

So we've heard all about it - this year, everyone should be green, ethical and environmentally aware. Our 'eco-consciousness' seems to have hit a new height and everyone wants to be seen as being green. Green is the new black and so on... Aren't we all already bored and blase by this? Of course, it's only right that we should become ever more aware of our own environment, we should be thankful for living in what is a relativel clean, healthy, moderate climate and surrounding and need to do what we can to protect it. The fact celebrities and high profile personalities are supporting these issues seems however, to make it verge on the border of a 'fad'. Making something trendy or cool, only dooms it to one day becoming out of trend and out of the public agenda. Although most, including myself, see green issues as here to stay and become engrained in our psyche -in the same way as being organic or vegetarian have- there is always a little corner of my mind which says that maybe something better, cooler, trendier, might turn up, grabbing and diverting the public's attention to this something else. Of course, all genuine and real greenies out there aren't as fickle as trends and will carry on campaigning for all that is green. Thos mere trend folowers (who incidentally, loved the carbon offsetting, conscience clearing, buying the 'I am not a plastic bag' bag - those who simply love buying), may just latch onto a new trend and ditch their compost bin as easily as they bought it. Well, it was smelly and somewhat unpractical wasn't it?
Let's hope this doesn't happen. Although all the bad press carbon offsetts have been getting lately aren't doing the cause any favours. It makes it just too easy to dismiss green issues and switch back to our high carb diet - carbon that is. So I'm all up for ignoring any greenwash paranoia and keep doing my bit to help - and that'll hopefully go beyond my weekly recycling bag...