Tree houses

I took this photograph of our tree house last week, just before it disappears behind its cloak of oak leaves for the summer. As I took it, I wondered if I could find an excuse to publish it on my blog, and thought not. Sadly, I now have.

Several years ago Lucius, a talented amateur carpenter, started building this treehouse on a whim. It was this time of year, and it took him most of his free time for the whole of that summer. Our near neighbours watched the progress with interest and enthusiasm. So did passersby.

In the autumn, we had a visit from a planning official, who said that there had been a complaint, and that we needed planning permission for "the building". It was a while before we were able to find out who had complained: a man who lives on the opposite side of the valley, who needed a pair of binoculars to see it - and then only in the winter, when the leaves of the oak tree had fallen. It seemed almost incredible that anyone could complain about such a beautiful structure, built on seven levels, with an octagonal lantern at the top. It was deeply upsetting.

Happily, the planners unreservedly took our side, and we did not have to demolish the treehouse. Now, however, I find that the builders of another fine treehouse are having similar troubles (thanks Allotment Lady) ... and if you are a British citizen you can help out by signing the petition lodged at Downing Street. I'll keep you posted on how it goes ... even though the only connection with food is that our treehouse has been the venue for a number of fine picnics, particularly in poor weather.

British Heart Foundation petition

Many of you who read my blog know that my husband had a heart attack a couple of years ago. Horrible. Frightening. Never over ... you live with the fear that it will happen again (just like it happened again for my mother-in-law, woken in the night to be told that her husband had died). I fear for my children.

SO .. please sign this petition. The British Heart Foundation is leading a campaign to stop junk food advertising on British television. Makes some kind of sense to me. Let's all get back to real food, if we possibly can.

And ... a good diet doesn't have to be an expensive diet. Here's a list of winter affordable superfoods ... think oatmeal, herrings, Savoy cabbage ... lots of alternatives to unpronounceable air-freigted berries with ludicrous price-tags.

But in the meantime, let's break the cycle - sign the BHF petition, to show that we all understand the negative power of food advertising.

Bali

Wonderful to wake to the news that some sort of agreement has been reached in Bali, after days of fearing that it would be just another Kyoto.

On the other hand, here, it's clear that my family would rather carry on eating industrialised food, don't really care if it arrives in an aeroplane, don't really think that meals are for a family to sit down together and eat the same thing. And we heat half the house using electricity (and even so we can see our breath as we come down the stairs on a cold and frosty morning).

I'll post about the bread when I'm feeling less grumpy ;)

Keeping it real: What the World Eats

This morning we're all worrying about the new report issued yesterday by the World Cancer Research Fund ... but we're the lucky ones, lucky enough to worry about what we're eating, rather than whether we're eating at all.

Peter Menzel's book, Hungry Planet, shows what the world eats: 30 families on 24 continents photographed with a week's worth of food. It's sobering: ... how little some people have to survive on ... how much the developed world depends on industrially processed food ... how much more appetising the Far / Middle Eastern and Sicilian diet looked than all the others ... & to see the global reach of the Coca Cola Corporation.
















I'm grateful to my new friend Joanna - yes, another one - at My Vegetable Blog for providing me with the link to Peter Menzel's work.

Free Burma

This post is in support of the peaceful and lawful protests which have been taking place in Burma, a day of action by bloggers lucky enough to live in the free world to highlight the part played by brave Burmese bloggers who have played such a crucial role in telling the world what is happening in Burma.





There's something clever you can do to turn the graphic into a hyperlink, but I'm not techie enough, so here's the link to Free Burma. Please follow it, and do what you can today to support the people of Burma.


Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
Edmund Burke

Organic fortnight: a post for the Prime Minister

It's organic food fortnight, and the Soil Association is running a campaign to highlight the fact that organic food is planet-friendly because it uses a lot less energy to produce. I'm sorry that's a little vague, although I don't think that "30% less" is any more precise ...

Here in the UK, our government is pretty bossy when it comes to telling us to turn out lights, install insulation, drive slowly &c - but it doesn't breathe a word about the benefits to the planet of choosing organic food. Indeed, it's actively hostile to the idea that organic food has benefits (you may think this article is a little out of date, but it was all I could find on the government website). Here, in the interests of balance, are a couple of links to websites that see value in organic foods - Sheepdrove, the farm set up by Peter Kindersley after selling his hugely successful publishing business, and a question and answer session from The Observer.

The Soil Association has a very funny little game (10 seconds max) you can play ... feed Gordon an organic breakfast. They're going to use the final tally of breakfasts fed to Gordon in their campaigning ... so what are you waiting for?



PS thanks Melanie