New paintings and regular art updates.
Sun shining through the kitchen window. My cctv camera seems to be being affected by the brightness of the low sun. All the colour is washed out. It looks like a black and white photo. You can see how overgrown it is. We really did create a wood by the side of the house. Cherry, walnut, eucalyptus, plum, apple, and other trees were planted over twenty years ago. They have grown large and healthy. It’s one way of mitigating my carbon footprint I guess.
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
Hopefully I could share the trip with a friend as I don’t drive far these days. Cross Country would be a limited journey, probably into Wales, the Peak District or a bit further afield to Devon or the Lake District.
We are very lucky to have beautiful countryside in the UK, I guess because it rains so much it keeps the plants watered most of the time. But things have got a bit worse over recent years with droughts and flooding.
The UK is about the same size as the American state of Texas, but the geology here is very varied, so you can enjoy all sorts of interesting and also historic places on this hypothetical cross country trip. From ancient monuments like Stonehenge, to Scottish battlefields and great mountains. I’d also recommend places like the Welsh village of Portmeirion, an Italianate style village on the coast near Snowdonia. It was built by an eccentric architect and appears in the 1960’s adventure series “The Prisoner” which is equally eccentric.
I would not use a plane, train or bus to travel, I prefer to stop when and where I want, so it can take a long time for me to get from A to B, (probably taking in C D and E at the same time). But these days I keep my carbon footprint low, so it’s not going to be a frequent thing. If I was young and healthy it would be by bike. I have fond memories of cycling through the English countryside, but that’s another story.
If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?
I might donate them to a family that need hospital treatment abroad, but I won’t be using them!
I do not want to fly, or more accurately I don’t want to crash. So I make excuses, it’s not good for my carbon footprint, Also, who needs to travel thousands of miles? The majority of the world can be seen on screens.
I recently saw a marvellous cruise to Antarctica advertised on TV, presumably you have to fly to catch the ship. But why? The cost must be exorbitant. And what are we doing tramping around pristine environments! You see the world burning and you think I want to add to 5ue temperature? Nah! Not me!
Millions of people fly each year, but until we are able to harness solar energy to power them I think I’ll give it a miss. Does anyone remember the flight of the Gossamer Albatross? Look it up!
What place in the world do you never want to visit? Why?
OK, but why?
The Earth is quite a large planet to humans, but it is also a finite place. It doesn’t go on for ever and it has limited resources.
I know there are wonderful places to visit and also terrible places, it depends mainly on human activity. We may preserve a place or tear it apart. Every time a person travels though they have a carbon footprint, the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by the vehicle you travel in, what energy it takes to make it and what is used to fuel the vehicle.
But with satellites, television and the Internet I can visit almost every corner of the world without actually going there. So why should I? I visit places in the UK because it doesn’t cause too much pollution. If I could, I would cycle to where I want to visit. If I want to go abroad I would prefer to use a sailboat or at the most a ferry. I don’t want to fly unless there are solar powered planes.
Another reason not to travel is the fear of disease. There have been films about escaped viruses and diseases, but I never thought I would experience a real pandemic. I guess it’s a case of once bitten, twice shy. I don’t know what I might catch ‘out there’. I am not xenophobic, I’m happy for anyone to come here. I just want people to think first. Do you need to visit, do you want to increase your carbon footprint? It’s a different situation if you are fleeing violence or oppression, then in my opinion you are very welcome. The world is a strange place. I’m lucky to be here.
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
When I was young I could cycle forty miles in three hours (including hills). We once did a hundred mile reliability trial in five and a half hours, we used a tandem. The one we rode on was two bikes welded together. One of the chain wheels was on back to front so a pedal unwound and fell off during the ride.
After I sustained an injury we got a car because my bike was damaged in the accident. It went in to be fixed and the shop lost it! I don’t drive much or very far now. In fact I travel less than I did when we cycled. Most places we go to are only a few miles away unless we go on holiday. I drove less than a thousand miles last year, so I guess my carbon footprint must be low.
No, I don’t use the train. If you go anywhere from Stoke-on-Trent on the train it’s hard to find one that comes back late in the evening so you either can’t spend a long time away or you have to come back the next day. We are also bypassed by the West Coast main line I think…. Bad for a city! Bus? Yes sometimes, but it depends again if there is a bus back and the routes keep getting changed or cancelled. And planes? Are you kidding…. Too scared.
More snow due.
My nose? Blue!
If heating on
Money will be gone.
Winds a beast
From the north east
Cats have coats
So they’re warm as toast!
So wearing layers
To be lower payers.
One way to reduce
Carbon footprint use.
It’s a cool night here. – 1.7°C outside and 17.2°C inside. It doesn’t help when the cats come through the door between the kitchen and the back door, they invariably leave it slightly ajar but I can’t shut it or they would be stuck behind it or in the bathroom. We have a bathroom radiator but it only just keeps the chill out and although I ‘fixed ‘ the cat flap the big cat can sometimes detach it because of his fat belly!
I’ve had the central heating on full time for the last couple of days, together with an oil filled radiator. But when it gets milder I will put it back to timed and use it less. This is because I’m worried about how much the cost of gas has gone up and also because of our carbon footprint. I actually do care. I would rather sit in a coat and dressing gown but my hubby feels the cold more. He has the oil radiator next to him. Life…. Always something…
A old wooden cupboard, but much greener than a modern one. Probably manufactured without much machinery. Transported to a shop on a horse and cart. The wood its made of must be 100 years old. It isn’t damaging rain forests now. Apparently an old chest of draws has a 16X smaller carbon footprint than its modern equivalent.
By buying old furniture which has stood the test of time you are recycling something that still had a use. I suppose if you don’t like brown furniture you could upcycle it… But that cupboard might just be worth something, so don’t sand it down and paint it if you aren’t sure of its provinance.
Mallaband-Brown